Monday, February 9, 2009

End.>vaccum.

I've said it many a time, but working on a cruise ship is an odd, odd thing. Where else can you essentially work everyday, get fed for free, see bits of the world and live in a tiny little cabin, all the while essentially escaping great senses of responsibility from that bigger picture out there most call the "real world"? While on the ship crew are obligated to uniform themselves as "smart casual" as they cater to the wants and demands of the (often elderly) passengers who can afford however many thousands-a-cruise prices, while the moment crew shore leave is granted the employed masses pillage the port for cheap beer and wireless access. Crazy, innit?
Still...not a bad gig if you can get it. Especially considering the times right now, I'm thankful that I can get paid, even more so that i get to play guitar...even more so that i get to play guitar and travel. Still, I miss things and opportunities back home, naturally. Mom, dad, Lauretta, Java's, a kitchen...I'm getting the feeling that when I go home in March for that glorious week I'll force myself to stay awake 24 hours a day as i engage in a cooking/bookstore/coffee shop binge that will go down in (my) history as my utterly mad week to soak up every bit of Penfield that I appreciate before going into a recessive coma that will take up most of the time of my flight to Ft. Lauderdale to start my next contract (assuming I make the connection). So...that'll be fun.
Mike Einziger, my hero/guitarist of Incubus, is having his orchestral composition "End.>vaccum" premiered in August. Naturally, I won't be there, nor would I likely have been had I not taken the Mediterranean contract (but not for lack of interest). I fully realize that I'm not even close to being on his level, but it's making me thing that I need to step away from what I think I need to be playing right now and start to think about what I need to be doing musically right now. Not to sound lofty or pretentious, but one can play Bach only so many times before one sort of loses it, y'know?
Really, I'm just going on and on right now because I've found wireless in Aruba.
Cheers.

"Here's to another year of art, music, travel and discover"-Brandon Boyd

2 comments:

Lauretta said...

:-) Please don't go crazy by staying up for a week straight. 3 hrs of sleep a nite might be a sacrifice, but i'm sure it'll be worth it in the end.

miss you too!

Ernest Backus said...

I met Mike Einziger. He never said anything about Bach. Seriously.