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Hey folks!
Last week was quite eventful for me because I started something properly that I’ve been wanting to do since I was a kid but didn’t for various reasons.
There were a lot of signs and near-beginnings.
I still remember renting a drum-kit with zero experience in playing the drums, in the 7th or 8th grade to jam with my school’s House music team. There was nobody in our ‘White House’ (Gandhi – which stood for peace) – to play the drums for the inter-house music competition and I said, “Ok I’ll do it”. We jammed and practiced and I was sort of alright for the first time ever but on the day of the competition our lead-singer and main guitarist fell sick so we didn’t play. I think it was some Linkin Park song. I was sort of bummed out because we practiced a whole week before that.
Then in the 9th grade I forced my Mum to take me to a bass-guitarist’s place and we chatted for a good half hour on how I would start classes soon, which guitar to buy etc. But then my parents decided against it because it would ‘interfere with my studies for the 10th grade board exams’.
Then there was the DJ-ing phase for 3 years in college. I should have just dropped out of Engineering and joined a music school, thinking about it now. But I guess I was too knee-deep in the course and half-way through when I began to hate it. I’m glad I’m officially and Engineer though – for whatever that’s worth. 
So after I bought my MIDI controller last month in December I realised that I really don’t know jack shit and that to make proper music I need some solid foundation. So maybe that was a few steps ahead. Oops!
So from struggling Engineering graduate to Sales to Marketing to finance(CFA studies until I said fuck examinations and taught myself all I needed to know) to a Stock Broking business and Real Estate Broking and about 20 business ideas and 10 business plans that never happened for various reasons – I thought “Okay, I’ve wasted 8 years of my life(2008-2016) doing all this stuff other people were doing and I thought I had to do too. I have a chilled out job now, I get paid for watching football and I write about it, which I love, my articles have been read by more than half a million people on the planet, I wrote a book, I have the time now…so what do I have to lose?”
So yeah it’s never too late you know. Honestly, it all just boils down to.. ‘So what do I really want out of life?’ and ‘What do I really want to do?’ Some people figure it out early, others later but it’s all a process and a journey. It’ll all come of use at some point of time in life, I guess you just have to believe that and connect the dots.
So coming back, last week I first called up a couple of tutors and asked them what instruments I should buy. They told me – one a little vaugely and the other a little specific -and then I just did my research and I bought myself a 61-key Keyboard – The Yamaha PSR E353 and an acoustic guitar – The Ashton D20 BK Dreadnought.
Here they are:
The Keyboard is called ‘Jenny’ and the guitar is called ‘Magdalena’. Yes, I even named them for various reasons
You can check out the story for the name ‘Jenny’ in the caption of this picture.
And ‘Magdalena’ is basically because of Maynard James Keenan’s second band A Perfect Circle’s acoustic album. Wow, that one simply blows my mind every single time I listen to it. Magdalena is a song on their album Mer de Noms, I love the song and that whole album. In fact all their albums. I don’t know she just felt like ‘Magdalena’ when I saw her. What a beauty of a guitar!
AND THE RESULTS…..
This is after 1 week….
This is the intro to Radiohead – Pyramid Song
And this is the intro to A Perfect Circle – Stranger
Ok I know I suck….
But It’s just been a week.
I’m understanding the theory and stuff pretty quickly though and both my instructors have said I’m a ‘quick learner’ and a ‘serious-student’.
I also went to my first gig of the year yesterday, for the music but also to see how much I suck and how much I have to work at this until I’m as good as a performing musician.
Here are a few pictures of the Jazz gig last night! This little club is bringing back Jazz culture in Bombay – it used to thrive in my city in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.
The band was brilliant.
I have a long, long way to go! But I’m up for the work and the journey. Who knows I might do a Masters in music in the future!
Here is the song A Perfect Circle – Magadalena to say goodbye!
And just as an extra-incentive for you to understand how awesome instruments are… Check this out!
And hey this quote by Paulo Coelho is for you folks!
~NOW NOW NOW~
Happy Republic Day to all you Indians out there!
And remember as the saying in India goes – You first become an Engineer and then figure out what you want to do with your life. Haha!
It’s never to late to do what you love.
Peace.
