Posted by Bruce Sanborn on June 12, 2012 - 3:38pm
I post this without comment, only to say I've got the best friends in the world.
"Inspiration
In the last thirty years I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of talented people. Some are artists who do amazing things with paint and brush, or pencil or ink. Others take a boring room and turn it into a show place. Others use makeup or fashion to create a look that represents or re-invents an individual’s lifestyle (or crisis, depending on how you feel about fashion). Some are musicians who make people feel joy during live performance or awe over their extreme technical talent.
I’m a musician. I play drums and a little guitar, and enjoy writing songs. Some would consider me to be an artist, as I’ve often taken an ordinary song and given it an amazing back beat, or have taken a good band and made them solid performers by filling in the gaps in their songs. I’ve taken simple lyrics and added bridges and choruses to help friends better tell their stories. I hear the harmonies that add flavor to the lead singer’s performance, and have learned in the last five years that I can sing those harmonies and an occasional lead myself. An artist is always looking for ways to create. It’s what we do. It never turns off. Often we are distracted because we’re seeing/feeling/hearing what we can’t wait to share with others. Just give us a few moments and we will create something.
For a while in 2010 and 2011, I had the opportunity to work with Bruce Sanborn and The Bruce Sanborn Band. I’ve known Bruce for many years, but mostly as an acquaintance I’d see at an occasional gathering of friends, actors, or musicians, as our humble beginnings were at the same high school among many common friends. For more than twenty years following high school he’d only be a rumor or topic of occasional gossip, until we were reunited thanks to social networking in 2009. It didn't take long for us to play catch up! When he recorded and released his first CD in 2010 I was invited to the launch and listening party in West LA, and would soon be invited to drum for his band.
Working with Bruce made me a better artist. I enjoyed drumming to his music, and had a lot of fun performing on stage with him, as he has a lot of energy and great stage presence, and the interaction between the band mates on and off stage was always memorable. We put on a great show! However, working closely with him awakened a lot of my own creativity. This is a consequence some artists have to deal with from time to time when working with others. You inspire someone with your creativity, and suddenly they need to run off and work on their own. I'd been working with another guitarist in a cover band and constructing an original set prior to re-uniting with Bruce, so it couldn’t be helped. Bruce's song lyrics took me back to a time when I wrote with the same emotional artistry. I’d often explore with him his mindset at the time he wrote a particular song and, without hesitation, he’d break the song down for me or challenge me to understand the song's true meaning. I’d always relate, and then, following the show or rehearsal, I’d head home and begin crafting a new tune of my own.
I haven’t been the drummer of The Bruce Sanborn Band for over a year now, but I continue to follow Bruce and his music, as his songs and stories continue to inspire me. In describing Bruce I’ve often said, “He is his music.” One only has to visit his website (www.thebrucesanbornband.com) to see that, like most true artists, he never turns it off and is always creating. Current events and walks down classic rock and roll memory lane inspire great stories and songs for him, and he keeps things fresh both in his cyber world and on stage. There’s no guessing with Bruce. What you see is what you get. He was over 40 when he recorded his first solo album, and it was a concept album, complete with segues and sound effects, with his signature on every single song. Why? Because it’s his music and not someone else’s idea of what Bruce should be, and he’d have it no other way! A true believer that it’s never too late to be what you might have been, Bruce continues to live the dream and inspire other artists to do the same.
Kevin Polito"
TheBruceSanbornBand.com
"Inspiration
In the last thirty years I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of talented people. Some are artists who do amazing things with paint and brush, or pencil or ink. Others take a boring room and turn it into a show place. Others use makeup or fashion to create a look that represents or re-invents an individual’s lifestyle (or crisis, depending on how you feel about fashion). Some are musicians who make people feel joy during live performance or awe over their extreme technical talent.
I’m a musician. I play drums and a little guitar, and enjoy writing songs. Some would consider me to be an artist, as I’ve often taken an ordinary song and given it an amazing back beat, or have taken a good band and made them solid performers by filling in the gaps in their songs. I’ve taken simple lyrics and added bridges and choruses to help friends better tell their stories. I hear the harmonies that add flavor to the lead singer’s performance, and have learned in the last five years that I can sing those harmonies and an occasional lead myself. An artist is always looking for ways to create. It’s what we do. It never turns off. Often we are distracted because we’re seeing/feeling/hearing what we can’t wait to share with others. Just give us a few moments and we will create something.
For a while in 2010 and 2011, I had the opportunity to work with Bruce Sanborn and The Bruce Sanborn Band. I’ve known Bruce for many years, but mostly as an acquaintance I’d see at an occasional gathering of friends, actors, or musicians, as our humble beginnings were at the same high school among many common friends. For more than twenty years following high school he’d only be a rumor or topic of occasional gossip, until we were reunited thanks to social networking in 2009. It didn't take long for us to play catch up! When he recorded and released his first CD in 2010 I was invited to the launch and listening party in West LA, and would soon be invited to drum for his band.
Working with Bruce made me a better artist. I enjoyed drumming to his music, and had a lot of fun performing on stage with him, as he has a lot of energy and great stage presence, and the interaction between the band mates on and off stage was always memorable. We put on a great show! However, working closely with him awakened a lot of my own creativity. This is a consequence some artists have to deal with from time to time when working with others. You inspire someone with your creativity, and suddenly they need to run off and work on their own. I'd been working with another guitarist in a cover band and constructing an original set prior to re-uniting with Bruce, so it couldn’t be helped. Bruce's song lyrics took me back to a time when I wrote with the same emotional artistry. I’d often explore with him his mindset at the time he wrote a particular song and, without hesitation, he’d break the song down for me or challenge me to understand the song's true meaning. I’d always relate, and then, following the show or rehearsal, I’d head home and begin crafting a new tune of my own.
I haven’t been the drummer of The Bruce Sanborn Band for over a year now, but I continue to follow Bruce and his music, as his songs and stories continue to inspire me. In describing Bruce I’ve often said, “He is his music.” One only has to visit his website (www.thebrucesanbornband.com) to see that, like most true artists, he never turns it off and is always creating. Current events and walks down classic rock and roll memory lane inspire great stories and songs for him, and he keeps things fresh both in his cyber world and on stage. There’s no guessing with Bruce. What you see is what you get. He was over 40 when he recorded his first solo album, and it was a concept album, complete with segues and sound effects, with his signature on every single song. Why? Because it’s his music and not someone else’s idea of what Bruce should be, and he’d have it no other way! A true believer that it’s never too late to be what you might have been, Bruce continues to live the dream and inspire other artists to do the same.
Kevin Polito"
TheBruceSanbornBand.com
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