(Photo credit: Auckland Jazz and Blues Club)
I've heard it said that you sing the blues best when you're old and grey-haired, because age brings with it a wealth of blues-related stuff: people who have done you wrong, lost loves, moans and groans about life in general - how hard it is, how unfair - and how One Bourbon One Scotch and One Beer (John Lee Hooker's famous song) can cure almost anything.
Here we are, the Blue Collar Band, after our performance at the Auckland Jazz and Blues Club on 25 August. There is only one without grey hair, our Noah, at the far right, and from the left we have Greer, Marcus, Tony, Dot, and myself. We had the best time, and many thanks to the Club for having us along to play.
That's the thing about music. You're never too old to play it, listen to it, and participate with it in some way. The psychologist Oliver Sacks is quoted as saying, “Music can lift us out of depression or move us to tears—it is a remedy, a tonic, orange juice for the ear. But for many of my neurological patients, music is even more—it can provide access, even when no medication can, to movement, to speech, to life.”
I remember when Mom was in her care home, and they'd have someone come in to entertain and sing. Advanced Parkinson's had, by that time, taken her mobility, voice, and most of her mind, but when the music started, well, she loved that. She clapped her hands in perfect time, and even sang some of the songs she knew. You could see the effect the music was having on those gathered together for the performance afternoon. They loved it. It made them feel better, opened them up, even if only for an hour or two.
Occasionally a joke is made about grey hair, and the abundance there of, in bands I play in now, or have played with in the past. It's more a testament than anything else, I reckon, this grey hair business, because it means yep we're older but we're still out there doing it and having a grand old time. Sure we have arthritis and take a while to get warmed up some days, but once we get going, we're fine and well into it. Aches, pains, and worries forgotten.
I think this quote from Paul Simon sums it up very nicely: “Music is forever; music should grow and mature with you, following you right on up until you die.”