Don't You Want to Make a Memory?

After spending my entire summer at some type of concert venue, I did some thinking. Every concert is an experience, every concert is a future story. Someone's best night of their life. Something to tell their grandchildren about. 

The magic of concerts always struck me as amazing. You can go into a place, see a band, and forget about your problems for a little bit. 

It starts with the dark venue and the impatient screams of excited attendees. Soon the fog rolls in, add in some dramatic lighting, and before you know it your favorite band stands before you like gifts descending from the gods. 

As the music starts, you sing every single word like you are reciting the pledge allegiance in grade school. That's when the magic really kicks in. That's when you witness the greatness bestowed upon you. 

You forget about the exam you just failed, you forget about the major project you have at work, you forget about having to feed your dog. But every minute is worth it. You are here and that's all that matters. 

One story I remember my dad telling me was when he had attended the Van Halen concert at Joe Louis Arena. The band had attempted to light a Flash-pot, unfortunately, it was brighter than three of our solar system's suns and left him partially blind for their first set.  

Another is my dad and my uncles seeing The Who at the Pontiac Silverdome. However, with the nearest liquor store being right across the Opdyke drain, my uncle decide just to wade across to make his voyage quicker. 

Don't let gray silence your colors.#art #painting #inspiredby #coldplay #music #albumart

A photo posted by Finding Hannah (@findinghannahsmusic) on Oct 30, 2016 at 11:13am PDT

Experiences are what make life rich. Having the ability to share your excitement is a great feeling. Why compromise it? Embrace it. Go to every show. Share every story. Share every picture. Because believe it or not, the moments that happen now are the stories you share later. 

"Music can change the world because it can change people" -Bono 

Simple Plan and Sunsets

Friday night, I saw Simple Plan at St. Andrews Hall in Detroit. Let me just say, middle school Hannah would have been geeked. Nonetheless, it was a great show. They played all their hits and more. But something clicked for me that night. 

Friday night, I felt 12 again. I remembered the vest I used to wear, with the white t-shirt underneath. I remembered the dark purple eyeliner that used to coat the bottom of my eye because I wasn't allowed to wear black. I remembered what it felt to 12 again. 

I fulfilled a life long dream of seeing Simple Plan in concert. And that itself makes me so happy. I got to see a band that I idolized. Remembering those long Friday nights in my bedroom, with my parents begging me to turn it down. Realistically, seventh grade was extremely stressful with pre-algebra and basketball practice. (Yes, my tiny butt was on the middle school basketball team, I basically rode the bench.)  

The ability to take you somewhere via sound is a powerful tool. It is amazing how one song or in this case a band can take you to this place. Music can remind you of the good and the bad times. But, revisiting 12 year old me was fantastic. Having that feeling that I was safe and had no responsibilities was great. I took a mini-vacation Friday night and it was exactly what I needed.  

To left is a painting I did inspired by the "Still Not Getting Any" album by Simple plan. I feel the sunset represents that my childhood years are over, in fact they have been over, but I considered college part of growing up. While the sun may be setting on this phase of my life, new horizons are among us and I'm excited to see where I'm headed next. At first I wasn't really a fan of it, but it has since grown on me. It is an abstract approach to a sunset. I now enjoy the soft lines. Another important lesson I learned this week, if you don't like your painting sleep on it, you may feel differently in the morning. 

"It's almost impossible to watch a sunset and not dream" -Bernard Williams 

A Penny for Your Thoughts

Some of my favorite things in this world are art and music. I love everything they have to offer, especially the ability to share feelings or share your view of the world. There is close to 7.4 billion people on this planet, which leads to a lot of interpretation.

A recent inspiration I had, while I was listening to The Who, was I can download any song and listen to it, but in 1971, it wasn't that simple. You, or as my father would tell me, had to drive to the record store and pick it up, and drive all the way back home to listen to it.  While music is readily available to us, I believe some of the character of pieces are lost in the mix. I am a full time member of the digital age, I took notes in college on a laptop, and my homework was submitted online through a website that graded it for you. But this was not the intent for music. 

Don't get me wrong, I love all types of music, including today's hits. But the main point of this post is to remind others and myself, that there was a way to listen to music before the help of Apple. Vinyl. I often find myself wondering what it was like to sit on the opposite side of the recording booth and witness some the most popular tunes. For example, what was the sound engineer witnessing when he heard Michael Jackson sing the opening verse to P.Y.T.? 

Computers help with a lot today, but I also feel like it comprises some of the art produced in the 60s, 70s, 80s. Having the remastered "Who's Next" album that I downloaded off apple is a fantastic, but having it been recorded in the earlier 70's, the idea for it to be easily accessible was not it in its cards. 

Recently, I found my way to a vintage record shop and there I saw many albums, both old and new. Naturally, I had to buy some. While I limited myself to 6, I knew I would be coming back for more. 

With my dad being a musician, I had always been around music. In fact, I am writing this as he is having band practice in the basement. But nonetheless, having music being such an important part of my life got me thinking. How can I interpret music, how do I hear it? 

Most of the time when I listen to music, I am either at work or drawing/painting. My new feature is to pick an album and create a piece inspired by the album. With this coming two of my favorite things in this world, I hope it also creates a platform for others to get inspired and share their creation. 

"Creativity is contagious, pass it on" -Albert Einstein