A Jam Session Of Ideas
I sat down with Joseph during a pandemic. No, we didn’t violate social distancing. We had a two-hour + Zoom call, and because of that, his episode is the first one I’ve recorded. Welcome to the strange, new world that for me, has been baffling, exhausting and full of unexpected, surprisingly good developments. A few days after our conversation, I realized my podcast needed a home on youtube and in a couple hours, created a channel for it. It’s Confessions Of A Keyboardist, of course. Chalk up one positive in 2020 to my catching up on technology skills, thanks to Covid-19.
When we met on that Sunday afternoon, Joseph immediately jumped into deep water. One of the first things he said was “the only thing that can kill a democracy is people that can’t be reasoned with.” It was May 17, 2020 and a little over a week later the United States erupted into full-blown chaos, rage and pain triggered by the murder of George Floyd.
I wasn’t aware at the time that we were on the brink, but looking back what I do remember is that I felt several things after spending that time with Joseph. First, I felt awe and sincere admiration for Joseph’s passion. He has a mission to help heal our divided land. “If the people can’t have a conversation, they elect people that don’t want to have a conversation….Right now, the side of the aisle determines whether we respect that person or not….The challenge is for each of us to learn something from each others’ perspective.”
Another thing I felt is camaraderie. We both love and believe in the positive power of playing music. “The good thing about music is what makes us good at music is what makes us better as people…There’s no downside of music. If you practice, listen, play with others that’s good….Nobody learns to play music to hurt somebody…Being creative—that’s our best side.” Music is this basic. It really is. This alone, is reason enough for there to be music and arts classes in our childrens’ schools.
I also felt hopeful, and it felt so good to remember that emotion. I noted that it had been awhile since I had experienced that lilt, that surge of positive energy. “Life is just a jam session of ideas…It’s a constant idea improvisation. Life is always about the intelligent use of space. That’s what turns a pile of notes into music. That’s what turns a collision of ideas and perspectives of conversation into intelligent use of space.” Maybe, just maybe I found myself thinking, we can turn these challenging times around, and find a way to come together again as a nation.
More willingness to listen and to hold a higher, more spiritual perspective isn’t something I went into a podcast interview expecting to leave with, but absolutely, that’s what happened. Joseph intently wants to find solutions and he approaches the issues with understanding and acceptance. “The thing to remember is that people aren’t divisive because they’re bad people. They’re divisive because it feels safer to be that way…There’s safety in numbers…I hope that we can get past the tribalism.”
Did we even talk about keyboards? Yes, but Joseph nearly always spoke about music in the context of it being a platform for humanity. “Music has the ability to bring people [into a shared space] and if you utilize that right, you can really change things. You can really make changes for the better…I’m always trying to write songs to bring people together…Songs reach people better than just saying words.”
And finally, I felt inspired by Joseph. I left the Music House that day prepared to face the disappointment of losing a long-time gig with a positive attitude and the determination to create a new, better path. So thank you Joseph. You’re a beacon and I’ll close with your words: “Don’t just work on who you are behind the instrument; work on who you are off the instrument because when you get good that’s what you’re gonna create from—the person you are.”