The Baron Ward, Summer 2015
Chris has something to say. But, its all vanity, its all...vanity. Wait, I actually DO have something to say!! I really, really enjoy The Baron Ward.
For me: writing, rehearsing, and finally performing music with others has many layers. Layers that are difficult to put into words. The musicians and collaborators I am drawn to result from geographical location, luck, timing, and a few discriminations on my part. A dear friend observed recently "the people that seem to end up playing with you are a very strange, almost specific kind of person…but…I can't quite put my finger…on…"
I cannot control who finds me, or who I happen to find. But to Stick, I know this: I have to "love" your musical style. I have to feel comfortable/free/inspired/unrestrained playing "my" parts. And most, most, MOST of all, if its to last, I have to love the Person that you are. For Music, in her wonderful life-affirming Self, is ultimately about The People behind it. Regardless of what you sing, say, play, posture, perform, pose-behind, Sing: your True Self will always come out, and never be hidden. Music, Herself, cannot lie. From the most celebrated-catchy Pop, to the most vague "jam", any careful human listener can immediately and instinctively and humanly judge you to your inner core, and presume (if they so vainly choose) to decide "what makes you Tick".
Like most artists, musicians, painters, dreamers, writers, dreamers, I have been rejected, patronizingly "told" I'm not good enough, discouraged. I have been discarded in the heat of the moment by people who simply found more pressing priorities in their immediate present. I have been misinterpreted, misjudged, and misled on multiple occasions. And I've always come back to writing Music to smooth into a more comfortable understanding of what it means to be Me. Or Human. Or, whatever.
Today, what this really comes down to is that I think Dors Ward is Top Class. Not only is he Pure of heart and voice, but he makes everyone around him a better person. You can choose to ignore it, but you won't ever deny it. We've been through a lot together over the past decade, ups, downs, and in-betweens. I'm really looking forward to FINALLY putting an album together with him. We have 9 solid songs, we need 3 more.