the muse from bowie

In October 2010 or so, my good friend Austin invited me into a world of musical mystery.

Austin is one of the most musically talented people I know. You could hand him a zither or a didgeridoo and he'd probably play you an expert piece of his own composition on it in about two hours. His principal instrument is the guitar, although he veers off into other musical territory as well. And on this fateful day in October(?), he told me of a new daydream he had.

So Austin, it turns out, was planning an album. He was running through ideas and concepts and wanted to know if I, a somewhat average violin player, would be interested in collaborating. I was ecstatic.

We worked together on some songs for two months or so, then our collaborations fell off the radar for a while. Soon Austin ended up releasing his own album by himself, but he did invite me to join a band of friends for a gig at a venue called The Mint.

I've played with Austin at The Mint twice now, gracing a stage that, according to the sound guy, Andy Dick once peed on. I can truly say that these gigs were two of the most fun nights I've ever had, and I feel honored to help make Austin's good songs come alive.

Perhaps most impressive to me is Austin's willingness and ability to put his songs out there. He's told me some of the stories behind the songs, and he's achieving depth with his music. He had a goal to make an album, and he reached that goal.

As it turns out, part of me wants to be the George Harrison to Austin's Lennon/McCartney. Seeing Austin work so passionately on his music and listening to his compositions spurs in me a desire to share my own. I remember distinctly coming back to him during one of our early collaborative sessions with a very, very grainy recording of me singing some lyrics I wrote over a guitar riff he had played. To my amazement, he praised what I had written, and encouraged me to continue. I'd never let anyone hear a song I'd written, much less been complemented on it.

Since then, Austin - the actual musician between the two of us - has become likely my only and biggest fan, one of two people with whom I've shared my music. (The other is my wife.) Without his inspiration I probably wouldn't have continued writing past that first song - now I've got seven or eight songs all but finished using Apple GarageBand, recorded with his sound equipment, and many more half-baked musical doodles that might become songs one day. My goal is to create an album of my own, but I've got to get to a place where I'm willing to share it. I keep telling myself the issue is my music - I think in my heart of hearts that the issue is me.

In the meantime, I'll give Austin another shameless plug (on Amazon and iTunes, too!). Thanks for the inspiration, buddy.

And here's the takeaway: Tomorrow, give a friend a compliment on something he or she cares about. It will probably mean much more to them than you'll ever realize. Everybody needs a muse.