27 April 2013

THE GUITAR LAND



California, synonymous of sun and sea, glamour and wealth, the ladies of Beverly Hills to the Latins from Costa Mesa, the house of movies, art and music. There is no doubt that here is the guitar land.
I settled in this side of the Pacific for a few months due to some work proposals, but also with my heart open to whatever come. Already on my flight without any doubt that this is the land of guitar, I found in the departure area, the master of the masters of Country guitar: Albert Lee. I studied just a little of that style in my life, through his video classes and methods. The Country fans know who I'm talking about. I just noticed I was in your presence when I heard the call to the airline: "Mr. Lee". Then I saw that gentleman with gray hair and two (!?) Nokia phones in hand (the old ones that do not break and the battery lasts more than a day), doing his check-in. Awesome! I realized that I was going to the right place... 
Despite having fallen much down the road in this life, to travel to staying for some time in another place has always a different meaning. My identity as a musician and artist and my relationship with music is set in motion. A new environment always brings alternative, expectations, dreams and, of course, doubt and intimidation. It puts to the test my relationship with the music and everything that was done previously. Check your limit - what you can change or not. There is no predetermined or image and expectations that others have. It is the talent and your position as a professional, and nothing else that will be the base for your success, forgetting my own limitations and expanding the image I have of myself. It is the free energy of the beginning and almost as freedom of the nickname, that has much been used by Japanese painters of past centuries, Fernando Pessoa and journalists at the time of Military rule. 
Whatever it is the new environment - a country, a college, a city – it will put to the test, reevaluate your relationship with art, your strengths and weaknesses. After all, we can’t live our lives playing the same games otherwise it becomes amorphous and bland. It's funny and exciting at the same time, to have as neighbors some of my teenage idols and discover that we are all in the same boat – to go out for a chat or meet someone at the gas station.
Tomorrow I’ll go for a recording in the land of Burbank studios, next to Hollywood, for a track in a project with Billy Sheehan and Derek Sherinian (ex-Dream Theater), registered by the legend of production Tom Fletcher (Bon Jovi, Toto, among others).



We have always to believe in the essence of ourselves, in the best we have to keep our personality, and know what is flexible in ourselves to adapt to the different realities that we propose through our lives. What will be your next step?