Music & Pictures by dumbfunk

I’ve spoken to a few new people lately and in the “so tell me about yourself” section the topic of my musical past and more specifically, my non-music present has come up. Each time the unsolicited advice is the same – I should start again. As regular readers (or permanent friends) will know, although I am undeniably a has-been musician, it did take me quite a number of years to fail properly with the result that from the age 12 to 28 I never had one day when I thought I’d end up doing anything else. That turned out not to be the case and whilst in the following years I become quite afraid of a number of things … playing music again always ranks easily in the top 2.

So that was then and now photography is my thing. Really, I can’t get enough, even taking on a ridiculous 365-Project to make sure I always carry my cam with me. I get the same expectant tingling when I see something new to shoot as I did when my fingers fell upon something magical; and I derive the very same creative satisfaction from uploading the image to Flickr as from playing a recording immediately back in the car on the way home the studio.

Last night however I watched that Metallica documentary film and was so drawn in. It’s not that I’ve ever been a huge fan (bought one album, played one cover version in a drunken club, saw one gig – all 10 years ago) but it became instantly and immediately clear why the two main creative outlets in my life are not, and will never be interchangeable.

The kick with music is playing, creating … motivating with other people. I will never forget the feeling of rehearsing a new song and then one day finally just nailing it so that everybody is in the same groove to the tiniest millisecond. At that moment you can’t pick out individual instruments any more; bass and kick drum are one device and the guitar, *my* guitar is the biggest, bravest noise in the World. It’s a feeling of elation that I can’t describe and that still makes the hairs on my neck stand up. And it was just the 4 of us making it happen ... from nothing! I was never one for team sports as a kid and with music I never needed to be.

Photography elates me just as much in a different way. I’m in control for the entirety, I’m to credit for the good stuff and to blame for the bad. It’s liberating and empowering and I absolutely can’t wait for the next chance to capture something … but at the end, it’s just me.