Thoughts From A Shortening Life, June 2012

So every now and then, my lovely wife Deborah suggests that it’s TIME for me to step out of my world of music , and to enter the world of modern day publicity by writing something for t’internet.  I mean for my website or Gigspanner’s site, forums etc. etc.

As you have probably guessed by my output in that direction, it’s something that I find an intrusion, although at the same TIME understanding that it’s part of being a working musician in these TIMES.

I don’t want to sound mean or ungrateful towards people who read what musicians have to say with great interest, or in any way diminish the part that audiences play in my profession. Without audiences, musicians would not have gigs. But my life is shorter than it was a minute ago, so TIME is even more precious than it was 15 seconds ago.

Rushing on, I suppose I must be a bit old fashioned when it comes to my privacy in both my private and professional life.  On gigs for instance, when I go out on a stage to play music, I have deliberately and knowingly put myself there.  When I am in a dressing room before a gig, preparing to play, that place is private, unless I choose otherwise.  The reason I mention this is that at a Steeleye gig not so long ago, there was a man with a video camera filming me backstage. I told him to leave immediately. He explained that Park records had hired him to take some footage backstage. 

Of course it’s normal to want to know what’s going on behind the scenes. That’s what journalists do.  People stick webcams up all over the place and let the world look in.

I am very happy to share the music I play with a listening audience, and very happy make cds and do the odd bit of teaching. What I’m not very good at is to sit down and write something about myself, or what I thought of the last tour for instance. The last tour is no longer relevant to my life. My thoughts on music are constantly changing. My basic relationship with music may remain the same, but my thought processes are always shifting and turning, causing me to question everything I have thought and said before,  especially what I have just said during the last ten minutes.

To quickly conclude, TIME is the luxury. I will be selfish with my TIME because it’s mine, and the TIME I give away must be given generously and genuinely and without resentment.  I do give away TIME from TIME to TIME, but if I said ‘Yes’ to everyone and everything that wants my TIME, I would have none left for myself. With no TIME for myself I couldn’t make music, and then no one would want my TIME.

At last. I have found an answer.

Isn’t life wonderful?

Peter.