John Lee Hooker

Blues music, as I said on earlier posts, is something you could either, understand or misunderstand. From a musicians point of view, blues is something really "easy and simple" to play. But from a craftsmen, and humble point of view, blues is the maximum expression of humanity and a lot of feelings, ranging from love, dispair, and loss.

The first times I kind of heard blues music, were through the classic rock bands I was getting into, in my early 20's, like Cream, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Pink Floyd. Later on, Guns N' Roses (With their highly-influenced dose of Rolling Stones/Aerosmith kind of rock). But, I never heard blues music in its raw, purest form, played directly from the guys who created it.

When you're in your twenties, a lot of things come to your mind. Ranging from "What's next" or... "Why I am Here"... While you see the numbers changing, from 20 to 21, and so on... this questions become more frequent, and while you reach your birthday, the thing just explodes.

I never had a big Birthday party. Well, I once had, while I turned 5. So far is the best birthday ever for me, 'cause after those, no celebration for me... Once I sort of made a "party" at home for my 17's, but... I was an angry young man, and angry people don't have too many friends. The picture was kind of sad, though. So, I could say I had both the best and the worst birthday parties.

Yeah, that goddamn social life.

Anyway... Since I started my musical path, my way of having a birthday was, close my bedroom's door, hear music the whole day, and just, lay down on my bed staring at the ceiling. While I got a TV set and a DVD, that turned into laying down on my bed, and viewing a music DVD I'd buy for me.

In my 23rd birthday, I went to a DVD store, and picked up 3 DVD's: There was this one, from The Doors, another from Van Halen, and this one, which I deliberately picked up 'cause I knew it was blues, but I haven't heard of him before... John Lee Hooker. I had to return the DVD 'cause it was damaged, so I had to wait two days to see it.

While I heard the music this old man was playing, I almost cried. Birthdays could either be a reason for being happy or being sad, I'm not sure what do birthdays mean for anyone out there, but for it's like that. The first song on that DVD, was sort of like an Oracle message for me, 'cause most of the time I'm down, sometimes criticized for being way too much introspective, but somehow I always fight for a brighter future... The song was "It serves me right to suffer".



- It serves me right to suffer... Serves me right to be alone...

This is exactly how I feel things, most of the time. Modern world doesn't gives me much hope, but it doesn't mean I am not a possitive person. I am, I believe there's still good things to live for...

The whole concert of this guy really, cracked me down. To the very core, it was like some sort of voyage through my own self, to let go all my sad feelings, to wake up, to cry, I don't know. Music sometimes is taken in the wrong sense. "Oh yeah I like how it sounds it" is the classic motto. But deeper, music is able to do a lot of things inside your own personna, if you let it to.



- This is how sadness sounds, my friends.

No doubt, black musicians made an important contribution to music. Modest sounds could change your life.