KGNU 4-9-11 … Sweet Community Connection

Last night Zen Mustache played live on KGNU. This was a special treat for us, not just for the exposure but also because the show was streamed live over the internet. Many of our out-of-town supporters finally had a chance to hear us LIVE! I got a number of messages through facebook and email from friends and family who tuned in to the show on their computer. Totally love how the technology connected us!

If you missed the show and would like to hear it, it’ll be hosted in its entirety on KGNU’s website through 4/23/11. Check it out here. You’ll need to find the day April 9, then click on Jam Sandwich. A little tricky to find, but worth it. Here’s the set list:

Shoes in the Road
Can’t Stay Here
Awakening
Whiskey, Wind and Wheat
Midday Buzz
Mountainside

The people we met at KGNU were terrific. Rebekah hosted the show and opened the opportunity to us. She was great to work with, at once professional and super-chill. She loves doing this, loves the music scene and the live music vibe, especially if she gets to dance! George was the easy-going and technically savvy sound engineer, who came into the studio off-hours to work the sound. Being on the radio was also a perfect medium so send out props for folks who have been supporting us along the way. Chris, who does our studio recording for us. The BolderBoulder folks who booked us and are publishing us on their BolderBoulder Bootlegs CD. Other bands like Lo Down, and Chain Station. Geoff’s Mom.

After the show, during the load-out, Geoff and BJ got to talking with Rebekah about music, and about various bands. Phish. Jazz is Dead. Derek Trucks. Some philosophical stuff got woven in. It was genuine conversation, rich with candor and humor and humility. The other guys bantered a bit with George. We wrapped cords and joked about how many ways, good and bad, we’ve seen sound equipment handled by other bands and other venues. There was just this feeling of connectedness. Of being part of a community, if only for a short hour or two.

For me it was another nugget validating why I choose to do this music thang. I’m thirty-eight years old; I have a wife and kids and a mortgage and a job to hold that all together. Why spend my precious little free time doing local music? For me, it’s the connection. With the other fellas in the band. With the people who come to our shows. With the other bands we meet. Last night with the KGNU crew.

Makes me think of that scene in I Am Legend. Will Smith (Neville) is talking to Anna. Do you remember that scene? Neville: [talking to Anna about Bob Marley] He had this idea. It was kind of a virologist idea. He believed that you could cure racism and hate… literally cure it, by injecting music and love into people’s lives. When he was scheduled to perform at a peace rally, a gunman came to his house and shot him down. Two days later he walked out on that stage and sang. When they asked him why – He said, “The people, who were trying to make this world worse… are not taking a day off. How can I? Light up the darkness.”

I not trying to say I’m on a mission to light up the darkness – I’m no Marley – but there’s definitely a drive to be with other people, to connect. And making a connection through music is really, really fun. For me it approaches pure joy. As long as there are more experiences like last night, I hope to never let it go.