I mean, wow! Music is life, it gives me everything, aligns to every aspect of my life and without it I would not be alive.
It's something to do with expressing, closer and closer, some essential creative spark that I feel, which of course is always changing and evolving. Sales and audience reach will always be finite but the essential aspects of creativity seem to be the true riches.
To paraphrase Babatundi Olatunji, the renowned Nigerian percussionist who launched a musical, drumming movement worldwide - To have a drum/musical instrument in every household.
Has to be Thriller, Michael Jackson
Howlin' Wolf, Ali Farka Toure and Stevie Ray Vaughan have probably had the most impact upon me, each opening up whole worlds of music.
It's a need, I get unhealthy and unhappy if I don't so.. I'm inspired by health and well being! Also a sense of community felt mostly through the community/events drumming work I do.
I don't tend to think about this that much, beyond being more and more aware that the more relaxed and effortless I can be in my musicality, the better I feel about what i'm doing, I'm sure this translates to the listener. I'm inspired by a multitude of African artists who can play so virtuosically yet so effortlessly too, there's such joy in that combination.
I love it! The music can take on an infinite number of new directions with even just one other person present. Whole other aspects come to life and there's a lot of fun to be had..
I don't know, it seems that the possibilities are endless nowadays, but that doesn't mean that anything is easier, I think it's necessary to work damn hard at a lot of things apart from 'simply' the music. The public facing/marketting/promo aspect of being a musician nowadays is not for everyone.. Including me, sometimes!
I'm new here, too soon ;-)
My own limitations and the fact that gigs pay less than they did in the 80's!
Not as much as I'd like, it's hard to do everything as I have several strands of musical activity that I'm involved in.. In the future I'd like to run a venue.
Be a manager, producer, mixer, engineer, promoter, socialite, tour agent, booking agent.. and something to do with music, too. Oh yeah, be lucky :-)
Bombino. Veiux Farka Toure. Lettuce.. I'll update as I remember.