From Kirby:
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Not The King Of ANYTHING!
Well...I'm crawling out of a long dark cave.
I now have a computer again...they tell me it's a plus in this age.
Some of you may have heard/read that recently Guitar Center has given me the title of "King Of The Blues".
For the record...It's an honor, and VERY much appreciated, BUT....with all due respect to those who have bestowed this title upon me... I'd like to add a disclaimer of sorts.
Some 4,000 + guitarists entered into this "contest", and in MY world, EVERY single one of them are the KINGS and/or QUEENS of the blues, or of any other genre of music that REALLY makes them "tick". We are ALL shining with the beautiful, wonderous, blessed gift of God that we call music.
About ANY "contest" of the arts....
Imagine setting Van Gogh, Renoir, Dali, Escher, da Vinci up with an easel, and giving them each 4 minutes to do their best work. Hurry up...PAINT...Oh yes...and two minutes (no more for God's sake) to do something in CHARCOAL as well. It's ludicrous to think that EITHER of them would be able to exude any facsimile of what they are REALLY capable of. Or about!
Now..... Poe, Tennyson, Frost, Shakespear, Hemmingway..same deal....4 minutes....Write away boys....we're judgin' ya....oh yeah, and two minutes to RAP as well. You...HOPEFULLY, get the picture.
In guitar speak....
Imagine... Gazing up to see many of your guitar HEROS out there watching EVERY move you're making.... w/ $25,000 at stake, right?!?!... Your family is there...can't let THEM down...You haven't slept in a week....You are playing a guitar that is not yours...You know that this singular clip of time will be video-taped to be your benchmark ( your cyberspace exemplary performance) for all the world to see and hear.... FOREVER!!!!..
At the onset of this event.... the very first lick..imagine realizing that your tuning had gone south...REALLY SOUTH. In a REAL-LIFE playing situation,what do you do? You stop....you tune.. and with hopes you redeem yourself. Who wouldn't stop to tune? Seems the prudent course. BUT...the clock has already started ticking,and you've only four minutes to play the ONE song you've chosen to perform. The band (which by the way...you've NEVER played with before) blazes away leaving you to "bowl for notes" until the finish.
All of the above is going through your head while trying to just pull off the very best job of playing the instrument that you know and love. Sounds SURREAL doesn't it? Well,you know... it IS...............and WAS. And, I'm certain, similar anomalies occurred for each contestant up there that evening. I would venture to say that NONE played at the "top of their game" under the circumstances..
Ya see...It doesn't matter WHO wins a contest of the arts...There IS no winner! Winning in the arts is NOT a real concept. There could NOT have been a more PERFECT setting for an event such as this than........ HOLLYWOOD!!!!!!.
Art, in ANY form, is a beautifully subjective form of expression. If ten judges sit down to give an outcome... those VERY same judges, in ANY other clip of space and time, may very well have decided a different outcome... depending on the weather, what they'd had to eat that day, an argument with their spouse, where they were sitting at the given moment, age, MOOD, etc.... And don't forget that the "participants" are subjected to these same outside influences.
I think even Segovia would have told you that "Sometimes ya got it....Sometimes ya don't". Folks....the concept that any ONE (or , in this case, 1 1/2 ) songs played under these conditions represent you as an artist, as a whole, is not a REAL concept for goodness sake. This speaks for those that didn't fair as well in this, or any similar event with equal fervor.
B.B. King is still ALIVE.. And HUBERT SUMLIN...as a JUDGE to see who is the King Of The Blues?!?!?! REALLY?!?!?....... Does THAT make sense to anybody that knows who HUBERT SUMLIN is?
Hubert is one of the REAL DEAL "Kings of the blues" for those that don't.....(although I must admit, that seeing "that smile" in the front row was one of the most precious memories I'll EVER have! And,by God, THAT"LL make you a little nervous.)
Buddy Guy,Otis Rush,etc.,etc. still alive.
I realize, that they had to call this event something BIG right?! Something spectacular. But I'm afraid some folks may have taken the title of this particular event in the literal sense. I've read some of the comments on the Guitar Center, and other sites, concerning the outcome of this event...well .... "drop the mouses, and back away slowly"...you can quarrel about the outcome all you want, I suppose,....but it doesn't matter WHO the "winner" might have otherwise been. Some very shallow soul would be trying their best to tear them down. At this particular juncture..the judges had picked me to come out on top at this event......and I'm extremely grateful for that. SINCERELY grateful. HOWEVER ...this CERTAINLY does not make ME the "BETTER" player. I reiterate...a winner in a contest of the arts is NOT REAL?
And here's a surprise to some...man...it's over...give it up.
It's very sad to me that through this event some have TOTALLY missed the boat on remembering what playing guitar is REALLY about? .................HAVING FUN!!!
To those that would find pleasure in an attempt to "fog the mirror" that reflects our Creator's light by having voiced your opinions in such a displeasurable manner....
Wouldn't it have been a shame, that if you'd pass tonight in your sleep... this should be YOUR legacy. What you'd taken the time in YOUR lifetime to have left behind for others to remember about YOU. Your OWN personal cyber-space benchmark...Sad. As I know that these very same minds are capable of a much greater accomplishment.
I'm acutely aware that my having been awarded this title may have had absolutely NOTHING to do with my capabilities as a guitar player. That Maybe it was something MUCH bigger.....say.... God for instance. There were certainly many God driven events that led me up to THIS one. Or perhaps the premise that music is conveyed SPIRITUALLY... with a feel that can't be measured by, say..."perfect intonation"...or choice of notes... or how pretty you may or may not be, etc., etc., etc. A SPIRITUAL ENERGY, that we as musicians can only accept responsibility...(in very small part)... for being the vehicle through which it passes. Imagine, being able to reach something in others with pure energy...some musicians do this everyday...sometimes sans any "musical prowess" whatsoever. Are they any less viable than any other musician to the people that they've reached with what was conveyed through their hearts.
...I think not.
Obviously, SOMEBODY had to win this event. There is comfort in knowing that at this PARTICULAR space in time, I did my best. Not EVERYDAY'S best...the best at THAT particular space of time.
The "Powers That Be" had a LOT of time and money invested in this. The idea of exposing an undiscovered talent to the "masses" is certainly a noble endeavor. And, sadly....there will always be those that will have felt slighted in some way. As well as those that will have chosen to criticize OTHERS in an attempt to make themselves feel better about THEMSELVES. It's the human factor/error. And those that HAVE and/or WILL, I'm sure will have done so all throughout their lives ..... with or without MY attachment to it. Unless, and with hopes, some enlightenment eventually comes their way.
Personally...I'm VERY happy, and Proud to have won.
I entered into this event (upon a good friend's earnest request) with only one intention...to have fun. Certainly NOT with the mindset of guitar as a contact sport. Good luck to those that view it as such. It is my sincere wishes that they find more constructive ways to spend their lives.
This event came when it was needed most, over a long history of NOT so fun experiences in the music "BUSINESS". It has replenished me with something that has long been missing...DESIRE!
I'm very happy to report also, that accompanying a long absence from music came the gift of knowing that there is SO VERY much more to this business of life than GUITAR PLAYING. That I would be absolutely NOTHING without those that love and/or support me in LIFE, as well as in this precious, spiritual gift that we simply call "music".
My most sincere and loving thanks go out to my family and my friends especially......
but, also to all of those involved with Guitar Center's KOTB event, including all of the sponsors who were so VERY kind and generous. And to the judges that gave of their time to participate. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.
My love to all!!!
Kirby
Read more: http://www.myspace.com/kirbykelleyblues … z0xyHoXDdg
