Lost Dogs

I am vacuuming my house and listening to the great Vince Gill, whom I consider right up there with Donny Hathaway as one of the singers that made me want to really sing! I put the vacuum down and picked up my laptop to write. The song playing was,"Somethings Never Get Old." It's a duet he sings with Emmylou Harris.
The chorus is:

"Makin' sweet love to that gal of mine
My first taste of bluebird wine
Eatin' watermelon down to the rind
Any old song by brother John Prine

I remember when I sang on the Grammy nominated John Prine record, "Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings," the follow up to his Grammy winning "The Missing Years." My good friend, singer Victoria Levy, who also sang on this record, and I went to producer Howie Epstein's house. He lived with his then girlfriend, Carlene Carter in a beautiful house up off Coldwater Canyon with a beautiful view of the city. Howie was best know as the bass player and a member of The Heartbreakers, Tom Petty's band. He had produced many successful records for other artists and was admired and well liked by everyone. He was charming, funny, generous, gracious and insanely talented. I remember sitting in his living room drinking Diet Coke from a heavy, cut lead crystal bar glass, thinking, "Wow. This guy happening! I want what he has!"

Tragically, Howie was dead less than 10 years later from complications from addiction. It is a reminder to me how fragile we are. I think artists have less of a protective shield than some, and that raw exposure leaves us sensitive and vulnerable to life's rough edges. Some people cannot, no matter how much they try, close that door on addiction. It made me think about my own vulnerabilities. And all the people I have in my life that enable me to avoid so many pitfalls, cracks and chasms that are easy to slip into without realizing how far I could fall.

Which also brings me back to Vince Gill, an artist that can articulate the complexity and nuances of his feelings and life so simply and succinctly. His beautiful warm tenor, his perfect pitch, tone and phrasing that wrap around the perfect lyric that sits in the perfect track.... I like how no matter what Vince Gill record I am listening to, in this case, the bluegrass/country disc from the ambitious 4 CD "These Days," it results in a listening experience that is authentic and provocative. I put down the vacuum to sit and listen and write....thanks for reading.