It Might Get Loud: Passionate Art

My son is a musician, a guitarist, among other things.  He's here on a visit before heading back to school. He spends hours playing guitar, taking apart guitars and repairing them, reading about guitars, watching videos, attending shows when he can.  The other night, he brought home It Might Get Loud, an excerpt of which is available on YouTube:

Three generations of guitarists-Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, The Edge of U2 and Jack White, of The White Stripes and Raconteurs-discuss the roots of their music and what led them to the guitar.  All of them had a "happy accident" moment; playing guitar was not their first career choice, but once the passion took hold, it didn't let go.

The boys spend their days making noise/music, banging about as they discover what works and what works not quite so much.  What a joyous noise they make, on their own and together here.

There's a moment in which Jack White, youngest of ten children, talks about growing up and having a tiny bedroom in which he packed every bit of music gear he could find into that room, removing his bed and sleeping on a piece of foam, wedged between two drum sets.

Sound familiar?  Many of us have a passion for something, an urge to explore an art or craft or life to its limits.  We eat, breathe and sleep to follow our passion. I've chased fibre for decades, in classes, while teaching, on vacation, at home with a room packed full of spindles, wheels, fibres and other equipment gathered on a quest to be the best at what I do, to push to the limits of my experience.  I'm not there yet and that's the beauty of it: I never will be. 

Everyone needs something that takes hold of her imagination, that allows possibilities for the mind and body and spirit. Often, if we don't find those positive aspects of our lives, other not so positive things creep in to inhabit the void.  Like music, spinning, knitting, crocheting and other fibre work can be practical, beautiful, artful and controversial, sometimes all at once.  Spinning is music for my soul; I practise every day.

Twist of Fate's Merino and Bamboo on a Yoyo Spindle

Take a look at the dvd, if you get the chance.  Appreciate the love these men have for their craft.  By the way, if you know someone who thinks you get carried away by string, show them the segment in which Jimmy, The Edge (don't call him "David") and Jack discuss guitar strings.  Spinners have nothing on these guys!

A Simple Line of String