Restless Soul Mixtape Series - Volume Fifteen
Hello friends! I just returned home from a very grueling, exhausting and extremely rewarding tour of Asia. I think we really pushed ourselves to our limits on this tour with practically no time off that wasn’t spent traveling or sleeping off the debts of the sleepless nights before. I really felt like it was an eye opening experience for me, as the tour took it’s toll in many ways but paid back in dividends with how amazing the shows, fans and experiencing new terrain really were. I have been to something like 27 countries this year alone. I feel like I woke up yesterday and wondered where the last 7 months had gone.
Last week marked the whould-be 100th birthday of the legendary Woody Guthrie. Woody was the original ‘Restless Soul’. His songs and attitude dripped of that rich desire to break free and find something new, special and important and putting every ounce of ones self into that. I recently posted the lyrics to the Bob Dylan spoken word piece ‘Last Thought on Woody Guthrie’ as well as a tweet with a lyric from the Paul Simon song ‘Graceland’. I think I got a handful of responses and personal messages from a few friends asking me if I was “okay” or where my head was at. To me, this strengthened the idea that I was pointing out in the first place: “Losing love is like a window in your heart. Everybody sees you’re blown apart. Everybody sees the wind blow”.
I think it’s safe to say that I’m at a very imminent point of growing up and figuring shit out in my life. Everything has recently come to a head; with relationships, family, friendships, and the future of my career as a musician and more so wondering what the hell I would ever do if that ever came to an end. I am very happy to be doing and to have done the intense amount of traveling and touring that I have done this year, but all of it has definitely got the gears turning in my brain.
Much like the Henry Rollins quote I shared with volume 13; this mix is a solution to isolation and exhaustion. Henry speaks about that connection that is made when people realize they have the same feelings or interest. This is what I feel, and what these artists feel, and most likely what most of you have felt at one point or another. It’s about being at a crossroads, or many crossroads in life, wondering what the next step will be. I think people read Bob and Paul’s words and thought that I was bummed out, or in a bad head space. I think I couldn’t disagree more. I think I’m at a very important moment of clarity where I’m inspired to really embrace and enjoy the time I have on tour and traveling the world, and make the most of the time I have at home to hopefully prepare for things to come. I think I’m finally dealing with a lot of things that I have put off for many years.
To me, Bob and Paul both sing about hope. Moving on and facing the reality of drastic events is not an easy thing, but there is always that hope or that place, or those songs, that you can turn to to find solace; to know that someone here knows how you feel. This isn’t something that comes as easy as flipping a switch. I think that at these crossroads it is important to take a moment to look back and reflect upon the circumstances you’re facing. This collection of songs very much a soundtrack to that.
Please take from it what you will.
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