simple twist of fate

recently, i was having a discussion about music with my friend clyde, who is 6. he is learning to play piano and his parents had told him that i was a singer. he asked what kind of music i sing. i told him that i would sing most anything, but mostly rock and blues. i told him that some of my happiest memories were singing at northside tavern in atlanta, a dive; a leaky-roofed blues bar in atlanta. clyde, being an old soul (which i guess is why i could be nostalgic about a smelly old bar with him), said "oh, the blues! i know about the blues. it's music that's not supposed to make the person playing it feel better, but make the people listening to it feel worse."

that's one way to put it.

i wasn't lying-being on the stage at northside, those nights when my dear friend devon was hosting an open mike there, or when some random band asked me to sing with them-these are some of my fondest memories. some of them are fuzzy, due to all the jim beam i was drinking at them time, but for the most part, i remember them well and with a smile on my face. and when i wasn't mucking about on stage (because i was seriously out of my league), there were some kickass musicians playing their heart and soul out to a lucky audience.

today, one of the people from this community of amazing musicians has died, way too early. sean costello was great at what he did, and my heart goes out to his loved ones. he would have been 29 tomorrow.

hear is a video of him doing bob dylan's 'simple twist of fate' at northside.