something that works better for what we want to accomplish. Not that "killing time" isn't wicked, but I think we all wanted to do something
a little different. So we've chosen a new song, in fact, it's the latest song that we've done. It's called "Home sweet Home". I
initially liked the instrumental because it was beautiful, and so unlike anything that I had ever written to. I looked at it as a
brilliant challenge, and a righteous kick in the ass. What came out of it was even more beautiful than I thought I would be able to make
of it. As far as all that is concerned, I figure, as long as I keep surprising myself, I'm doin' good.
But what I loved most about doing this song, is that it allowed me to revisit a bit of a mental era that I was in when I was younger.
When I was 8 years old, my brother and I were staying the night at a family friend's house. Growing up, music was everywhere, and these
friends owned a music store, so the house was filled with instruments. But I was the only girl there, so it was hard to play with the boys
all the time. So the "mom" suggested that I go visit their neighbor. She was an old woman who lived alone just down the block from them.
I knocked on her door, and she let me in and proceeded to give me a violin lesson. It was awesome, especially because growing up, one
of the first tapes that I ever owned was a kids mystery set around Vivaldi music and about his Stradivarius violin. So I had a bit of
a crush on classical violin music already.
When my parents came to pick us up, I had been converted. I wanted violin lessons! A few months later, on my ninth birthday, I
woke up early (we were living in this crazy farm-house that was rented as a duplex at the time)and went into the living room. I was then
presented with a music stand and a violin (luckily my folks had rented it, and not bought it...). Then my mom told me that she had
signed me up for lessons. I was hella jazzed!
So I show up to my first violin lesson, it's at this woman's house on the island that we were living on. There were goats in the
yard, and I immediately recognized my new teacher as the woman who had organized the geology club that I had joined in second grade.
She was clog dancing on her porch.
I was pissed.
I thought that I would be playing Vivaldi, but what I was really signed up for was fiddle lessons.
But I figured I might as well stick with it at least past the "hot cross buns" and "twinkle twinkle little star" phase and see
what came of it. I made it as far as "old joe clark".
But what turned out so great about the whole thing was that my dad was drumming in a bluegrass band. bluegrass doesn't
usually have drumming, so this style was nicknamed "grab-ass" which as a nine year old, was funny, 'cause it had the word ass in it.
I was enamored by the lyrics in their songs, and many of them were sung by a woman. It was my first introduction to that kind of
beautiful destitution that bluegrass seems to sing about.
Well, that Halloween, my dad's band played at a big party at our friends house (oddly enough, the friends were the same people who had
introduced me the the neighbor that gave me a violin lesson). And even though I had just quit fiddle, I still knew "old joe clark"
which was in their set list. So I got to play an instrument for the first time in a gig!
The point of all of this rambling, is that the words that that band sang, left a really strong impression in my mind. I was an odd
kid, and they made beautiful sense to me. All of that was were I went in my head when I wrote the lyrics for "Home Sweet Home".
So there's the inside scoop folks. The song isn't up on any sites yet, but keep your ears peeled, 'cause it's coming soon!
Signing off as your Salty Dog,
-Dion Vox
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