Speaking of creating music—-I often think ofcomposing music as preparing a meal, where one works to put in as much nourishment—substance—as one can. We’ve all heard of “Soul Food,” a term usually with the traditional culture of Black folks in the Deep South. Really though, that quality of “soul” can be found in any ethnic cooking. If you grew up on meals prepared by Italian grandmothers and mothers, you know what I mean. It refers to food prepared by someone putting their heart and “soul” into it, where there’s an intangible quality, unquantifiable, indefinable, irreproducible from a written recipe. It’s called nourishment, There’s substance to it. One feels satisfied, nurtured, even, after partaking of such fare.
I believe that it’s the same with creative work. One strives to fill each song or composition with substance—nourishment. Listeners can feel when someone has put heart and soul into the music. It seems too often that there is less and less substance—nourishment—in everything these days, whether it’s music, food, or sundry items that fill shelves in stores. Yet, at the same time, people hurt for want of that something real. It’s been said, “Man does not live by bread alone.” It’s evident he craves nourishment on a deeper level.
And so, without getting too “high falluting” about it, I aspire, and I believe that all persons engaged in creative pursuits should aspire, to offer fare filled with real substance to their listeners. I don’t write songs oriented to a formula, aiming for a particular “market,” (Sure, people do that and make a good living at it, sometimes an incredible living, and that’s OK.), but rather I’ve striven as best I could to write what comes to me and to make it real.
You Rescued Me (Shortened Version)