I was headed out to Los Angeles to spend Labor Day weekend of 2009 with Kathryn, before she headed into her run on So You Think You Can Dance. It just so happened that my 21st birthday was going to land on the Monday holiday.
Terra Nova…
That weekend, Mosaic was was holding an artisan’s retreat in the San Bernardino Mountains called Terra Nova. Kathryn worked out a discounted ticket price for us. It’s funny; we almost didn’t go. It was our last time together for a few months, and we were being selfish with our time. We were thinking…
Who wants to spend their 21st birthday on Labor Day weekend in California, with a best buddy you hardly get to see, at a ‘church camp?’
We went. What we found was a cesspool of creative minds spilling out all over the mountainsides. I could write for days about this place and how far from ‘church camp’ it was.
We chose our emphasis for the weekend. Kathryn would dance and I would make music. Amongst other activities, we each had set times when joined with others of the same emphasis. In the music, we had a two hour session on Saturday and Sunday to write a song. What we came up with would be performed Monday morning before departure.
Words Come Alive…
There I stood, with the other musicians, as the person in charge split instrumentalist from vocalists and then randomly paired them back up to create mini bands for the writing sessions. Erwin’s daughter Mariah just so happened to be present and waiting along with @viennemusic for more parters to join their group.
I found myself in that group.
It didn’t quite hit me at first, but I soon realized
I had spoken, and it had become…
Rob, Tucker, and Jordan joined the crew and we headed off into the night to write a song. Initially, my input for the session was a few cheap drum sounds from keyboard we hauled outside. I had the intentions of being the drummer for the group.
@viennemusic, Tucker, and Rob came up with a chord progression. We began to brainstorm off of a melody. We got to a stopping point, and said we’d finish in the next session.
The next session came and no one but Mariah and I showed up. She talked of how @viennemusic and Tucker had to go to town for a gig and would be back till late that night. Neither of us knew where Rob and Jordan were. Neither of us knew what the guitar chords were from the previous night. We had two hours and no song. Then she said it…
‘I guess you and I can just write a song together’
I immediately thought of ‘Way you Pick Me Up,’ but I knew if told her I would have to show her, via singing. I was out of my comfort zone. Erwin had been warning us of this moment, and how the retreat was designed for these moments, where we must choose to chart our way out of boundaries we’ve set, and find our true potential.
We headed to grab a guitar. I broke a sweat. I let ‘er rip.
To be Continued…
When was the last time you left your comfort zone? Did it sting a little?
