The Real Me

children will bring out your true colours
hopefully it's skittles
but there's lots of fragmented mono rainbows out there

other than that
what else brings out the 'real me' in us?
relationships?
i don't think so
i think of relationships as air miles
you do good - you get points

it's the stage
at least within my circle and orbit
it's the stage
i see alumni discover their true colours underneath the lights

braxton hicks
found his voice on the CAL stage
we had him doing some percussion
second keys
and of course sax
but we pushed him vocally
and then out west
the larynx opened and honey wind came out
his head space is now on the bravado setting
and he's ready to start a new chapter as a vocalist with CAL
this changes many things in ones life
suddenly the opportunities bud
life is exciting
and the radius clause blankets around everyone close to him

and nicky
there is nothing else for him to do
he's got a brilliant mind
he's got a tome of propaganda
he's got three countries competing for him
but what he's really packing is music muscle
anyone can see it
take the massey hall show
he proclaims to be a god fearing, no swearing, hard right activist
but his true colours come out on stage
he's swearing
he's forgotten god
he's forgotten politics
he's a rock n' roller
a tattooed bad boy rock n' roller
you can see it with brilliance as he gears up for the scream in lemon song
his true colours flashing fast into great halls

what about rob phillips?
rob is a cardiograph of calm
and the stage accentuates this
we go there to see him not get excited
of course there's exceptions to the rule
he windmills
and pimps a scratch every now and then
but for the majority of shows
rob calmly puts out perfection free of pomp and ceremony
is this an affirmation that mirrors his life?
i think so
i also think we'll never really know
but it's my blog
and i'll be forward enough to say that nowhere else does rob shine
like the insane piece of compressed carbon that we see on stage

rick vatour emits more joy after his drum solo
than anyone else on the planet at that very time
i have data to back this up
what can be more affirming?

leslea keurvorst was born on a stage
her every move was designed for stage
her life outside of CAL remains a mystery to me
in fact i like not knowing more about her
i've created a persona and identity for her
that i think of as historic
i can't believe i get to consistently work with someone of her calibre
she's a perfect 22 shot of diva
and a machine gun round of notes
all the world's her stage

we wait around for our lives to unfold
we work hard and prepare
we prick up our ears like antennae receiving master works
we care deeply about the music we perform
every show is the one
what else defines us?
doctors save people
architects behold buildings
dry wallers seamlessly connect
teachers plant seeds
and musicians walk out of dressing rooms onto stage
that's the moment

again
there's more about all of this in the book
but right now i'm still reeling from the massey led zep 4 show
something happened that night
a reset
a different angle
and i don't need no stinking glasses to see it

craig martin
may 2, 2011
kicking horse coffee freshly ground