Whats up guys?!
This blog post will be the first of many, as I share my experiences as a traveling musician.
I've been working as a traveling musician for a little over a year now, and I can say that its one of the best decisions I've made in my musical career. In only one year I've been to South America, Europe, The Port of Spain, Canada, the Caribbean islands and many cities throughout the U.S. They say that travel broadens the mind, and having immersed myself into the cultures and customs of such beautiful places, I'd say it's had a profound impact on my perspective.
Speaking of culture, a little about the band I've been playing with. I'm the lead trombonist for a band called 'dISIP', which is one of the most renowned Kompa bands in the world. Kompa is a dance style of music created in Haiti, and most influential in the Caribbean, Portugal, France, Canada, North and South America. Interestingly enough, the music is written/sung in Creole, a language that I'm not even remotely fluent in - I'm working on that though, shoutout to Duolingo. Even so, I'm thankful for music being the universal language that it is, as I haven't had any difficulty adapting to the style or nuances of this genre of music.
I will say that this experience has given its share of ups and some downs - thats just life. One aspect of this industry that has been most challenging is the pace at which things run while touring. There have been times where we've flown into a city, gone from the airport to soundcheck, to the hotel with only enough time to change, to the show that night, and back to airport to fly to the next city - thats right, we checked into the hotel only to have a place to store our luggage (lol). Another would be the time spent in airports. This past weekend we sat in the airport for 14 hours - enough time to watch an entire season of the show I'm currently binging (The Wire). Now that I think of it, I could've applied for a job at the airport and worked an 8-hour shift in that time! All that to say, while it may sound like a dream to travel doing what you love, its experiences like this that provide balance and perspective.
Thanks for reading,
-B
