Twitter Philosophy and Freedom 55?

Happy Birthday to me. Here in Canada, there's a series of bank ads about retirement that talk about "Freedom 55". Now that I have hit that particular milestone, I do feel very free. Not financially particularly, but I do feel free to express my opinions, musically and otherwise…..


I don't know about you, but I interact with various social; media platforms in different ways. I find Twitter is where I try to leave short nuggets of (hopefully) wisdom I have gained from being involved in music for almost 45 years now. So, here's a selection of my tweets that I particularly liked.

Drummers! The more you deal with melody and harmony in an active way the more you feed your ears, taste, and aesthetic. Challenging? Yes. Worthwhile? Absolutely!

Everybody's self taught, nobody's self taught.

Absolutism in music drives me crazy! I thought this is supposed to be a creative endeavour…….

We all possess an inner Badass. Patience, Perseverance, and Practice will bring it out. DON'T GIVE UP!!!!!

Don't just give us the carefully sculpted thing you worked on in the basement for 6 months, give us the moment!

Once one gets past the beginning stages, the best way to find out  the thing to play on the drums is to listen to all the instruments that AREN'T the drums, and they will tell you what the drums need to do..........

90% of the people who make fun of "the lick" can't even play "the lick" in all 12 keys.

All drummers seem to be able to play with so much velocity these days. Maybe the way to distinguish oneself is to play with NO velocity! Works for me!

Chops come in many forms

I love it when drummers sing songs on the drums. I don't hear a lot of that currently, unfortunately.

Let's try something novel, shall we? When you are contacting a musician to play, how about giving all the pertinent details ( money, gear, location ) and then they can tell you whether if they're free or not. Making them coax it out of you doesn't get things off to a good start.

It's not my game if I refuse to play………….

If you only love the music as far as your instrument is concerned, how much do you really love the music?

The future is always a mystery, so the work helps me stay grounded in the present.

Being complacent is even worse than being broke……

As you continue your musical life,  if you're true to yourself, your message gets clearer.

Roy Haynes should have a street named after him to recognize his contributions to music and culture, while he's here to enjoy it. Can you imagine living on Roy Haynes boulevard? Now, THAT would be the hippest address ever!!!!

Follow the sounds you hear. The will put you in the right direction.

Okay, That's almost 2 years worth. There's lots more if I go further back, so I might do this again.
Thanks! :)