HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY TO SYNESTHESIA!

"The artist is like a secretary, whether he is a writer, a musician or a painter: He keeps records of his time."
-Max Roach

"When you live your life through records, the records are a record of your life."
-Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson

Leave it to the drummers to perfectly encapsulate what Synesthesia is all about.

Dear readers and listeners, I am humbled beyond measure at this time as I am here to THANK YOU ALL so endlessly and profusely for your support and enthusiasm over Synesthesia as this site has now reached the milestone of existing in the world for one full year!!! Just a tad over a year ago when I first began thinking about creating a companion blogsite to Savage Cinema, I was so extremely nervous yet excitedly anxious about the possibilities of what a celebratory virtual home to music could look like. Writing, as I am certain that you can tell by now, is truly a lifelong passion for me and while all writing contains its share of difficulties, as I think the process is akin to piecing together a puzzle, where the puzzle pieces just happen to be words, writing about music just felt to be daunting to an unprecedented degree. I mean--how does one write about music? It's almost like finding a way to write about air! But, even so, I really wanted to try.

With Synesthesia, I wanted to build a blogsite where I could try to express and explain to you just how important music has been and will always be to me throughout my lifetime, which I do sincerely hope is a long one as I wish to hear every piece of music that I am able. I wanted to try my very best and write about what I was listening to, hoping that my words could just maybe summon the colors that swirl in my brain when I do actually listen to music every day, and through the writing  maybe you could see what I see when I hear what I hear. I wish for all of you to know that I have never felt that anything I have written to exist as forms of music criticism.as I have never wanted this site to be about criticism. Synesthesia is celebration. No more, no less. And I hope that particular spirit has come across to you if you have veer chosen to read anything that I have written. Just taking the time to read anything that I have written means more to me than I could ever find words for and I could never thank you enough for taking any time whatsoever out of your lives to spend time reading about mine. Because with Synesthesia, when you are reading about the music you are indeed reading about me.

Now this journey has not always been an easy one and not just because of the elusive nature of the subject matter. In some ways, and at some times, I have felt that Synesthesia is sort of like the under-appreciated younger sibling to Savage Cinema, as that site has built up a small but steady readership over its four years of existence. With a few exceptions, readership on Synesthesia has existed at a very distant second to Savage Cinema rather than as its equal, and because of that reality, my most sensitive and very thin-skinned spirit has occasionally wondered just what the purpose of going through this writing process actually was, especially if it seemed as if I was writing inside of a tunnel. At my most melancholic moments, I even quickly tossed around the suggestion to myself to close Synesthesia down altogether, a suggestion that I would just as quickly bat away from my thoughts because it was in those moments when I would remind myself of why I even wanted to do this in the first place.

I did not begin Synesthesia to build an on-line readership. I began Synesthesia to celebrate music and write all about this form of art that has meant absolutely everything to me ever since I could even begin to recognize exactly what music was. Of course, I wanted people to read what I have written and respond positively to it but that was not the point of it all. I wanted to play tribute to the artists, musicians, performers, singers and songwriters who have touched my life so powerfully, and through this experience I discovered that I was also tracing the events of my life and emotions, as they related to the music, in the process. I now see that Synesthesia is a version of a diary, albeit one set to the soundtrack of my life.

I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed what you have seen on this site and I promise to do my very best to continue and grow with what I have begun. I want to keep showcasing the new music I am listening to, the favorites that have shaped me, and of course, continue the "playlists" that occur each month, the songs that compile everything I "play" on WSPC. Also, and as with Savage Cinema, I am trying to begin a dialogue with all of you as I truly want to know about the music that you hold dearest and ho wit has played a role in your lives. Both Savage Cinema and Synesthesia are extensions of myself with the hopes to find out more about all of you and I sincerely hope that you will take the journey with me.

Year one is now done! Upwards and onwards to Year 2!! And for now, I leave you with more words from one of the greatest drummers to ever hold two sticks, words that even further encapsulate what the journey of Synesthesia means to me.

"Every time I have sat down to play my instrument or write or do anything else, I have given everything I had and knew at that time. To me everything I did was the best I could do...I hope that day by day and year by year, I grow and learn more."
-Max Roach

I hope you continue to join me...