Leave a Little Room For Magic

When I started working from home in 2019 I got into watching Good Day Austin in the morning. It was a nice way to not feel so alone in the mornings after spending my professional life surrounded in close quarters by lots of type A people. Loud, crazy, hard working, funny, type A people. It was a huge adjustment. But what really got me hooked on Good Day Austin was that they featured local musicians at the end of each show. It was a great way to discover new local artists, as my old method of walking down 6th Street after work everyday wasn't an option anymore. It helped fill a serious void that I didn't even realize would be there when I started WFH.

One morning Guy Forsyth and Jeska Bailey were on Good Day Austin and absolutely blew my mind. So I made it a point to get out and see them. After the first show I saw ended I was first in line to get merch at the table. Jeska then asked if I could do her a favor and help Guy load out some of their gear so she could work the table. Naturally I abided, and as payment for helping Guy handed me the "Conspirators" album (depicted in article title).

I fell in love with that album. It featured beautifully simple folk arrangements, marvelous duets, a heavenly waltz, a neat song in Drop D that made me think about leaving my hometown, a song about environmental degradation and toiling to make the rich man fat, it was incredible to me. Every song hit home and hard. It turns out and I wasn't alone with my feelings either, as the album would end up being nominated for a Grammy.

Furthermore, the "Conspirators" album became the accidental soundtrack to my wife and I's trip to Big Bend National Park, as we didn't account for not having cell service or radio signal in one of the most remote areas in the entire US. That was a pretty huge oversight on our part, but a "happy little accident" nonetheless, as Bob Ross would say.

So, with Guy & Jeska's "Conspirators" album miraculously in my truck's CD player, we had all the aural entertainment we needed while cruising from trailhead to trailhead. I can still close my eyes to the song "Pockets" and see the beautiful landscapes of Big Bend in my mind as clear as if I were there. We must have listened to that damn album front to back at least 10 times during our 4 day stay in the park. It was the only CD I had in the truck. That album is as much a part of my musical DNA as any music I've consumed, and it's practically unknown to everyday people.

Fast forward to last night. The open mic I host at Mama Merlot's was a quiet one, and that's alright. Not all open mics are winners with people coming out the woodwork and a full band raging most the night. But the slower nights tend to be fertile grounds for nurturing the seeds of magic moments. Last night was nothing short of magical at the end.

My bassist buddy Andy and I were onstage doing our thing towards the end of the night in our happy place when two ladies walked into the bar and were immediately digging the vibe of the speakeasy. A young man with his date asked if we knew Tyler Childers, but we didn't so we covered Billy Strings "Must Be Seven", which was a satisfactory alternative for him. I noticed that one of the ladies was really digging the Billy Strings cover, so naturally after that song I asked "Ya'll wanna hear some Grateful Dead?" To which they responded with an emphatic "Yes!" Andy and I proceeded to play a bunch of Grateful Dead tunes, and for the Deadheads reading this wondering what the setlist was:

Eye's of the World -> GDTRFB -> And We Bid You Goodnight -> NFA

We took a little break after our GD duo medley and chopped it up with our new found friends and the one lady started talking about Guy Forsyth. I immediately expressed my love for Guy's music. Then I said "you know what, it's been a while, but let me see if I can cover some Guy Forsyth for you". Well, it really had been a while, so I stumbled through "Things That Matter" and she happened to record it.

Well, it turns out Guy is her neighbor and she texted him the video of me covering his song to which he responded back that "it warms me from my belly button up to my neck to see someone covering one of my songs." She also told me that Guy said he might be able to sneak in one of these Wednesday nights and we can play some tunes together. Life is funny like that some times.

The key takeaway here is that sooner or later all things come full circle. And when some days at work seem like a bust, and everything is going wrong, you still need to leave room for magic, because you never know who's going to walk into your life next and cause you a miracle. I guess it's why I'm still passionate about recruitment after all these years. I keep the exact same mindset whether my work is at my desk, or on a stage.

"I only want the things that matter, I only want the things that you can share. Don't give me diamond rings, or all those so called finer things, because they don't matter when they are not there" - Guy Forsyth