talonsjordan's Blog

More constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks to everyone who has helped me grow this speech into what it is now. -Jordan T

Eddie Vedder on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine.

How we doing out there?

I’ve come in tonight to clear up some questions about why I make music.

My first experience took place when I was 16.  We had a small studio set up in our basement.  The stucco on the ceiling was starting to fall out, the walls were chipped and the floorboards were full of splinters.   The paint on our guitars was peeling, our drums were too loose and our microphone had a fuzzy, tinny effect.

There were old beer bottles lying sideways on the counters and old, yellowed movie posters were falling off the walls.  It wasn’t much, but it was my favourite place in the world.  My friends and I would coop up down there, experimenting with our voices, instruments and… other things…until very late almost every night.  Our fingers had blisters, our voices got hoarse and our muscles ached…but it was worth it.

I make music…because if I didn’t, I think I would die.  I would die on the inside.  Music keeps your mind young and your thoughts flowing.  Without music, the inner me would dry out and become disgustingly similar to every other person in the world.

When I was a teenager, I went through a period of working a part time job and going through college.  I wasn’t part of any bands at the time, and I felt really bad.  I was still working on my singing, but my voice kept cracking.  It made me angry that I wasn’t good enough, so I gave up.  I looked fine on the outside.  I had great grades, my manager was pleased with my work ethic and any stranger would say I was fine.

While walking home from work late one night, I ran into one of the drummer’s from a previous band.  We went to Starbucks, sat down and had a little talk.  While talking to me, he had this perplexed look on his face.  Just as I was about to leave to go home, he called to me, he said, uh… “Oh, hey Eddie, I know it’s late but did you want to come over and jam with me?”  And I said: “Yeah sure man, I’ll come over and jam with you.”  I didn’t really want to go but I went just to humour him.

I felt happier than I ever was after we were finished.  It was just like when I was 16.  My fingers hurt from the steel strings, my voice was hoarse and my feet hurt from standing for so long, but it was like I was flying.  Looking back on that, I can truthfully say that this was the turning point of my life.

I really enjoy working with other talented people who share my need for music.  You have all these creative forces going in all directions.  The real magic happens when you get them to all flow in the same direction.  It often happens that I have a song written just the way I want it, only to have it torn apart as soon as we bring it to the studio.

In past years, our best work happens when we’re just messing around.  Our guitarist will play a tune and our bassist will allow some low end to pulse from his guitar.  It’s almost like they have telepathy or something going on, because all the instruments seem to blend together perfectly.  Our drummer adds in some beats and I add in the words that are thought up on the spot.  By the time we’re done, we don’t have anything worth putting on a CD, but we do have raw creativity which can be crafted into something beautiful.

If you make music because you can’t live without it, if you make music only to send a message, if you make music solely to express yourself, it doesn’t matter… as long as you satisfy the need for music.

No matter what kind of music I’m playing, I need to satisfy my need for music to make my life complete.

Thank you.