Shelter in Place, but Create out of the box

Now more than ever we need to stay connected with others as we practice social distancing. For many studio musicians and composers, social distancing is not a new concept. We practice this by default regularly and actually need to remind ourselves to make an effort to get some fresh air, exercise, and human contact on a regular basis. One positive side effect of this new reality is that creatives are reaching out more than ever.

My friend Gio Benedetti is a mind-blowingly fantastic bass player, musician, artist, sword wielder, and educator. His creativity is always inspiring and he has a wonderful way of uniting people. I've had the pleasure of playing in various bands with Gio since we were in our twenties. His skills span an enormous musical range, but he's always had a soft spot for metal. My guitar (and consequently musical) journey began in the 80's rocking out to Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest albums. So when Gio reached out on social media to collaborate on an impromptu metal track I jumped on it! Being one who doesn't like to be redundant I offered up some sitar to add to the mix.

My good friend JB Duff and drummer/percussionist extraordinaire, whom I've also played in several bands with (from Indian ragas to backwoods Americana songs about chickens), jumped in to rock the drums, and Alexander Leach brought it all home with a scorching Tele lead. I grabbed hold of the faders to mix the whole thing and Gio made this super fun video. 

Thank you Gio for inspiring me to come up from out of my Rabbit Hole once in a while to stay connected with our amazing musical community. Please watch, enjoy, share, and create music with others in any way that you can!

​Stay connected. Stay creative. It is our lifeline.​