The Laziness Fallacy

The irony of the word lazy is that it’s a lazy form of analysis for inaction. In other words, it’s an expedient means of sidestepping the effort needed to ascertain why someone isn’t applying themselves as much as we’d prefer to see. However, if you’re a “leader,” this goes against the very nature of your position. After all, if everyone always knew what to do, there’d be no need for your position. So know that when you don’t center the conversation around how to clarify what the actual mechanisms-of-action need to be to generate results, then the conversation ceases to be a mechanical issue and instead becomes rooted in that of morality--which frankly only steals time and attention away from surgically identifying both the problem and solution.

That said, I believe that the root of inaction is simply clarity (or rather a lack thereof). And clarity around what, you might ask? Clarity around what the steps are supposed to look like, and what it might mean for the status of one’s position if they were to admit when they don’t understand something (especially when everyone around them seems to know what’s going on). So in these kinds of situations, it tells me a couple of things:

1) They’re not convinced that the work (or home) culture is as supportive as it might espouse itself to be when it comes to training. An easy example of this is the parent or boss whose open-door policy you doubt is all that “open.” #hiding 

2) There may be a real cultural disconnect between leadership and those within their charge that’s causing messages to be filtered through the communicative trough of skepticism, as neither side of the aisle is convinced that enough knowledge and respect exists for the pressures that either side has to contend with on a regular basis (thus causing workflows to move slow, which in turn could be construed as laziness). #powerdynamics

3) There may be a disconnect between what a candidate initially assumed the scope of their duties to be, and what actually lies in store for them. And as such, this will create a series of Wild West-esque standoff’s until either a renegotiation is met or they part ways. Either way, the narrative in the middle is likely to read by the establishment (at first) as if the new person is lazy and lacks the requisite work ethic for the job. #clarity

As you can see, all of these points center around the art of communication. Which, just like Jazz, means that it’ll be incumbent upon each of us to be as familiar as possible with all the different styles of communication there is if we’re to seamlessly flow in and out of any working environment we want.

In conclusion, I’d encourage you to see curiosity as being the antidote to “laziness.” And if the thought of taking the time to pump your breaks in this way feels like nails on a chalk board because you’re a hard charging go-getter, then it tells me that you have very little headroom for flexibility (which is liable to make you a liability sooner or later). After all, to want to go fast without the capacity to stop or change directions on a dime only makes the constant revving of your engine (i.e. the beating of your chest) a form of peacocking. That said, if you’re in a situation where you have to have immediate results because the stakes are that high, then by all means, put the pedal to the metal if you must and hope that you can contend with the consequences later. But if not, consider taking the time needed to build the kinds of systems and cultural conditions that can promote more clarity, transparency, and compassion within your home and work spaces.

Passion & Purpose: What are they and why do they matter?

I’ve always been interested in the contrasting lifestyles that people lead. And wondering what objective conclusions can be made about those that get to live the lives they live, versus those who feel they have to live the lives they live, has been one of my greatest curiosities. But now that I’ve read the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, it has become clear to me that the answer lies in knowing the difference between passion and purpose.

  If you objectively think about what our purpose is here on earth, we can conclude that it is to simply perpetuate the continued existence of our species. After all, every plan we make for tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year, is because we expect to still exist at all of those future points in time. And since our collective existence is a team sport in which we’re all on the same team, means that our purpose is to help other people survive and hopefully thrive. Which, by the way, if we focus on thriving as opposed to simply surviving, the former will automatically address the latter (but more on that in a future post). As for passion, it is an energetic feeling that we apply to any activity that we feel can give us the fuel and focus needed to go the distance towards fulfilling our earthly purpose.

  When you think about why certain people can’t lose weight, it’s not because it’s impossible for them to do so. It’s because they’re not emotionally up to the task, seeing as how the calculous is very simple: move more, eat less. This isn’t a moral issue, it’s a physics issue. Therefore, when it comes to those who are confused as to if they should be following their passion(s) or their purpose (let alone knowing the difference between the two), it’s because they have yet to figure out if they’re emotionally up to the task of learning how to passionately embrace the kinds of activities (even if it’s not their original passion) for helping them to fulfill their purpose of helping others as stated above. And this my friends is where the rubber really meets the road.

Logic says to pick a target, reverse engineer a process for hitting said target within a specified amount of time, and then stick to a work habit for executing on that process. However, if your current passions don’t seem to fit anywhere within such a scheme after you’ve drawn it out, this is where the emotional reluctance occurs towards letting go of your beliefs about yourself. And the best analogy I can give is the feeling of doubt one might have towards their abilities to find another person who can make them feel as good as the last person they were with before that relationship dissolved. In other words, a person might have a hard time believing that it’s actually possible for anything else in this world to energetically satisfy them like the passion(s) they currently hold. But the irony of it all is that none of us came into this world with ANY of the passions we currently hold. Those passions were developed over time. So if we could do it once, we could do it again by learning to develop other passions that may be more appropriate towards this mechanical purpose we all share (i.e. showing others how to thrive in all areas of life). But it all starts with defining what we want that purpose/vision to look like, and in great detail (think the specificity of MLK’s Dream speech) if we’re to know that we’re actually hitting our target. And THAT’s the part that most of us fail to do! So in paraphrasing Robert Kiyosaki, you have to really dig into the “numbers” when you need to make an unemotional decision about matters that matter the most.

Suggested Takeaways…

a) Leading a life by passion alone is like allowing yourself to be in a boat in the middle of the ocean without a sail, simply because you have a profound preference for the boat you currently have.

b) Passion(s) is for self, purpose is for everyone else.

c) Doing the math (i.e. the “numbers”) means being clear on exactly how you want the look and feel of your purpose to play out. From there, pick a date, plot a course, and become relentless about finding some aspect of the course you can become passionate about. *Hint: If your current passion(s) don’t fit easily into the picture, find as many aspects of the process where you can integrate your current passion(s) so that you won’t be so energetically reluctant to do the work.

Foundation: We are what we eat!

If you find yourself in a hurricane, tornado, or earthquake, your mission is to take cover under whatever set of surfaces are sturdy enough to help you weather said storm. So when you find yourself stuck in the middle of an economic, health, or social storm, your only recourse is to identify a set of reliable principles that can support your well-being until (and after) the ground settles. And I can’t think of a more intuitive path towards the embodiment of success principles than through the body, as this is where all knowledge begins. After all, just think about the developmental process of babies. All of their intellectual knowledge happens after they’ve learned to control their limbs and their mouths. So if you don’t value the insights that are to be gleaned from how the human body works, then I think you’re missing out on a valuable opportunity to realize that you already have the tools to change your life. Meaning that if your future successes are predicated upon your daily habits, then there’s no better place to test the efficacy of this idea than to observe what can happen to your body when you change your physical and dietary habits. So here’s a quick story to explain what I mean.

When I was living back in New Brunswick, NJ. my best friend Owen had moved himself and his family 45 min away to Easton, PA. So since he was further away, I knew that I’d have to really make the most of my time with him whenever I made the trek out to his house. That said, I remember spending the night at his place one winter, where the following day we went outside in his back yard to toss his football around. And since he’s also my Sifu within Ving Tsun Kung Fu, I didn’t want to leave without some kind of gold-nugget takeaway that I could internalize to make the trip feel that much more worth it. And as soon as I had this thought, the answer appeared. Meaning, whenever I’d throw the ball to him, he’d catch it with little negative impact. But when he’d throw it to me, my fingers would sting because we were outside in the snow without gloves on. So the simple lesson I took from this interaction was that unlike myself, Owen was more comfortable putting himself in vulnerable positions to gain the insight needed to react to situations appropriately. Therefore, since how we do anything is roughly how we do everything, I thought to see where there might be a connection between this idea about vulnerability and music. And what I realized was that not only did my drum solo’s make little sense back then, but the way I spoke to people also wasn’t much different. So since my thinking was the problem, I thought to fix it by writing. I’d think of a question and then defend my answer through numerous rounds of editing until my argument was what I’d consider to be air-tight. Ironically enough, this process of having to clarify my thoughts like this improved my soloing without ever touching an instrument first. And to be more specific, it was because I suddenly became hypersensitive to the value of developing singular narratives as opposed to being all over the place.

Suggested Takeaway’s…

a) It’s tough to be an effective “human doing” before you can become an effective “human being.” And as such, nothing will ever be more foundational to our learning than physical experiences.

b) All building blocks to self-awareness start with the relationships we have with our bodies. So learn what the building blocks are for the body that support its basic functioning.

c) Above ALL else, our most important asset in life will always be the health of our bodies, because even if we fall on hard times, we’ll still have the strength, flexibility, and stamina to re-org so we can live to fight another day. But without these attributes, our capacity to be of service to our fellow man/woman will be greatly limited.

Improvisation: Redefining the process.

When you take the word Improvisation and split it down the middle, you get the word Improve minus the letter E. And what’s in need of improving is the melody, as it’s always played before you’re free to “improve” upon it. Now logic says that if you want to learn to do something, simply find a good model to emulate. However, it should also go without saying that your comprehension of what you hear is of greater importance than simply the sound itself. Therefore, what you listen for matters more than what you listen to. So before getting to the crux of this post, I want to point out that the best improvisers always embody the three elements, which as you’ll see, will play an important role in how this post concludes.

a) They have a myopic concern for self-expression.

b) They have a concern for their fellow musicians’ ability to adequately support them within the functional areas of time, intonation, and harmony.

c) They have a concern for their band’s collective effort in servicing the emotional integrity of the music they’re playing.

As mentioned, what we listen for is more important than what we listen to. And when I listen to many of the ideas that people reference, it sounds like they simply focused on the sound of those ideas at the expense of questioning why those ideas were ever played in the first place. And because texture and function are the only two reasons why we play anything, the unfortunate trend these days (especially within the education system) has been that people have become more bullish in their investment towards self-serving ideas (i.e. texture) as opposed to unifying ones (i.e. function). And just to be clear, this has less to do with character defects as it has to do with flaws in how they were taught to think about improvisation. But here’s the irony. When we listen to the agreed upon masters, especially in their later years, they all tend to express themselves in a way where they can satisfy both the issue of texture and function at the same time. Therefore, this leads me to believe that if you can focus on being functional in a way that also allows you to express yourself with the textures you like, you’ll finally become free to shrink your circle of concern down to just one thread of thought. Which, when accomplished, can greatly decrease the amount of incessant mind chatter that keeps many musicians confused about what to play, and how to play it. So here’s my remedy for this.

If practicing is a form of situational preparedness, and the ideas you hear on a record are simply tactics for negotiating those particular situations, then the goal is to simply decide if you want to adopt those same tactics for similar situations. And once you’ve listened to, and have learned to emulate a number of these tactics, it’ll reduce the chances that you’ll be caught off guard as to what to play in any given situation. Therefore, once a melody has been played and the real improvisation starts, it’ll increase the chances that your ideas will be framed through the lens of wanting to help everyone else’s performance, despite you being the soloist (think Miles Davis)! So once you can develop the faith that a focus on others can still yield extreme satisfaction for yourself, it’ll not only revolutionize your growth potential as a musician, but as a citizen of society as well.

Suggested Takeaway’s…

a) While the quality of what we listen to matters, what we focus on when we’re listening matters more.

b) There are two types of ideas: self-serving and functional. Self-serving are textures that satisfy only the soloist, while more functional ideas are specifically meant to help others. Therefore, to satisfy yourself through the aid of others means you “win.”

c) Oftentimes we listen to the improvisations of our heroes as if their ideas sprang up from out of nowhere. But we always forget to ask the critical question of how this concept of improvising even started in the first place. And the answer is that in the beginning, success meant being able to play a well worked-out arrangement, which had much less to do with how we think about soloing today. Therefore, through the knowledge of the many tactical ways in which the masters thought to negotiate an arrangement, is where you’ll find the raw materials needed for you to play through all other arrangements, as well as when it’s time for you to improvise.  

What is Style, and how important is it?

One of the biggest challenges we face as musicians is how to make sense of the duality between music as a team sport and our desire to stand out as an individual. So allow me to quickly explain the cause of this tension and how to reconcile it.

Common sense dictates that the “goal should always be greater than the role.” However, when solitary achievement is continuously exalted over collective efforts, it’s hard to not get seduced by the allure of feeling special when you stand out. Not to mention, if you largely see success in your field as being a zero-sum game, then of course you’re going to favor self-serving tactics. But to be honest with you, I think the subtext behind this type of mentality falls under the misguided lens of “job security.” After all, if your value makes you irreplaceable in the eyes of others, then you’ll always have employment. That said, however, if you have enough cash-flow producing assets that you own, then you won’t have to entertain the idea of “job security,” as your survival wouldn’t be contingent upon someone else’s valuation of you. And in such situations, any pressure you might feel to overcompensate for attention would lose its allure.

I often say that music is 98% preconceived and 2% inspiration. So like a conversation, where all the words we use are known to us before we use them, the order in which they come out is where this 2% comes into focus. And it’s that 2% (style) that makes us memorable enough to stand out. Therefore, the impact of your style in music, fashion, speaking, etc., is really predicated upon the strength of your fundamentals, as your style is simply your point of view about those fundamentals. Therefore, if your style is simply a natural byproduct of your interpretation of your fundamentals, then by simply focusing on those basic principles, it allows you to let your stylistic chips fall where they may, without the fear that they’ll fall in an unflattering way. 

Suggested Takeaways…

a) An incessant interest in maintaining “your style” at all times forces you to turn your focus inward as opposed to the outward concern for the good of the band.

b) Actively seek out as many examples of team-oriented successes as possible to believe that that can be an attractive option to pursue.

c) If real success is “significance,” and significance is measured by the effect you have on others, then this is how your name will truly outlive you.

Portland audiences, could this be a call to step up your style game?

Within the current edition of Artslandia there's an article entitled "Dress for the Show," which essentially suggests that Portland walks to its own beat when it comes to "social-norms." Which, to be honest, has actually played to the city's advantage in regards to its recent run of national popularity. However, since this particular article is suggesting that a large number of show-goers here in Portland tend to dress a bit too casual at times, I thought that I'd share with you some of my perspective on this topic, as here at Couture of Music, I always believe that one should put their best foot forward whenever possible. Therefore, allow me to share with you just a few key concepts that I use to ensure that my desire for comfort doesn't lead me down a path that might suggest to others that I think little of notions that surround the idea of good manners  and etiquette.

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Manners:

1. the prevailing customs, ways of living, and habits of a people, class, period, etc; mores;

2. a persons outward bearing; way of speaking to and treating others

Etiquette: 

1. conventional requirements as to social behavior, properties of conduct as established in any class or community or far away occasion

I think Rachel Zoe makes an important point with the above statement, in that it also appears to me that a well groomed look speaks to the positive end of how one feels about themselves (regardless as to if they're aware of this or not). However, with the reputation that Portland has garnered over the years for its excessive rainy weather and dark grey skies, it's understandable as to how this might discourage one from taking the time to get dressed when going out. Therefore, if the constant feeling of coziness and comfort is what people from Portland gravitate towards, then lets use that as our point of departure.  So since our mood can be affected greatly by both the feel and fit of the fabrics that we choose to wear, allow me to give you some insight into how one might want to approach structuring their thoughts around the concepts of how clothes can feel and look on us.  

Fabrics:  

I feel that cashmere, flannel, fo-fur, vintage fur versus new (we have a moral dilemma when it comes to fur), knit jersey, merino wool and silk all fall under the heading of what most people would consider to be the softest materials to wear

Fit:

Choose tailored clothing for at least one of your foundation pieces, as tailoring tends to have darts and structure details that help to encourage shapes that compliment the frame of the human form. And if you choose to add additional layers onto your foundation piece, make sure that it doesn't obfuscate the importance or function of your primary piece, which of course, will be to highlight a particular portion of your body you feel great about.  

Accessories:

As you take a look at your complete outfit, decide if you're leaning more towards the side of structured or cozy? Fitted or frumpy/loose? Then consider how the materials, textures, and colors are also speaking...meaning that for whatever element(s) seem to be the most dominate,  balance it with accessories that speak to the less dominant. And when you do choose your accessories, pick ones that will stand out and distinctly speak to the best of your personality, as you'll find that these unique accessories can function as great conversation starters.

So with the help of this guideline, you'll now know how to visually speak to that sweet feeling of cozy that is so very Portland, but yet still have an element of structure. It should say comfort yet clean. Relaxed but purposeful. 

I have to say that I'm quite grateful that the folks at Artslandia Magazine decided to use me as a model for what it might look like when you try to translate the excellent qualities that are inherent within Jazz into a more physically tangible form. And while the cozy pieces that I ended up wearing aired more on the structured side, I have no doubt that with the help of both stylist Todd Everett Kinner and creative director Melanie Hernandez, that we still achieved a relaxed feeling between the loose fit in the pants, undone button near the waist of my vest (so as to leave a little room for my favorite wine and dessert after my second set at Jimmy Maks),  the cozy yet well tailored Marino wool sports jacket with playful patched pockets, bright salmon bow-tie, and fun printed pocket hanker chief to highlight my playful personality. After all, with me and my music being full of life, it only makes sense to dress like it as well!

If Jazz Was a Person...

This is a question that I’ve thought about for quite some time, and am now deciding to share my thoughts on it. But since this question really encapsulates two other questions, I’ll present them as such, which is to say “What is the visual essence of the quintessential Jazz musician” and “What does such a musician stand for?” And since the manner in which a person presents themselves is simply a reflection of an inward disposition, I’ll start with the latter.

The culture of the Jazz musician is one that’s largely built upon maintaining a certain level of reverence for not only the musical developments of its earlier practitioners--which mostly refers to the inception of Jazz on up through the 1970’s, and a little bit from the 80's--but also an interest in maintaining the cultural practice of the oral tradition in regards to how the knowledge of these musical developments are passed on from one generation to the next. And since Jazz music is a life-long pursuit, there’s rarely a desire among the Jazz elite to ever gloss over any historical data, as they realize that the road to mastery within this music is more akin to an Olympic marathon than it is to an all-out sprint (think the shelf life of most pop acts). So since we tend to take our time within the process of wading through 110+ years of recorded and published material on the subject of Jazz music, it’s sort of no wonder why our style of speech and dress (to a lesser degree these days) tends to mimic the musicians that we've invested so much of our time trying to emulate. However, with the 1990's having been perhaps the last era where the typical Jazz musician could have a shot at supporting themselves, we now find ourselves in a situation where many are having to do some serious soul searching as they reassess the manner in which they see fit to present both the sound of their music and the ways in which they brand themselves. And so it's only natural that questions regarding authenticity will surface, so as to mitigate any possibility that one might be perceived as “selling out”—which really just refers to the smell test (i.e. if it don’t smell like Jazz, then it isn't). The reason why this might be an issue for many is because we've all been taught to embrace a familial sense of connected-ness to our musical elders. And so the concern here would be the idea that certain stylistic decisions may potentially cause us to fall out of our elders’ good graces--which, for some, may be akin to their parents losing respect for them. So the acceptance of anything that might look or sound like it’s even a tad bit congruent with the ever changing trends within the world of pop culture is one that tends to make many musicians wary in regards to them embracing such strategies. However, for the ones who have a good sense of themselves, they tend to have less of a problem with grappling with these issues, and thus are able to see where there’s both a viable artistic lane and financially profitable path for them to explore. But for the rest (which probably represents the majority), they tend to grapple with notions of self-identity within this market economy. So in regards to how all of this is reflected within how we look is of course somewhat subjective, as there’s still the factor of where you currently live, or perhaps grew up, that also plays a role in how one chooses to present themselves. But generally speaking, my observations have been pretty consistent among all the places that I've either lived or have visited throughout the world over the past 19 years, which I'll share with you now. 

From what I've seen, the culture of Jazz is rather quite in that it seeks to make the point that it doesn't need any flashy gimmicks for it to be relevant, or seem important. And in fact, it prefers to use its distance from any of the gimmick related devices that are typically employed by pop culture as a litmus test for how well constructed its music and performance of said music actually is. And since no one becomes a Jazz musician for the prospect of wealth, means that there can sometimes be an air of “this is me…take it or leave it.” So this raw, and sometimes jaded persona of the struggling artist, can be seen in how they dress. Typically speaking, in the larger metropolitan areas, where there are more obvious opportunities for economic advancement, you’ll tend to see more musicians make the attempt to emulate the fashion of those who are considered captains within their industry, as they possess the funds to hire those musicians who look something like themselves. So when you compare the fashion sensibilities of a CEO in a major city like NYC or LA, as opposed to a much smaller city somewhere in the U.S., you’ll see what I'm talking about in regards to the similarities between the look of these two business owner archetypes and the musicians that they have the potential to hire. In fact, a perfect summarizing quote for this point can be found in the movie “Remember the Titans,” when one of the football players says one of the most memorable quotes throughout the whole movie, which is that “Attitude reflects leadership.” However (as a general rule of thumb), given that Jazz musicians don’t gravitate too much towards ideas of total conformity, means that we’ll always look for ways of improvising with what we have on so as to reveal our true identity. And for musicians who have really found their own voice, they tend to have also found their own set of convictions in life as well, as once again, one’s outward appearance or disposition is generally a reflection of their inward conditioning. Therefore, the better the musician, the more successful they’ll tend to be in knowing how to play within the framework of what they’re wearing so as to be respectful of the general vibe of the look that they’re going for (especially while dressed up), but with a little something extra that’s reflective of their true nature.