Parachute Pants : or : finding personal voice

I don't want to sound like an old guy, but there is a certain point in your life where something leaves your mouth and you have this vision (complete with a cane, gray hair and osteoporosis) saying something like: "Would you darn kids turn down that noisy rock-n-roll music."

Luckily I still like the noisy rock n roll music (sometime very noisy) but I hear myself saying "these kids and there fashion - those pants where silly in 1987 - why do they think they are cool now?"

While taking classes at UCLA for a semester in 2005 to refresh my skills for film scoring, my then-teacher, now friend and accomplished composer Charles Bernstein taught me how music is fashion. He helped me to embrace my own fashion sense (music wise that is) and develop my sound, my style and find my voice.

This past weekend attending the TAXI music conference I saw skinny leg pants, purple bananas, studded bracelets and even one Michael Jackson 1984 red leather jacket - both material and metaphorical.

Like watching several bad 80's video in a row I heard many demos and wondered, "What style must this artist think they are wearing."

Since uncovering my "voice" I see how easy it is to walk around in a patchwork of others styles. To wear the musical fashion of decades past. To not know when to not wear white. (I rarely wear white as it is so I always forget .. . is it labor day ? groundhogs day? :)

I can now get out my army boots out from time to time and be comfortable. And even recently and found a way to be comfortable in those old particulate pants and my died black denim jacket covered in safety pins.
But now I see that they merely hang on my style, my voice.