What you are about to read may contain content that is distasteful to some people therefore, if you are one of those people, please cover your eyes when you get to the offensive parts.
None of what I am about to write is intended to challenge anyone’s personal beliefs, but in the past I have been known to inadvertently get quite a rise out of various inhabitants of this planet, which is why I am writing this disclaimer. So rest assured that what is about to be written has nothing to do with anyone or anything important at all — except in instances where it affects you personally — in which case it is all about you and you will be required to hastily write me an email describing your angst and/or your elation with my point of view. Just so you know, I do not take well to criticism, therefore, if you write me a nice email and agree with everything I say I will most likely invite you to my firstborn’s wedding as well as allowing you to be Godparent to their first child. On the other hand, if you should somehow take issue with anything I say I will then be obliged to sic the hounds of hell upon you. So….hounds of hell or a wedding invite. You decide.
I am writing this during the Easter/Passover/vernal equinox and spring break season. A season that celebrates the transition from winter to spring, the resurrection of Jesus, the Jewish freedom from bondage and, of course, keg stands. At first glance, none of the above appears to be related, but upon closer inspection, they all share a common theme of transition and transformation. Easter is the story of the resurrection of Jesus and Passover is the tale of Moses leading his people to freedom. The return of the sun, or the equinox, is celebrated by secular folks (otherwise known as Pagans), while spring break is the conversion of sober studious students into drunken, hormonally-charged miscreants. Oh, lastly, lest I forget, is the audio technician that transforms themselves from their winter at home to the summer touring animal.
Some other interesting facts that tie all this together are that the last supper was a Seder. Easter was originally an uproarious ancient Saxon festival, much like spring break, that celebrated the return of spring and commemorated “Eastre,” the Pagan goddess of offspring and springtime. As a side note, the goddess Eastre was shown reverence by the early Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit. As it was in the second century, the Pagan Eastre celebration took place at the same time of year as the Christian observance of the resurrection. The early Christian missionaries cleverly spread their message while allowing the people to celebrate pagan feasts, but with a Christian approach. As converts were slowly won over to Christianity it made sense to combine the two celebrations into one and in doing so the original name Eastre was changed to the contemporary spelling of Easter. Easter is now celebrated the world over and the resurrection gives hope to many of a better life to come.
Passover celebrates the Biblical account of the Exodus, but there are still those that have disputed the event historically, saying that there is no archeological proof that such a large community of people ever roamed the desert. It just goes to show that with anything Biblical a bit of faith is required. Nevertheless, I recently came across a metaphorical reading of the Exodus in which the Pharaoh is depicted as the ego and the Israelites as the soul. The writer, a Rabbi, equates the plight faced by Pharaoh and Israelites to the struggle between our individual soul and the physical world in which it is trapped. The escape from the ego is long and arduous and laden with much sacrifice, but the gift of a promised land is the reward for success.
Of course, all these holiday thoughts make my mind wander (not to worry, I’ve got meds) to my own transformation. Is my job solely to make money setting up gear and dialing in various levels of audio signal? I think not. While I am fortunate enough to like what I do I still wonder if I am I doing enough to transform and bring light into the world. On the surface, the job is the job, and after we have mastered the trade and transformed ourselves into professional audio engineers, isn’t it enough to just try and make a living? Again, I think not. Damn! It makes my head hurt trying to think this hard (again, not to worry — remember the meds), but somehow in my over-heated brain I’m beginning to believe that the job itself is just a vehicle for learning and transforming. As with any other job, one may become the master of it, yet it never loses its challenge. However, it does become easier to do, thereby leaving more time to ponder the why instead of the how.
I personally am not trying to compare doing sound to having a religious experience, but what I’m getting at is all the ways in which one might be able to transform themselves and the world around them by being an audio technician. Granted, most technicians are drawn to the work because it is just that… technical. Unfortunately, even if one spends most of their day soldering and wrapping cables, there are more things to learn than just the technical. For example, certain transformations could come in the form of how one relates to people or how they don’t, or how one manages a position of leadership, or not. Family, friends, lovers and the seven deadly sins are some of the issues that one can work on to escape their Pharaoh. Transformation is the key to growth and one’s job can be the means of transportation to carry them to the Promised Land.
On the other hand, it has been a long winter, and maybe a few months on the road and a little cash in pocket is all that’s needed to transform one’s nature. Maybe a little sound gig at spring break coupled with a few keg stands might quicken the transformation from winter to spring and ego to soul. Maybe your own resurrection from couch potato to an A-1 touring guy might be facilitated by some good Pagan revelry. A little greed, anger, covetousness, lust, etc. — hey, whatever rocks your chariot. In the meantime here’s wishing everybody a prosperous and transformational summer touring season and may the hounds of hell not be with you.
