The Widetrack Chronicles 23: Zach
"You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward, nor tarries with yesterday." -Kahlil Gibran ('On Children' from 'The Prophet')
As you may or may not already know, my son Zach has recently joined the band as bassist...
When he expressed a desire to play music together, it put a whole new perspective on my plans for Widetrack... This was something I'd never even considered... All at once, the missing pieces of this musical adventure fell into place and the road ahead seemed much clearer...
Back in 2003, when my ex-wife told me that she was pregnant with him, I immediately started negotiating…
"Will I have to stop playing music?"
"There's still a lot in life I want to do..."
"The leash isn't gonna tighten too much, is it?"
And so on...
But once Zach was born, all that instantaneously went away... It was as if everything I had been and done up to that point suddenly paled in comparison...
I distinctly remember thinking, "This is what life is about for me now." (I'm sure most parents out there know what I'm talking about.)
Due to my ex's secure job, we decided that I would be a stay-at-home dad... For the first decade of Zach's life, I got more time with him more than anybody else, and we bonded deeply... Those years were just so amazing... I will be forever thankful for that kind of time we had together…
When his mother and I divorced, we were very fortunate to preserve a core family dynamic, with a cooperative shared custody arrangement...
Since day one, it has been about him before anything else…
Now that he is a young man and wants to play music with me, I feel so amazingly blessed for this opportunity…
His mom and I are adamant about him going to college when he's 18, so we will have to see where things lead... But for now, we've got 5 years to really make something happen with this...
I want to make the most of it...
We set off on a high note, and he played his first show ever as bassist for Widetrack on my birthday this past March... He did a fantastic job!
We previewed songs from our third album, which we are currently mixing and hope to have out by summer's end/mid-fall...
He sounds great on the new stuff... a perfect fit... It's all very surreal, to be quite honest... I never would've imagined this would be the path we'd be on...
His interest in music is in full bloom right now... Every day, he's playing for hours on end - constantly improving, discovering new bands to learn from, finding out things about himself that he didn't know he could do... He's already playing things on guitar that I struggle with... Being a part of this journey he's begun has just been so amazing... I feel like my own musical journey has been reborn...
Recently, we started a YouTube show called Influences, where we discuss bands, movies, TV, books, etc. that have influenced our music... He always approaches it with a completely professional attitude, and a reverence for the topic of any given week... I've gotten a number of messages from people noting how mature he seems for his age (I happen to agree, but have no idea where he gets that! lol)...
Anyway, I appreciate you letting me gush a bit about my son... just so excited for the things ahead... I plan on documenting as much of it as I possibly can... ;)
Once we finish the new album, we plan on getting out there to play it for you... I really believe this is our best stuff yet (even though I know bands always say that, lol)...
With your support, we can make some kind of mark on the music world... Personally, my dream is to one day have earned the ability to write, record and perform Widetrack music for a living... I believe it can be done, but I know it's going to take a lot of hard work...
And that's all cool by me... :)
Hope to see you soon!
Ron
Always love hearing from you! Feel free to respond below or at:
Ron@WidetrackMusic.com
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