21 grams
years ago local artist dennis brennan said he was trying to age gracefully, which of course he seems to have to those of us who know him. i admired this sentiment and have thought about it often since. of course i’ve probed the meaning of such a statement… what does that look like and what does it mean for me? how am i supposed to behave and what is grace and what isn’t? i’m not sure i know the answer but i think it has to do mostly with living in perpetual gratitude as much as possible. when i’m grateful, i’m not angry, jealous, evasive or phony— i’m the truest and best version of myself, and it looks and feels like grace.
my grandmother used to say the key to happiness was, “someone to love, something to work for and something to look forward to.” i guess you could say that is love, purpose and hope, which are all ingredients of happiness. happiness and grace are not interdependent, but one resembles the other. grace usually brings happiness and happiness can cause grace, but grace can be practiced where the state of happiness cannot. however, the ingredients of happiness can be practiced and can create an environment where happiness becomes more possible. grace, however, inevitably causes happiness since gratitude can occur even in times of turmoil and trouble.
what does all this have to do with 21 grams and what does 21 grams have to do with music and why is the title picture a picture of me eating a giant ice cream cone you ask?
well, the awareness of aging is the awareness of mortality. it’s a little bit about fear, but it’s mostly about resignation and acceptance. in music, the acceptance comes in different forms- it’s physical in terms of ability and performance, it’s emotional in terms of accepting where you are in your career, and it’s spiritual in terms of finding ways to stay open to inspiration. i find that if i can bring acceptance to these parts of the craft, i can contribute with ease and grace. to whatever extent i fight my state of being, i am without grace. and gratitude is an element of acceptance. my vocal range has changed, but i have a new richness in my voice, and so on.
this process of “distillation” brings me to the essence of who and what i am in the present moment, and with that. comes grace. i like to think that this distilled version of my being is my soul. and that’s where 21 grams comes in— the theory of the weight of a soul being 21 grams. you can google the “science” of this theory, and it’s admittedly sketchy, but there’s something resonant about it. i like the notion of our essence having a physical component.
so as we near the completion of our “sweet 16” record, an acoustic-based song suite of 10 new tracks, i’ve been thinking about titles for the new album... this is an album i’ve wanted to make for over 10 years, and it took some serendipity for us to fall into this particular groove. because we are a band— not “just another singer-songwriter backed by musicians”— we all need to feel the inspiration to create a cohesive work. at no time has that been more true than now, and as the van Gogh Brothers age gracefully into our shadow years, our essence is distilled ever more through our craft into what we’re calling “21 grams.”
but what about the ice cream, you ask? well, it’s hard to find grace if you take yourself too seriously. and this shot was taken by donna in response to my daughter’s text from herrel’s ice cream in northampton, massachusetts, of which i was immediately jealous, having gained many pounds there over the years… and of course, ice cream being the final arbiter of joy, and joy being a close cousin of grace, the “ice cream shot’ was definitely the shot for this missive.
so we continue our journey through autumn with a trip to malibu in early november, followed immediately by a return to vincent’s on saturday the 13th as part of our lifetime residency, followed by a return to woolly mammoth for the FINAL track of “21 grams.” someone to love, something to work for, and something to look forward to.
life is good, life is short, seize the day.
love,
jc