Tickled by Freedom.

The phrase "Shell-Shock" gets throw around a lot in modern vernacular, but I doubt that the majority of the people who use the word really consider its meaning. In short, it is condition whose name historically refers to the manner in which a soldier would "lock up" due to the mental and emotional trauma of being constantly bombarded (or shelled). You will frequently hear this phrase uttered in plain dialogue... Dave walks through his office and sees his co-worker looking exhausted and frazzled and staring blankly at a computer screen, and says to his neighbor "Golly-gee, Bob looks shell shocked." But Bob hasn't been sitting in a trench, and Dave has never been behind enemy lines.

...and neither have I, for that matter.

But I do know the feeling of being constantly bombarded.

And anyone who knows me knows that I'm a little shell-shocked. Instead of tracking through the Ardennes Forest, music was my front-line offensive. And I'm only realizing now just how far I've retreated from the front lines over the last few years.

Unlike war, however, music is (or ought to be) a joyous facet of my life. It becomes an enemy when the joy goes out of it, when it becomes a struggle.

A few months ago I (quite literally) found joy again, as I helped to put together a new group called June and the Wolfe. No lofty goals, no uber-ambitions... just writing and singing and trying to forget about life for a few hours. In rediscovering the joy in playing music, I am reminded of all the things I used to love about music... and how the simple act of playing music for the sheer love of it will open up so many doors...

At a gig at Goodbye Blue Monday, I met a band... a band with a sound that stirred up feelings and emotions I hadn't felt in a very long time... not since I was a sound engineer at Hamilton St... the pleasure of not just being able to enjoy a piece of music, but also the rush of hearing something brand new for the first time... the surprise, the unexpectedness... the not-knowing-what-to-expect-ness and subsequently LOVING it... god, I missed that feeling.

This one definitely ranks up there with Joiya and Chalet Chalet and Pas/Cal.

Freedom Tickler. Brooklyn, NY.

A very simple quartet consisting of a singer, banjo/guitarist, bassist, and minimalist drummer. Appalachian Shape-Note-esque singing (if anyone even knows what shape notes are anymore) meets ambient drone-ish with some Uncle Tupelo and twang thrown in. Despite the instrumentation, the band reminds me a lot of Low or Ida at times. Played with them a few weeks ago... they've got an EP due out next week that I'm beyond jazzed on... They've got a demo for "Hot Tub" on their myspace. You might not dig it because of the demo-ness, but trust me, it was HUGE live.

I cannot wait for this EP.

Freedom Tickler... if you're reading this... Thank you.