A painter paints pictures on canvas.  But musicians paint their pictures on silence. 
Leopold Stokowski 

Music has been a deep love as long as I can remember.  Both my parents were big music fans.  The radio was on at home and in the car almost all the time.  Clear in memory is a concert program my parents got at Hank Williams, Sr. show when I was a baby that was around the house for years.  Vividly I recall the records Mom and Dad played over and over.  I remember the first record I ever owned and because of it since five years old I’ve been able to recite the lyrics of “The Ballad of Day Crockett”. 

Born on a mountain top in Tennessee
The greenest state in the land of the free….

OK, I won’t go on, but I know every single word.  My guess is there is at least one song from your early childhood that is just as deeply embedded in your psyche.  

By the time I was eighteen several thousand songs were logged deep in my memory and the profession I choose was related to music.  For over forty years I have had the honor of being a part of great radio stations that play music all day long.  

I can’t imagine life without music.  In my home there is only one television, but there is something that makes music in every room including the bathroom!  My life has had a constant soundtrack of my own making.  What I am listening to at any given point is either a reflection of where I am mentally and spiritually or else where I would like to be. 

Often I go to concerts and have been to hundreds.  Last evening a show was attended that made left me feeling extraordinary.  It began with an opening act I had never heard of:  Michael Franti and Spearhead, a band that blends hip hop with a variety of other styles including funk, reggae, folk and rock.  The music was good but the message was even better.  Every song was upbeat with a positive message. 

Michael spent half of their set dancing, singing and playing guitar down on the floor with the audience.  I have never seen anything like it. There have been shows I’ve seen where a band member went down on the floor for a song or two, but never for song after song like as he did.  For their last song a randomly selected group of about 30 people ranging in age from 8 to 87 years old were on dancing on stage with the band.  Anyone watching was smiling almost as big as those on stage were.  

Berthold wrote “Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life” and that is what the main act then did for me.  Carlos Santana and his band build upon the vibe of the opening act and made it match the name of their current tour:   “Sound of Collective Consciousness Tour”. 

At sixty-four years old, Carlos is playing guitar as well or better than he ever has.  He makes doing it look effortless.  His backup band was incredibly talented and very well rehearsed.  It was obvious everyone on stage was having a great time as were most people in an audience that ranged from little kids to great, great grandmas.  

As good as the music was the message was even better.  Twice Carlos talked about world problems and how much more love of our fellow-man was needed. 

Santana has given a lot of credit for his success to his spiritual beliefs.  His message is about love, beauty, grace, purity and peace.  There is hope in his music as we are urged to love deeply and for humanity to show its best side. All during the show he backed these points up in rhythm and beat that left it impossible for me to be still.  There are some traditional religions that take exception with some of Carlos’s beliefs, but even they must admit he is sincere and practices what he preaches.  

A highlight was attending the show with a relatively new, but dear friend.  Santana’s music has special meaning for her.  It was at one of Carlos’s shows on his adopted home turf of Northern California where she essentially reclaimed her life and started rebuilding it.  Getting to revisit a personal spiritual renewal with someone is a special experience.  

Carlos Santana, thank you for a wonderful show.  My life is richer because of your music and the message you spread in the world.  I hope you are still playing guitar at ninety! 

When through life unblest we rove,
Losing all that made life dear,
Should some notes we used to love,
In days of boyhood, meet our ear,
Oh! how welcome breathes the strain!
Wakening thoughts that long have slept,
Kindling former smiles again
In faded eyes that long have wept.
Thomas Moore