"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain," said the Man Behind the Curtain.
Myth and folklore are filled with adventure stories and journeys of discovery. A character usually sets out on a risky journey for a particular purpose, and develops resilience along the way.
And documenting what I'll call "the musical conversation" for Have Guitar Will Travel World has me checking many of those boxes: Risk? Check. Heightened sense of purpose? Check. Greater sense of resilience? Oh yeah. And the most striking of them all? A walloping dose of discovery —especially, self-discovery.
For a first-time documentarian, this project is a dream. Sometimes, admittedly, it can feel more like a daymare. That's when the tornado's hit: the rain keeps coming or the roads are closed. The decision to approach this project in what we've come to call travel cinéma vérité might be one of the biggest risks of all. It's the opposite of Oz. There is no curtain to hide behind. Or magic shoes to get me back home the day the car breaks down.
Unpredictability can be exciting, but unnerving. Unscripted means what you see is what you get —sometimes that's a total change of plans, sometimes it's a spectacular surprise.
In any case, this Series is about setting off to experience authenticity in human connections over a shared love of music, wherever that may lead.
Thanks for following along, letting us know where you've heard the voice of a culture through its music. Give me a shout to say where you'd like to explore next.
Here's to learning something new together every day along the journey.
See you on the road.
Comments