Checking in on 24/02/19 (& more on The Daily Music Show)

Who am I?

Trudy Rushin

Where am I?

Sitting at my kitchen table, my favourite writing spot, in a house I’ve lived in for 22 years, in the southern suburbs of Cape Town.

How am I?

Tired, but happy. And, most importantly, at peace. At peace with how much better I’ve become at discerning when to say YES and NO. I’m at peace with the fact that life can get busy, but that we always have a choice as to what we take on, as well as how we go about honouring all our commitments. I’m also at peace with the reality that, even within the beautiful things we say YES to, there can still be new – and sometimes painful - lessons, but that all of those just equip us better for the next set of life’s YES/NO questions.  

   

I love the feeling of learning, growing and making better decisions. I love having broken out of martyr mode, and taking better care of myself, through making healthier decisions.

I think that, when it finally hit me that this was MY life, and that I owed it to myself and my loved ones to create the most favourable conditions in which to live and thrive – en route to the end of life, which is death -  things became a lot clearer to me about MY role in what I’d been putting up with for so long. How liberating! It’s not just changing gears - it’s getting out of your vehicle with its 1300 engine, and getting into a huge, powerful 2litre 4X4, that can tackle absolutely any terrain! 😊 It’s getting out of the leaking rubber dinghy and boarding a cruise liner. 

Why am I?

It’s interesting how this answer changes, as I tune into different energies in my life at the time of writing.

Right now, my awareness of myself as an artist, a musician, is what fuels and buoys me,  filling me with ideas, dreams and plans, some of which I’d literally been too afraid to have before.

I’m fascinated at how life works, as you get older. For example, I’ve decided not to dye my hair anymore, but to let my natural hair grow out. This means I will be getting steadily greyer. My decision was based on two main things – one functional, and one spiritual: 1) I needed to trim my budget, for bigger-picture reasons, and 2) I was finally ready, as a woman, to take that step.

My strongest awareness of myself, right now, is of my artist self: I am a musician. I am a singer-songwriter. I have a body of compositions of viable, stand-alone songs. My songs tell the story of how I’ve walked my journey, what’s captured my attention and what’s affected me profoundly, very much like a photographer or artist’s work does. My songs expose the jigsaw puzzle of my life, without pretending there are no pieces missing.

The Daily Music Show

Earlier this month, I was invited by Joey Fourie (music lover and social entrepreneur), to perform for 8 consecutive evenings at his new venue in Cape Town, called The Daily Music Show. Its primary aim is to provide a public platform for local culture – music, poetry, art and cuisine, for now - largely with tourists in mind, but most definitely for locals to enjoy what our city has to offer, as well. For many reasons, Cape Town is still a very divided city, and we still tend to live in bubbles, moving within very limited spaces, pretty much along the lines set out by the apartheid government. Having this kind of initiative right in the centre of the CBD of the Mother City, where very few previously-disadvantaged people live, is perfect, because it brings us right back to the heart of the Mother. To come together as people with more in  common than we realise.

Joey’s brief to me was to sing original music, not as a soloist, but in ensemble format. I loved it, because it opened opportunities for me to not only collaborate with different people, but to have my songs pulled in interesting directions, through the interpretations of the musicians who’d be accompanying me. In other words, it was a growth opportunity.  

I ended up working with two different ensembles, essentially built around the guitarists I’d chosen, both of whom I’d worked with before (in one case, extensively) and who knew my heart.

On Thurs. 14 and Sat. 16 Feb, I performed with Rudy Burns (guitar), Errol Davids (saxophone) and Bernie Lawrence (bass guitar and percussion). Many of the people who heard this band said it was the perfect band for me. I thoroughly enjoyed rehearsing and performing with them and would love to work with them again. We just clicked. I think the saxophone sound works perfectly with my songs; it’s a sound I find pleasant and exciting, warm and beautiful. 

I wasn’t able to accept the Sunday night, because of a prior family commitment, so I was supposed to have performed with the other band on 5 nights. Due to very small audiences, two of the nights were cancelled, so we worked together on only 3 nights: Fri. 15, Wed. 20 and Thurs. 21 Feb. The line-up was Keith Tabisher (guitarist I’ve been working in duo format for 16 years), Alistair Andrews (bass guitar) and Randall Cyster (drums). Needless to say, this was a very different sound, and I was completely out of my comfort zone. Some of the time, I really struggled. My songs have lyrics, which need to be heard, and the accompaniment should never frustrate that process.  By the last night, we’d started settling our sound and I couldn’t help but wonder what we’d have sounded like, had we played for the full five nights.  

                     On our last night at The Daily Music Show, Thurs 21/02/19

L-R: Khadija Heeger (poet), Joey Fourie (host), Keith Tabisher (guitarist), Kenny Alexander (artist in residence), Alistair Andrews (bassist), Trudy Rushin (singer-songwriter-guitarist) Roché Kester (poet) and Randall Cyster (drummer)// Photo: ChellaOhtoowaan

Behind the scenes, I’d had to book annual leave to get out of work earlier every day. Fortunately, we have showers at work, so I could take all my things along, shower at a certain time, and make my way to the venue. In case you don’t know, I’m Virgo: there’s no way I could go to a gig without showering, washing my hair, and putting on clean clothes. For me, it’s all part of the ritual of preparing to perform. Tick! (Mental checklist)

There were so many lessons learnt, so many bridges built and one drawbridge lifted, never to be let down again. And that’s life.   

So, why am I? I’m a musician, and that is the path I want to pursue with all my heart. It’s tough doing the day job and music thing at the same time. Tough, but not impossible. You just need to sort out your priorities, and be very organised. 

And let’s not forget this scary but exciting truth: the only constant in life is change.