something i been meaning to talk to you about
detachment
its a strange thing
its a subtle thing
it might be well beneath your radar
but lets spend some time here
to think about detachment..
last nite i gave an off the cuff speech
at a book launch here in sydney
outside in a little garden
the place filled up with people unexpectedly
i was nervous
there were writers n fellow musicians
and reg mombassa who is one of australias
greatest n most recognizable living artists
i spoke to him briefly about painting
he smiled broadly
“mate, every one can paint….”
yes n no, reg
everyone has the ability to do almost eanything
but most people dont do hardly any of it…
aha professor yebliks theory of detachment
so im at this place
im launching this book
its gotta be good
my peers n the cognoscenti have all rolled up
(and my my, what a warm romantic sydney evening it was…!)
the editor of this issue, mark mordue
gives a little spiel as intro about me
i suddenly get very nervous
my mind alternates between blank
and all my voices
the tb,
sk,
ny
all screaming instructions at once
i step up to the mike
i take a deep breath
good evening, ladies n gentlemen
im pleased to be here to endorse this wonderful
blah blah blah……
a speech magically unrolls from my mind
it dances off my tongue 95% perfect
i stumble over the occaisional tongue twister
but i never falter
i never um n err
i go slowly when i need emphasis
i get louder n softer
i get closer n then move away from the mike
the audience laugh at the funny bits
they empathise with the sad n serious bits
and im just standing there
a vessel
letting my detachment unravel this very nice speech
that my subconscious is putting together on the fly
ya see i read a thing bout tiger woods
this writer reckoned although obviously the tiger
is an excellent technical golfer
what really sets him apart
is his ability to detach
and ive thought about it
n ive thought about it
n i believe it
n im sharing it with you now
cultivate detachment fiends
ahhh……..
uh-huh…..
oh, it aint so easy as all that , mr yeblik
no it aint, my fiend
otherwise we’d all be as detached as hell
you will find detachment in yoga, chi gong n swimming
thats where im getting my fucking abundancy from
but i know surfing, martial arts, dancing, hang gliding
diving, marathon…oh lots n lots
you get the picture dontcha
n jaime ll tell ya devotion to god will bring detachment
and thats true as well
cos that guy next door with the golf clubs
who has a hit every sunday arvo with his mates
he might be as good or even better than the tiger
bullshit mr yeblik ,you say
no fiend, the detachment is the thing
put mr next-door in a big comp n he’ll wither
the tiger might be playing for a small island
or a million bucks
but when he takes that big amazing winning shot
well fiend you gotta believe hes detached
his mind has gotten outta the way
so his tigerself, the real him, the one who can judge
the one who implicitly understands distance n velocity
and can translate that into a swing and a drive
(or whatever, what do i know about golf lingo?)
so ive been onstage at important or strange gigs
n i havent been able to detach
the band hasnt been able to detach as a unit
uh oh bad news
all my experience exhausted as i struggle with non-detachedness
im playing the bass too hard
plucking the strings like im plucking a soy turkey
im pushing down on the fretboard with a million pounds per square inch
instead of tickling n caressing it
my voice is caught in my tightened up larynx
nothings flowing
nothing can get thru
ah sweet detachment…
wherefore art thou?
anyway
practice it fiends
detachment
its gonna take ya a while
but its real important
if ya gonna speak in public especially
anyway
i also met bobby flynn last nite
wow
im impressed
hes got the x-factor in spades fiends
he could still possibly blow it
or some mother in a suit could still blow it for ‘im
but hes just got this feeling about him
that hes generating music all the time
even if ya cant hear anything at the moment
and hes detached, baybee
he verily doth know the great n subtle secret of performance
bobby, i hope you go all the way, olde son
and when ya get there
please
tell em, that the time being sent ya!
and ya got his blessing!