Secret Weapon Labs

… is a bit of a dramatic title, but it rings true nonetheless. It’s an honest revelation, a catharsis of sorts that I have never really revealed, until now, but it’s something I feel I should say.

Being a modest but always-thirsty-for-new-inspiration guitarist had me stumble 5 years ago on an article that was entitled “The Return Of Carlos Santana” (I considered that the alternative title to this post, but opted for my cheesy yet original version). Having practically melted my Santana Abraxas CD in the stereo previously, I was certainly curious to read what was new with my aged-yet-thankfully-still-alive guitar hero. The article discussed the collaborative effort that became the apt-titled album Supernatural. After being thoroughly entranced by what the album could be, I rushed over to the nearest HMV and purchased the CD.

In clear juxtaposition to that day in my life was a time period that was difficult to handle by the usual suspects of depression caused by money, loneliness, family, death, and work (in no particular order). It was a vicious cycle. And frequently such cycles are hard to catch (from the inside), and the seeming magnitude of all of these things was impossible to conquer. Everyone has bad days and weeks, sometimes months. This felt like standing in the trough of a 100ft tidal wave as it prepared to crash down on you, and that the constant thrashing would be months and years long. But, I digress…

I purchased Supernatural and remember listening to it while I worked on my laptop. And beyond my initial impressions of the CD that it was just “pretty good”, I realized I couldn’t stop listening to it. I ended up replacing an old and dying portable CD player with a new portable so I could listen to the CD in the gym and after-hours when I worked late at the office. I was frequently caught doing my best Dave Matthews and Rob Thomas karaoke impressions long before it became fashionable. I was positively addicted to the music. Every session where I sat and listened offered the play of different colors, intriguing new sounds, and different places in my mind. It started to become transformative, which I think is ultimately what good music does. As Carlos once stated: “Music alters the molecular structure of the mind and the body.”

As Malcom Gladwell would put it: “the turning point came when …” Rolling Stone had Carlos on the cover and traced the hero back from his humble beginnings in Mexico to the place he was then and the place he was headed. It was filled with the usual storytelling of his days in San Francisco, at The Fillmore, and at Woodstock. More notable was the revelation of his child abuse and details of his sessions with a therapist. Carlos stated that the clear turning point that transformed him and blossomed into the expression that is Supernatural was when his therapist told him plainly “The world doesn’t wake up every morning just to fuck with you”

Those words didn’t necessarily help me. But it did offer the insight into what was behind Carlos with every attack of the string and every melody played on that album. And from that day forth, and till this day, the movements and notes of Supernatural still move me and inspire me. I remember my most lucid thought which was simply if there’s wine as good as this still out there, waiting to be experienced, then I still have a lot of experiencing to do. It crystallized so much happiness at a time when I felt I had none. Now, I’m tired of its overplayed death on the radio as much as anyone else, but when it’s streaming through my headphones, I can be positively transported.

I write this on the eve of the release of Santana’s new album All That I Am, having come back from a concert at NYC’s Hammerstein Ballroom and watching him and the band play with Robert Randolph, Radio Mundial, among others. It’s a good album and it was a great show. (Album and show review to follow). This is my public thank you to him for continuing to transport us to someplace else that truly seems magical. It’s one of my deepest aspirations that I would be able to offer those thanks in person. This is a start and there’s more to come…