Prelude

Words are powerful. Or, more accurately, words have an immense capability to be powerful. To convey in a single set of letters such a myriad of intertwining thoughts as:

Prelude:

1.        a preliminary to an action, event, condition, or work of broader scope and higher importance.

2.        any action, event, comment, etc. that precedes something else.

3.        Music .

a.        a relatively short, independent instrumental composition, free in form and resembling an improvisation.

b.        a piece that precedes a more important movement.

c.        the overture to an opera.

d.        an independent piece, of moderate length, sometimes used as an introduction to a fugue.

e.        music opening a church service; an introductory voluntary.

is my proof that “A picture is worth 1000 words” only if those words are used as a monkey may use a club. There’s so much more to language than that; it’s the beauty that drips from imaginary lips as you experience the words of some great (or personally valued) writer.

So, I think I’m settling on “Prelude” as the title of the first Patchwork Veracity album. I hope it will become the forerunner of great things as we take our ‘show’ on the road (the trials and tribulations of actually getting ‘on the road’ will surely be the topic of another blog). Equally important, however, is that ‘Prelude’ is going to be equal parts a celebration of where I’ve been and the winding path that led me to this place, an anticipation of what is to come, and a discussion of how our preludes shape our experience and our understanding. See, a prelude, though it can stand alone if needed, isn’t as much an entity in itself as a significant part of a greater whole. The prelude imbibes a depth of meaning to the ‘real’ piece so dramatically that the ‘real’ piece isn’t as ‘real’ without it, almost only a shadow.

If you have known a part of my story, or part of the story of part of my story (yes, that’s correct), or have something to say about your own prelude – anything that might provide a swatch in the patchwork, I want you as part of this album: visual art, spoken word, whatever. Facebook me (www.facebook.com/patchworkveracity), email me (if you know it), or just leave a comment below. I’m the editor and a major contributor here, but I’d be a fool to claim I have anywhere near all there is to say.

For none of us can ever express the exact measure of his needs or his thoughts or his sorrows; and human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars. – Gustav Flaubert