Lamborghini Blues

"A painter paints his pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silences" -Masestro Leopold Stokowski

It's not that I am a snob about music but any world traveler will tell you that the most essential item in your rucksack is your music. For me, The Jonas Brothers just doesn't round out the experience of speeding in a Land Rover across the Sahara Desert- though the Clash's "Rock the Casbah" does.

My choice of tunes has become the soundtrack for the journey and it has saved my sanity. I can attest that there is nothing better then listening to your iPod under the influence of Ambien on a trans-Atlantic flight. It is a wonderful hypnotic chemical that takes you away from the crying babies and exasperated mothers on El Al Airlines (not the Ambien, the song). The music has isolated me from Egyptian wedding parties at two o'clock in the morning as well as helping me pass days (not hours) while waiting for a flight out of Kabul.

I have collected CD's from world markets, bazaars, back alley kiosks and hotel lobbies. I'd like to think that my taste in music is eclectic; you can find Middle Eastern Dance, Bollywood, Japanese Pop, Electronica, Soul, Rock, Tango and Neapolitan ballads on my iPod proving that I am in constant search for my own personal soundtrack.

Like a still image, a song can transport you back to a moment in time that has been forgotten. For instance, during the fires of Southern California in 2009 I had a very real flashback when Shakira's song; "Whenever, Wherever" blared out from the radio while driving on the Glendale Freeway. The smell of burning wood, diesel and the thump-thump of the helicopters overhead transported me immediately back to Afghanistan.

It was only a matter of time that my love of photography and music began to feed each other. Over the years one of my passions has become shooting stills of musicians of all genres and having a real conversation about travel, life and what art means to that person. It was during one of these shoots that I met Tracy G who was the lead guitarist for Ronnie James Dio back in the 90's. In spite of Tracy G's heavy metal credentials his soulful song "Lamborghini Blues" swept me away without the aid of a pharmaceutical.

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