“One Man Band Performing At An Empty Cajun Restaurant”
photograph by Taylor J.
Several months ago I was invited to dinner with some family. They took me to a cajun restaurant here in middle Tennessee. It was a very small yellow brick building in the middle of nowhere. When we entered the a waitress asked us if we had seen any cows loose on the road. We said no, she said good. Inside there were only 6 or 7 tables to eat at. When I said small building I meant small. There was one cook, one waitress and one other table of guests. After we ordered our food a man entered with a guitar and a keyboard and began to play old country songs. He was very lively and really seemed to enjoy himself even with the small crowd. At first I really admired him for putting so much effort in such a small show. Then I realized he wasn’t putting on anything. He just loved his craft and wanted to play music. It didn’t matter to him how many people were around. That really resonated with me and has stuck with me ever since.
Photographic Surreal Impressionism
(100% pure photography)
Taylor Jorjorian 
Love you titles, Man!>KB
I sometimes think we need to escape into ourselves in respite from a world driven by shallow endeavours. Whilst on a street photography excursion I happened upon a musician sitting in Buchanan Street offering a take on some cultural classics… the police moved him on because people were stopping and it was causing an obstruction. I have a small picnic blanket in my bag for lying on the ground, I offered it to him at a spot where a crowd would cause no obstruction… I listened to him for about another 20 mins and wandered away to do my ‘thing’.
It struck me later that he didn’t have a bowl or cap for donations… several hours later, he walked by me in George Square, stopped and reached into his bag to return the blanket. I told him to keep it… my contribution. It turned out that he didn’t consider himself good enough to play in clubs because it wasn’t his own work, but he took songs and made them new. So to feed his need to share his art, he sings in the street. By day a loss adjuster, at the weekend a street musician, but one of the family of artists who just enjoys what he does!
Morale of the story? We all need to feed the soul and artists are very very hungry!
Thank you for sharing!
Taylor, It is a beautiful thing when someone loves what they do for the sheer pleasure of doing it, and is appreciated by others such as yourself. Hence, you enjoyed, and in turn, created something beautiful that you take pleasure in. Well done, and lively photograph to boot !
Yes it is Michael, I guess it did make a full circle. Thank you for pointing that out.
My mother was an extraordinary artist who never sold one piece of art. She just did it for herself. While I am too much an exhibitionist to create without sharing it with the world, I have always been in awe of my mother’s ability to create beautiful things just for herself. T’ain’t easy. Oh, and thanks for likeing my recent post on Studio Chatter.