Envy Sucks

I am jealous.

When I was a teenager there was this slightly older group of musicians that I very much looked up to.  I had a band.  They had an excellent band.  My band wrote its own songs.  Their band wrote friggin' phenomenal songs.  I was an improvising fool of a lead guitarist.  They had a improvising GOD of a lead GUITAR HERO KING OF ALL GUITARISTS.

The gulf between my band and our songs and their band and their songs was roughly akin to the Grand Canyon.  The gulf between my guitar playing and their guitar god's guitar playing was roughly akin to the Pacific Ocean.

You get my drift.  We kinda sucked.  They kinda ruled.  I looked up to them in a weird, musical inspirational kinda way.

Over the years, I got better at writing and playing the guitar and singing and they got better at those things at a steadily increasing exponential rate.  Eventually I lost track of what they were doing and lost track of my own musical interests.  My skills took a huge step back.  Then I got back into it and my skills started improving.  Then I got out, then I got back in, and the musical yo-yo took over.

I heard stories that similar things happen to the guys I looked up to.  Some became pros.  Some moved on to other things.  Some fell out then came back and so on.  Well, I heard some recent music by one of those guys today.  Specifically, the Guitar God.

The gulf between us in all musical skills can now best be described as being akin to the gulf between the Sun and Neptune.  Holy shit!  Well into their 40's, the writing and the singing and the guitar heroics are still rising at that incredible exponential rate.

On the one hand, I am freakin' thrilled to hear that at least one of those guys has still got it.  Got it in a major, huge way.  On another hand, it is completely depressing.  I failed to keep the gulf steady at its Pacific ocean size.  One the third (?) hand it is completely inspiring.  I want, nay, NEED to write something cool right now.  If for no reason than to show myself that I still can.  I don't have the time to pretend to be a musician right now, but I have a little bit of desire.

We'll see what happens.