"How're You Feeling?" "Pretty Darned Millish*, As a Matter of Fact!"

I took a ceramics class last year and found myself surrounded by an odd assortment of people - it was a class for non-art-majors and I was the only art major in the bunch. While we practiced the ancient art of molding clay into butter dishes, we usually listened to music - either a radio station or a CD that someone brought in. One sunny spring day, one of my more colorful classmates stuck in a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers "best of" CD. She was feeling that music. At one point she uttered a phrase that has forever stuck with me: "Tom Petty speaks to my soul."

Tom Petty? Really?

I think that we'd all agree that music can effect our moods, and our moods can effect what kind of music we listen to. I certainly have music that speaks to my soul, so I shouldn't mock our Tom Petty No. 1 Fan. I went so far once as to create CD mixes (not as good as a Mixed Tape, but still serve their purpose) that I could listen to according to my mood. When I was feeling amorous, I could pop in a CD full of love songs. When my heart started to feel the strain of being a twenty-*#$%! year-old single woman, I'd toss the "amorous" CD into the back seat (sometimes with excessive force, I'll admit it) and stick in my CD of melancholy songs. Then there was the one for when I was feeling happy (which included such classics as Kool and the Gang's "Celebration" and the Jackson 5's "ABC") or one for when I was feeling a little more riled (which included Natasha Bedingfield's "Single" and Kelly Clarkston's "Since U Been Gone"), etc. You get the picture.

This past Thursday evening my friend Jen and I went to The Ark in Ann Arbor to see a band called Millish. Not just any band called Millish (as if there could be more than one band called Millish...), but the band called Millish that a friend of mine from high school is in. Jesse and I met our freshman year of high school in a Biology class and formed a friendship while making fun of our teacher. And having 3-way conversations over the phone with our friend Brian while watching TV or playing video games. And hanging out at Jesse's house while he played the piano upside-down. And having our shoes (both Converse All-Stars, or "Chucks") get married. I think his shoe's name was Winston and mine was Wilhelmina.

Wait, what was I talking about? Oh, yeah...Millish...

I have seen Millish perform a number of times and always feel electrified when I hear their music. Jen was commenting after the concert that there's no easy way to describe Millish's sound. There's an initial Celtic feel to it, some jazz undertones (or sometimes overtones), a smattering of Blue Grass, with a dash of funk and a side of cheesy fries. (I should eat more before I blog...) Then there was the Michael Jackson break in the middle of one of the songs... If you've never heard "Thriller," Billy Jean," or "Will You Be There" (you know, the theme song from the epic movie "Free Willy") played on a fiddle, well, you're missing out. Each member of the band is beyond talented and play their instrument(s) so well that they seem perfectly at ease playing the songs that are as natural to them as a conversation with friends.

As I was listening to them play this time around, I was really caught up in their sound - the melodies and harmonies, the undertones, the humor (Tex-Mex Epic!), the feeling they put into it while performing the songs - and discovered that their music really speaks to me! (Take that Tom Petty!) It made me feel hopeful, happy, and optimistic. On top of being amazing performers, here these guys are, doing what they love to do and getting paid to do it! As an artist, that is naturally my dream, but it more often than not seems like the kind of dream where you wake up and think, "What was I thinking?" and then the dream is immediately forgotten.

While I'd consider myself an optimist, I could also be categorized as a cynic. Recently, however, some pretty awesome people have helped me ease up on the cynicism a bit. Just a few weeks ago I felt inspired by some photographers in Ludington - Brad and Todd Reed - another couple of guys who make a living doing what they love to do. And now Millish. A few posts ago, when I was regaling you all with my Tales of Being an Extra, I mentioned a woman I called Motivational Lady. She was SO forceful in her belief that you can do ANYTHING if you really want to. I have since then seen these examples of people who felt the same way and have succeeded!

As a result of their great show, mad skillz, and hope-inspiring music (for me, at least), I have decided that when I am feeling hopeful or optimistic, I'm going to say that I am feeling "Millish*." (Though I'll mostly only say that around my blog readers - all 3 of you - and myself in order for people to not look at me the way they did when I went to the library in my Wellingtons.)

I hope you have a very Millish day!

(*Not to be confused with "mulish: of or like a mule, as being very stubborn, obstinate, or intractable.")