A musician's job is to make music. That usually means playing live, or going to the studio, or writing a song, sometimes even going to church. Religion and music have always made good writing partners. From Jimi Hendrix to John Coltrane to Whitney Houston to Amy Grant, religion plays an important role in the creation of music. Spirituality fills the soul with inspiration. It puts music on a higher plane. It gives meaning to our simple lives. For my friend, Roger, divine inspiration means going down to the local temple to have a talk with his god. These conversations ultimately influence how he makes his music, and who he makes it with.
For many Westerners living in Taiwan, the cacophony of sights and sounds at the local temple is hard to fathom. It is a far cry from the typical wear-a-suit-and-listen-to-the-sermon scenario that most Westerners are used to. First, there are a number of god to choose from, and each has a unique personality. Second, there is a way to talk directly with him/her using sticks or moon-shaped crescents. Third, it is quite normal to involve your particular god in the daily business of life. For Roger, his god plays the role of agent, consultant, and personal manager.
The first time I encountered Roger's god was during a recording session. We had just finished up a few songs, when Roger said, "You know, my god said that I should work with you. He said I would make a lot of money if I did." Naturally I was quite curious what else his god had said. Especially since I was mentally preparing to hire Roger to arrange twelve songs for an upcoming album I was producing. Yes, Roger would make quite a bit of money working with me.
The second time I encountered Roger's god was at night. I dreamt that a short, stocky, bearded Chinese man with a dark face and long robes came to talk to me. We couldn't really communicate, so he showed me how to toss little moon-shaped crescents onto the floor. If they landed one way that meant "Yes," and if they landed another way that meant "No." I wasn't very good at it, but we managed to have a decent conversation nevertheless. We talked a lot about the music industry, and I kept trying to fool him by asking the same question at different times. The answer was always the same regardless.
I mentioned this dream to Roger while we were working on the music arrangements. "Wow, he must have come to you in your sleep," he said excitedly. "I'll ask him tomorrow if you were just having a weird dream, or if he really did go and visit you."
Roger called me the very next day. "I asked my god if he went to talk to you last night and he said he did! Can you believe that?" I was starting to feel a little weird. Mark that encounter number three.
During the course of the next few weeks, we worked steadily on the music until one day Roger and I got into a heated argument over a simple performance contract that needed to be signed. The contract was required by the record company, and we could go no further until Roger signed it. He had stalled for a month, and now the record company was giving me pressure to get the contract signed. I tried to explain the situation to him, but he stormed out of my apartment, livid. "My god told me not to sign any contract," he shouted. "He said I would have problems with you if I did. I should have known!"
After several days and a few pints of beer, I managed to get the production rolling again. We were now a week behind schedule, and Roger was feeling the work load. He called and asked if he could do only half of the project. That would give him more time to concentrate on the music, he explained. I agreed, and thought it was a little strange since now Roger was making only half of what he could have. I didn't mention it, and thought nothing more about it until we started recording at Roger's home studio a few weeks later. As soon as we began, the phone rang. We were making too much noise, complained a neighbor. We tried recording again, much quieter this time. Another call. Still too loud. I asked Roger what was going on. "How are we supposed to record anything when your neighbor complains at the drop of a pin?"
"You see, that's why I decided to take only half of the project," Roger explained. "My god said that I would have problems with one of my neighbors once we started recording." He moitioned towards the phone. "That must be who he was talking about."
I was now starting to really wonder about Roger's god. I thought lawyers were hard to deal with, but this was something completely out of my league.
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