[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/the-sound-of-music\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/the-sound-of-music\/","headline":"The Sound (and Love) of Music","name":"The Sound (and Love) of Music","description":"Witnessing intimate performances gives couples new ways to discover the art form\u2014and each other The first time I saw Shawn Mullins live, I cried. 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Impact 2009","description":"Atlanta's own Positive Impact threw its second-annual \"Parties with Impact\" gala at The Granite Room in Castleberry Hill. Alexis Vear (accompanied by guitarist Matthew Smith) headlined the event, with clips including \"Step Out,\" a song Alexis wrote about Eddie's Attic; as well as covers of \"True Colors\" by Cyndi Lauper and \"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For\" by U2 - a duet with Will Pollock (additional backing vocals by Todd Price). Videography by Will Pollock & Todd Price; edited by Will Pollock. ARTvision 2009 sales launch on December 1st. 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I\u2019ll always be grateful to him for that. Emotionally, experiencing Shawn (and so many others since then) at Eddie\u2019s opened my aperture in ways I\u2019m still discovering\u2014and allowed me to connect with Dennis\u2014and later significant others and friends\u2014on a much higher level. \u201cIf both people in a couple enjoy live music then it can be a really special thing to do together,\u201d says Dr. Will Meek, psychologist in Vancouver, Wash. Meek used to tour on guitar and vocals with indie-punk bands The Square Mile and Thousandaire. Now head of the Washington State University Vancouver Counseling Services, Meek has a private practice in Vancouver and is planning a return to performing this year. Specific stats on local venues are hard to find, but I did land on this page that shows a steady increase in concert revenues\u2014to a projected $12.1 billion, up from $8.2 billion in 2006. Even through the great recession, it seems, we are seeking out our favorite artists. Meek says live concerts can spark lasting change in a couple\u2019s relationship. \u201cI think there\u2019s always something special when a couple can experience something fun or meaningful together\u2014but with live music there is something more,\u201d he says. \u201cSpecifically, I think the emotional component of the best live music can create a unique shared event. For all couples, including gay couples, I think the ultimate experience is when there is something about the music that speaks directly to the core of the relationship.\u201d My first visit to Eddie\u2019s became an articulation of new music tastes and reminded me of my days singing and performing (more on that in a minute). I got to thinking about how listening affects us in unseen ways; how music can elevate our wellbeing through conscious action, and that you couples out there can better yourselves by making it a permanent part of your emotional repertoire (yes, pun intended). Music infiltrates us on a cellular level; it cleanses and educates, soothes and challenges; it turns our brains into an elastic version of ourselves, replete with curiosity, calm and openness. Far too often we listen passively, too, without discernment of lyric or engagement in the storytelling. While I\u2019ve yet to find a venue quite like Eddie\u2019s Attic on the planet\u2014it\u2019s appropriately billed as a \u201clistening room\u201d where folks come to be quiet and enjoy terrific talent \u2014any off-beat locations can allow you to enjoy acoustic, indie-rock stars like Willy Porter, Matthew Kahler, Rockwell Church, Christine Lavin, Buddy Mondlock, Eliot Bronson, Caroline Aiken and so many others. Included in that prized group is my great friend Alexis Vear, whom I met through a MySpace connection (we are both fans of Eddie\u2019s Attic). She is a mom of two; a wife to Kevin of 18 years; and a rocker\/folk musician who has allowed me graciously into her life as a performance artist, friend, confidant and creative inspiration. She dragged me on stage with her at a benefit concert to sing a cover of \u201cI Still Haven\u2019t Found what I\u2019m Looking For,\u201d and we\u2019ve promised to collaborate on other things as well. She helped and motivated me to finish my first song, \u201cLight of Love,\u201d that I hope to perform live someday.Alexis says live music creates an extra level of awareness in spectators. \u201cWhen you\u2019re listening to music, and you both have the same reaction, you\u2019re aware of nothing but that,\u201d she says. \u201cYou look at each other, and you know what you\u2019re feeling because it\u2019s an unspoken language. When you\u2019re touched by something, you don\u2019t have to describe it. You just know it.\u201d To wit: Jason and I visited Eddie\u2019s with friends for a Susan Werner concert (if you haven\u2019t seen her, make sure you do\u2014she\u2019s an incredible performer and personality). During her deep and soulful \u201c(Why is Your) Heaven so Small,\u201d I looked at him and knew that we were witnessing a wistful statement about how religion can sometimes exclude people. \u201cWell i know you’d damn me if you could but my friend, that’s simply not your call if god is great and god is good why is your heaven so small\u201dThat concert is now a permanent, common marker that he and I can refer to and revel in. I loved Jason just a little bit more in that experience. And we bonded in ways we wouldn\u2019t get over dinner, at the movies or watching TV.\u201cLive music is a communal experience between signer and audience,\u201d says artist and entrepreneur Lisa Ferreri, owner of Wiffledust in Philadelphia, a live performance venue and online social community where independent musicians, crafters and thinkers share inspiration. With live shows, she adds, \u201cnobody knows what will happen next, and nobody can fix a mistake. You can’t get that level of energy from watching a rerun of Seinfeld. Which is why Seinfeld still performs live. \u201cPerformers consciously and unconsciously alter their music based on the energy of the listener, and the end result is a magical conversation,\u201d Ferreri says. \u201cAnyone present in this environment witnesses an exchange of energy that is nothing less than humanity at its best. A couple sharing this experience is not only creating a memory together, but actively witnessing and participating in its creation.\u201d So check out your local market music sites. Or better yet, design a trip where you can visit some of the more far-flung music houses around the nation that will give you great music as well as a taste of the local town. You won\u2019t soon regret it\u2014and you\u2019ll love your partner just a little bit more. \u201cThink of yourself as a giant lake with a dam,\u201d Vear says. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to release the dam sometimes, to let fresh water come in. That\u2019s what live music does for people.\u201d "},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"The Sound (and Love) of Music","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/the-sound-of-music\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]