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Vernon Reid - Opening Your Mind to What Matters

Not many guitarists come close to having Vernon Reid’s resume:

  • Grammy Winner
  • Platinum Selling Artist
  • Complete badass virtuoso in jazz, funk, r&b, metal, punk, etc.
  • Shared the stage and studio with Carlos Santana, The Rolling Stones, Public Enemy, etc.

He’s a chameleon, but how does he escape categorization or the limiting beliefs that restrain so many people? Where does he find “the juice”? And how is playing with the Stones just as exciting as having his lost wallet returned?

Listen to this lively discussion where Vernon discusses having an open mind, finding your own voice, using mortality as inspiration and finding the "wild" moments in your everyday life.

In this episode:

  • Avoiding categorization -- being put into a box
  • Keeping the focus on what you love
  • Marching to the beat of your own drum
  • Anthrax vs Burt Bacharach
  • Music is about diving into the human experience
  • Unique expression of “their moment”
  • Learning how to listen to music
  • Listen without judging
  • James Brown
  • The Beatles
  • The Rolling Stones
  • Dave Clark 5
  • Sly Stone
  • Jimi Hendrix
  • Carlos Santana
  • Frank Zappa
  • Music that black people listen to vs what white people listen to
  • Disclipline and practicing
  • At first playing was awful, frustrating
  • Little breakthroughs lead to big breakthroughs
  • Learning how to be with frustration
  • As a father seeing disclipline in younger generations
  • Instant gratification vs hard work
  • Trying to remove risk from the equation of life
  • “Inside of your struggle is your sound”
  • Comfort and convenience can take away from your voice
  • Avoiding and distracting ourselves from mortality
  • Using mortality and frustration to live the moment
  • People want to avoid what sucks
  • Shortcuts mean no individuality
  • Great people all struggled
  • Finding your voice without fixing it or perfecting it
  • Jeff Beck shows us how to be ourselves
  • The Edge from U2
  • Henry Rollins hates U2
  • Johnny Marr, The Smiths “How Soon is Now”
  • Walter Becker from Steely Dan
  • Having your own sound/voice is more important than technique
  • Realizing your own voice
  • Ronald Shannon Jackson
  • Fusion -- Jazz and Rock
  • Carlos Santana, John McLaughlin & Robert Fripp (King Crimson)
  • The Decoding Society
  • The Who “I hope I die before I get old”
  • Older men still in “the young man’s” game of rock
  • The importance of living in the moment and projecting yourself into the future
  • Being fascinated with young people - prettiest, sexual peak
  • The only constant is change vs The more the things change, the more they stay the same
  • Science Fiction and his fascination with gear
  • Forbidden Planet & The Day the Earth Stood Still
  • Where’s my Jet Pack?
  • The future was supposed to be dope
  • I want my hovering skateboard
  • The sexual culture is buckwild
  • How does life measure up to your dreams?
  • Having his wallet returned just as big as playing with The Rolling Stones
  • Hearing his daughter read
  • The “little stuff” is massive
  • It’s about the wild moments
  • We’re bored with life
  • Giraffes
  • Elephants are bad motherfuckers
  • We overlook the familiar
  • The quotidian things mean a lot
  • Mortality makes us live more
  • Being inspired by the people in our lives
  • The overemphasis of being results oriented
  • The danger of losing “the journey”
  • All the girls you ever slept with are going to pass away
  • We’re only here for a little while
  • George Carlin
  • The planet is going to be fine
  • Really taste this moment in life
  • A last time for everything
  • Your last orgasm

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