Art and Sports

I am watching Wimbledon over the top of my laptop and being inspired by these great tennis masters. I play tennis and would love to get out on the court today but most likely I will take this inspiration to the banjo. I will probably have it out and be playing before this match ends. (especially if they go five sets!)

As I age I find my interest in the way that arts and sport cross over has increased. If you are a regular reader here you know that I love hockey and play three or four times per week. (except in the summer) Playing all the sports that I do seems to give me energy to work on my music. Multiple gigs or rehearsal days are a pleasure and squeezing in a skate or hitting some balls in the morning makes for a perfect busy day.

Now we have the Pan Am games upon us. My first instinct was to run and hide as the city gets crazy but we have decided to stay and embrace it. My family is attending a basketball and a baseball game. (I am lucky to have Julie as a wife as she often gets us out doing fun stuff like that!)

I am very inspired by the Panamania too. This is the huge concert series they have designed to go with the games. I went through the listing and wrote down a whole bunch of concerts that I want to attend. Free concerts! These include; The Roots, Lila Downs, and some friends like Running Red Lights, Jane Bunnet and more.

It used to be that artists separated themselves from sports. Think of the jocks versus the band back in high school etc. Maybe those times are changing. Imagine a world where our athletes had more interest and involvement in the arts and vice versa. Of course there is the discussion of the art within the sport. Ie the beauty of a great 3 on 2 in hockey, or the improvisation of someone like Sidney Crosby.  (I will save this topic for another post)

This summer I am running the ultimate summer camp; Rockband/Hockey. I am so excited about this. Exposing these kids to both joys of my life; music in the morning and hockey in the afternoon. It is full but there will be some space added for the afternoon hockey portion. (stay tuned here!)

My other art/sports mashup that I have started working on is a Canadian Jazz-Hockey tour. My pals that I have played hockey with for 25 years also happen to be great jazz musicians. I am starting to work on a tour where we would arrive in each city, play a hockey game (maybe for charity) against the local musicians and then play a double bill concert with them at a local bar or concert venue.  I am looking for sponsors/investors for this tour at this point.

Enjoy the concerts, enjoy the games but most importantly get and out and do both yourself. It is never too late to learn a new sport or take on a musical instrument!