Episode 42 | Aaron Edgar (ii)
** Circles for more important things.
.
We're teaming up with the fine people at Sugar Percussion, Paul Mabury and That Sound, Drummers Corner Group and the team at Drumeo to give to those in need. Drum fan or not, help us help out.
Details on the raffle are as follows. Sugar Percussion is offering a 14x6 Eastern Black Cherry snare drum with a gig bag. Tickets are $5 each and there is no limit on tickets purchased.
. Payment sent as gift via PayPal to js@sugarpercussion.com
. Send an email to js@sugarpercussion.com with your name, address and telephone number.
. The Raffle runs for the month of September, and we are sending payments to organization every week.
. The charities we have chosen to support is Texas A&M University Veterinary Emergency Team and for Hurricane Irma we are sending money to Direct Relief.
Thank you everyone so much for showing your appreciation and support for our raffle. We love all of you. **
The intro to this episode is a montage of audio clips from Aaron Edgar's SQ-590 "The Holy Grail" unboxing. Music is by Oli Bernatchez
So as many of you recall I had interviewed Aaron back in Episode 12 about six months ago. After that session we touched base every so often, mostly in the form of bug pictures and snow storm videos. But one time he sent me a really interesting update. Aaron said he was changing his studio, his business and also about how he was working on a book, but nothing more. At this point, I decided that he needed to be back on the show because of these major transformations that were happening but I didn't understand much beyond that.
In many cases with DrumGAB everything is fail-safe and proofed for any catostrophies while recording the show. I plan the show pretty meticulously as a rule. Aaron's show was no different. However, once we got chatting and the show started going, I only used the notes a couple times for major points I wanted to discuss and to direct the show. But in this episode the conversation took over pretty fast. This episode is as real as it gets I feel. I am blown away with how well this session turned out.
The main thread in this episode is the idea of self awareness and evolution. What you need to understand is that Aaron has been biting off big portions for years as a way to prove to himself that he can do anything he wants. In addition to that point, Aaron is a workoholic and has difficulty with saying no and because of this he felt that he was becoming spread too thin. Aaron had reached a threshold and had to reinvent himself.
Now, what's really interesting about this interview is that he shares so openly about all of this. I sensed some self-reflection, almost like the podcast session was a time for Aaron to unwind to someone. So within the first 30 minutes the chat hits some deep points and then we "close" on some snare shop talk. Aaron talks about his SQ-590 snare drum that has some of the most incredible providence I have ever heard about. The story behind how Aaron became the owner of that drum is a story for generations to tell. Legendary stuff. And then we begin concluding and it sounds like the show is over.
I remember how I felt during this part when we recorded it. There was an awkward tension in the air as it didn't feel over yet somehow. I can't really explain why, but I decided to blurt out a question concerning Stickman out of the blue. I didn't even see it coming. Aaron says it was great and next thing you know he's telling me about how he rewrote his clinic and lead a meditation et cetera. At this point shit got real. He opens up like I have never heard on this show. He openly talks about what his life is like and how blindfaithing his career had really taken a toll on him. He discusses a particular book he read several times called "Effortless Mastery" and how it changed his life. He talks about being kinder to himself and treating himself like a human being, not just locking himself away in his basement teaching, making video content, freelance gigging and working on projects. His entire adult life has been without much of a social life. It has just been drums and music and he is now realizing that he needs to reform in order to keep the fire going strong within.
When I think about all the caterpillar pictures he sent me over the summer, all I can think about is what those caterpillers represented to Aaron. As he explains, "What does a caterpillar represent? It gets into a cocoon and turns into a completely different animal." It is amazing when your guest lives in the moment on your show. It is rare when it is this genuine and I am so glad I captured it.
Music by: Third Ion
Song: Van Halien
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