2024-Sep-07 - This Point In Time
This week's randomly selected track This Point In Time is song #14 from disc #1 of my latest triple album It Was All Just a Dream. This song was previously unreleased.
This is a bit of an oddball song that I wrote in one of my composition courses as a music major, working toward my undergraduate degree in music. It's no mystery: I really didn't fit in well at the University of Hawaii Music Department.
From the moment I first started making music, I fell deeply in love with all things rock and metal. I had a deep appreciation for all forms of music, but rock guitar is what made my heart beat and my blood flow. The University of Hawaii made it clear very quickly that modern music of any sort wasn't really welcome. They made it clear that I was at best not considered a "real" musician by their standards.
So I struggled. I did really well in all of my classes, but I was never really accepted as being a member of the tribe. When I went in for advising to declare my intended major, Music Education, I was effectively told, “Sorry, we don't take guitarists in the music education program. Learn another instrument. We're done here. Goodbye.”
I was livid and heartbroken. I changed my major to Art that same day. I spent the following couple years taking drawing, painting, and art history courses. I barely even touched my guitars at that point. I was so angry with the Music Department that I just didn't even want to think about music. I immersed myself in art, and while I wish I had continued playing regularly, I didn't regret a moment of my decision to revel in the creativity of the visual arts.
But after a couple years, it was just too clear that music was my true love. While I was enthusiastic about visual art, I wasn't passionate about it. So I went back to music, and rather than trying to fight an uphill battle with the Music Education program and the miserable witch of a gatekeeper who stood between me and my dream of becoming a music teacher, I chose a direction that ended up being a perfect fit: theory and composition.
I was still a rock guitarist through and through, but thankfully, my composition professors were open-minded and interested in what I was coming up with. In one of my courses, my assignment was to try to come up with something a little more jazz-influenced, and incorporate some of the instruments from some of my classmates. There was a pianist, a melodic percussionist, and a sax player in my class, so I had my assignment and went to work on it.
I brought in what I had, which was a nearly completed version of the song as it is today, but I didn't know what to call it. When asked for a title by my professor, I said, "I don't have a title at this point in time."
He replied, "You do now! This Point In Time fits this music perfectly." 😎
Shortly after, I would go on to fulfill my required coursework and eventually graduate with my Bachelor of Arts degree in Music. While I didn't have the best academic experience as a whole, I did find a refuge with the composition faculty.
All of the rhythm guitar parts were recorded on my Fender American Elite Stratocaster, and the lead melodic lines and guitar solo were played on my gorgeous Sapphire Blue Charvel Pro-Mod DK24. As with most of the songs in this collection, all of the parts on this song were played through my Mesa Boogie Mark V:25.
You can listen to this song as well as the entire 44 song collection right here on the website! If you love what you hear and want to support the music I make, please consider purchasing this album on CD or digital download. I will gladly personalize and autograph your copy.
https://chrisstark.com/it-was-all-just-a-dream
Keep an eye out for next Saturday's song spotlight, and as always, thank you sincerely for all of your support!
Love, Aloha, and Rock!
❤️😎🎸