How Music Changed My Life: Kathleen's Story

November 25, 2013 

It's hard to say exactly how music changed my life because it has been such a huge part of my life. I can't really imagine my life without it. I've been a singer and choir geek my whole life, I started piano at the ripe age of 22 and wound up pursuing my bachelors, masters and now my doctors in music. It's my capricorn intensity that loves order and knowledge. Through all this, I have continued to have a love affair with dance music. I lived in SF in the hey-day of rave culture, in the 90's, moved to Tahoe and continued to dance there and in SF. My path took me to the Midwest for two years where I immersed myself in a professional music program and basically, there was no dancing, but I was steeped in a musical tradition that taught me about "serving the music." Since being imprinted with that philosophy, I've been trying to figure out exactly how to live that philosophy - not an easy thing at all. 
I wound up in Flagstaff, AZ, playing in bands, starting to teach, finishing my BM in music education, toured, got married, got divorced, and after 6 years in one of the most pristine mountain communities, it was time to leave. And back to SF I went. And the dancing began again. Music went back to the clubs and the Burning Man culture was fully infused in the city by that time. I spent a lot of time at Cocomo, the End Up, the Park, Decompression, Sunset/Stompy parties, the Castro,  etc etc etc! but the party lifestyle was more than I could handle and it began to take me down in ways I never imagined. What began as an innocent journey into fun, community, immersion became that which would hold me back in other ways, ways that would negatively affect the rest of my music. The spirit that guides my life works in funny ways I moved to eastern Washington to take a faculty job at Washington State University for two years. It was there that my spirit calmed down, I regained some clarity and got back on track. but you could still find me in the park, alone, on Friday or Saturday nights, with my iPod blasting burning man robot heart mixes, dancing, alone in the dark, dreaming of all those wonderful sunset parties overlooking the city on treasure island.  and now, i'm about to graduate with a doctorate in music. and what have I learned? what has changed?  ~that serving the music and serving the ego can look very similar, don't be confused which is which. ~that to truly serve the music, one has to be dedicated, I think, to serving the Divine, and in essence, humanity, since I now believe we are one in the same ~that it really don't mean a damn thing, if it ain't got that swing! ~that from here on out, the music I make, the music I organize, the music I sing/play/direct will have one mission: to uplift, elevate, vibrate, communicate and inspire.  How that takes shape, I'm so freakin' psyched to discover!