Get to know
John Bach:
Find John on Instagram (@ainkdavis)
The Underground Thieves: Apple Music | iTunes | Spotify | Amazon
Mount Holly, "Stride by Stride" (2017) Apple Music | iTunes | Spotify | Amazon
At the start of the series I mentioned that I’m a writer, but this episode ends up being about the part of my life that revolves around the music industry. For more than a decade I have worked as an artist consultant and tour manager, and the conversation you’re about to hear underscores some of the lifelong partnerships and friendships I’ve made with people associated with music. These days I tend to spend a few weeks a year on tour with a handful of musicians from around the world, including my guest this time around, rock and roll drummer, John Bach.
John and I have only known each other for a few years, but as you’ll hear, we became fast friends, and for good reason. John is my favorite kind of musician: super talented, great at the hustle, focused on the prize, with an earned arrogance that he backs up with his drumming. He is also a teddy bear; sweet and sensitive, rarely convinced that he knows everything, and the kind of guy who lovingly makes dinner for everyone by turning random leftovers in the refrigerator into an absolute feast.
I made it my mission to sit down with John early, because he accomplished the heavy lifting of true friendship at a moment in my life when I desperately needed a friend. For that, and for countless late night conversations we’ve had in the band houses and tour vans we’ve occupied over the years, I knew I had to bring John’s really fascinating story to this ongoing discussion on gratitude.
This discussion lead me to think quite deeply on how radical an act of conscious gratitude can be. To take a bad situation - from the small, to the tragically large and life changing - and focus one’s energy on skipping past the negative to the grateful is a truly beautiful and compassionate thing. I’m so grateful that John used his wisdom to try and help me when I was down and needed it, and it has inspired me to try and do the same. Sometimes the best gift we can give others - especially when we know we have great advice for them - is to just shut up and listen. When the time is right to use words to help, you’ll know.
Here now is a discussion with my friend, rock and roll drummer John Bach, on gratitude.