Building Beautifully, Right Mom?

OBB - The Owens Brothers Band made its "club" debut last night at Leftfield On Ludlow! This historic occasion was a blast for all present -- and there were lots of old and new fans in the house! * We sounded good and we stayed "within our time."

Of course, we encourage those who enjoyed themselves at the gig to write something to us or about us! We have this website, we are on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The next gig is on Friday, July 1st on the Upper West Side, so please plan now to join us!

As we were performing, sounding good and occasionally glitchy, I could not help but marvel at the beauty of building something -- the beauty of creation! With a band, it's creating a unique musical experience for all involved. For my Mom, it was creating me -- and my brothers!

Why do I mention Mom? Because today is her 93rd birthday! Happy Birthday, Ethel Werfel Owens! As my brother, Mitty, stated so eloquently at brother Geoffrey's wedding, "you can't break the mold ... there was no mold!" That's Mom!

Ethel Owens invested everything in raising three boys to be intelligent and good people -- in that order! :) EWO does not suffer fools, so we had to meet her high expectations throughout our lives and hers. Of course, if she had not done so, there might not ever have been an OBB - Owens Brothers Band! Mom was our piano teacher and music promoter (promoter of music in our lives); because of her, we all played piano, stringed instruments, and percussion and congas. I also branched off into clarinet, and Geoffrey branched off into guitar -- which was a great move!

Without Mom, there would have been no battles over whether or not the Beatles, The Jackson 5, or Jethro Tull deserved to be loved by us the way SHE loved Bach, Mozart and Beethoven. And, by the way, Mom was not at last night's gig. On one hand, she's been a bit under the weather and it just wasn't a good idea for her to go out late on a damp Friday. The real reason, however, is that she would have freaked in that very "intimate" club setting -- including the very LOUD sound system. Not her speed at all! (I remember at my very first club gig ever -- in 1983 -- she came up to me during the set and said "The drums are just too loud. Can you turn them off? I just want to hear your voice.")

Creation is difficult and labor intensive. It requires patience and dedication. You try to feel good about your creation, yet you know that there always some hidden issues that will come to light at some point and you hope for the best. It applies to a good band arrangement, and it applies to raising children. I have learned to appreciate both in my life.

Sooooo ... Thank you, Mom, for creating me and for allowing me to create my own music and my own children ... building beautifully all the way.

May you have a very happy 93rd birthday, Mom! I love you!

* Our audience included folks from all chapters of our lives. In my case, I had former 3rd Grade classmates, high school classmates, college classmates, workmates, and family members. Thank you all for being there!