Brains!

Voodoo and Nashville

Living here and working in the place that I do, affords me a very interesting if not skewed perception of the south. National magazines and websites keep featuring this city. They call it the 'now' city of the south, it's the 'progressive' city of the south. Movie stars and bands are choosing Nashville as their hometown. Although Austin may be the live music capitol, Nashville is the city where those people sleep and eat and record. Many times the individuals featured in these profiles of Nashville are clients or neighbors to the studio, that I encounter on a daily basis. "huh so and so is in this GQ magazine...didn't realize they were doing this...our clients are so awesome!".

The past few years have been years of 'beginnings'. I've written a lot about how the city is blossoming and creation is everywhere, whether it's music, food or construction. I read an article the other day which listed Nashville in the top ten for successful small business start ups in the whole country. I feel Nashvillian's are extremely welcoming when it comes to all things new. New or revitalized neighborhoods, new restaurants, shops, bars, festivals, events.

I recently discussed with JR how people here seem to really be in to 'voodoo'. What I mean by that is folks are looking for something other than Jesus or traditional western medicine to heal their bodies and souls. And they are often looking even when those are the staples in their lives. I happen to know some of the local witch doctors that provide these services. I'm not really sure what I'm getting at here. It's an idea that has not become fully developed. But I'm just observing. I think it's somehow related to the welcoming atmosphere that Nashville provides and why so many businesses can open here, often with success. I think the mix between traditional southern hospitality and the progressive nature of the city, people are just very open to new things. That or they simply keep their opinions to themselves. The energy of this small city is perceptible. Without sounding too out there, I feel like this energy is a network between everyone. The city reacts all at once, changes day to day, season to season etc. Again these are underdeveloped ideas. Maybe it's because I working an environment where I am exposed to clients who make decisions to come in to the studio based on themselves, and when suddenly a bunch of people come in for the same reasons it's hard not to link together connections.