Play It, Sing It, Dance It With Shaloor

Take center stage and lose it

Show the world you live for music

Take your broken dreams and use it

Show us you live for music

Add up all your cuts and bruises

Show the world you live for music

Throw away your last excuses

Show us you live for music

These are words I wrote ten years ago. They're still applicable today. I always wish more people would have heard this song. Tens of thousands of high school choir kids sang it, and I can only hope they still remember what they felt when they sang these words.

This is music therapy at its essence. Push out the darkness and give us your light. Everyone needs it. We all need your light to shine down. So play it, sing it, dance it with SHALOOR! Take center stage, push away your inhibitions, open yourself up to your most vulnerable state, give us everything you got and we will rise with you. Sing it with SHALOOR!

No one is inspired by a half-hearted performance. And few are inspired by those that succumb to their fears while on stage. Many will encourage and support those in need of it, but when it comes down to it, the performers who own the stage and perform it with shaloor are the ones who truly ignite passion in the listeners.

That's also how you as a performer find your therapeutic release. When you give it less than you could or should, you know it, and it doesn't give you the catharsis you need. You have to leave it all out on the stage or you will not find your inner freedom.

I had a concert scheduled in Dallas, TX years ago. The day before, I held a rehearsal with all the performers at a high school who were expected to join me. The choir, band, and soloists all sounded great. My voice was in top form. Tickets had sold out for our 800-seat theater. We were all ready for a great show.

Come the day of the show, I completely lost my voice to a heavy allergic reaction. I couldn't even talk. I took all the medication I could find, and it barely moved the needle. By the time I walked on stage the night of the sold-out show, my vocal cords barely produced a squeak. I was in dire need of some singers and performers to step up to the center stage. Of those who took the challenge, one performer stood out. I will always remember this trumpet player who let it all go on the stage. With his trumpet, he danced and played with shaloor. The audience ate it up. They knew something unforgettable was happening before their eyes. This young high schooler blasted his trumpet without inhibition.

I've performed in thousands of concerts. Some are forgettable, but most have left an impression on me. I reflect back on them often and think about that connection I made with someone in the audience during at least one song during the show. That was always my goal. To have at least one spiritual connection with my audience. It was what I lived for. I knew in those moments, someone was lifted by my voice, my keys, my songs. There's no greater therapy than the feeling you get when you truly inspire someone else. We're on this planet to lift one another, and in those moments when we succeed in this, we feel fulfilled.