Last year my daughter purchased me a copy of one of my favourite books, “Buddhism plain and simple” by Steve Hagen. The book is available at our local library and I have read it several times. In this book Steve Hagen attempts to strip away all the man made notions surrounding the Buddha’s teachings and reveal the essence of the what Siddhartha Gautama was telling us. Forget about the different branches of Buddhism, the robes, singing bowls, or any other human contrived add ons. A little history and a very clearly written dialogue regarding the four basic truths and the noble eight fold path.

I don’t consider myself a Buddhist in the conventional sense, but do feel I have woken up in regard to the Buddha Dharma. The Buddha’s teachings have practical application in the here and now, they help you see reality.  My eldest brother tried to make me aware of the wisdom to be found in exploring ancient writings.  As a young man I took some interest in Taoism although my personal awakening really took hold when I grasped the basic Buddha Dharma. The teachings are about living this life, not so much about what happens after we die. How to create the least amount of suffering for yourself, others and this world around us. After all, we are all connected and at some level, all aware of that.

The reason I am speaking about this in my blog is because what rolls around inside a songwriters head eventually makes its way through their heart, hands, voice and into their songs. Much of the music I’ve written in the past couple of years has reflected the teachings I have come to embrace in songs about life, suffering, joy, awareness and mindfulness.  

I was looking for a way to better represent the collaborative effort that has come from a few years of stage time with bassist Blaise Zhiam utilising a name for the act rather than continuing under the “Theo Massop” moniker.  With a new album of my songs on the horizon and seeking input from my band mates we have taken the name “BoodAbooM”. Phonetically it pays homage to the Buddha’s teaching relevant in my songs and our drummer Warren duMailo likes the way it sounds like drums being played.

This isn’t to say the songs are solemn and subdued. On the contrary, the music is rootsy, rocking, grooving with some reggae and yes, a few mellower musings for the mind. It’s fun to feel that you are building something with a team, three guys with a similar point of view working together toward a unified goal. Good music.

No pretensions, we’re not trying to change the world, we’re just making good music with some meaningful lyrics that might connect with some people.  Check back occasionally to see what’s up with “BoodAbooM”, as well as my personal rants and raves.

Until next time, Brother T