The last 15 or so months have been one of the weirdest times I have lived in my 38+ years on this planet. I have seen people struggling, I have seen people thriving, and I have seen everything in between. For me, I haven’t had a lot of bad experiences during this time, but I have struggled in my own way. I know my struggle is minor in the grand scheme of all that is going on in the world. I don’t want to discount the fact that a lot more people have seen much more trying times during this chapter of time than I have, but it is also important to recognize what I have been experiencing as well. Mentally, I struggle and when that is coupled with a lot more time alone, it has not been the best recipe for a healthy mind and body.
There have been very few things that have helped me cope and like most times in my life when I have been down, music has always been one of those things. So with all of this alone time, and the ability to not go to concerts, I’ve had to search for new ways for the music to work its magic. I have made playlists, I have dug back into old albums I used to love. I took a huge stack of vinyl records from my Mom and listened to music in a way I haven’t for many years. All of those were fine and good, but the thing that really helped the most, the thing that really helped me push through was a little thing on Instagram called The Session which is orchestrated by a brilliant man named Christian James Hand.
I was introduced to Christian James Hand in 2018 by my friend and fellow music lover Adam, and immediately I was hooked. What Christian does is he dissects songs to a level like you have never heard before. He breaks down each part individually, and opens your ears and minds to hear music in a way you never thought possible. He starts with playing the drums/percussion first. Hearing those by themselves gives you such an amazing feel to the song. Then he goes to the bass. He then brings them together for what is called the Engine Room. He then goes on to guitars, pianos, and other instruments that make up the song. The last thing then is the vocals alone. Hearing all those components by themselves gives you an amazing insight into the song. That in itself is a hell of a journey, but what makes this process so special is the man himself. Christian James Hand is not just a music fan, he is a someone who has lived and breathed in the music industry for several decades. This is a man with stories. A guy who has seen it all and then some. What makes this experience so special is his passion for the impact music has on our hearts and minds. He shares that with a level of enthusiasm that is unmatched and he does it in such a genuine way. This is all about the music to him, and the way he respects the art is what makes his process so special.
Mr. Hand has been at this a long time, and hearing his stories of how he has tried to make this work on so many levels is inspiring. He has told stories of how he has gone to cities and tried to organically build an audience. Doing this for small groups of people in hopes they would tell their friends. In doing this, he was able to create these experiences and get a nice crowd in a room to listen to him break down songs. It is the great story of the artist doing so much to get out there, and building something up slowly through perseverance and hard work. Mr. Hand was gaining some real momentum, and then 2020 happened. Mr. Hand, like so many others was faced with the challenge of coming up with a way to do your work in the world that was created by the pandemic.
In June of 2020 Mr. Hand did something that only an experienced radio man could do, and he started doing his song breakdowns on Instagram Live. He didn’t just hop onto Instagram live, play a song on his computer, and break it down, that would be too easy. Being the brilliant mind that he is, he knew he had to do it right, technically. After doing a bunch of research, he figured out how to plug his phone into a mixer, put all the pieces together and do these sessions in a way that sounds amazing. In doing that, he created a truly unique experience. The beauty of these sessions is that they are live, there is no archive, you can’t go back and check them out, you are either there or you’re not. It is the perfect tribute to the time before streaming, recording, and everything always being accessible at any time. To me it is the ultimate homage to the old radio days where you had to gather around at a certain time in order to hear what was being played.
As 2020 progressed, the sessions did as well. It was my therapy. It helped me get through and made all that time alone not feel so lonely. These sessions have grown, and as more and more people have been made aware of what Mr. Hand is doing, the more unique people stop by. The one and only Jimmy Jam is a frequent contributor to the chat. The legendary Greg Phillinganes often drops his knowledge as well. There are so many others, and you never knew who is going to drop a comment in the chat. It has changed how I hear songs, it has taught me how to listen to the details, and it has shown me how much work goes into the creative process of making art. It has changed my appreciation of music by making me more curious, and wanting to dig deeper into the art form that has been such a crucial part of my life.
My hope in writing this, is that it will reach someone who loves music and doesn’t know this exists. I want them to find it. I want them to dig into it. I want them to really hear a song broken down. I want them to hear a song they love differently. I want them to find something they have never heard before and fall in love with it.
To me music is the only universal language. It is one of the few things that can bring us together. It can be the soundtrack to change. It can make us laugh, cry, dance, and smile. Most importantly when we can’t find the words ourselves, music can give us a voice. It can let us know we aren’t alone, that someone else has felt the same way at some point in time. These sessions pull back the curtain and allow us to hear beyond the song. We hear the individual pieces, and the power those parts have on a song as a whole. Mr. Hand is taking us on a journey beyond what we know about music. He gives us a glimpse into the power of music. He is the vehicle showing the power of beyond what we hear or what we thought we knew. You will walk away with a new appreciation for the soundtrack of the soul. One of the greatest things I have gained from these sessions is the ability to hear things differently. They changed the way I listen, not only to music, but to the world around me.
Music is therapy and therapy is in session and I hope you will stop by.
To learn more check out the links and info below:
The Instagram page where you can find these sessions: https://www.instagram.com/thesessioniglive/
Christian James Hand Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/christianjameshand/
The Session Website: https://thesessionwebsite.com/
To get a taste of what CJH does, you can find the collection of songs he has done on radio station KLOS here: https://soundcloud.com/theklossessions
Some of my favorites from the KLOS Sessions:
OPP by Naughty by Nature: https://soundcloud.com/theklossessions/naughty-by-nature-opp
Papa Was A Rolling Stone by The Temptations: https://soundcloud.com/theklossessions/the-temptations-papa-was-a-rolling-stone
Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks (particularly the piano parts by Roy Bittan and Benmont Tench): https://soundcloud.com/theklossessions/stevie-nicks-edge-of-17
Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen: https://soundcloud.com/theklossessions/fhf-studio-session-with-christian-james-hand-2320
If you would like to see a breakdown of the songs that have been done by CJH: http://www.thesessionarchive.com/
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to let me know below, thanks for reading!