Definitions:

 OK so first a bit about the URL for this blog ...  renaissance-blues-man

Renaissance man:  n.

A man who has broad intellectual interests and is accomplished in areas of both the arts and the sciences.

A former boss once characterized me in this way, and I guess it does apply, depending on how far you want to go with "accomplished".  I would classify myself as a scientist with a broad interest in the arts.  Sometimes it's hard to see where one stops and the other begins.  I occasionally wonder how life would be if the emphasis had been reversed.  Many years ago, it almost was...

Blues: pl.n.

1. A state of depression or melancholy.

2. A unique American style of music that evolved from southern African-American secular songs and is usually distinguished by a strong 4/4 rhythm, flatted thirds and sevenths, a 12-bar structure, and lyrics in a three-line stanza in which the second line repeats the first: "The blues is an expression of anger against shame and humiliation" (B.B. King).

My first choice in music.  I remember first playing a "blues" piece as a piano student in elementary school, I believe I could still play it.  This music has always spoken to me, from the Delta to Chicago to Texas styles.   Taking up the guitar has provided a new avenue to explore the genre.  Hum, art vs science.....

I'll wait for a future blog to discuss "Life on the back side"