Bobby McFerrin showing the power of music that is ingrained in us. This video reminded me of when I was in Turkey on an International Colloquium with Emory. After a grueling day at KOC University, hearing a variety of speakers talk to us about the Turkish business environment, my fellow grad students embarked to downtown Istanbul for some relaxation. Nothing says relaxation to grad students than finding some good local spirits. As such, one of my fellow classmates (Greg) and I stumbled upon a live rock – n- roll club. We were pleasantly surprised as most of the live music we were hearing sounded like 80’s techno.

Greg and I listened for a bit as we were trying to find spaces in the club where we could actually breathe. Smoking in Turkey is pretty excessive. I noticed the particular style of the band seemed reminiscent of a prog metal band I love, Dream Theater. On a break, I decided to introduce myself to the bass player and say how much I was appreciating their music (all the lyrics where in Turkish but with a Western heavy rock sound). When I asked if they had heard of Dream Theater, they immediately broke into “Pull Me Under”. Decisively, Dream Theater’s only pop hit.

I was amazed. At this point, I had asked the band if I could play with them in the background. Just to have fun and strum the guitar. Mind you, they spoke very little English. It was at this point, the guitar player handed me his guitar and he and the singer went to the bar…probably to entertain the local Turkish crowd.

What ensued over the next 10 minutes was pure universal heaven. Unable to communicate via spoken language, I launched into the opening of Hendrix’s Purple Haze. Stooped in the traditional E pentatonic blues scale, the bass player and drummer quickly grasped the vibe and we went a rolling with it.

Never had I been so amazed at the universality of music. It reached across borders, time, culture and even language to give me a memory I’ll cherish forever.

Thank you. Grateful for music today.

Me jamming with the house Istanbul band.