One thing the years have taught me is that almost nothing develops in a vacuum. I’ll go so far as say that nothing does because in music, as anything else, even the most original and iconoclastic artists have their antecedents, even if their music is radically different from what their influences played. I read an interview with the members of the great avant-garde band Tuxedomoon where they talked about their influences. The members of the band were roughly the same age as me, and yet I was surprised to discover that they listened to and enjoyed many of the same groups and artists that I loved. They all listened to Cream, Hendrix, Blind Faith (one Tuxedomooner played violin, just like Ric Grech of Blind Faith), Traffic, King Crimson, and a few others. To my ears, Tuxedomoon sounds little like any of its heros, but that’s the point. The opposite is true, too. Take the case of Little Richard. Without knowledge of his influences he sounds totally original, but take a listen to Esquerita, a performer with whom Richard performed on the underground gay circuit in the 40’s and beyond, and it’s easy to see where Little Richard came from.
When the student is ready, the teacher (or cliché) will come. True or not I can’t say, but that’s the way it happened with me. Many of my teachers were the musicians I listened to on radio and LP or saw on television, but a cherished few were available flesh and blood who came into my sphere as if thrown there by divine fate. One of the first, and greatest, in my life was Billy D (he’s known by many nicknames, but I won’t tell). Five years my senior, he seemed the top of the world to me. When I met him he’d already played in a band and had a long list of artists he listened to or owned music by who were great though largely unknown to me. And though I have oft diverged from some of his musical ideas, at least as much of what I am musically (and in many other aspects) came from his influence. We formally met in 1968.
I’d seen Billy D around town for many years, and knew his two younger brothers. Sometime around 1964, as I passed by on my way to the movies, I heard a commotion coming from the basement of the Presbyterian Church. I looked in to see a horde of kids running wild with nary an adult in sight. Amid the chaos, Billy D sat at the piano and tinkered around. I made some comment about where he learned what he was playing. He answered in such a way that at the same time self-depreciating and cutting to the quick the weakness of my assertion about what he knew. Enough said. I headed for the movies. Our meeting four years later was a bit different. He not only seemed to respect me, but was genuinely interested in my music equipment and possible playing ability.
Musically at that time, BD presented himself as a singer, and that’s what I thought after having seen him sing Little Latin Lupe Lou at a dance on my 13th birthday just a couple of months before, but he seemed to be really interested in learning the keys. I told him where I lived and invited him to come over to the house sometime and I’d show him what I knew. To my surprise he showed up. Over the course of a month or so I showed him the chords and some of the songs I played. He got pretty good pretty quickly. I figured he wouldn’t have much use for me after the impromptu lessons, but that was not the case. Like Brillo, or CEP, or any of my close friends, he understood me, got my personality, and seemed to enjoy my company. We became best of friends. In a rare twist, my parents trusted and liked him nearly as much as I did. He owned a car, and though my parents were leery of my travelling in one, as long as he was involved they were perfectly fine with wherever we wanted to go.
Billy D also helped me by going to the town hero band’s practices, learning the songs and keyboard parts, and teaching them to me later. That was mightily helpful, but in addition to that, he opened his record collection and his vast store of influences to me. I also turned him onto what I liked and owned. Our time together began to take on the look and feel of a musical partnership, but was also an incredible friendship.
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