Course Charting – Music (Part One)
I became aware of music sometime in the early ’70s. I have vivid memories of my older sister hanging out with her friends. There was always music playing. So at an early age I associated it with having a good time. Today, music means much more to me than entertainment. It enhances my many moods. It is a means of expression. It provides the backdrop for my writing. Charting my musical course reveals a decades-long journey through a diverse landscape of styles and sounds and people.
The first song I felt any attachment to was “My Love is Alive” by Gary Wright. This may sound strange, but I used to think that song followed me. Like the number 23, it just showed up. And every time it did, I felt like I was meant to hear it. I like the song, but I’ve never owned a recording of it; and never will. For some mysterious reason, I feel like I’m suppose to let come to me on it’s own.
Another song that “spoke” to me was “Baker Street” by Gerry Rafferty. It was released in 1978, the year my family moved from Lake Tahoe to Pleasanton, California. Being the new kid at a tough junior high school, and somewhat nerdy, I was relentlessly picked on. My parents told me that we would be moving back to Lake Tahoe the next summer, and if could just endure until then…well, I’d be back with my friends. There is a line in “Baker Street” that says, “Another year and then you’ll be happy. Just one more year and then you’ll be happy. But you’re cryin’, you’re cryin’ now.” I took that as a sign that I would be okay. Strange how just the right song can come at just the right time and mean so much.
As bad as that year was for me, three critical events happened.
1. I got my first stereo and first record album. The record was “Book of Dreams ” by The Steve Miller band. The stereo allowed me to plunge freely and deeply into the music as I spent so much time in my room. It became my escape from the torment I encountered at school. In a way, music became my friend that year.
2. I went to my first rock concert: The Electric Light Orchestra’s 1978 Spaceship tour with opening band Trickster at the Oakland Coliseum. I went only because my neighbor invited me, but it turned out to be one of those strange moments; like I was meant to experience it. The wall of sound, the lazar light show, the way the band commanded the stage, the response of the crowd–it was unlike anything I had ever experienced, but it felt right, like another sign sent out especially for me.
3. I met a young Gene Simmons. Well, not really, but he looked like Gene Simmons and played a guitar like Paul Stanley’s Washburn. His name was Joel Barton. He and some other guys in my class had a rock band. I used to listen to them practice at lunch time while I was hiding from my tormentors. The only song I remember them playing was “Freebird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd; to me it was amazing. The pivotal moment came one day after school. Joel and I were waiting for our rides. He was playing his guitar and I was listening. We talked, he played some more, and for a moment I didn’t feel like such a loser. When my ride came, he shook my hand and said, “Hey, do you play guitar? You should because you have guitar player hands.” I doubt Joel gave our conversation a second thought, but his words meant something to me. Another sign that proved prophetic. A year later, I got my first guitar. Joel went on to form a metal band called Last Descendants and record a few albums. I thanked him in the liner notes of my first recording project.
To be continued…
