My Life-Journey in Music

Hi!
I thought I ought to give some detail regarding my involvement with music, hopefully to inspire or help you to understand. I hope it is not too long or boring!

My life-journey in Music

Beginnings

I was incredibly fortunate to be born into a family where music (whilst it might not have been the focus of the family) had a significant role to play. My mother was a teacher, who also sang in the church choir, as did my father, who worked as a clerk in the local hospital. Later in life, I was to discover that he was a talented Bass-Baritone, who had auditioned for the Royal Covent Garden Opera, only to turn down an opportunity to join the company and marry my mother.

Both of my parents had a love for musical theatre (my father in particular), and some of my childhood memories are of being at various productions of “shows” such as “The Mikado”, “South Pacific”, “The King & I”, etc. Both of my parents also loved Classical music and Jazz so, in the background, there was always a “musical” feel in the home.

Developing

Those of you who may have followed my recent post on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/915863515290631/post_tags/?post_tag_id=915970005279982 will know that I am currently going through the singles (45’s) that I purchased during my teens. In the mid-1970s while I was finishing second level and moving into third-level education, I started buying albums rather than singles (cost-saving). I was listening to bands like Pink Floyd (Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother, Meddle, etc.), Yes (Fragile, Close to The Edge, Tales from Topographic Oceans, etc.), The Rolling Stones, Jethro Tull, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and also started to diversify into Classical Music, Film Music, and Jazz (Coltrane, Gato Barbieri, Miles Davis) and also Jazz/Rock Fusion (Mahavishnu Orchestra, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock). I also started to get interested in electronica (Tomita, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream).

Basically, I started blowing my musical mind! I was also incredibly lucky to have a music teacher at 2nd-level school (Doc. Terry?) who allowed me to bring in various Jazz albums (he was a total Jazz nut!) which we listened to in class, such as Black Pearls by John Coltrane. He took me to one side after listening to that particular album and said “You don’t realise how lucky you are – you can just listen to and enjoy the music. Those of us who are older and have been “trained” in musical education, cannot just do that – we have to break things down into what has happened” That conversation has remained with me all of my life.

Further growth

When I finally arrived at University, I was well on the way to total musical absorption. Funnily enough, even though a lot of the 70’s greatest artists were either recording, had recently died, or had disbanded, I was still trying out “new” things. I re-discovered “Classical” music, Disco (e.g. Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder) Jazz/Rock (Santana, Soft Machine, Mothers of Invention), and “World” music (especially Indian Ragas/Sitar music). It was not until much later that I would “return” to “re-discover” some of the best music ever laid down on vinyl.

The interest in Electronica continued and expanded (TONTO, Jean Michel Jarre, Vangelis, Brian Eno) and began to take in some of the more “Classical” composers like Stockhausen, John Cage, etc. At the same time, I was listening to, and following bands such as Free, Family, Steppenwolf, Stray, etc. – getting my “rock” where I felt I needed it. I also started dipping into Psychedelia. (Hawkwind, The Doors, Captain Beefheart, Zappa, etc.) and Folk/Singer Songwriter – Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, John Martyn, Pentangle, etc.

While I was at Uni, I also got involved in working on the live concerts – amongst those who I remember with particular affection are – Captain Beefheart, Steve Hillage (I found his Ovation 12 string which had been nicked – got nothing other than “Thanks” though), Camel, and Richie Havens – who gave me an autograph “For remembering Jimi” and liked my playing my own 12 String – lovely guy!

Returning Home and expanding

So, I left university (without a degree), got back home and tried to get work (well not trying too hard to be honest) – then I got a job that proved to be very (musically) interesting. I started working in a cinema that was owned by a large chain (Odeon), in Sutton Coldfield, just outside of Birmingham. Before I really knew what was happening, I was doing relief duty around the UK (Oldham, St. Albans, all three of the cinemas in Birmingham – Gaumont, Odeon Queensway https://www.birminghampost.co.uk/business/creative/gallery/pictures-birminghams-hidden-spaces---8303378?_ga=2.20488184.1135661213.1558033504-1932963571.1558033505 Odeon New Street, etc.) My work at the Odeon New Street resulted in me being transferred to work there full-time, and that was where the next phase began.

Live Experience

The Odeon in New Street Birmingham lived a double life. Most of the time it was a Cinema, but it also acted as a live concert venue, and an infrequent multi-national sports event video centre (e.g. USA/World Boxing shown Live – 24:00 to 04:00 GMT). I also developed links with local record re-sellers, concert ticket re-sellers, and got to meet some amazing musicians (e.g. Lemmy, Steve Hackett, Ultravox, Pretenders – including an invite to the after-concert party at a hotel in town, Slade, Boomtown Rats, U2) I also got to go to some memorable concerts (e.g. Rolling Stones – Roundhay Park 1982), and continued to expand my musical experiences.

I had started to go back and re-visit older music – Fats Domino, Hoagy Carmichael, Cole Porter, Duke Ellington etc. I started to actually experience and understand Reggae (very strong in Birmingham at that time - including what is now known as “Roots Reggae”), Heavy Metal (Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Scorpions, etc.) and continued to explore electronica (Gary Numan, Vangelis, OMD) plus the inevitable continuation of rock (Clapton, Springsteen, Joe Cocker) and more “Arty” bands like (Genesis/ Peter Gabriel, REM, Eurythmics, Talking Heads).
As I have said many times, I have been very lucky (musically) in my life. I have lived through and experienced (both first-hand and via media) some of the greatest musicians on this planet.

Exploration

Ever since those formative years, I have continued to “try out” different genres of music. As anyone would expect, some just never really worked for me, but I have persisted and will continue to do so, for as long as I can hear. One side-effect of working in a live music environment (many years prior to comprehensive “Health & Safety” legislation), is that my hearing has been impaired, so I tend to have to play tracks a bit “louder”. This does not mean that I cannot sense the niceties of sound within music, and, since moving from Birmingham in the UK to rural Ireland, my hearing seems to have improved somewhat.

I have also continued to look back at some of the music from when I started buying albums, and regaining memories of what I would have heard on the radio at those times. I didn’t always have enough spare money to buy all the albums that I wanted at any one time, and by the time that there was some money available, it went on the newest albums of the bands/musicians that I really followed. I have also looked back on some of the genres that I have continued to follow and filled in any gaps that I felt I might have.

Funnily enough, even though many of you will know that I am a bit of a Guitar nut, a lot of my favourite guitar tracks are relatively recently acquired – I didn’t really get into Hendrix until I was around 40. At the same time, I would be shooting off sideways and listening to Ambient Music, Psybient and Trance, Classical Music, Jazz, Folk, Viking Metal, Noise, African, Chinese, other “World” Music and a whole host of divergent sounds and textures of music.

For me exploration and reflection are everything. There are several “Tenets” that I live by, one being based around an ancient Chinese saying – “From asking comes a moment’s shame. From not asking comes ignorance and life-long shame”, so I ask, I explore, I discover, I learn. I hope that this text inspires you to diversify and enjoy a broad spectrum of music.

Roger