Sometimes I have so many ideas of things about which I want to write that I have to jot them down on a list so I don’t forget them all. The list becomes my resource when I have periods when the dreaded mental block hits and I can’t think of a subject for love nor money. And then sometimes I can’t think of what to write and the list has all been used up. That’s happening a bit lately and it’s very frustrating.
Lying in bed this morning trying to will myself into a semblance of interest in the day, I found myself thinking about putting some more CDs in the van for when we are travelling. From there my mind jumped to a suggested playlist and from there to one of my favourite albums of the recent time, “Common Thread” as shown above. An album produced back in the 90’s it consists of the top country singers of the day singing all the hit songs of The Eagles. Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Trisha Yearwood, Suzy Bogguss and so forth all gave their royalties from the sale of the recording to a charity that they were supporting. It was one of those “Live Aid” things but without the pretension.
It’s a great album. Henley’s songs are treated with respect and, with modern-day production values, the finished product is, in some instances, more polished and enjoyable than the original, though I listen to both and love them both.
Here’s Suzy doing “Take it to the Limit”
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTQD4wKkKAk[/youtube]
Anyway, it got me thinking (it takes a fair bit of effort to do that these days). What has been the common thread of my life, the thing or things that have been constants throughout my life?
Of course there are many but one that stands out the most has been music. I often think of the line from “Baby Driver”, Simon and Garfunkel’s song..”and I was born one dark, grey morn with music coming in my ears..” Such was, however, not the case with me. In fact, I don’t recall music having a very important place in our family as I was growing up. However, my mother had an excellent singing voice and it must have been she who realised that my brother and I had inherited that characteristic. Some of my earliest memories were of us singing in church and in public meetings. The novelty of us being identical twins, dressed the same and singing together no doubt added to the interest, but I was knowledgeable enough to realise that I had been blessed with a good voice.
Throughout my schooldays I was always actively involved in music in various forms. Having never had the opportunity to learn the formal side of music I managed to “fudge it” by doing what I did “by ear”. Where others could read what needed to be done, I got by by being able to hear a tune once and repeat it from memory without the need of the notes in front of me. So primary and high school saw me in the school choirs and musical productions and musical groups of various sorts. This continued into Teachers College where I majored in music and excelled (despite not being able to read or write music) in the Choral Elective, the college opera productions and various folk groups and ensembles that formed and reformed like the waves on the ocean.
While in College I eschewed the recorder (an appalling instrument unless played properly) and taught myself guitar, reasoning that it was a vastly more suitable instrument for use in the classroom. The next 40 years or so saw me taking the guitar to school every day (or it staying at school while I was teaching full time). Rarely a day passed when there was not some sort of music in the classroom and I also became actively involved in the various primary school music festivals (even started a couple myself), training and conducting school choirs, teaching guitar (at least basic chord stuff which is what most kids want anyway) and contributing to the musical life of the school.
Once I switched to casual relief teaching my guitar and my storehouse of songs became even more invaluable and I became known as the man with the guitar. Kids love music and it is sadly under-taught in schools today so my arrival at school, guitar under my arm, nearly always caused a scene and the enquiry, “Are you teaching our class today?”
Oddly throughout my teaching career I never took the time to seek out opportunities to perform in public (I can’t even remember whether they were available or not) and it has only been in the last few years that I have played and sung for an audience. A local coffee shop opened up in town and, since we knew the owners, I offered my services to do a regular unpaid gig on a Sunday afternoon, al fresco, to entertain the patrons. I found that the strictures of performing in public, solo, were much greater than the freedom that I had, hamming it up for the kids in the classroom. I enjoyed it immensely, though, despite being super critical of my faults and I was disappointed when the shop ceased doing the Sunday afternoon music, mainly because the artists were incredibly unreliable, booking, then failing to turn up for their gigs.
Overlapping his period was the friendship that I had made (through motorcycling) with a fellow guitarist (though vastly more accomplished than I) who has been a music teacher for many years, giving lessons in guitar, banjo, ukulele, in fact any sort of stringed instrument. Somehow the subject of music came up and we found that we shared many interests. Another string to Elwyn’s bow was that he worked with a group of fellow musicians doing concerts in nursing homes as part of the homes’ leisure programmes. He invited me to come along and be part of the group and, anxious to try out my new “performing in public” skills, I joined in enthusiastically. Now most nursing home residents appreciate some slightly different music than that which I have been used to play and they are generally not that enthusiastic as audiences go. But my ability to play by ear came in very handy and I was able to slide right into the group.
After a few nursing home gigs Elwyn said that he had been invited (again) to play at a regular meeting of the Illawarra Folk Club. I was tickled when he asked me if I’d like to join him and another member of the nursing home entertainers, Henry Boardman, and form a threesome group especially for the concert. I naturally accepted and we dug right in to some regular rehearsals of the ten-song set that we thought would fit into the time frame that the organisers allowed us. Somewhere in here the IFC asked for a name for our group so that they could advertise it on their programme (!!) and also informed us that, as invited performers, we would be PAID for our performance! 40 years to become a professional musician! I had to sit down for a bit.
I thought that Three Sixty was a great name (I can’t recall the thought process – I don’t think there was one, it just popped into my head) A group of three guys, all in their 60’s playing 1960’s folk music. A panorama of songs from the era, the more I thought of it the more meaning it had. So Three Sixty it became. I’d like to say that our performance that night was a smash but I can’t because I was so nervous about the night that I don’t remember much about it at all. I thought that, to be true to the era I should play my nylon string folk guitar which turned out to be not so great an idea. Both Henry and Elwyn were using amplified country-style guitars so the balance, instrumentally was a bit “off”. In fact, I thought at the time that it was a GREAT idea as they, being much better players than me, would cover up all the bloopers that I did on my acoustic!
Since then we have continued to perform at both nursing homes and specialised events. We have played at the Illawarra Folk Festival, where over 400 performers are invited to play (and we have been invited back for 2016), we recently played at Folk By The Sea, a big music festival at Kiama and we have a number of gigs coming up toward the end of the year. Fitting in rehearsal times is a challenge as Elwyn teaches at night as well as during the day, but we manage and even rehearsals are fun.
So the common thread of music has been with me pretty much from the start. I am passionate about my music as I am about my family, my motorcycling, my writing and the other pursuits that use up my days. I guess that I really am taking it to the limit.