My Musical Evolution – Page 11 – Mapping Influences Over Time

My Musical Evolution – Part 313 Roach Days Revisited Tubular Bells

In January of 1988 Aric, Kris and I moved in to Stately Roach Manor on US Highway 30, just west of New Haven. Like everything else, that place has changed. When we lived there. It was a big green lot covered in grass and trees featuring about half a dozen huge spruces. Today, it is a real estate office and the entire property has been covered in concrete.

There were some mysterious things happening there. One day, while exploring the backyard which extended for some distance to where the smooth lawn dissolved into a tangled bramble that would make Baba Yaga cringe, Mary and I discovered a tombstone. It was negelected and covered in years of growth. We also heard the sound of digging coming from the basement one evening.

Musically, the days of blasting tunes all day long were gone. We all seemed to have grown up a little. We were all working more and partying less. I was living in what seemed like an awesome little mansion yet I was hardly ever there. I wanted to spend every minute with Mary and she lived out a half an hour away on the west side of Fort Wayne.

When I did listen to music, I found myself playing classical mostly. My collection of classical CD’s had grown exponentially and while the anchor points remained Bach and Mozart, I was exploring Beethoven, Chopin, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky and more. I was on the brink of 23 and found classical music was a nice change from what I had been listening to and what was on the radio all day at work. It was a mental shift in My Musical Evolution that I was not conscious if at the time but it has stuck with me to this day. There are certain types of music, mostly instrumental, that help me to focus on whatever duties of the mind are at hand. Mike Oldfield and his Tubular Bells album fit into that paradigm perfectly.

Memory is a puzzle and often some of the pieces are missing. I can remember the day that I bought Tubular Bells at Wodden Nickel. I know that at the time, it was just music from The Exorcist to me. I remembered that back in the College Intermission era, a guy named Jim had the album. That was how I knew it was called Tubular Bells and not The Exorcist. I think the catalyst in this was that Mike Oldfields The Killing Fields album was receiving some attention at that time. I can’t say for certain but I can imagine seeing that right next to Tubular Bells in the bin and thinking “Oh, yeah, that Exorcist song” and buying it. Funny to me now that I never think of The Exorcist when I hear this now.

Tubular Bells was my first New Age album. It would be a year before I would even hear the term New Age Music. In early 1988, it was just a cool, soothing 2 track CD of instrumental music that was cool to do Payroll Paperwork to and I did that several times. In the wee hours of the spring of 1988, I could be found in the breakfast nook with my big Sharp adding machine running payroll and watching the sunrise to Tubular Bells.

Tubular Bells Part One

My Musical Evolution – Part 312 Roach Days Revisited 1987 Ends With Big Changes

As 1987 became 1988 several rather large changes occured. I changed cars again. Remember a couple of posts back when I got this little red Tempo. I decided to make a serious effort of using the safety belts. Well it was a good thing I did because I was wearing it the day a woman in a tan Fairmont rad a red light and totalled my car. She wasn’t wearing her seatbelt and nearly came out of her passenger door window. She went to the hospital in an ambulance. I walked home unscathed.

Another change was that Mary and I got engaged to be married. After the U2 concert, I felt that we got very close. I bought her an engagement ring. It seemed like a good idea but as soon as I got home, I began to wonder if she would think it was as good of an idea as I thought it was. I was going to wait until Christmas but I couldn’t. I needed to know if she would accept the idea or if it would scare her off. On a snowy afternoon, we took a walk and I explained how the whole thing developed and promised her that if she thought we were moving too fast, she could exchange it for a watch. Luckily, she went along with it. We were going to get married in June but that seemed kind of soon and too hot to wear a Tux then. We decided on October but that was just too busy so it got pushed back to December 3, 1988.

Aric and I moved out of the Roach Motel. We found a really nice house on US 30 on the way into New Haven. It was a large home with 4 bedroos, two bathrooms and a breakfast nook. It also had some great basement space including a huge room with a fireplace that would be our rehearsal area. I was actually on the way back signing the lease when that woman in the Fairmont totalled my Tempo. Aric, Kris and I moved in in January of 1988.

Another big change was the sudden reduction in the time devoted to music. Listening to it, playing it, making mix tapes, it all kind of diminshed when we moved to New Haven. For me, my life was on the west side of Fort Wayne. I would get up in the morning and not get back until very late most days. Our lives were changing, our priorities were shifting. I was going to be getting married in less than a year. Here we had this great house that would have been perfect for some parites but we just didn’t have the time anymore. I had pretty much stopped playing my bass altogether. Writing about it now, I feel kind of like Joe From Zappa’s Joe’s Garage. “This is the Central Scrutinizer. Bill went down to the basement. He plugged in his Ibanez Bass and played his last set for long time…”

Loverboy – Gangs in the Street

Journey – Girl Can’t help it

U2 – New Years Day

Whitesnake – Here I go Again

U2 – With Or Without You

Aerosmith – Dream On

Poison – Talk Dirty To Me

Pink Floyd – Another Brick In The Wall Part 2

My Musical Evolution – Part 311 Roach Days Revisited Going From U2 To Us

The summer of changes became the Autumn of changes. Mary and I were spending more and more time together. Our relationship glacier crept slowly along while we held hands and filled our time with unusual activities like making home made taffy. Have you ever pulled taffy?

In October, we went to local forested areas to marvel at the fall colors. We went to the Haunted Castle and other Halloween themed attractions. We turned pumpkins into Jack O’Lanterns.

In November, I took her to see U2 at the Hoosier Dome. Remember way back when Keith asked me who I was going to take to the concert? I told him “The woman that would change my life.” I couldn’t have been more right.

I picked up The Unforgettable Fire a few weeks before the show to get familiar with more of U2’s music. While I didn’t like it as much as the two CD’s that I already had, it still had some highlights and is certainly worthy.

Another change that happend was another car change. My granpda took my sporty little Comet to his mechanic and that guy told him that the frame was damaged, probably from some accident of the prvious owner. Anyway, he was convinced that it wasn’t safe so I was coerced to trade it in. I ended up with a red 1984 Ford Tempo. This was only 1987 so it was almost a new car. It had air conditioning and only 5 digits of miles on it. It really looked, felt and even smelled new. An associated change was that this car had a warning tone if the seatbelt wasn’t fastened. Up to this point, my cars didn’t even have functioning seatbelts. I made a conscious decision to associate a new habit with my new car. I would fasten my seatbelt every time. It isn’t easy to force yourself to form a new habit. The warning tone was simply a reminder and not prohibitive in any way. My decision to be a seatbelt wearer was the anticipation of the seatbelt laws that were going to be going in effect soon. It was a good thing I did as you’ll see.

We were going to take my Tempo to Indianapolis for the show but it was simply too small to carry the six people that were going. Mary’s parents would only let her go if we were coming back that night. We got down to Indy with frequent bathroom breaks but no other issues. It was November but the weather was cooperative. Entering the Hoosier Dome was an interesting experience. It was a soft domed building where the Indianapolis Colts had been playing for the past 4 seasons. Basically it was like a big balloon. That dome was held up by some light framework and air pressure so when you walk in the door, you wak into a pretty impressive breeze.

Los Lobos was opening for U2 that night. For some reason, Los Lobos was running late so a substitute band, The Dalton Brothers came on for a few twangy country songs. We found out later that it was U2 in disguise. I bought a Joshua Tree shirt that night. I still have it but you probably guessed that. Our seats were on about the 35 yard line up on the left side of the stage. I remember trying to imagine a football game being played down there. It didn’t seem big enough. 20 years later, my son and I would see Peyton Manning and the Colts beat the Houston Texans there.

The U2 show was phenomenal, Mary and I danced the entire time it was a magical, transformative evening. Just like they did on the Live Under A Blood Red Sky Album, they closed the show with 40. The crowd, including us sang it all the way to the parking area. Imagine 50,000 people all singing the same song was they walked out into the November night.

It was late and my sister suggested maybe just getting a hotel and heading back in the morning. I promised Mary’s parents that she would be home so off we went. It was a long drive but we got back without incident. I dropped everybody else off then took Mary home. In the predawn hours of a mild November morning, we shared a single kiss. Since the invention of the kiss, there have been only five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind.

Pride (In The Name Of Love)

The Unforgettable Fire

Indian Summer Sky

MLK

My Musical Evolution – Part 310 Roach Days Revisited Whitesnake

One day, Whitesnake showed up. It was a sudden appearance. One moment, I ahd never heard of Whitesnake and the next they seemed to be all over the place like they had been around for years and years. They were winning all sorts of critical praise and even being hailed has the Next Led Zeppelin.

Still Of The Night was an awesome song, particularly with that violin bow driven instrumental bridge. Maybe that violin bow was what made people think of Jimmy Page. I suppose David Coverdale had a physical resemblance to Robert Plant as well. Maybe they were the next Led Zeppelin.

I picked up this album even though I was spending most of my attention on classical music and older stuff fromThe Scratchy 45 Days.It wasn’t too long before I added a couple fo Whitesnake songs to my set list.

Here I Go Again was another track that got the support of MTV and the girls seemed to like it. So what do you think? Was Whitesnake the new Led Zeppelin?

Still Of The Night

Here I Go Again

Is This Love

My Musical Evolution – Part 309 Roach Days Revisited A Momentary Lapse Of Reason

It had been 4 years or so since Pink Floyd made The Final Cut. The band had split up and it seemed like the end of Pink Floyd. I personally was disappointed that Roger Waters would no longer be a part of Pink Floyd. I couldn’t imagine how they could proceed without his guidance. In my mind, Pink Floyd was 90% Roger Waters.

When A Momentery Lapse Of Reason came out, people were calling it Water-ed Down Pink Floyd. Maybe it was but i liked it. It was a turning point for me. It made me realize that while Roger Waters was resonsible for much of the thematic elements, the parts of Pink Floyd that I liked the most were allDavid Gilmour.

I’ll admit, this Pink Floyd was different but not different like Van Hagar or Black Sabbath with Dio. This Pink Floyd still sounded like Pink Floyd musically, it just seemed that conceptually, they were more mainstream in a way. The concept albums like Animals, Dark Side and The Wall gave way to more traditional collections of songs.

Remember my Boston, Thanksgiving analogy? This was similar except that instead of substituting Deli sliced turkey and french fries, we have the leftovers. Yeah it isn’t Thanksgiving anymore but damn those turkey sandwiches are good. It is the same stuff only enjoyed in an new way. It was nice to have some new Floyd that I really liked.

Learning To Fly

One Slip

One The Turning Away

Yet Another Movie

Sorrow

My Musical Evolution – Part 308 Roach Days Revisited Animals

I remember the day that I bought Animals. It was during The Roach Days which is why it is here but to be honest, I was very tempted to hold off until we reach 2002 because on a dark night on an island in the Canadian Bounrdary Waters is where I first really appreciated this album.

For now, let’s roll back to 1987. A Momentary Lapse Of Reason was Pink Floyd’s latest album and the first to feature the new Pink Floyd that did not include Roger Waters. We’ll talk about that next. So with the supporting tour happening and Pink Floyd scheduled to play the Hoosier Dome, Rock 104 was doing its part by playing the Pink Floyd catalog. I was in my little yellow Comet one day and the song Pigs was on the radio. Normally, Animals doesn’t get a lot of airplay. It isn’t really known for being among Pink Floyd’s best stuff. So I hadn’t heard it before. Something about it spoke to me while I drove, it sounded pretty cool. It wasn’t Dark Side or Echoes but it had something unmistakibly Floyd about it so I redirected myself to Wooden Nickel and picked up Animals and A Momentary Lapse Of Reason.

You have already heard about my involvement with The Wall and I think I’ve made it know that Pink Floyd is one of my favorite bands of all time. We haven’t talked about the break-up. I couldn’t believe that Pink Floyd was over. I couldn’t believe that they could continue without Roger Waters. Afterall, he was the mastermind behind so much of their best material including The Wall.

So, I get Animals and listen to it a couple of times and for whatever reason, it gets shelved and almost forgotten completely. Yes, there were some completely Floydian aspects to it but there seemed to be some element that was missing. On the shelf it would sit for 15 years.

Dogs

Pigs

Sheep

My Musical Evolution – Part 307 Roach Days Revisited More Aric Influence

Here are a couple more Compact Discs that Aric picked up back in The Roach Days.I understand the .38 Special. They had come to town with Bon Jovi and he went to that show. Flashback was prep work. You know, checking out some material to get more familiar. We weren’t .38 Special fans before. I don’t know how he got into George Thorogood. It must have been some guitarist thing because it seemed like this album showed up and a few minutes later, Aric had a slide for his guitar.

Well regardless the actual origins stories, I would eventually pick up both and enjoy them as well. There really are quite a few good songs here.

Back To Paradise

Hold On Loosely – My favorite and advice I turned to when I was with Lynette.

If I’d Been The One

Caught Up In You

Fantasy Girl

Back Where You Belong

Rockin’ Into The Night

Bad To The Bone

Move It On Over

You Talk To Much

Gear Jammer

I Drink Alone

One Bourbon, One Scotch One Beer

My Musical Evolution – Part 306 Roach Days Revisited The Romance Glacier & The Road To No Where

The summer of 1987 was all about little changes. I had sold my gigantic Ford Galaxie 500 and gotten into a sporty little Comet. I had my Easter Epiphany and had scaled back on my vices. I wanted to return to a slower, simpler existence. Which is probably why I began to hang out with Pauline and Mary more often. With them it was always about low key simple amusement. Aric and I loved going to the movies with them because there were never any expectations or the need to maintain any kind of posturing. It was simple platonic pressure free fun. I felt kind of like Stacy at the end of Fast Times At Ridgemont High.

I decided to see if I could inject an element of romance into that equation. I called Pauline. I can’t tell you why I called Pauline and not Mary. They are twins. Maybe it was logic driven. Pauline is 5 minutes older. Pauline and I went out on a date. When it comes to actual dates, I never do the traditional dinner or movie. Those venues simply don’t support interaction. You can’t open a dialog during the film and you shouldn’t talk with your mouth full.

My dates were always about engaging in some activity, like miniature golf, bowling or going to an art museum or something. Anything that provides the opportunity to discuss what you are seeing or doing. We went bowling and during the course of the evening discovered that friends was were this train stopped. So I eventually called Mary and the stars all lined up. One thing that I had always believed about relationships is that they never stand still. They move forward or they die. I was fine with that. In mid summer, the glacier that would be our romance began to grow and creep ever so slowly forward.

Muscially, I had a big project to do. Scott and I were going to drive to Florida and spend a week in Port St Lucie. Florida is a pretty lengthy drive so decided to make a series of cassettes for the trip. I made a series called Road To No Where – The Finyl Vinyls. It would be the last of the mix tapes that drew from Aric’s and my vinyl albums. The objective was to create a series of cassettes that would take us down to Florida, carry us through the week and bring us back with no repeated songs. I even had to make a handmade database to keep track of all the songs. I was about 2/3 of the way into my calculated duration when it turned out that we’d fly down instead.

I never considered it before but that Florida trip was more or less the end of that chapter of my life. When I got back to Fort Wayne, my attnetion turned to Mary and our glacier.

Yes, 1987 was a summer of changes. Aric met Kris and Mary and I started dating. By the beginning of 1988, we’d move out of The Roach Motel altogether. This would be my last summer with MTV for many years. By the time I would get cable again, MTV wasn’t worth watching.

Bryan Adams – Heaven

Jan Hammer – Miami Vice Theme

Glenn Frey – You Belong To The City

The Honeydrippers – Sea of Love

Duran Duran – A View to a Kill

The Pointer Sisters – Neutron Dance

Corey Hart – Never Surrender

Stevie Nicks – Talk to Me

Arcadia – Election Day

Genesis – Tonight, Tonight, Tonight

John Cougar Mellencamp – Small Town

Some of the songs above would eventually find their way into The Eclectic collection, some may not but I can’t help but miss the 80’s when I hear a string of them together.

My Musical Evolution – Part 305 Roach Days Revisited Steve Miller

Back in The Academy Days, I bought Abracadabra by Steve Miller. For some reason I became motivated to grab this Greatest Hits compilation. While the specifics are long gone, I would not be surprised if the story went like this, because they often do. During the course of my day, I hear a song, maybe Jet Airliner. It stays in my mind all day long and I eventually find myself at the local record store shopping for a CD with that song.

Over the past three decades, I’ve found the song on the original album, a Greatest Hits compilation, a movie soundtrack, a themed compilation like “Cool 70’s” or “Best Of The 80’s”. Each of these approaches has it’s benefits. If I’m interested in a particular artist aGreatest Hits makes sense if the artist has a large catalog of albums. The next logical step being to get the full albums that contain my favorites from the Greatest Hits.

The movie soundtrack is often a good option too. Usually a movie soundtrack is attempting to express a theme or emotion. All the songs will often continure to suppor that emotion. For example a soundtrack about racing cars will have several tracks that convey the feeling of speed or danger. Not always the case though.

The Chronologically based compilations are good because they will often include several radio favorites from that same era. This often manifests itself in a “Wow, I remember this song.” moment as you listen. As you’ve seen in previous posts, even when I’m not actively pursuing music, ambient stuff still creeps in and has its effect whether we realize it or not.

This Steve Miller album has all those great songs that you know even if you don’t think you know them. It feels like grown up musician type music but yet not stuffy or stale. In 1993 I saw Steve play at the Coliseum. I was shocked at how well behaved the crowd was. Most of my concert experiences were rowdy, loud, unruly pushing and shoving types of events. With Steve Miller, the audience was a little older and everybody sat quietly in their seats and simply evjoyed the music and the mellow evening. They weren’t there to be drunk and rock out or get into fights. It was a great night. My little sister happened to go to that show as well and out of all those people we happened to run into each other at some point.

One of my all time favorite quotes comes from this CD.”Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ into the future.”

Swingtown

Jungle Love

Take The Money And Run

Serenade

The Joker

Fly Like An Eagle

Jet Airliner

My Musical Evolution – Part 304 Roach Days Revisited Strong Persuader

I’ll have to ask Aric if he remembers what his first Compact Disc was. I’m not sure if I’ve adequately expressed what a big deal this new CD format was. Think about for a minute. The phonograph record had been around for over 100 years. Magnetic tape had been around since the 1930’s. Here, not only in my lifetime but in the middle ofMy Musical Evolution, a brand new way to store music. Digital files on optical media it was so revolutionary. It is kind of like the first time somebody flipped on a light swicht in a dark room or flushed a toilet inside a house.

Aric began to buy CD’s too. One of his early ones was this, Strong Persuader by Robert Cray. This is another cool example of how influences work. I never heard of Robert Cray at least that I was consciously aware. I have no idea how Aric heard of him. We seemed to have very similar and quite compatible musical tastes. I never would have gone for Strong Persuader. Fortunately, I didn’t have to. It does raise the Kevin Baconish aspect of who influences the influencers.

Still this CD was in the house and soon was very appreciated. Did my previous affinity for The Blues Brothers pave the way for Robert Cray? There is that hint of Chicago Blues on tracks like Nothin’ But A Woman. I can almost imagine Jake Blues singing that song.

Smoking Gun

Right Next Door (Because Of Me)

Nothin’ But A Woman

Foul Play