Last night..... Last night I got to continue a musical conversation that started one hazy night in Vermont 11 years ago, with in my mind just about the finest songwriter Ive heard...Eric Taylor comes from Texas and his songwriting contemporaries and friends are Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Lyle Lovett and Steve Earle (what the hell was in the water in Texas back then??). He was taught guitar by Mississippi Fred McDowell, Lightnin Hopkins and Mance Lipscomb..Hes a lyrical genius and a raconteur... I arrived at the venue..got set up...Eric asked me to play with him...I said YES..! Its didnt matter that I didnt know one chord of any of his songs...This rarely matters! I played my set... And from the stage I got to recount to Eric who was sitting near the stage what happened after I said good night In Oonas Bar Bellows Falls Vermont that November night in 2003 I met Eric in a pub called Oonas in Bellows Falls Vermont ...I had been playing an early show in the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton Mass that same night and was due to play Oonas the next night, I knew he was playing and as a fan I decided to try get to Bellows Falls after my show...I left Northampton and sped to Bellows Falls hoping to catch the end of his set, I quickly checked into my hotel made my way down to Oonas but he was finished, I saw him packing up and decided to say hello, apologise for missing the show and let him know I was a fan.. we got talking and I drank whiskey with him all night and discussed Lightning Hopkins and Townes and set the world to right..! It was very late and I shook Erics hand an said goodnight.. Bellows Falls is idyllic, the kind of place where people dont lock their doors and leave their keys in the ignition.. There were a few more people at the bar and one guy as I was leaving said hed drop me back to my hotel..he seemed ok to drive as he staggered out the door in front of me... We got to the car and I hopped in...he started it up and we were off.. Vermont has a lot of dirt roads and as we were driving up one the guy lost it a bit, skidded and we went sliding down an embankment and we hit some trees... I climbed out thinking holy shit only to notice him staring in the back window of the car, hand to mouth, eyes wide and laughing.. I said what are you laughing at He said theres a baby seat in the back I said yeah so..? He said I dont have kids, this isnt my car Well I took off up that hill on foot like a wild man thinking to myself, please dont get arrested, please dont get arrested.. I didnt get arrested...and I didnt get to see Eric for 11 years.. So last night after about three songs he calls me up...He just said to me...follow along...and I did.. Hes a master guitarist, tempos, rhythms and time swing back and forth..its like jazz, its like true blues, its hypnotic, its improvised and its all weaving around some of the greatest words imaginable ... Thank you Eric Taylor Thank you Paul Lee
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 14:40:34 +0000
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