Sometimes its important to set the record straight on certain musicians who have not been recognized as much as they should be for what they have contributed. John Fahey was one of a kind. There was no one else quite like him. His music was subtle, tasteful and cinematic. He was one of the first musicians to do music like he was doing in the 60s and 70s. His influence is pervasive. Most people now are unfamiliar with him but he was a pivotal for thousands of guitarists. My girlfriend who was from Missouri turned me onto Fahey around 1968. She and her family were immersed in that Midwestern folk music community. I owned most of his LPs. I saw him play several times in the early 70s in Chicago. Amazing concerts. Then again, near the end of his life, I saw him when my buddy, Nels Cline, opening for him in LA. Nels was also a huge Fahey fan. We discussed this on numerous occasions. For me, Fahey was a very important musician. Many people do not understand because they were not alive or conscious during that period before his emergence. Their perspective is naive and uninformed. Very few people had ever done what Fahey did before - playing pure simple American instrumental guitar music. There was the tradition of Parlor Guitar but that was virtually unknown to anyone outside of the Midwest and other locales. Leo Kottke, Michael Hedges and many others would not have had existed without Fahey. He paved the way. For instance, Kottkes first record was released on Faheys record label. Michael Hedges was my comrade-friend and we toured together quite a bit so I know that Michael loved and was influenced by Faheys playing. So was Alex DeGrassi. Fahey is the open door that allowed everyone else to come in. Folks who are too young to know how the music business was in those days do not comprehend how important Fahey was. Windham Hill would never have existed without John Fahey. Will Ackerman who founded Windham Hill modeled himself after Fahey. And Takoma Records, the label that Fahey started was the seed that was planted which blossomed into thousands of musicians and many independent labels. And the history of this kind of music is virtually unknown to most people. Fahey never stopped moving forward in his own singular way. Many people hated that he started playing electric guitar later in his life. I had no problem with it. Fahey had done his time slogging it out on the road, putting out records on his own. So what if he felt like playing electric guitar. I have no time for purists and people who are stuck in the past. Those who create continue to do what they do. This was recorded in 1996. https://youtube/watch?v=gl5nPjYLr94
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 02:32:39 +0000
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