Last night in Charleston there was a tribute to fallen musician named Randall Wray.
Let me first give you a bit of some background
Randall was a blues guitarist who was not only a phenom, but also (at the time when I met him...) so much a genius that he was a little mad (as in Einstein, or mad scientist). He was completely confident, but just a bit crazy.
I still found him to be fascinating though, and I am forever grateful that I shared a stage with him before he left this world for good.
Let me tell you folks, people who knew Randall, all of the musicians that played with Randall over the years, and folks who knew the name were all in attendance. Many people flew in or came in from all over the county.
The event was hosted by one of my best friends and fellow musician, Terry Lowry.
Terry, put together an evening of music that if you weren't there, and just heard about it, you'd swear was the event of a lifetime...and it was.
First of all what he did was utilized most of the musicians who had either played with Randall at one time or another or he had people playing who would have admired Randall's status as a Charleston blues icon.
There were elements that I thoroughly enjoyed about the evening and some that I had been hard pressed to figure out. Starting with my own playing, I had a very hard time hearing myself; as I was all the way in a corner on the stage ( I ended up sitting on a piano, that is located there...), mainly due to the fact that there were so many amps on stage. It made it difficult for me to find my place, and don't feel that I played my best. Oh well, that happens, so we'll just move right along...
The thing that I loved about the night, which is the point of my post today. Randall, for all of us that knew him could be completely irreverent and off the cuff. One quick story just to give you an idea...another musician asked him once if he wanted a pick to play his guitar at a show and Randall exclaimed that "the Randall needs no plectrum..."He told me that he didn't see the need for a saxophone player at a show I did with him, but told me that he admired my playing "so I guess it's OK."
Talk about pressure...WHEW.
That is irreverence of the highest order, and last night that is exactly what happened, it was totally crazy, but damn was it ever fun.
I got to listen to many folks who I had not gotten to listen to during his heyday. I had gotten to see first hand some of the folks he influenced over the years. I got meet his brother whom I never met, and who also never heard his own brother play. That was well worth it to me.
They had a giant poster of the event and had all the musicians who were playing sign it and it was presented to Randall's brother and family, which was a nice touch. For them it was really special to know that so many people loved Randall as we did.
Some of the musicians playing were absolutely inspiring to watch. People like Tom Benson, Bill Light, and Chris Garten. It was wonderful to catch up with some of my brothers like Kai Haynes and John Chic. My bandmate Michael Lipton was amazing, it was fun to be in a different settiing than our Carpenter Ants show.
In all the evening was a huge success, because, while yes it was little rough around the edges the irreverence of it is was made it an event that you should have been here for.
I sincerely hope that we can do it again, and I sincerely hope that alot of the younger muscians in town show up to see how it is done...for the love of music.
See ya at the next show.
Support Live music today tomorrow and always.
Don't forget you can follow me on Facebook and Twitter.
Let me first give you a bit of some background
Randall was a blues guitarist who was not only a phenom, but also (at the time when I met him...) so much a genius that he was a little mad (as in Einstein, or mad scientist). He was completely confident, but just a bit crazy.
I still found him to be fascinating though, and I am forever grateful that I shared a stage with him before he left this world for good.
Let me tell you folks, people who knew Randall, all of the musicians that played with Randall over the years, and folks who knew the name were all in attendance. Many people flew in or came in from all over the county.
The event was hosted by one of my best friends and fellow musician, Terry Lowry.
Terry, put together an evening of music that if you weren't there, and just heard about it, you'd swear was the event of a lifetime...and it was.
First of all what he did was utilized most of the musicians who had either played with Randall at one time or another or he had people playing who would have admired Randall's status as a Charleston blues icon.
There were elements that I thoroughly enjoyed about the evening and some that I had been hard pressed to figure out. Starting with my own playing, I had a very hard time hearing myself; as I was all the way in a corner on the stage ( I ended up sitting on a piano, that is located there...), mainly due to the fact that there were so many amps on stage. It made it difficult for me to find my place, and don't feel that I played my best. Oh well, that happens, so we'll just move right along...
The thing that I loved about the night, which is the point of my post today. Randall, for all of us that knew him could be completely irreverent and off the cuff. One quick story just to give you an idea...another musician asked him once if he wanted a pick to play his guitar at a show and Randall exclaimed that "the Randall needs no plectrum..."He told me that he didn't see the need for a saxophone player at a show I did with him, but told me that he admired my playing "so I guess it's OK."
Talk about pressure...WHEW.
That is irreverence of the highest order, and last night that is exactly what happened, it was totally crazy, but damn was it ever fun.
I got to listen to many folks who I had not gotten to listen to during his heyday. I had gotten to see first hand some of the folks he influenced over the years. I got meet his brother whom I never met, and who also never heard his own brother play. That was well worth it to me.
They had a giant poster of the event and had all the musicians who were playing sign it and it was presented to Randall's brother and family, which was a nice touch. For them it was really special to know that so many people loved Randall as we did.
Some of the musicians playing were absolutely inspiring to watch. People like Tom Benson, Bill Light, and Chris Garten. It was wonderful to catch up with some of my brothers like Kai Haynes and John Chic. My bandmate Michael Lipton was amazing, it was fun to be in a different settiing than our Carpenter Ants show.
In all the evening was a huge success, because, while yes it was little rough around the edges the irreverence of it is was made it an event that you should have been here for.
I sincerely hope that we can do it again, and I sincerely hope that alot of the younger muscians in town show up to see how it is done...for the love of music.
See ya at the next show.
Support Live music today tomorrow and always.
Don't forget you can follow me on Facebook and Twitter.
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