I recently heard a story told by Dave Grohl, of him as a kid, driving around with his mom in the 70’s listening to the radio, singing along to Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain”. He shared how his mom was singing Carly’s high melody, and how he stumbled into singing Mick Jagger’s lower backing vocal, and how the combination of his voice and his mother’s together made harmony, and it blowing his young impressionable mind, and how it was from then that he started listening to all the parts of music, the symphony of instruments and voices, all the colors of sounds in a single pop song on the radio.
As I heard this story, I was suddenly and unexpectedly overwhelmed with emotion because, despite fading almost completely from my memory, I clearly remember a moment in time as a young boy having this exact experience, an awakening to music, a sudden and acute awareness of the fact that a pop song coming out of the radio was composed of individual parts and that you could let all those parts surround you if you closed your eyes, that you could be transported INTO a song in your imagination, and that your mind’s eye could wander to and from each sound, instrument, and musician, like being in a kind 3-dimensional dream of music. What was the song? I don’t remember, it’s like having lost the memory of a dream right after waking. But as soon as I heard Dave’s story, I distinctly remember having that very young epiphany myself, a switch flipping inside me, a point from which I forever listened to music with deeper understanding and appreciation, a love that has never waned.
I thought of this story cuz I have been trying to understand how my little buddy pictured here, the youngest yet to be featured on Tokyo Record Style, is as nearly as steeped in musical knowledge and musical appreciation, at 11 years old as I am now at 46. The kid gets it …he gets it all …rock, pop, jazz, blues, prog, punk, bossa nova, and more. He’s not only sparring with me about labels and re-releases and who played on this or that, about being 1-degree separated from “THE” Brian Eno, but also bragging about his own damn, already existing, record shop – @unknowntresuresmusic!
The quick story is that I kept spotting @unknowntresuresmusic online in other Tokyo record store feeds and thought to myself “Who is this crate-digging ‘Record Boy’ at some of the best record shops in Tokyo? He’d be a good one to feature on the Tokyo Record Style feed!” So, I write the account, hopefully addressing his guardian, and say “Hey! Cool kid! At cool shops! And many near me! He looks about the same age as my 11-year-old boy! Would love to photograph him for TRS! Hit me up!” I get a reply from his Dad, “Hey Brian, it’s us, your old swim pals from the neighborhood! It’s been a few years but we already know each other! Let’s hit some local record shops!” … “Get out”, I think to myself, “Small world, Tokyo…” So we rendezvous and have an absolute blast bouncing around record shops in Kichijoji, scoring some real GEMS, hitting the hi-fi shops, talking music non-stop, and about @unknowntresuresmusic’s record shelf at Tent Records where he sells records (about which I wrote some months ago which actually started this whole Tokyo Record Style thing!) We talked about photography too, in fact, he was my photo assistant (and memory-card-providing savior for the 3 colorful record collectors from my last TRS post). Anyway, lotta serendipity here and I have a hunch this will not be the last you see or hear of ‘Record Boy’, (his dad / my pal), and his (their) shop @unknowntresuresmusic!
More Tokyo Record Style on the way!
Question: Did you have a come-to-music moment? What was it?
David Bowie – “Heroes”
Label: RCA Victor – PL 12522, RCA – APL1 2522
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: UK
Released: Oct 14, 1977
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Experimental
https://www.discogs.com/release/1326123-David-Bowie-Heroes
Merl Saunders, Jerry Garcia, John Kahn, Bill Vitt – Live At Keystone
Label: Fantasy – F-79002
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Indianapolis Pressing
Country: US
Released: 1973
Genre: Rock, Funk / Soul
Style: Blues Rock, Funk, Soul-Jazz, Jazz-Rock
https://www.discogs.com/release/1511121-Merl-Saunders-Jerry-Garcia-John-Kahn-Bill-Vitt-Live-At-Keystone
Donald Byrd – Thank You … For F.U.M.L. (Funking Up My Life)
Label: Elektra – 6E-144
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo, Specialty Pressing
Country: US
Released: 1978
Genre:Jazz, Funk / Soul
Style: Jazz-Funk, Disco, Funk
https://www.discogs.com/release/404160-Donald-Byrd-Thank-You-For-FUML-Funking-Up-My-Life
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