Profoundly Lucky

When I was five or six, my brother and I acted out the Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack in its entirety using stuffed animals.  My teddy bear, Jones (who wore a homemade cape), played Caiaphas (a low-singing, bad guy) and Kitty Samantha, the white Persian cat was probably Mary Magdalene (I Don’t Know How To Love Him).  Another one of our teddy bears named “Q” probably played Jesus although I don’t remember for sure.  

My brother has heard me talk about this for years and may not quite understand the impact it had on my young life, but my point in bringing it up is that I saw my brother as a superstar in his own right.  He was fun!  He completely loved rock and roll and exposed me to a lot of great music.  He built a strobe light, had a turntable and amp, and customized a music listening room in our basement complete with floor cushions and posters.

When I realized that John is approximately the same age as my brother, I was taken back in time to when I was my brother’s little sister who never dreamed she could end up as a rock and roll musician. I still know that I can’t ever be as cool as my brother.  :)  I’m envious of all musicians who experienced the seventies in rock bands.  I know they had fun.  I didn’t realize prior to our conversation that John lived this, lugging his B3 around for several years in Boston and the Buffalo-area.

As I listened to John’s story, I slowly began to realize that he’s an incredible professional, consummate sideman and wise musician who has enjoyed every precious moment of his career and has managed to maintain a balance with personal life.  His rock and roll dreams didn’t die with the seventies.  In fact, he’s found many ways to fulfill his talents, including writing music for film and television.  I realize that I am simply wanting to pay him the respect he’s due.  

I knew John from playing on a few Loud Jamz with him, and he graciously allowed me to perform on his keyboards more than once.  He always arrived early for those events with a thermos of coffee and a New York Times in hand.  He’s always prepared and at the same time, approachable and down-to-earth. 

Bottom line, John knows keyboards.  He’s played the original versions enough to be able to make educated and sound judgements on the digital counterparts. And he’s willing to share that information with other keyboardists on his website, www.keyboardsuccess.com.  John also knows gigs and is able to bring his experience to many acts needing last-minute subs.  Finally, he knows networking and takes it to the next level, by building lifelong friendships.  

Here’s a few of my favorite quotes from my conversation with John:  “I have been profoundly lucky,”  “It’s very very wise to be as helpful as possible to other musicians…In any manageable, practical way you can be helpful to other musicians you should because …it’s the right thing to do and…it pays back dividends in your career in many ways,” and “Time spent playing music is not counted against your life.”  

Thanks John, for all that you do for our profession and for other keyboardists.  You’re an inspiration and blessing.