Rebound

Wow, sorry for the neglect on this blog in the last couple of weeks. My OTHER job has been taking all my time and energy...

A couple of weeks ago, I got my hands on a bootleg video of The X-Pensive Winos' 1993 concert in Boston. This was Keith Richard's (far superior) sideline for when the Rolling Stones weren't busy. I saw the Toronto stop of this tour at Massey Hall and it holds the title of Best Concert Ever, even after 16 years and hundreds of competitors.
So you can understand that I was pretty excited to watch the professional-but-never-released recording of a similar experience. I sat down, turned it up, and hit play. Overawed, stunned, gob-smacked, none of those words explain how I felt. I actually got a little teary at the showmanship, technique and style exposed. Those older than me think of Keef as the junkie side-kick to Mick Jagger, and those younger than me know him as Johnny Depp's inspiration for Cap'n Jack Sparrow. Somehow in the noise, what gets overlooked is his ability to play the perfect note at the perfect time. The essence of taste. The video reminded me of why I got his portrait tattooed on my forearm eight years ago. Reminded me of why I became obsessed with The Stones in the mid-eighties. Hell, it reminded me precisely why I wanted to learn the guitar and bought a Telecaster! I wouldn't be doing this today if I hadn't discovered Keith Richards.

The downside was that this video shamed me, gave me an inferiority complex. I couldn't grasp 1/10 of his talent. Realizing this took the wind from my sails, and I quickly lost direction and interest with finishing Overture.
Luckily, it was shortlived. I met a guy at work with amazing musical taste. A former musician himself, he's a fan of Joy Division (actually had a ticket to see them before Ian Curtis's suicide), Buddy Holly, Iggy Pop, rocksteady, reggae, Detroit Motown, etc etc etc... Admitting to being a songsmith myself, I somehow forgot to mention my influences but emailed him a link to Reflecting The Broken Mirror (the disc playing on this site).
He was impressed, enjoying what I wrote, but commented that he couldn't define it. Without being told who I listen to, he couldn't identify the musicians that inspire me. Showing the intelligence not to bandy about random names, he admitted that it wasn't an obvious copy of something good. This compliment restarted the stutter that was holding back Overture. Like it or not, I seem to have squeezed Bowie, Richards, Iggy, Ferry, Roxy, Motown, The Pistols, Japan, Placebo, The Sisters, and everyone else, into my very own recipe of Matt Swift.

So now I'm back. I have mixed Don't Fall For Me, Let You Go (why can't i), No Fun, Love Song, One Night Stand, and Naive. And I should have the last four done by the end of the long weekend...

* for the record, the best compliment I ever received was being called "Bryan Ferry on crack." I don't think it was meant positively, but since Let's Stick Together is my Ferry Fave, and was created in a frenzy of cocaine, I'll take it well.
The worst was the guy who said "Swift must have every Tom Petty album ever released." Not that I dislike Tom, but I haven't listened to him since my Full Moon Fever cassette got eaten by the car stereo...