Okay, I have a few more aces up my sleeve. If anyone needs me to continue posting, let me know. I'm lazy as f%ck. But on the other hand, I understand that these audio lectures carry more historical value than practical value. There are much more serious video lessons for the same guitar pieces than Fahey personally. But it's important for a fan to have all the records, I understand.
Please keep 'em coming. Been a fan since the '60s and never get tired of the obscure that folks are hiding in their attics and are finally dusting off. This kinda stuff is what makes RU-vid, for me.
@@moodswingy1973photo? I guess google and Facebook group. But keep in mind that I've been obsessively studying Fahey for two years now, and I don't think there's a place on the internet where John is mentioned that I haven't been to. Plus, I've learned about 30 of Fahey's guitar pieces. Even though I was sitting at home, playing guitar, and surfing the internet, it felt like a very dynamic two years. A real adventure. So the answer is: I don’t remember where.
The Live In Germany version of the song is a timeless one. Particularly, the section towards the end that is not played on Blind Joe Death. This was a nice way to revisit the rendition, and I wish that you will keep it up as I am sure you will.
This concert I have referenced in a video some weeks back. It was unknown to me that you had posted it. The performance of Beverly was the first I had heard of it & still largely defines the year of 2022 in my thoughts, albeit in an inauspicious manner.
Fahey first sold his albums at a gas station where he worked.. When people asked for directions he would give them some fake directions so they ended up traveling in a circle. As they passed the gas station a second time he would wave at them.
This great guitar player played anywhere he could because it was a job. A fascinating character that was actually homeless living in an Oregon- Salvation Army center, and occasionally in his car, was truly an American treasure.
I used to write letters to John and he would always very kindly return them, answering all my guitar questions. He was in Oregon then and was going through some tough times. He gave me some insight into his tunes and said that his favourite of all was "Sunshine Gonna Shine in my Backdoor Someday Blues".
This man is absolutely horrible. He just pisses around on an open G chord . Sounds like he’s drunk, oh ya he is . I can’t decide if he sounds better drunk or sober? Maybe he’d sound better if I was drunk 😮. Trash guitar playing.
In this video you’ll see John Fahey lighting up a cigarette and using his guitar like an ash tray. After being told “It’s not an ash tray, it’s a guitar,” Fahey replies “It’s a cheap guitar.” There he was again improvising, using the guitar like no one else ever has, as an ash tray…and as a magical vehicle for expressing an infinite number of beautiful, colorful moods that you can’t pin down as the blues or bluegrass or anything else because what came out of his guitar was all of it and none of it.
Nice. 2 years after I booked John and edited City of Refuge,serious changes. Did not photograph Fahey. Melody took pics of us together. I was engaged in photographing John's bigger love: my Gothic Railroad Essay ,5 Hasselblads & 4X5 SLR
I'm just grateful for finally knowing how "Fahey" is pronounced (people don't exactly say his name that often). And of course the music itself was superb.
Circa 1972 I drove 2 hours to DC to see him. He was a no-show. Then around 1992 he and his entourage were parked next to me at a convenience store by King's Dominion north of Richmond VA, but I didn't recognize him. Someone else with me did, but didn't mention it until later.
It's wonderful to hear John explaining how he approached his finger picking technique. He obviously gave more thought than some others did. And you can hear it in his playing. A studious player indeed.
One thing i get out of this is John was a complete original, a bit defensive about being entirely self-taught and also did not read musical notation...but he did have a good grasp of real American folk and blues (he was an avid collector of original work) and he simply delved deeply into himself and took it to another level of excellence. He did not worry too much about how people viewed him and his style; which was a double edged sword which put some folks off, but others liked that he fearlessly went where others feared to tread. That may have accounted for the deep places he was able to go to in many of his songs. It was a conversation he was having with his muse and he resented that some were not willing to see the spider silk he created out of his love for something uniquely his own. There are few like him, afaik.
