Interview with John Fahey on Music in Oregon

You know which we can get into. Why are you getting. Why did you think that was a strange question. I asked what the truth. Oh you know what. You are saying you don't think I'm sure that you started your show right. I know. What I'm saying. I mean and I mean it's like a song about you know come to form your show a few. More. We start with you. I guess Why did you start playing. I mean we were all now. You know what. That's a good question. OK.

Yes. Life. Is that T I think it's more or I think I'm saying behind every truth there's a little joke. I mean behind every joke there's a little truth. My beauties are what I like. Sides 19. I'm not supposed to be. Knowing getting up on stage but there goes back to the same question why you show standoffish. Well I guess the first I don't like the Blackhawks are saying you know you think you know you know that as well. Yeah I mean I didn't realize was getting into it. Why this.

Oh I oh you're getting into music. So I guess there was some kind of evolution. Sure. And this is. Why did the guru through her confession to live much else to. Show you what is required. Sixties but the middle is so words we. Feel we. Know I got on TV a couple times you know. So we're it's more.

Workers marching here. You know history is music. But. Actually this is what you heard from Jim good piece but I can tell you I gave it all of. You secured title. They were living down. You know I was lucky in California and I was in New York City you were on. Your. Own when. You came and. Did not know I was completely exhausted from playing two shows I went. Back to it to have parted with it wherever I was staying. And. So when I would. Go to bed soon right away. When I picked it up for some reason immediately there was that weird chord. Oh

your you know. They come on very quickly that way. There's a rule to just suddenly there where you know where they come from. And. Your songs I read. Which is really the neat thing to do You were asking teary about other guitar players and me that I'm not a great guitar poor but very good composer. And I've written a lot of. Excellent guitar music. You know. I'm still pretty productive. Slowed down every little bit recently because I've been depressed but you know. I'm sore a new song. You know. These other guys don't write songs. They point to arpeggios were. On. Or there's still have to you or they. I write songs that tunes too but they have structure or they make sense and.

Even cheery Cherry's a great guitar player 10 times guitar player anything. That's why using it but he understands everything you know. But once you've written four or five songs. You know for check ins there's technician. In the style I play in play anything but to. How many songs are written I don't think he's written any levy so I'm sure he's written two or three but they were very good. So. I'm mainly a composer an innovator. I'm not a great guitar. So you don't take other people's You seriously I think prove them. How do you improve who. Do. Well you took. Well first of all I did so I was never

been played on solo guitar because you know people didn't know how to do this. Singer stuff. You know we picked the bass who we used to play the melody with your top singers so. Night for your priority sure. Or somewhere to. Make a torso. No. Room I saw sometime as a pretty haunting song. It's really haunting the way you can't lose. You can't lose because it's so popular with such a good song intrinsically. Is a good song. I think it kind of makes people feel like it brings whatever kind of. Thought it was up a lot of emotion and people I think people like really put an event in their life that happened to me with that

and whatever it is generally I mean there was one of those things you can just say wow I never want to. Lose You. In secure something that you know about situations that is likely to do nice Christmas I think you're doing that. So how did this all begin. Good news story. Oh I think I started listening to classical music and. Wellesley cause school music orders rodeo. Brought to tour I was 13. To pick up girls. These other guys picking up girls in the park you know toward her tracking their attention. But they could see I couldn't so.

Couldn't a good goal was to get up here. And I was there and I couldn't couldn't listen. Did you want to play other instruments but if you listen to classical music and you like want to pick up a violin. Player You know you know some of the you know when. You start teaching. Well. So these guys had showed me what chords or. A chord book. Oh I caught like you old 78 by Bush Sr. is a hillbilly singer where you are picking to flat pick here and that's where I learned that. Still I'll go forward. Spend a lot of room

open tuning. Do you play what you play like you're a little removed from the books generally healthy I don't listen. And once you once you once you was in the books made sense to me as if it made sense you know. Oh look just a chord books I don't know how to read music they're still. Playing recorder chargesheet. So the blues players like oh it was especially good Charlie. Robert said they're playing black and white guys who say McGee you know used to be a great oil reaction. You couldn't hear it because the cars were

sloping room there is one of the greatest guitar players who ever lived through them came in. For a coach's son who's from West Virginia. I mean ROOM. Those were there weren't too many recordings of guitar solos. From the country by white people. You know so there were a few others but that's really. About all I can think of and they made lots of records. Which sold quite well. Oh one more vocals but they take instrumental breaks you know. What were you feeling what did you feel from within to bring. You. Our He was looking for it outward through emotion which I didn't understand.

There was a lot of rage and. Frustration. I'm going to get tore help keep me from going nuts. It was 14 15 16 17 18. Signature. You know I could. Sue and abetting the insurance to pay. So. You're like Well my my record store is selling Boston and it's a one story house. I got you know I mean we you know the track you're bringing back to earth here. Oh OK. Whoa. I met a guy who I didn't know was a national record distributor. And I gave him a record and he said to him I'm a nation record history. You know Barry could sell these ones for me five or 10 or

something. So pretty soon they were selling in Boston he was press and he was running the whole company. Oh I was doing was producing a record. There and then they started selling in San Francisco and L.A. and then it went all over. Then I started getting calls for jobs. Let's see I played a lot of the hash grove and was saying it was so the booker of their story booking me all around the country. Then later I got my own booking agent. But just hard to find good ones to keep changing. Do you. Here. Finally get a real good one. Least you can doing better. So good. So the music you were playing were you surprised that people listen to it. I mean was it something that you.

When were you. Oh OK. He she probably didn't know it was like 64 65. And then I started going on the road and in doing this for a living in 64. Been doing it ever so. So that's 60. Right where where were you with that. California. You know the first job was forced. To drive cross country to get your first job. You're. The motor sport. You get to completely exhausted. Well you're going to enjoy.

What you claim. Well there was this you know it's called the good stuff during war. All. I care with. Around Cambridge or something like the Red Cross from Cambridge on board. So what kind of people can do this and who's in the audience you know how kind you can classify them or put a label on people who a lot of guitar players and then you're all doing. Good so it's been sort of grad student shorter course. People who are of course. So what was your first album kind of that you composers like a lot of. Re-arranging of classical music.

Well no I didn't start that on the first album. The little bit I did I mixed the two you know I could. I break something you know. Sure classical form and then use a folk scene when they had things that were from Bartow or her Stravinsky or so. But but they were all fairly sure and later sort of making. A lot of beatniks you. Know beating this record and they were hippies. And. They used to play for hippies and pretend those are the big. Story. It was me. There was a really would be ethic you know there was. A was peer pressure. To conform to this new ethic which was just just as strong as a middle class thing or trying to escape for.

You know parts of it were kind of funny. Or interesting. You know you can take advantage of girls much easier. But you know the drugs you know and sure I knew a lot of people who died. Things like that. So I never got into it. But I made money. I meet people who try to push you into an ethic. You know they don't care work and they think it is theirs you know. Chrystia your. Who're hedonism drugs are. Wrong. Liberals. Like people that do that and awful lot of people try to stay still I mean even at this age a lot of peer pressure to do certain things and think certain ways.

Well like the folk music establishment almost. 10 15 years ago was. Downright totalitarian. You know if you wanted to. If you want to talk about politics on stage which I don't I'm not interested really in anybody talking about politics on stage but you can get away with it as long as you talk leftwing politics. But you know you can look actually lose jobs if you start say the minute you stay on the right wing these people will not hire you again. And word will spread and that's totalitarianism. I don't like that but I also I just saw politics on stage and entertainer and musician and I also don't like people who write songs for kids. I think they've run out of songs that you know.

They can write for adults. Thank you. Whenever you have someone who's running for kid you're the hidden pedophile. Are you thinking of specific groups. Or are you just thinking oh yes I'm good you know you should club owners to the concert hall the whole thing it was and still is pretty much free to go to L.A.. TV stations radio stations specially public ones. But want you to peer into politics theory way I'm not really interested would some musician just say that poetry you know. So you think somebody should keep their political views and religious views in their. Emotional abuse. Well not emotional for me. That's for sure but you know. They were just. You know the rest has

plenty of other places appropriate places to be aired. You know. Why bring it into to a bar or coffee shop or concert hall. I mean I don't want to hear. I think you know most people go to this place just to hear music nicer to people. Personally yes. So why would you get a lot of political stuff particularly from these folks are a bunch of which I'm I think I mischaracterize I think I think of myself as a classical musician. OK well thank your folks. You know I get thrown in there. Tell me about that and you know I think you know I hate it. I don't like being called a throw because I'm supposed to be. Thank. You.