First off I haven’t been posting now for a couple years and still intend to get all my songs up and online here and etc and so forth but let’s try my moving forward with this idea. My Brushes with Fame!
Take one: Tom Waits
Preface:
I’m a huge fan. He is one my few real songwriting heroes. My second concert experience ever was Tom Waits in the spring of 1979 Mandel Hall at The University of Chicago. Amazing show! Quite theatric.
I started playing his songs as well as I could shortly after that, the first one I learned was “Better Off Without a Wife” from Nighthawks at the Diner, the first of his records I bought at Second Hand Tunes in Hyde Park.
I usually tell a truncated version of this when I introduce my song “In Regard of flight”, but I posted it the other day on a Tom Waits fan group and it was quite enjoyed so I thought I’d share it here as well.
The tale:
In 1986, I was flying back to Chicago late one night, and got on the EL at O’Hare to head home. I had just begun writing songs at that point.
On the train were three people. An African-American woman with two Shopping bags whom I assumed had just gotten off work at O’Hare. The others were Tom
Waits and a male fellow traveler.
He was in town doing Franks Wild Year at Steppenwolf and apparently lived near Irving Park Road.
I sat in the seat in front on Tom as he read Rolling Stone and ate popcorn. I told him I loved Rain Dogs and that his was the second rock concert I’d ever been to in 1979 at Mandel Hall at my College the University of Chicago (my first was a few months earlier - Elvis Costello and the Attractions Armed Forces Tour at The Aragon Ballroom - The Rubinoos opened)
I started asking him questions. He asked me if this was some kind of interview, and I said no but that I had just started writing songs, and was a big fan and was interested in his thoughts. Then he started to talk with me, I guess realizing that I didn’t want something from him and that I was just annoying.
He asked me what I wrote about and I answered “I write expositions on various things” which he thought was interesting. I also told him I was a a doctor in training as well.
He told me what he was listening to at the time which included Guadalcanal Diary as I recall. And he said two wise things.
First, that everything you give to music, music gives back. Now 35 years , two bands, and having made three albums later I know that to be true.
Second, that you should write about what you know. Advice so good I haven’t always followed it
He got off at Irving Park Road with his friend
I’ll never forget that night. And I think my songs, especially my lyric writing, is often very influenced by Tom.
Postscript
If anybody knows Tom feel free to pass the story along. I can’t imagine he’d remember except it would surprise me if he never forgets anything ever.
