Piano (1988)
Stuff recorded one evening, early 1987.
Music runs in my family. My dad, my grandfather, my son and yours, truly. All pretty darn good with the tunes. Piano was the first instrument I played, picking it up at age 8, and this probably helped me develop a keen ear and ability to navigate through my musical growth over the past several decades.
In 1987, while training at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, fellow airman and friend Mike Weaver and I formed a 3-pc band with another airman in training, Greg MacPherson. On the weekends, and often during the week, we'd jam in the base's recreation center, in one of its soundproof rooms, using its drumset, amps, and mics.
Mike graduated/left the base a couple weeks before I did, and before doing so insisted on recording me playing my "dog-doing-backflips" originals on one of the rec center's pianos. Handed me his tape deck and a blank cassette, asked me to record my originals (to show his brother). Knowing I'd be seeing Mike again soon (we were assigned to the same AF Reserve Unit), and definitely not cynical enough to think he'd be "stealing" my material, I happily complied.
The rec center that evening was, as usual, quite busy, and so had to enforce its one hour sound room time limit (typically only enforced when others were waiting). So I got an hour of stuff, which I'm sure was most of everything.
At some point after that, obviously (though I don't specifically recall), I gave back Mike his recorder and cassette tape. Fell out of my mind soon, I'm sure, and could have gone through life without remembering any of that event.
Over the next couple decades Mike and I became even closer friends (though we haven't spoken in a few years), and jammed quite often with his brother, Jeff, Cliff Fuller, Cliff Lovell, John Williams, Hector Almodovar, a couple other interesting characters whose names presently escape me. One night, after a jam session, Mike handed me a cassette: a copy of me playing piano back in late March/early April, 1987.
Mind = blown.
I'm very fortunate Mike had me record these tunes. And very lucky that cassette has lasted long enough for me to convert these daft compositions into digital form.
Enjoy!
Music runs in my family. My dad, my grandfather, my son and yours, truly. All pretty darn good with the tunes. Piano was the first instrument I played, picking it up at age 8, and this probably helped me develop a keen ear and ability to navigate through my musical growth over the past several decades.
In 1987, while training at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, fellow airman and friend Mike Weaver and I formed a 3-pc band with another airman in training, Greg MacPherson. On the weekends, and often during the week, we'd jam in the base's recreation center, in one of its soundproof rooms, using its drumset, amps, and mics.
Mike graduated/left the base a couple weeks before I did, and before doing so insisted on recording me playing my "dog-doing-backflips" originals on one of the rec center's pianos. Handed me his tape deck and a blank cassette, asked me to record my originals (to show his brother). Knowing I'd be seeing Mike again soon (we were assigned to the same AF Reserve Unit), and definitely not cynical enough to think he'd be "stealing" my material, I happily complied.
The rec center that evening was, as usual, quite busy, and so had to enforce its one hour sound room time limit (typically only enforced when others were waiting). So I got an hour of stuff, which I'm sure was most of everything.
At some point after that, obviously (though I don't specifically recall), I gave back Mike his recorder and cassette tape. Fell out of my mind soon, I'm sure, and could have gone through life without remembering any of that event.
Over the next couple decades Mike and I became even closer friends (though we haven't spoken in a few years), and jammed quite often with his brother, Jeff, Cliff Fuller, Cliff Lovell, John Williams, Hector Almodovar, a couple other interesting characters whose names presently escape me. One night, after a jam session, Mike handed me a cassette: a copy of me playing piano back in late March/early April, 1987.
Mind = blown.
I'm very fortunate Mike had me record these tunes. And very lucky that cassette has lasted long enough for me to convert these daft compositions into digital form.
Enjoy!
© 1987 Philip L. Thompson. All rights reserved.
My grandfather and a very young me, jamming on the Wurlitzer
Piano by Telekinesis, ca 1983