…While Listening To Myself In The Mirror #14

I believe all of us, like Blues Legend Robert Johnson near Dockery Plantation at midnight, come to our own “crossroads” where we make our “pact” with the devil; less ominously, at the very least, arrive at our “point of no return” with what we are going to do with our lives…

My Crossroads: Mass Ave & Boylston St, Boston’s Back Bay.

At my crossroads, I decided to give up playing Top 40 or commercial cover grind and start “creating” music. Although I wouldn’t turn down a wedding or Bar Mitzvah, I would not actively go after that kind of work or club gig.

My nine semesters at Berklee were spread over an eight year period. Around 1981, my seventh semester, I formed my first band, Conception. Shelly, Henry and I had a house on the South Shore in Braintree Mass where the band practiced; we played a nice blend of originals and standards. In Boston we played Ryles and The 1369 Club. We traveled as far north as Portland New Hampshire to play Horsefeathers and as far south to play Dr. Watson’s in Philadelphia.

As of this post, Ryles Is Still Happening. We all played there. Everyone Loved Ryles. Shelly & I Saw Pat Metheny There With Danny Gottleib, Drums; Rufus Reid, Bass; Michael Brecker, Tenor Sax.

I Never Played Paul’s Mall. I Did, However, Get To See Milt Jackson, Steps Ahead, Betty Carter And The Gary Burton Group With Pat Metheny Guitar, Danny Gottleib, Drums AND BOTH Steve Swallow & Eberhard Weber On Basses!

Talk about being inspired! I got to see/hear so many of my influences up close and personal. I even took Henry (on my lap) to see Weather Report at The Orpheum. Studying, Playing and catching my many influences was really shaping my ears and intellect for the coming years!

…a career in music? Don’t be silly, you won’t make a living. That’s no life for a son (daughter) of mine. That’s that! I don’t want to discuss it again!

Hey! Turn the radio up! I love that song!

One of the tunes that I composed during that period was my Walk In Tune! I had the pleasure of recording it with my group Vibre´many years later on Our Maximum Jazz/Universal Group enhanced CD, Blue Comedy. I loved the album and  the group!

*The Series …While Listening To Myself In The Mirror, chronicles the milestones, influences and progression of the musical career and times of Arnold Faber, Canadian Career Musician/Composer. The intent is strictly to inform, entertain and chronicle a 38+ year career in Canadian music history.

…While Listening To Myself In The Mirror #13

I had one week to register at Berklee, find a place to live and, suss the lay of the land enough to establish a routine for learning, honing and exercising my musical passion…

Berklee & I Go Way Back!

Berklee really did it for me. The school gave me a very singular insight into my creative process that simply doesn’t quit. Any genre, anytime; personal or business; I just don’t seem to hit any brick walls and, I only seem to be getting more excited as the years pass! Needless to say, the lifelong friendships and memories established during our eight years in and out of Boston, are absolutely priceless.

If You Were A Drummer/Percussionist Going To Berklee, You Knew Jack's Drum Shop. Going From The Mass Ave Building To The Boylston Building, You Had To Pass It (you went in, even just to drool!).

My program was The Jazz Composition & Arranging Degree and my instrument major was percussion. I had to change my instrument major to mallets exclusively because that was my whole thrust for being there as far as my main axe was concerned. I did however, get a lot of excellent drum set instruction that first semester.

Our First Home Was In Weymouth Mass. On The South Shore. I Used To Park The Van In North Quincy And Take The Red Line Train To The Green Line. Then I Took The Green Line To Boylston.

1976 was a very pivotal year for me, with Shelly in her final trimester, staying with her parents, waiting for Henry to arrive and me starting college so far away. Every Friday, after my arranging class, I would hop into our van and drive the 883.2 km, Mass Pike, then New York Thruway to Toronto (3 times until our first of three beautiful sons actually arrived!).

…a career in music? Don’t be silly, you won’t make a living. That’s no life for a son (daughter) of mine. That’s that! I don’t want to discuss it again!

Hey! Turn the radio up! I love that song!

I had been on the road three years before coming to Berklee, so I knew the ropes and set out to find a working band to make some extra cash when I wasn’t in school; I answered an ad for a drummer. We were to play a series of Chinese food restaurants within 100 km radius of the school that featured music for dancing. The band consisted of a female lead singer, a guitar player, who is a dear friend to this day, a Cordovox player who punched bass as well and myself on drums (I still dragged my vibes along to play ballads). We played all over Massachusetts and New Hampshire. That era makes me think of Year Of The Cat, Al Stewart; Cold As Ice, Foreigner; Blue Bayou, Linda Ronsdadt; 9 To 5, Dolly Parton etc.; lightweight MOR of the times was our thing. We played together 2 years.

Interesting contrast to the music I wanted to create; I was either in school or playing and balancing my family life; interesting times!

*The Series …While Listening To Myself In The Mirror, chronicles the milestones, influences and progression of the musical career and times of Arnold Faber, Canadian Career Musician/Composer. The intent is strictly to inform, entertain and chronicle a 38+ year career in Canadian music history.