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I recently bought the RTE's (Radio Television Española) collection of archive material "Rito y Geografía del Toque", and as I usually do when I by a few discs or a multi-disc collection, I prefer to repeatedly watch or listen just one disc at a time before moving on to the next, rather than play the whole lot through. That way, you spin out yer money and have always something to look forward to... Good Scottish money management IMO...LOL!
The first disc includes PdL in his early twenties.
Man, does that guy look "haunted" even from an early age? I don't think I've seen a single film about Paco where he looks truly happy, except for a few moments of diversion here and there.
In some scenes, he has a striking resemblance to Freddy Mercury actually!
In an interview I read ages ago, he said that the best times of his life was touring with Camaron, where the two of them, (of a similar age) would have great fun and indulge in the after concert parties etc.
Years ago, I saw a documentary about Camaron's death, and the film footage just caught Paco in the public crowd of thousands, watching the cortege go by. (I was a bit puzzled why he wasn't with the main group of family and friends.?) He looked totally in shock...and completely lost IMO....
In another interview I read on the Net, the interviewer joked that somebody he had spoken to said that when he met Paco, he could see a halo above his head...what did he think about having all this adulation? Paco said something like "It doesn't bother me either way...I've always had it since I was young...you know, everybody saying 'look at the the kid? ...the kid plays really well..etc..etc'....so I just don't notice it anymore..."
Miguel (de Maria) posts a lot of interesting stuff on the physics, philosophy and psychology of playing...but I think there is a great depth to Paco that can't be analyzed as readily his guitar technique.
To me, he seems to wear his fame as a heavy burden....like "take this badge offa me...I can't use it anymore", sorta thing?
There's no doubt Paco is a complex guy as well as being an astounding guitarist and innovator
Anyway...I'll be going to see The Man, for the first time in my life, in Edinburgh on October 5th and in my own way I see it as a bit of a pilgrimage to see the guy after all these years (he's not too far away from 60 years of age now!), play for real in front of my eyes!
I saw a documentary about Camaron's death, and the film footage just caught Paco in the public crowd of thousands, watching the cortege go by.
You can catch this poignant moment in "Light and Shade"
quote:
I see it as a bit of a pilgrimage to see the guy after all these years
It'll be quite a thrill, but I think you'll shake your head wondering where the hell is he going with that bulerias? He seems to enjoy taking off in different directions, like a pastiche or a quilt.
I would like to see him play with cante, not a "backing band".
Ron, I have never envied Paco--he is a haunted, as you say, driven, obsessive person who can never be happy. At least that is how he appears, of course, as I have no personal experience of him. But the truly great are all like that, I think--think Beethoven, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Oprah Winfrey....that kind of success takes someone who goes further than everyone else.
I am obsessed to a bit, I guess, but not like that. The only reason I am so interested in technique is because it separates me from playing the music I want to play. The more experience I gain, the more I realize that it is only marginally about the hands. It is more about what is in the head and how you use the hands than what kind of tendons or what twitch of muscles you have. For someone who was not born to it, as virtually all virtuosos are, it is a long hard struggle to gain the ability to play technically difficult music.
Lately, I have been studying classical, music theory, ear training and listening to music a lot. Each bit helps, each part adds to the whole experience of playing music.
One thing I realized is that many people's RH techniques are horribly inefficient, and time spent investigating how to position yourself better is much better spent than hammering away...
I have never envied Paco--he is a haunted, as you say, driven, obsessive person who can never be happy
he seems a bit more comfortable with it now, from what i am seeing, and to a certain extent everyone that plays flamenco guitar will be driven, obsessive person who can never be happy, I mean you never ever reach that level where you say I am good now. the better you get the better u wanna be, u never feel on top of your game never 100 % happy with it, comes to think of it probably every musicean.
Does anyone know what happened between him and Camaron when they decided to go theyr own separate ways ? Was it amicable or not ? why did it happen ? whos idea was it ?
Noone ever documents what went on ? well not in my videos anyway.
I know that Paco has nothing but good things to say of Camaron now and dedicates many songs to him, but if they were so close why did they stop working togheder ? Could it have been that Paco was trying to get away from the life Camaron was leaning towards ? or did Camaron chose to have Tomatito replace Paco ? ( I have absolutley no idea, so I am just speculating, a history lesson would be good :-)
I've noticed he smiles a lot when he is playing rumba, tango, or playing for dancers. Looks happy to me. But he becomes a mad scientist when those bulerias falsetas start coming out.
I met people in stockholm now that had seen Paco with the trio (cañizares and juan carmona is it?) They said it was like having 3 stand-up comedians on stage, Laughing,telling jokes etc The same goes for the Gerardo Nuñez concert i saw. Nobody seemed a bit serious about anything. Only big smiles and jokes..well Gerardo focused a bit while playing fast like the devil. Otherwise it was pure fun.
Henrik
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This is hard stuff! Don't give up... And don't make it a race. Enjoy the ray of sunshine that comes with every new step in knowledge.
Ron, I have been thinking about this as well- more than I should actually.
In his latest documentary, doesn't he say something like 'I want to go back to being Francisco Sanchez, but it is impossible for him to coexist with Paco de Lucia' (I think, it's been a while and I'm not so sure anymore).
He also said: every time I hear someone play por alegrias on the radio, I'm constantly thinking: 'no, not like that, hit that note instead, compas is off, etc.... It's a terrible way to live, but that's what a good guitarist has to do'.
Or even: 'if there's one little mistake in one of my CDs, the whole CD is worth nothing anymore'.
Or how the frustration of not being able to sing has haunted him since his youth...
Or how the frustration of not being a gypsy has haunted him since his youth...
Etc etc etc...
Camaron's death seems to have torn him apart a lot as well.
I think he appears, and probably is, this haunted because of his incredible sensitivity. It's this sensitivity that places him miles and miles above other guitarists, even the incredible ones like Nuñez and Tomatito.
The starving artist. I have nothing against it, but please, remember that other genres of music have long ago learned the human cost of that myth. Let's not import it to Flamenco. Suffering does not neccessarily help make one better, nor does unnecessarily painful experience always result in artistic maturity. Over-sensitivity should never be lauded as the trait that is solely, or even mainly, responisble for an artists' success.
The starving artist. I have nothing against it, but please, remember that other genres of music have long ago learned the human cost of that myth. Let's not import it to Flamenco. Suffering does not neccessarily help make one better, nor does unnecessarily painful experience always result in artistic maturity. Over-sensitivity should never be lauded as the trait that is solely, or even mainly, responisble for an artists' success.
sorry, but i really have to say this.
ryan, you have not understood anything from tenshus post for example. music is not a work it is an art.
Im quoting tenshus important sentence in the hope that you may get the gist now (sorry for being rude, but your post seemed as if you even didnt think about what your telling there):
quote:
It's this sensitivity that places him miles and miles above other guitarists, even the incredible ones like Nuñez and Tomatito.
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