JM on Oxford Street!!!!!

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Stu

Posts: 2537
Joined: Jan. 30 2007
From: London (the South of it), England

JM on Oxford Street!!!!!

I just bumped into the man himself!!!! ...almost literally.

This afternoon I was on Oxford Street in London. I finished my lunch with my mother, we walked outside of the restaurant and there in front of me was a rather subdued looking Juan. I passed him and his face suddenly registered! I made my excuses to my mum and ran back up the road.

I basically just said hello and that I'd originally learnt from some of his books and thanks for that etc etc.

he was fairly surprised and seemed a little sleepy. he was on his way to do a BBC interview.

I mentioned I'd read the review of Blood Wedding and asked him where he thought he ranked among the worlds leading guitarists.........(no of course I didn't really ask that last bit!!)

anyway he asked my name, gave me a flyer for his next tour wished me luck with my guitar studies and that was it.

I wandered back down the road to find my mother standing in a shop doorway looking rather puzzled at my sudden flight.

I explained to my mum and she didnt seem interested...Anyway its not that exciting but I just wanted to tell some people who maybe gave a ****.

Stu

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 4 2008 7:54:24

Ailsa

Posts: 2277
Joined: Apr. 17 2007
From: South East England

RE: JM on Oxford Street!!!!! (in reply to Stu)

Amazing coincidence. But my first thought when reading your story was, did he speak with a (fake) Spanish accent? Not sure if that says more about me than him!!

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 4 2008 9:56:41

Doitsujin

Posts: 5078
Joined: Apr. 10 2005

RE: JM on Oxford Street!!!!! (in reply to Stu)

Thats really cool. And did you get an autograph? Anyway seems to be a nice person.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 4 2008 11:57:58

michel

Posts: 315
Joined: Apr. 14 2008
From: france

RE: JM on Oxford Street!!!!! (in reply to Stu)

this is a nice story stu

last summer during holidays i praticed a juan martin sevillanas during the afternoon, then i felt tired, decided to take it easy and have a drink… as a fan of sixties TV-series, i decided to watch an episode of Department-S - the story of the episode took place in spain, suddently there was a scene in a flamenco-bar, and i couldn’t believe my eyes as i saw juan martin in the scene playing exactly the same sevillana that i practiced that afternoon - really strange coincidence no?

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 5 2008 4:41:12

Stu

Posts: 2537
Joined: Jan. 30 2007
From: London (the South of it), England

RE: JM on Oxford Street!!!!! (in reply to michel)

Hey if he had a fake accent (which I doubt), he would obviously be good enough to fool an excitable aficionado like me.

quote:

And did you get an autograph?

No, to be honest I didn't even consider it.

quote:

this is a nice story stu

Yours is too michel, what do these coincidences/encounters mean?

Its funny, when a chance encounter like this happens we are always sure it must be a good omen (Practice harder/don't give up etc)
but maybe its quite the opposite. Maybe meeting JM was a sign to quit!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 6 2008 3:36:53

Pimientito

Posts: 2481
Joined: Jul. 30 2007
From: Marbella

RE: JM on Oxford Street!!!!! (in reply to Stu)

quote:

what do these coincidences/encounters mean?

I dont think these meetings are quite so coincidental. This is a bit off topic now but I've met so many people "by coincidence" that it cant be coincidence any more.
If you were not a flamenco player you would never have noticed JM walking down Oxford street, just like all the other thousands of people in Oxford street that day. You may also have passed by a famous Physicist or sports man or future prime minister and not noticed them either (even though that could also be considered a coincidence).

Ive met JM by accident before and so have most flamenco Guys/gals I know in the Uk. I've coincidentally sat next to Guardiana on a train from Madrid, met Gerardo Nuñez in a bar in Granada, met Eva Herbabuena in a guitar shop, met Pepe Habichuela in a multi storey car park. I only knew who they were cos I'm into flamenco, otherwise it would not seem like a coincidence at all. Non of the other passengers knew guardiana...and they were Spanish!

Its like driving a new car, and then noticing how many other cars on the road are the same as yours. Its not coincidence, its just your eyes and awareness are more open to them. The same applies with flamenco. In a crowd you are more likely to notice a flamenco star than a non afficionado

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 6 2008 4:10:21

Estevan

Posts: 1936
Joined: Dec. 20 2006
From: Torontolucía

RE: JM on Oxford Street!!!!! (in reply to Stu)

Thanks for telling us about your JM Encounter, Stu. Despite the fact that his publicity (and his recent playing) are the stuff of ridicule and recurring zombie-like threads here, it's good to acknowledge, as you did, that his books at least have been helpful to a lot of people.

quote:

suddently there was a scene in a flamenco-bar, and i couldn’t believe my eyes as i saw juan martin in the scene playing exactly the same sevillana that i practiced that afternoon - really strange coincidence no?

Michel, that's not a coincidence, it's SYNCHRONICITY!!!
It means that if you keep practising, some day you can be in a 60s spy-fi series. Or maybe the next Austin Powers movie.

quote:

Its like driving a new car, and then noticing how many other cars on the road are the same as yours. Its not coincidence, its just your eyes and awareness are more open to them. The same applies with flamenco.

"When I used to drive a Jaguar, I noticed everyone else who drove a Jaguar. Now that I'm wearing jeans instead of suits, I notice nearly everybody."

- John Cage

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 6 2008 8:52:42

Ron.M

Posts: 7051
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Scotland

RE: JM on Oxford Street!!!!! (in reply to Estevan)

quote:

and recurring zombie-like threads here

Hey Estevan...what more can you want from "zombieland"..

Good post from Pimientito!

I think Juan gets about a bit...that's why he makes so much money....

"Amongst the top three wealthiest guitarists in the World"....Financial Times..

cheers,

Ron

PS: That's why he couldn't give a sh*t about anything anybody says here IMO.
Probably if you analyzed it at macro level, playing "La Feria" has probably made him $1000 a pop over the years.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 6 2008 11:42:14