Welcome to one of the most active flamenco sites on the Internet. Guests can read most posts but if you want to participate click here to register.
This site is dedicated to the memory of Paco de Lucía, Ron Mitchell, Guy Williams, Linda Elvira, Philip John Lee, Craig Eros, Ben Woods, David Serva and Tom Blackshear who went ahead of us.
We receive 12,200 visitors a month from 200 countries and 1.7 million page impressions a year. To advertise on this site please contact us.
|
|
|
What was your personal journey that brought you to Flamenco?
|
You are logged in as Guest
|
|
Users viewing this topic: none
|
|
Login  | |
|
  
Piwin
Posts: 3559
Joined: Feb. 9 2016
|
 RE: What was your personal journey t... (in reply to Gabewolf)
|
|
|
I took the back door to flamenco, through rumba catalan.
I used to play second guitar at church when I was a kid, and there was a lot of rumba or at least techniques derived from rumba that were involved. I'd heard some flamenco palos but they were few and far between as is often the case with French gypsies.
I stopped altogether after I left the church. My disbelief had, for all intents and purposes, led to me getting kicked out of my home and most of that community so I had a good dose of resentment in me to not want to do anything that reminded me of them and what had transpired.
The next few years are more a story of struggling through poverty while working my way through university but that's another story.
After I had finally made it to a job that paid and that I could declare tax-wise and after a few years of an excessive and paranoid saving frenzy, I finally decided to spend some of my cash on something I wanted to do. It turns out figuring out what you want to do is rather difficult when you've spent years focused on other objectives that are fairly removed from the notion of wanting or self-realisation and when your main drive is more along the lines of "I'll show them, survive and make it in life". So I asked around. Finally opted for Spain upon recommendation of a close friend.
And I went to Spain for a month and kind of just fell into a flamenco environment by chance. Literally by chance, since I travelled that month by taking whatever first bus was leaving the station. This involved arriving in Sevilla on the first night of Semana Santa without a book roomed...But that too is another story. The rest involves Learning from people in Salamanca, Sevilla, Granada and now Madrid. Let's just say that when you come from a rumbero environment, you're likely to feel pretty comfortable with flamenco. You won't necessarily know how to play it, but it'll make sense to you.
I still kind of shudder when asked to play rumba catalan. I guess the first cut is the deepest after all.
_____________________________
"Anything you do can be fixed. What you cannot fix is the perfection of a blank page. What you cannot fix is that pristine, unsullied whiteness of a screen or a page with nothing on it—because there’s nothing there to fix."
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Oct. 12 2016 18:16:44
 |
|
BarkellWH
Posts: 3458
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
|
|
RE: What was your personal journey t... (in reply to Gabewolf)
|
|
|
In 1960, my parents gave me a guitar for my 17th birthday. It was during the folk music boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s--The Kingston Trio; Peter, Paul, and Mary; The Limelighters; Ramblin' Jack Elliot; Harry Belafonte; and others (Bob Dylan and Joan Baez had not come into their own yet). I loved folk and learned to play three and four chord progressions which enabled one to play hundreds of folk songs. At the same time, I was introduced to flamenco by Carlos Montoya. He performed in Phoenix, Arizona where I was living, and I bought several of his albums. I loved flamenco guitar, but knew nothing about flamenco, other than I loved the sound of the flamenco guitar.
I went to the university, spent a few years in the U.S. Air Force, and eventually entered the U.S. Foreign Service and the State Department. Most of my career was spent in Maritime Southeast Asia, with several assignments to Latin America and Washington, DC. While I took my guitar with me everywhere, I did not advance beyond what I knew during the folk boom. After retiring from a career in the Foreign Service (while still doing some consulting work for the State Department overseas and with a Defense Department contractor), I decided I wanted to learn flamenco.
So, at an age when most people are thinking of where they want to retire and play golf, I found a great flamenco guitar teacher in Washington, DC named Paco de Malaga. Paco teaches flamenco guitar, and his wife Ana teaches dance. I have been with Paco now for several years, and we are not only teacher and student, but my wife and I have become good friends with Paco and Ana as well.
Through my relationship with Paco, I have learned some nice pieces on the guitar, and more than that, I have learned a great deal about the history of flamenco and the great figures that it has produced. Paco was a very good friend of Paco de Lucia (As a boy, he studied flamenco guitar under Paco de Lucia's father and his older brother, Ramon de Algeciras.) At my age, and considering my late start, I will never be a first-rate flamenco guitarist or even a very good one, but I enjoy playing and it is fun to entertain friends. And the friendship I have with Paco de Malaga is worth its weight in gold. Flamenco has added a whole new dimension to my life, and I am grateful for having had the opportunity to pursue it.
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white,
With the name of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here,
Who tried to hustle the East."
--Rudyard Kipling
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Oct. 12 2016 21:11:19
|
|
etta
Posts: 342
Joined: Jan. 20 2010
|
|
RE: What was your personal journey t... (in reply to Gabewolf)
|
|
|
At age 14 in l955 I bought a Sears/Roebuck arch top steel string guitar ($29.95) and proceeded to learn to play. I had always been attracted to the sounds and chord progressions of Spanish music. Then I bought my first Carlos Montoya album, followed by many others by both Montoya and Sabicas. My guitar did not look right or sound right. On a whim I called information, New York City, for Carlos Montoya. Sally Montoya answered, I apologized for the intrusion, but asked for information about where and how to buy a real flamenco guitar. She offered to sell me a Hernandez y Aguado blanca; I accepted the offer. I had never seen a real flamenco guitar. When it arrived by rail to Tennessee, in 1959, I was amazed at the sound, beauty, and craftsmanship of what I later learned was a world class guitar. I struggled with no teacher, no instruction book and with only the sounds from my record player of Montoya and Sabicas. Sadly, I sold the guitar in l975, but the sounds never left me and I came back to the music in 2008. I have many fine guitars today, but I am still looking for the H y A with the inscription inside, "especial para C. Montoya" and signed by the makers. This site has been of invaluable help for me to become a much better player. I will try to enclose a photo of a college concert,1963, with the Montoya guitar. Thank you all. Jack
Images are resized automatically to a maximum width of 800px
 Attachment (1)
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Oct. 13 2016 15:40:11
|
|
Morante
Posts: 2179
Joined: Nov. 21 2010
|
|
RE: What was your personal journey t... (in reply to Gabewolf)
|
|
|
I remember in school, there were two camps; Beatles and Rolling Stones. I was for the Stones which led to Chuck berry, Leadbelly etc.
In University I started a rock and roll band which played in all of the student funcions and even opened for Cream. When the group disbanded, I decided against buying a steel string guitar and playing Irish music: we were in full civil war mode and Irish music was played for a public who were mostly carrying guns.
Then Manitas came to town and gave an impressive concert. Afterwards I found a Lp of him and his cuñado José Ballasteros sang. I was not over fond of Manitas but the cante of José impressed me.
Unfortunately the only flamenco records on sale locally were of Camaron and Paco. I didn´t really like either of them, but eventually found artists such as Manuel Soto and Melchor.
It was cante which convinced me and provoked my move to Andalucía, where I did not learn to be a guitarrista, but I learned about cante and how to accompany.
Now that my great friend and guru, José Millán, has passed away, I have stored my flamenco guitar in a wardrobe and have returned to playing Blues. I have lots of flamenco records but never listen to any of them. I only listen to cante en directo. At home, Muddy Waters or Elmore James 
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Oct. 13 2016 16:05:42
|
|
BarkellWH
Posts: 3458
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
|
|
RE: What was your personal journey t... (in reply to BarkellWH)
|
|
|
To those like Aretium and Arash, who describe their personal journey to flamenco in one word, "Paco," I have a question. Do you mean that you never knew anything about or came to flamenco before Paco, and after discovering him he cemented your love of flamenco? Or do you mean you listened to Paco's predecessors--Sabicas, Nino Ricardo, Ramon Montoya, and others, and you just didn't like flamenco as they played it, and it was only after Paco came along that you found a brand of flamenco you liked?
It's just interesting to me that one contemporary artist could lead to a love of flamenco without reference to the many flamenco guitarists who preceded him.
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white,
With the name of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here,
Who tried to hustle the East."
--Rudyard Kipling
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Oct. 14 2016 18:24:54
|
|
Aretium
Posts: 277
Joined: Oct. 23 2012
|
|
RE: What was your personal journey t... (in reply to BarkellWH)
|
|
|
quote:
To those like Arethium and Arash, who describe their personal journey to flamenco in one word, "Paco," I have a question. Do you mean that you never knew anything about or came to flamenco before Paco, and after discovering him he cemented your love of flamenco? Or do you mean you listened to Paco's predecessors--Sabicas, Nino Ricardo, Ramon Montoya, and others, and you just didn't like flamenco as they played it, and it was only after Paco came along that you found a brand of flamenco you liked?
It's just interesting to me that one contemporary artist could lead to a love of flamenco without reference to the many flamenco guitarists who preceded him.
Good question.
1. Exposure, many more paco videos on youtube and girlfriend from malaga
2. I come from classical/jazz background with some oriental stuff too, whether that matters at all
3. I didn't like paco at first so much, his music was more abstract and i listened to a few sabicas, paco pena recordings at first to grasp basic flamenco EDIT: didn't mean basic, but more "roots"
4. Then I started to like Paco and then started to fall in love with him haha
5. Then I started to stop listening to anything before sirocco aside a few pieces
6. Now I don't listen to more jazz and fusion but when I listen to flamenco it is either camaron or late paco.
It is weird how the ear evolves and likes and dislikes change.
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Oct. 14 2016 18:37:34
|
|
flamencoLVR
Posts: 26
Joined: Apr. 27 2015
|
|
RE: What was your personal journey t... (in reply to Gabewolf)
|
|
|
In the early 60's, age 20, I kept hearing from my Coffee House acquaintances about a great guitar player named Sabicas. I found out that Sabicas played at a restaurant in San Gabriel,
here in Southern CA. My wife and I had the privilege of listening to Sabicas and Mario Escudero play duets while Mario's beautiful wife Anita Ramos danced. I bought the famous
Sabicas and Escudero vinyl album in the lobby off of the "Rincon Room" Around that time, my mother-in-laws ex-cop friend Dale Alexander opened a coffee shop in
Downey where a pianist played flamenco and a dancer performed. Dale had a nice singing voice and played folk songs and flamenco. Freddy Noad , classical guitarist, often
performed there too. Dale sold me a Martin classical 0018G guitar and taught me some flamenco basics. I also learned the folk tunes that were popular at the time. I have been
a big fan of flamenco ever since. I enjoy listening to all the flamenco artists on You Tube, thanks to all who post flamenco videos and music. I love most flamenco, classical and other
guitar music including Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler. I bought a Cordoba F7 basic flamenco guitar recently but had carpal tunnel problems, cured by surgery, now I can try to learn
more flamenco. Still have the old Martin 0018G.
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Oct. 31 2016 18:24:24
|
|
 New Messages |
 No New Messages |
 Hot Topic w/ New Messages |
 Hot Topic w/o New Messages |
 Locked w/ New Messages |
 Locked w/o New Messages |
|
Post New Thread
Reply to Message
Post New Poll
Submit Vote
Delete My Own Post
Delete My Own Thread
Rate Posts
|
|
|
Forum Software powered by ASP Playground Advanced Edition 2.0.5
Copyright © 2000 - 2003 ASPPlayground.NET |
0.078125 secs.
|
Printable Version
I wouldn't change a thing though. 
