A Newbie To This Forum
Rick
23 Dec 2007
Hello! As per the instructions, my name is Rick, and I am 50-years old. I am single, and having never been married, I am no doubt a personification of the song “Solitaire.” It’s not that big a deal - except at Christmas time - but I always survive!
This Christmas is special for me because I have rediscovered the Carpenters. What makes it even more special is that I have been able to discuss the Carpenters with others (business colleagues, my boss, my parents, and friends) who at each turn reacted favorably to what I had to say. Suddenly, it seems that I don’t know anybody who doesn’t love the Carpenters - and especially Karen’s voice.
Anyway, here is my Carpenters’ story. Sorry it’s so long:
I had been playing music for a year as a trumpet student when the Carpenters first came onto the scene in 1970. I remember how the Carpenters dominated the radio, and I hated them for it.
As an aspiring brass player, I never “saw” any merit in the Carpenters’ music; to me, all they offered were boring love songs. There was no “meat” (in the form of brass section content). When I entered high school, my peers and I dismissed the Carpenters’ music as “middle of the road.” We were into the more “hip” stuff like Chicago; Blood, Sweat and Tears; and Tower of Power; and to a lesser extent, hard rock.
We were also very focused on our own music, as I had the privilege of playing in one of the best high-school bands in the country. It was extremely competitive - practically everyone took lessons and auditioned for the all-city band or the all-region band or the all-state band. I was proud to have been one of only three trumpet players from my school to make the El Paso, Texas All-City Band in my sophomore year after only three full years of playing. I was even more proud to be a member of the Burges High School Mighty Mustang Band, which was invited to participate in an exclusive, invitation-only band tournament in San Diego, in which we won sweepstakes! We were encouraged to be competitive with one another, which is what made our band so great. I was doing great on the trumpet, and everybody told me at the time that I “will definitely make all-state next year.” Making the all-state band in the state of Texas at that time would be a significant accomplishment, probably enough to earn a scholarship at North Texas State University, one of the premier music schools in the country.
But it was not to be. Our family packed up and moved from El Paso to Green Bay, Wisconsin in the fall of my junior year. Not only was this a culture shock (and a general shock given the difference in climate), but my new school’s music program was nowhere near what I was accustomed to. I rebelled against my parents, and this rebellion took me to a bad place – in terms of hanging out with the wrong crowd... I did win the John Phillip Sousa Award in my senior year, and I’m here now, so evidently I survived that episode of my life.
I later became a professional musician. I had been enrolled in college as a music major, and had front-loaded my course schedule to include all the music classes I could possibly take: stuff like Theory I and II, Form and Style, Composition, 16th Century Counterpoint, and the like. After excelling at and exhausting most of the available music courses, I found myself bored with the rest of the general curriculum. I dropped out of school after receiving a phone call from an agent with an offer to audition for and join a Glenn Miller-like big band that was in the area. I was in Billings, Montana, and the band was scheduled to be performing at some resort near Butte, about five hours away. The way the band auditioned new players is that they dress you up in a tux, you read the part live during the gig, and if there was a consensus among the rest of the players, then you got the job. It was exciting at first, but I soon learned that playing one-night stands is a horrible way to make a living. There were some world-class musicians in the band but morale was low, which meant a high turnover rate among band members.
One night I was driving one of the band’s vehicles out in the middle of nowhere, headed to another gig. My only company was one of the band’s tenor saxophonists, a monster player (a Coltrane disciple with unbelievable chops) whose opinion I respected.
I remember this moment distinctly: We were driving on some lonely road in the middle of the night and listening to the radio (our vehicle didn’t have a tape deck; otherwise, we would have been listening to Coltrane or Lee Morgan or somebody). We were both bored to death, ridiculing and laughing at all the bad music coming out of the radio, when “We’ve Only Just Begun” came on. The tenor player said, “Now, THAT’S some good music.”
Me: “Are you kidding? That’s the Carpenters. They [expletive]!”
Tenor player: “I don’t care who they are. Listen to that chick’s voice. Listen to that intonation. Listen to the warmth and resonance of her voice.”
Me: (Listening and undergoing some serious cognitive dissonance, trying to reconcile what I always believed to be true with the opinion of this musician whose opinion I respected. This was the first time I ever paid serious attention to Karen Carpenter’s voice.) Before I could say, “Uh, that is really beautiful, and…”
Tenor player: “Dude, you’re swerving off the road!”
That was roughly around 1981. I played professionally with another band for four more years before I got out of the music business.
Admittedly, it didn’t affect me much when I heard that Karen Carpenter died in 1983, although I was surprised to learn about why she died. I was still into my own thing at the time, and struggling professional musicians tend to be self-centered – extremely self-centered.
I’ve moved on to a different career. But ever since that night when the tenor player corrected the errors of my thinking, whenever I heard the Carpenters on the radio, I did listen to “that chick’s voice.” And if I’m driving and she’s singing, I have to take special care to avoid swerving off the road.
This was the case when I was driving a few Fridays ago and punched up “Magic 99.5” (an adult contemporary station that has been playing Christmas music nonstop since October 26th), just in time for “Merry Christmas, Darling.” I thought, “Oh, my God. That is so beautiful!” It got me to thinking about how I was so judgmental and dismissive about the Carpenters all those years ago.
I should have known what I was in for: (I had the same attitude about Selena before I did some research on her). Anyway, I thought I would do a YouTube search on the Carpenters that Friday night, which means – you guessed it! – I spent the entire weekend watching Carpenters videos. I was immediately addicted!
It only took 26 years, but the transformation is complete. In some ways, it pays to get old. I am now a serious Carpenters fan. Well, not serious to the extent that I own everything they ever recorded, but serious enough to talk about their music to anyone who will listen.
My boss flew into town the following Tuesday. During lunch, after discussing business issues, I somehow felt it necessary to discuss the above story with him (actually, I found myself blurting it out!), starting with when I heard “Merry Christmas, Darling,” and then how the tenor player straightened me out concerning the Carpenters, and then my weekend-long “journey” learning more about them on YouTube. My boss was mesmerized hearing this stuff! He said he loves Karen Carpenter’s voice and always brings it to the attention of his wife, who he says just doesn’t really understand what’s so great about it. As I suggested, he got onto YouTube that night and freaked himself out! We were having lunch two days later, and he pointed to the speaker and said, “Karen Carpenter” (“Merry Christmas, Darling” was on the Muzac). He concluded his visit by telling me how much he enjoyed our discussions about the Carpenters. I think our discussions somewhat validated his beliefs because I was able to qualify why Karen was so good (from a former musician’s perspective). For a Christmas present, I fired off a copy of “Gold” and the “Christmas Album,” courtesy of Amazon.com, so this should keep him off my back for the near future… After receiving them, he called me to thank me (almost breathlessly!) for the CDs, and telling me how he was talking about the Carpenters with some of his colleagues, too!
Me, I’m past the need for anyone to validate my beliefs about the Carpenters’ greatness. My biggest concern is no longer about swerving off the road whenever I hear Karen’s voice – this is not that big a problem since the Carpenter’s CDs are always in play, and hearing Karen’s voice is not such a shock as it once was. However, I still have to deal with chills up my spine and lumps in my throat…
But I do feel guilty. I feel bad about dismissing the Carpenters’ music way back when… Not only did I give the Carpenters an unfair treatment at the time, but I was cheating myself from enjoying some really great music. Now that I understand how great the Carpenters’ music was and is, and in particular, Karen’s voice, I feel I have an obligation to recognize them.
I guess that’s why I sought out this forum.
Best Regards to all Carpenters Fans, and Merry Christmas,
Rick
This Christmas is special for me because I have rediscovered the Carpenters. What makes it even more special is that I have been able to discuss the Carpenters with others (business colleagues, my boss, my parents, and friends) who at each turn reacted favorably to what I had to say. Suddenly, it seems that I don’t know anybody who doesn’t love the Carpenters - and especially Karen’s voice.
Anyway, here is my Carpenters’ story. Sorry it’s so long:
I had been playing music for a year as a trumpet student when the Carpenters first came onto the scene in 1970. I remember how the Carpenters dominated the radio, and I hated them for it.
As an aspiring brass player, I never “saw” any merit in the Carpenters’ music; to me, all they offered were boring love songs. There was no “meat” (in the form of brass section content). When I entered high school, my peers and I dismissed the Carpenters’ music as “middle of the road.” We were into the more “hip” stuff like Chicago; Blood, Sweat and Tears; and Tower of Power; and to a lesser extent, hard rock.
We were also very focused on our own music, as I had the privilege of playing in one of the best high-school bands in the country. It was extremely competitive - practically everyone took lessons and auditioned for the all-city band or the all-region band or the all-state band. I was proud to have been one of only three trumpet players from my school to make the El Paso, Texas All-City Band in my sophomore year after only three full years of playing. I was even more proud to be a member of the Burges High School Mighty Mustang Band, which was invited to participate in an exclusive, invitation-only band tournament in San Diego, in which we won sweepstakes! We were encouraged to be competitive with one another, which is what made our band so great. I was doing great on the trumpet, and everybody told me at the time that I “will definitely make all-state next year.” Making the all-state band in the state of Texas at that time would be a significant accomplishment, probably enough to earn a scholarship at North Texas State University, one of the premier music schools in the country.
But it was not to be. Our family packed up and moved from El Paso to Green Bay, Wisconsin in the fall of my junior year. Not only was this a culture shock (and a general shock given the difference in climate), but my new school’s music program was nowhere near what I was accustomed to. I rebelled against my parents, and this rebellion took me to a bad place – in terms of hanging out with the wrong crowd... I did win the John Phillip Sousa Award in my senior year, and I’m here now, so evidently I survived that episode of my life.
I later became a professional musician. I had been enrolled in college as a music major, and had front-loaded my course schedule to include all the music classes I could possibly take: stuff like Theory I and II, Form and Style, Composition, 16th Century Counterpoint, and the like. After excelling at and exhausting most of the available music courses, I found myself bored with the rest of the general curriculum. I dropped out of school after receiving a phone call from an agent with an offer to audition for and join a Glenn Miller-like big band that was in the area. I was in Billings, Montana, and the band was scheduled to be performing at some resort near Butte, about five hours away. The way the band auditioned new players is that they dress you up in a tux, you read the part live during the gig, and if there was a consensus among the rest of the players, then you got the job. It was exciting at first, but I soon learned that playing one-night stands is a horrible way to make a living. There were some world-class musicians in the band but morale was low, which meant a high turnover rate among band members.
One night I was driving one of the band’s vehicles out in the middle of nowhere, headed to another gig. My only company was one of the band’s tenor saxophonists, a monster player (a Coltrane disciple with unbelievable chops) whose opinion I respected.
I remember this moment distinctly: We were driving on some lonely road in the middle of the night and listening to the radio (our vehicle didn’t have a tape deck; otherwise, we would have been listening to Coltrane or Lee Morgan or somebody). We were both bored to death, ridiculing and laughing at all the bad music coming out of the radio, when “We’ve Only Just Begun” came on. The tenor player said, “Now, THAT’S some good music.”
Me: “Are you kidding? That’s the Carpenters. They [expletive]!”
Tenor player: “I don’t care who they are. Listen to that chick’s voice. Listen to that intonation. Listen to the warmth and resonance of her voice.”
Me: (Listening and undergoing some serious cognitive dissonance, trying to reconcile what I always believed to be true with the opinion of this musician whose opinion I respected. This was the first time I ever paid serious attention to Karen Carpenter’s voice.) Before I could say, “Uh, that is really beautiful, and…”
Tenor player: “Dude, you’re swerving off the road!”
That was roughly around 1981. I played professionally with another band for four more years before I got out of the music business.
Admittedly, it didn’t affect me much when I heard that Karen Carpenter died in 1983, although I was surprised to learn about why she died. I was still into my own thing at the time, and struggling professional musicians tend to be self-centered – extremely self-centered.
I’ve moved on to a different career. But ever since that night when the tenor player corrected the errors of my thinking, whenever I heard the Carpenters on the radio, I did listen to “that chick’s voice.” And if I’m driving and she’s singing, I have to take special care to avoid swerving off the road.
This was the case when I was driving a few Fridays ago and punched up “Magic 99.5” (an adult contemporary station that has been playing Christmas music nonstop since October 26th), just in time for “Merry Christmas, Darling.” I thought, “Oh, my God. That is so beautiful!” It got me to thinking about how I was so judgmental and dismissive about the Carpenters all those years ago.
I should have known what I was in for: (I had the same attitude about Selena before I did some research on her). Anyway, I thought I would do a YouTube search on the Carpenters that Friday night, which means – you guessed it! – I spent the entire weekend watching Carpenters videos. I was immediately addicted!
It only took 26 years, but the transformation is complete. In some ways, it pays to get old. I am now a serious Carpenters fan. Well, not serious to the extent that I own everything they ever recorded, but serious enough to talk about their music to anyone who will listen.
My boss flew into town the following Tuesday. During lunch, after discussing business issues, I somehow felt it necessary to discuss the above story with him (actually, I found myself blurting it out!), starting with when I heard “Merry Christmas, Darling,” and then how the tenor player straightened me out concerning the Carpenters, and then my weekend-long “journey” learning more about them on YouTube. My boss was mesmerized hearing this stuff! He said he loves Karen Carpenter’s voice and always brings it to the attention of his wife, who he says just doesn’t really understand what’s so great about it. As I suggested, he got onto YouTube that night and freaked himself out! We were having lunch two days later, and he pointed to the speaker and said, “Karen Carpenter” (“Merry Christmas, Darling” was on the Muzac). He concluded his visit by telling me how much he enjoyed our discussions about the Carpenters. I think our discussions somewhat validated his beliefs because I was able to qualify why Karen was so good (from a former musician’s perspective). For a Christmas present, I fired off a copy of “Gold” and the “Christmas Album,” courtesy of Amazon.com, so this should keep him off my back for the near future… After receiving them, he called me to thank me (almost breathlessly!) for the CDs, and telling me how he was talking about the Carpenters with some of his colleagues, too!
Me, I’m past the need for anyone to validate my beliefs about the Carpenters’ greatness. My biggest concern is no longer about swerving off the road whenever I hear Karen’s voice – this is not that big a problem since the Carpenter’s CDs are always in play, and hearing Karen’s voice is not such a shock as it once was. However, I still have to deal with chills up my spine and lumps in my throat…
But I do feel guilty. I feel bad about dismissing the Carpenters’ music way back when… Not only did I give the Carpenters an unfair treatment at the time, but I was cheating myself from enjoying some really great music. Now that I understand how great the Carpenters’ music was and is, and in particular, Karen’s voice, I feel I have an obligation to recognize them.
I guess that’s why I sought out this forum.
Best Regards to all Carpenters Fans, and Merry Christmas,
Rick
One More Time
23 Dec 2007
It sounds like you got caught up in 'Carpenters bashing' when you were younger.
It amazes me now many people can turn away from what their own ears/heart tells them ... just to try to stay with what they consider the popular group of people.
What does surprise me is that you were a competitive musician at the time of your Carpenters dismissal.
Even though they didn't go heavy with the brass like Chicago or some other bands, their music was solidly constructed and expertly produced and performed.
I'm happy you have found the Carpenters at last.
Welcome aboard!
It amazes me now many people can turn away from what their own ears/heart tells them ... just to try to stay with what they consider the popular group of people.
What does surprise me is that you were a competitive musician at the time of your Carpenters dismissal.
Even though they didn't go heavy with the brass like Chicago or some other bands, their music was solidly constructed and expertly produced and performed.
I'm happy you have found the Carpenters at last.
Welcome aboard!
whsoxfan
23 Dec 2007
Rick
I enjoyed your story very much..... I'm an older Carpenters fan..... welcome to the forum. I'm Jayne from Illinois
I enjoyed your story very much..... I'm an older Carpenters fan..... welcome to the forum. I'm Jayne from Illinois
Rick
24 Dec 2007
QUOTE (wisejester7 @ Dec 23 2007, 08:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
It sounds like you got caught up in 'Carpenters bashing' when you were younger.
It amazes me now many people can turn away from what their own ears/heart tells them ... just to try to stay with what they consider the popular group of people.
What does surprise me is that you were a competitive musician at the time of your Carpenters dismissal.
Even though they didn't go heavy with the brass like Chicago or some other bands, their music was solidly constructed and expertly produced and performed.
I'm happy you have found the Carpenters at last.
Welcome aboard!
It amazes me now many people can turn away from what their own ears/heart tells them ... just to try to stay with what they consider the popular group of people.
What does surprise me is that you were a competitive musician at the time of your Carpenters dismissal.
Even though they didn't go heavy with the brass like Chicago or some other bands, their music was solidly constructed and expertly produced and performed.
I'm happy you have found the Carpenters at last.
Welcome aboard!
I don't recall actively "bashing" the Carpenters when I was younger, in spite of my response to my fellow musician when he said, "Now this is some good music." I guess I was just a bit shocked to hear him say what he said because he was such an amazing player, and admittedly, being a "jazz musician" at the time, I considered the Carpenters' music "trite" and "contrived."
You make an interesting point, though. I think there were several factors that caused me to turn away from the Carpenters' music.
First and foremost was the fact that I was an instrumentalist and didn't much appreciate vocal music at that stage of my musical development. At the time, my musical interests were limited to brass sections and their arrangements, and later, jazz trumpet, specifically, players of the post-bop era of the late 1950s and the 1960s. None of this really squared with what the Carpenters were doing.
Then there was the pop-culture aspect in a time of cultural upheaval during the early 1970s. If I wasn't listening to Chicago, Blood Sweat and Tears, and Tower of Power, then I was probably listening to Grand Funk Railroad, Deep Purple, and Iron Butterfly (I am ashamed to admit that I actually bought their records). The thing is, much of pop culture is driven by style and image, rather than substance and content. I was a victim of that mindset. A couple of the documentaries I watched on YouTube touched on this subject. This mindset holds true today as much as if not more than it did back then. Pop culture is all about image and style; substance and content are secondary concerns. (I later developed an interest in classical music because of this fact.)
Another reason I turned away from the Carpenters is that I was young, stupid, and incapable of critical thought. Critical thinking is an effort to arrive at the truth. In this case, the truth lies in the substance and content of the Carpenters' work, as well as the incredible - and timeless - beauty of Karen's voice. At the time, I was quick to dismiss their music as irrelevant, just because it didn't fit into what I was doing, and, as you suggested, probably wouldn't have gained much approval from my peers. Here was Karen Carpenter, who to me at the time sounded like Doris Day from some TV movie I had watched with my parents. So, yes, there's no doubt my peers influenced what I would listen to - or more accurately, buy.
It's a shame that I missed out on all the magic of the Carpenters' success during the early 1970s. But it's only a shame for me.
There's a particulary haunting Bob Seger lyric that says: "I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then." This sort of describes my grief when I took the time to learn more about the Carpenters. Before, I was blissfully ignorant. Now that I know, now that I have taken the time to listen to the music, I am truly sad.
At the same time, I'm thankful they were so successful! And they were so successful in the long run because of the quality - the content - of their music.
So shame on me and shame on the rest of the pop-music critics of the early 1970s. The Carpenters have proved us all wrong!
Rick
Rick
24 Dec 2007
QUOTE (whsoxfan @ Dec 23 2007, 09:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Rick
I enjoyed your story very much..... I'm an older Carpenters fan..... welcome to the forum. I'm Jayne from Illinois
I enjoyed your story very much..... I'm an older Carpenters fan..... welcome to the forum. I'm Jayne from Illinois
Hi Jayne!
Thanks for the welcome.
How's the weather in Illinois? I bet it's cold and snowy. If so, try to treat yourself to a "ring-ting-tingle-y sleigh ride together for two!"
I'm in New Mexico. There's a skiff of snow on the mountains, and it's really pretty.
Rick
MattMidd1
24 Dec 2007
Hey, loved the story, I totally understand! 
I'm Matt from Oxford, England and I'm one of the young pups 
I'm Matt from Oxford, England and I'm one of the young pups
whsoxfan
24 Dec 2007
QUOTE (Rick @ Dec 24 2007, 03:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Hi Jayne!
Thanks for the welcome.
How's the weather in Illinois? I bet it's cold and snowy. If so, try to treat yourself to a "ring-ting-tingle-y sleigh ride together for two!"
I'm in New Mexico. There's a skiff of snow on the mountains, and it's really pretty.
Rick
Thanks for the welcome.
How's the weather in Illinois? I bet it's cold and snowy. If so, try to treat yourself to a "ring-ting-tingle-y sleigh ride together for two!"
I'm in New Mexico. There's a skiff of snow on the mountains, and it's really pretty.
Rick
Hi Rick!
It's cold and very windy - the rain we had last week melted the snow away..... New Mexico sounds awesome!! That's one of the places we picked to visit for a vacation sometime down the road. We even talked about retiring there someday..... beautiful country and beautiful weather!
Good to meet you Rick....enjoy the forum it's a great place!
LeadSister
24 Dec 2007
Hello Rick 
and welcome to Leadsister! Thanks for sharing your story. I was young when the Carpenters were most active and when they were coming back in 1981, well, I was a teen listening to mostly Billy Idol. LOL Too bad because I would have loved the Carpenters growing up. But I listened to whatever my parents had in their LP collection.
Hope you enjoy your stay!
and welcome to Leadsister! Thanks for sharing your story. I was young when the Carpenters were most active and when they were coming back in 1981, well, I was a teen listening to mostly Billy Idol. LOL Too bad because I would have loved the Carpenters growing up. But I listened to whatever my parents had in their LP collection.Hope you enjoy your stay!
CarpentersObsessed
24 Dec 2007
Welcome Rick! I'm Ali, age 15.
Edited by CarpentersObsessed, 24 December 2007 - 12:42 PM.
I'm Ali, age 15.
Edited by CarpentersObsessed, 24 December 2007 - 12:42 PM.
Pookeysmom
25 Dec 2007
Hi, Rick
Cheryl here....currently in Charleston, South Carolina. You're only a year older than Dave(DRDrummer) and I. I have to say that your story is very familiar with friends I had during the early 70's. too. Many of them laughed at the fact that I admired Karen and Carpenters music.So....it was rather my own secret for years. I loved Karen's voice the first moment I heard her. I also was in concert band in high school..jazz band and chorus, too. I took music theory in my senior year, thinking I wanted to go further into music in college....however...personal issues took the forefront. I listened endlessly to Carpenters music...dissecting and analyzing all the intricacies and overdubs. Karen was my friend and companion during much of the lonely years of my school years...also helping me thru personal family problems at home. I was also lucky enough to get to many live concerts. When she died in '83, I stopped listening because it hurt too much, but in 2003, I found this site and began to re-listen and find new songs I had never heard...as well as loads of video and people who felt the same way I did. I also met Dave on this site and left New York State to come to South Carolina to live with him. We both love Karen and we both play drums, so it's GREAT!!!!
Thanks for sharing your story. It's better to discover Karen even after all these years than to have never found her at all.
Hope to read posts from you on the forums.
Cheryl
Cheryl here....currently in Charleston, South Carolina. You're only a year older than Dave(DRDrummer) and I. I have to say that your story is very familiar with friends I had during the early 70's. too. Many of them laughed at the fact that I admired Karen and Carpenters music.So....it was rather my own secret for years. I loved Karen's voice the first moment I heard her. I also was in concert band in high school..jazz band and chorus, too. I took music theory in my senior year, thinking I wanted to go further into music in college....however...personal issues took the forefront. I listened endlessly to Carpenters music...dissecting and analyzing all the intricacies and overdubs. Karen was my friend and companion during much of the lonely years of my school years...also helping me thru personal family problems at home. I was also lucky enough to get to many live concerts. When she died in '83, I stopped listening because it hurt too much, but in 2003, I found this site and began to re-listen and find new songs I had never heard...as well as loads of video and people who felt the same way I did. I also met Dave on this site and left New York State to come to South Carolina to live with him. We both love Karen and we both play drums, so it's GREAT!!!!
Thanks for sharing your story. It's better to discover Karen even after all these years than to have never found her at all.
Hope to read posts from you on the forums.
Cheryl
CarpsButtonFan
25 Dec 2007
Nice story Rick!! 
Welcome to LS...I'm mafer, 16
Have fun here and keep posting!!!!
Welcome to LS...I'm mafer, 16
Have fun here and keep posting!!!!
Rick
26 Dec 2007
QUOTE (Kentucky Rain @ Dec 24 2007, 02:49 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Hi, welcome to ls. im chantelle, from australia
Hi Chantelle,
Thanks for the welcome.
Even though we're on opposite sides of the world, it's cool to know (thanks to forums like this) that the world is such a small place.
Rick
Rick
26 Dec 2007
QUOTE (MattMidd1 @ Dec 24 2007, 05:32 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Hey, loved the story, I totally understand! I'm Matt from Oxford, England and I'm one of the young pups
I'm Matt from Oxford, England and I'm one of the young pups Hey Matt,
You may be one of the "young pups," but if you love the Carpenters, you are wise beyond your years. Thanks for saying what you said!
Rick
Rick
26 Dec 2007
QUOTE (LeadSister @ Dec 24 2007, 08:37 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Hello Rick and welcome to Leadsister! Thanks for sharing your story. I was young when the Carpenters were most active and when they were coming back in 1981, well, I was a teen listening to mostly Billy Idol. LOL Too bad because I would have loved the Carpenters growing up. But I listened to whatever my parents had in their LP collection.
Hope you enjoy your stay!
and welcome to Leadsister! Thanks for sharing your story. I was young when the Carpenters were most active and when they were coming back in 1981, well, I was a teen listening to mostly Billy Idol. LOL Too bad because I would have loved the Carpenters growing up. But I listened to whatever my parents had in their LP collection.Hope you enjoy your stay!
Hi Lead Sister,
Thanks for the welcome!
Funny you should mention Billy Idol. One of my band mates in the early 1980s was a guitarist named Ernie Fortunato, who had incredible chops and could actually hold his own playing jazz on the piano (Ernie had gone to music school). Ernie used to rave about Billy Idol's lead guitarist - which I guess is an indication that at least someone in Billy Idol's act had talent. I probably couldn't say the same about Grand Funk Railroad or Iron Butterfly!
I used to listen to my parents' LP collection, too. They had some very cool stuff: Aside from the familiar big-band stuff, they had Martin Denny (which was considered pretty exotic at the time), as well as Sergio Mendes and Brazil '66 and Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass records. I ate this stuff up!
I'm certain I will enjoy my stay, just because everyone here is so receptive.
Thanks!
