Erik Satie and David Clayton Thomas
Since originally writing this article for the website Medium, the world lost the great David Clayton Thomas. As I relate below, David was a heroic member of the firmament of artists that make up “the sound track of my life.” I have often told my wife Deborah that I can actually hear him smiling whenever he wields that singular, gritty, soulful voice of his. And that sound became synonymous with my world in the 1970’s and 80s as I began my career in the arts.
Throughout that journey, I encountered this larger-than-life Canadian a few times and even became Facebook pals with him. I will never forget the first time we met, it was WAY back when I was first traveling with Maynard Ferguson. We were booked to share the stage with DCT and Maynard’s band would be backing him up by becoming Blood Sweat and Tears for a night. Are you KIDDING me? I was THRILLED! The gig was in a natural grassy arena outside in Illinois. As we were waiting for the legendary singer to arrive I saw a land rover-style jeep driving down the hill towards the stage. That image was surreal enough, but when the car stopped right in front of us, out came the burly personage of David Clayton himself. Here he was! The man with the voice, the person I had listened to for my entire (young) adult life! Could I even stand it? Well, comprehend and deal with it I did, we all had a blast playing his music and my father (who was living in Chicago and was at the show) and I actually hung out with DCT during intermission to discuss all things Blood, Sweat, and Tears. What a joy!
Then, years later when I was the director of the UNT One O’Clock Lab Band, I got a call from the traveling version of the modern day Blood Sweat and Tears. The group had crossed the border from Canada to the U.S. without their trombonist who had forgotten his passport. The guy who called me wondered if I had a student I could recommend from UNT to play the show that night. “I do!” I answered, “and he’s ME!” So I went to the rehearsal, had dinner with David and once again played that great music with the great man. The picture at the top of this article is from that night. That’s me and DCT with my two sons David and Matthew.
Further down the line I was living in the mountains above Taos, New Mexico in a log cabin (wheeeeww DOGGIES, THAT is a story for another time) Seeing my chronicles of being a mountain man on FaceBook, David contacted me and said I was starting to look like Jeremiah Johnson! I corrected him and said I was looking more like the Will Geer character than the Robert Redford one (alas) but it was the thought that mattered!
We lost touch towards the end of his life, but that voice is still a part of my artistic persona. And I am forever grateful to have had such an encounter with such an important person in my journey.
This ol’ musical village we all live in is pretty darn cool at the end of the day, you dig?
And now…on to the post originally published on Medium a few years ago…
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As a young man in Hattiesburg, I would just sit in my room(s) on South 21st Ave and listen to Satie over, and over, and over… I’d wonder what it was like to write that music, I’d wonder what it was like to be in BS&T, I’d wonder what it’s like to record that adaptation, and quite often…I would just let the music wash over me and think of nothing except a peace that could be found somewhere in this beautiful rumination that was being sung to me by the mythical gods in this wonderful band…
Then, I’d go have some chocolate cake, a Tab and a Reese’s Peanut Butter cup and play football with my brother Andy.
And so it goes…
(Here is some info on the painting by Ramon Casas of Erik Satie that I am posing by in the title montage: El bohemi by Ramon Casas)
Addendum!
Just got this comment from my friend Edward Carr:
This summer:
And here is one of my all-time favorite David Clayton Thomas songs. On Go Down Gamlin, we get the full pallet…DCT’s amazing voice, his songwriting skills, and even his guitar playing! Add to tht the signature BS&T sound complete with Dave Bargeron’s trombone and tuba virtuosity, and the amazing Lew Soloff trumpet playing and you get a snapshot of what inspired me to get to where I am today, and tomorrow!
