There’s a big world out there, and remember, when one door closes, another opens... (Repost)
2/8/2023: Featuring new content…
“My axe in the sun”
Photo Credit: Mike Stolberg
It was 1984 and my journey to becoming a rockstar took some interesting twists and turns, and almost encountered yet another dead end.
It had been over a year since my last guitar lesson and I couldn’t play anything other than an Em7(add 4) chord. To add insult to injury, our new music teacher asked me not to participate in our school’s choir performance and field trip that year. She later explained to my bewildered parents that I just sang too low and off key. Seriously, true story.
Arguably, 1984 was a truly watershed year in regards to all things entertainment, the cultural output of which would have a lasting impact on me. First of all, everyone made it through 1983, another truly memorable year, when ten-year-olds like me were often informed that red skies and mushroom clouds could soon appear on the horizon. “Shall we play a game?” Could our Atari 2600’s and Commodore 64’s really spark Nuclear Armageddon? Would we all be vaporized? Author’s Note: Thank you ABC. Those “x-ray-like” skeletons in your program “The Day After” are burned in my memory.
Whoops!
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Fortunately, we made it out alive. On that note, it has been written that “the more things change, the more they stay the same”. Looking at our world today, I would definitely agree. But I digress.
Back in 1984, things were looking up, at least in my little corner of the world. This was the time when my decade-long dance with “The Beautiful Game” would begin and when I also mastered some totally rad tricks on my Raleigh BMX. 1984 was when I became lifelong friends with Ren McCormack, Officers Jones, Mahoney and Tackleberry, Daniel LaRusso, Professors Venkman, Stantz, and Spengler, and later, the one and only, Axel Foley.
In addition to one day becoming a rockstar, my weekly television viewing in 1984 sparked a keen interest in me one day piloting supersonic helicopters. And, I’m not sure there were ever two personas in contemporary pop culture as eternally cool and boss as Sonny Crockett and Rico Tubbs. Author’s Note: Maybe an “overshare” here, but I have to listen to my Jan Hammer playlist at least once anytime I cross into the Sunshine State.
As a burgeoning rockstar, 1984 was definitely all about the music for me, including the music videos that played prominently and frequently on MTV. In retrospect, this was the year that I left the “aural nest” of my parents to go forth and discover my own musical tastes; there’s a big world out there…
My musical palate was definitely changing and becoming more diverse. In addition to my steady diet of Hard Rock and Metal (the latter of which my parents were not particularly fond of), along with occasional bites of synth-driven Pop and New Wave, I had a growing appetite for Hip-Hop. This genre not only brought a new focus on lyrics, syncopation, and phonetic delivery (which I loved), it also brought awesome physicality, especially in forms of dance. While I couldn’t do Windmills like a few of my friends could, I finally learned the Worm (we called it the “Centipede”) and even learned to Moonwalk and Sideglide, all to the sounds of “I Feel for You” and “Jam on It”.
Yet, with all of my new personal interests, something about “wielding the axe” fascinated me, connected with me. I remember wanting to crash through the ceiling and shred on the dining room table like Warren DeMartini or to stand in the spotlight and play a killer opening riff like Angus Young. I was hooked. The problem was, I just couldn’t play the d@#% thing.
So, there I was, standing at a musical crossroads. I couldn’t play the guitar and apparently, also didn’t sing very well. The odds of me ever taking the main stage were quickly fading. The stage door was closing. But what my teachers didn’t know and my friends did was that I could generate a wide array of tones, noises, and sounds with my mouth. While not to the level of the great Michael Winslow, a couple of years later, I did manage to imitate our school’s staticky intercom and successfully called our elderly history teacher to the principal’s office on a couple of occasions. Seriously, another true story. A new door was opening and I was on my way to becoming somewhat of a sonic legend…
For those who know me, they can probably guess which band and what album are part of my DNA; Van Halen and their album “1984”.
My book of sheet music for the album “1984” by Van Halen
Photo Credit: Anthony Woodard
This iconic album (and its videos) took to the stage a little over a year after my own brief moment in the limelight at our famous (or infamous) Christmas Program of 1982.
Thanks to older friends and their siblings, I became acquainted with the music of Van Halen, along with that of Ozzy, Def Leppard, and AC/DC, a couple of years prior. Isn’t that always how it is? I can still remember my friend’s older brother hunting us down after we broke a string on his homemade version of Eddie’s famous Frankenstrat.
However, it was Van Halen’s “1984” album and the Band’s explosive visuality and performances, that together became my musical “North Star”, guiding me on my journey. For me, the late Eddie Van Halen personified (and was) the ultimate lead guitarist and Rockstar. And, in 1984, there wasn’t anyone cooler than “Diamond Dave”.
Of course, I remember the videos; those “MTV World Premiere” videos featuring the Kramer “Frankenstrat”, a dusty Oberheim Keyboard, the “Jack Daniels” bass, Miss Chemistry, and her colleague, Miss Phys Ed. “Si’ down Waldo!” Fun fact: The actor (Yano Anaya) who portrayed a young Michael Anthony in the “Hot For Teacher” video also played the infamous Grover Dill in the movie “A Christmas Story”.
“Hot For Teacher” by Van Halen (promotional 45 RPM Vinyl Record)
Photo Credit: Anthony Woodard
I still recall “Jump” being at “Number 1” in the charts, which was surely helped along by me buying a new cassette after wearing my old one out, like millions of us did that year. I vividly remember hearing that famous song on the radio, along with my personal favorite, “Panama”, when both were fresh and new to our ears. I think many would also agree that songs, especially Rock songs, always sounded better on FM radio. It has a certain “je ne sais quoi”.
And then there were the concert announcements… always delivered in a deep “radio voice”. “Van Halen... live. The 1984 World Tour is coming to... Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony, and David Lee Roth... Tickets on sale...”
It was Spring and as us kids congregated around the local Dairy Queen, word was getting around that a few of my friends (and friends of friends) would be tagging along with their older brothers and sisters to the big shows scheduled for later in June. Looking back, I’m pretty sure most of it was fruit of the proverbial grapevine. Nonetheless, I was convinced that what I was hearing was true and I so badly wanted to go. In reality, I was 10 going on 11, and there was absolutely no way I was going to a Van Halen concert. Plus, I didn’t have an older brother or sister. So, put a pin in it already...
But, like a dog with a bone, I wouldn’t let it go. “Come on Dad, EVERYBODY is going to the Van Halen show!” I was becoming a broken record. “No Tony, we’re not going. That’s final!”, snapped my dad, like an overworked phonograph needle.
The shows of June 20th and 21st, 1984, came and went, and from what I heard and read, they were totally awesome. Not too long after that, I found myself heading with my dad to our local mall on yet another boring quest to pick up a few odds and ends. About an hour or so later, there I was in my parachute pants, drifting closer to the Musicland store. However, instead of a new cassette and a poster, my dad bought me a small book full of sheet music and some images from the “1984” album. And within another few minutes, after stopping at another store, we were heading home with a new Casio keyboard. Over the next few weeks, my dad, who wasn’t a musician, showed me how to play the main keyboard riff to “Jump”.
Sheet music for “Jump” by Van Halen
Photo Credit: Anthony Woodard
Wow! One door had closed, and another had opened. I made sure that I also captured myself playing those memorable chords, just in time for the first week of the new school year. I later shared my newfound keyboard prowess with my classmates and was a “rockstar” for a little while, about 15 minutes to be precise. That being said, 15 minutes of fame was a whole lot better than 10 minutes of shame. I later took to learning a few Christmas tunes, which would serve me well in the future.
To be continued…
Tony’s Takeaways
1984 was when I became a lover of “all things music”, especially its performance, including the related visual aspects. What I didn’t know then, is that it is the performance, the show, those mostly visual aspects, perhaps even more than the aural aspects, that transform a musician into a “star”. Like Diamond Dave said, “It's not whether you win or lose, it's how good you looked doing it!” Ultimately, it is the star (no matter the variety) that leaves the indelible mark on our consciousness.
In business, we also must connect with our audiences, both external and internal, in order to survive, and ultimately thrive; we must be able to effectively present (demonstrate) our talents, skills, dedication, and value to others.
Me shredding in 2022
Photo Credit: Josh Stolberg
In hindsight, I also loved the stories, not only about the artists, the bands, or the music industry, but about how music itself created lasting memories for me, my friends and family, and even strangers. I was a young musicologist; I just didn’t know it. There’s a big world out there; our music and songs, much like cooking and cuisine, have the power to bring us all together at life’s dinner table, even if only for a little while. Explore (the new). Learn (about each other and ourselves). Grow (as a person). Repeat...
It was Alexander Graham Bell that said, “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” The lesson was clear; whether it comes in business or life, don’t miss an opportunity. Any of us may soon have an opportunity to try to succeed at something new.
That Summer, Eddie (and my late father) also taught me that rockstars can play keyboards.
My first keyboard
Photo Credit: Anthony Woodard
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