John Fahey 1981 Santa Monica

[@jnyc8457]

I saw him at a Goodwill Store in Albany, Ca back in the late 80’s. He was rummaging through the records and I watched him go back to his car with one LP he had purchased, which was I think accordion harp music from Bulgaria. He appeared to be living out of his car and I offered to buy him lunch. He and I went to a place called Brennan’s by the railroad tracks in Berkeley. He told me that he lived in his music and the outside world had very little that he could use. We both got drunk on Irish Coffees and ended up jumping onto a freight train as it passed. We rode up to Oregon and he must have vanished because I was all alone. I went into a donut shop at 6am and the owner gave me a free breakfast because I told him who I imagined I had just been traveling with. He thanked me for the story. I will always love John Fahey for the music he gave us.

[@nicksmucker4636]

amazing story!

[@moodswingy1973]

It ain't about the technical skill, precision, speed, or any of that. It's not about knowing and practicing a lot of scales. Its not even so much about the guitar. Its about using the guitar to make music, and no one did it with as much imagination, beauty, and artistry as Fahey.

[@CaptainKirk007]

Well some people have, the only difference is some people filmed it and some didn’t. Nonetheless he was a very unique player.

[@mikehemens9359]

Fahey is 3 dimensional.

[@movimentodoscacos]

@@mikehemens9359 Fahey is human

[@Glenny-vk4np]

Davey Graham

[@ivanbanovic8977]

lacking some tunes, if you notice anything I missed let me know 06:59 segue into Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel and some other things 10:41 a neat little C run 10:58 piece of Brenda's blues, retuning, 12:02 Last steam engine train 16:50 Ann Arbor / Death by Reputation 18:50 interest in percussive guitar, foreshadowing of "Sandy on the Earth" released on God, Time and Causality 20:30 I'll see you in my dreams 22:10 On the sunny side of the ocean 26:07 Hawaiian / tasmanian two-step 27:30 Spanish flang-dang (Elizabeth Cotton) 29:11 back to two-step 30:35 Steamboat gwine 'round the bend 34:40 How green was my valley 36:51 Summer cat by my door 38:13 I'll see you in my dreams, another take 39:30 Might as well segue into Moscow Nights / Midnight to Moscow 41:53 SPLOICE 42:57 another take (starting to appreciate the sound guys' patience at this point)

[@scyphezero8878]

God bless you

[@thinthinwalls]

This might be one of the greatest things I've watched on youtube.

[@cognoscenticycles4351]

After Fahey was born they threw away the mold. Every fingerstyle guitarist should know about John. His contribution can't be ignored.

[@Prousto]

Watching this astonishingly intimate performance is like seeing Bill Monroe inventing bluegrass or Picasso at his easel. Fahey is giving a tour of an entirely new musical genre that would inspire tens of thousands of musicians to travel the path of American Primitive Guitar.

[@yukonnoka]

I love John Fahey for his cool quirky personality as much as his music.

[@Morphdog9819]

I don't mean to be overly presumptuous or offend anyone but i've been watching a lot of his live performances (especially ones where he's younger) and i just have to ask, does it occur to anyone else that Fahey may have been autistic or at least on the spectrum? He has a very peculiar way of speaking and is visibly uncomfortable in a lot of interviews and stuff.

[@1blastman]

While he's tuning in the beginning, he almost breaks into "The Yellow Princess" which is my favorite Fahey song.

[@704studio]

one of my heroes, because his authenticity is off the charts

[@pavlikalekseev8884]

I was in a real trouble once this one was removed after first upload. Greatest thanks for repost. Cheers to all Fahey fans and players!

[@WarKid-ut8mx]

Fahey one of the best guitar players

[@elliottcovert3796]

Nobody will ever sound like Fahey. I can't explain this sound. It's full of contradictions. It's raw but polished. It's brutal but delicate. It's smooth yet staggered. It's light and dark at once. It's incredible. It's hypnotic. It's Fahey.

[@gushutchinson8758]

@@elliottcovert3796 Beautifully written...and ....I agree

[@misfitmaniac3084]

Well said brother

[@billpresing5568]

This Man was in his own league no one else went to these places that he,and only he could find..RIP SIR JOHN !!.....One interesting point I noticed was when he asked if he was in tune he would look up as if to ask Alan ( Blind Owl ) Wilson if he was, because ya see Alan used tune Johns guitar back in the day for him as he had perfect pitch.Alan died in 1970,but I don't think John ever forgot him...just sayin ! Maybe now they are at it again !....RIP You 2 GREAT,TALENTED,and UNIQUE MUSICAL GENIUSES, and Thank you for all you have left for us !!!

[@kennethnick3213]

I read him and Wilson were pretty close

[@billpresing5568]

@@kennethnick3213 Birds of a feather flock together !! 2 Geniuses.

[@kennethnick3213]

@@billpresing5568 I'm reading dance of death right now and fahey said when Wilson died: "I'll never forget Alan. How could I? He taught me a lot about music. Plus he was my roommate for half a year. How could I forget that body odor of his?" Haha Wilson apparently wouldn't shower at all and had an intense thick smelling body odor that made people not wanna hangout with him 😂

[@billpresing5568]

@@kennethnick3213 and his pockets would be stuffed with mushrooms and things that he picked in the forest and the muddy boots to prove he was no pretty boy !

[@dave2224]

I just painted a guys house who used to be a cop in salem oregon, he said he was parked outside some apartments when John Fahey a resident of the apartments approached the car and said there was drugs being sold out of one of the apartments and wanted to let the cop know, the cop gave him his card and recognized his name. I live outside salem and it seems like a lot of noteworthy musicians and rockers spent there later days in my area

[@_Ramen-Vac_]

Love every note.

[@renepeterse1884]

An awesome artist. Timeless...

[@votemiles]

The greatest of all time.

[@geraldhugley3618]

Won’t argue with you on that one.

[@charlieleger1]

thanks for reposting this. Thank you so much.

[@beckchristian67]

Thanks for this post

[@tresjames]

This is so great. Thanks for posting it.

[@Joe_Gonzo]

Awesome!

[@georgesmith4639]

John Fahey also deserves kudos for bringing Leo Kottke to the world's attention.

[@marior9847]

Great!

[@nathanael8612]

Yes! He plays delta dog through the book of revelation! Love this song.

[@chrisdorr5786]

Love the Henry Weinhard's bottle in the foreground. Nice Oregon tribute there.

[@kennethnick3213]

Even though he wasn't born in Oregon, he seems like someone that would live in Oregon. Maybe even WA

[@RaifLisko]

It really was all downhill for John after this. It's so nice to see him lucid and happy.

[@KINGBublepop]

Idk much of his story. What happened???

[@pigslam]

@@KINGBublepop i think he went through a lot of alcoholism and health issues throughout the 80s and some of the 90s before entering his experimental phase shortly before his passing in 2001. www.acousticfingerstyle.com/jfahey.htm read more here

[@jackpayne55]

@@KINGBublepop Here he is later in the decade. Obviously was a rough period for him. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mILOh5Sda7mEaJo

[@jamesderoc6717]

@@jackpayne55 nothing wrong in that clip

[@alcoholya]

@@jamesderoc6717 of course not.. Yes, he's older, yes, he had problems with alcohol, but people are just so fucking judgmental, especially of older people who don't come off as 'perfect' in their twisted sense of what growing older means. It would be sad, if it didn't just make me laugh. I'm 52, and see a lot positive with the younger generations, but goddamn, they are on the whole, just quicker to judgment based on surface qualities. Thank the Internet, and Social Media, for that.

[@banjoyogurt1798]

18:50 This is one of my favorite songs by Charley Patton

[@ivanbanovic8977]

which one was this?

[@banjoyogurt1798]

@@ivanbanovic8977 Down The Dirt Road Blues

[@ivanbanovic8977]

@@banjoyogurt1798 thanks!

[@michaelvaladez6570]

The problem with open tunings you have the risk of itbeing out of tune after each song..unless the guitar needs work by way of the truss rod need adjustment. Fahey was a true primitive guitarist in his time.May he rest in peace.

[@jasonw4053]

No more risk of of being out of tune after a song with open tunings than with standard.

[@herbbirdsfoot]

Kind of meandering and out of focus and then he launches into Sunny Side of the Ocean.💗❤️💗💕🙏🏾 See you there, John!💗💗💗💕❤️🙏🏾💗⚡️

[@Marco_Venieri]

The ralph waldo emerson of guitar

[@MrCrispinEnterprises]

Does anyone know the name of the pice he starts at around the 40 minute mark?

[@RickyBlackwell_X]

Midnight so in Moscow. But it's very very country variation of this song

[@martinlewis807]

It must be easier to come up with original sounds in open tuning

[@frederikp1353]

14:40 did he ever finish that tune and record it?

[@matyashugyecz4444]

here ya go buddy

[@frederikp1353]

@@matyashugyecz4444 ehm?

[@matyashugyecz4444]

@@frederikp1353 thats the song he played

[@frederikp1353]

@@matyashugyecz4444 which one?

[@frederikp1353]

@@matyashugyecz4444 im so confused haha sorry

[@michaelsmith2834]

2:25-9:00 Does anybody know what song is being played during this time frame?

[@officialpooheadjohnson]

I would love to know too. unfortunately I dont

[@davidcooper7339]

Does anyone know what this venue is that he's playing at in Santa Monica? It looks like someone's living room or garage. I wouldn't put it past Fahey in that, on several occasions, he would comment about where his next job would be. This musician lived by the seat of his pants staying in Salvation Armies to roughing it in his car. He's one of my favorite guitar players.

[@C.Hawkshaw]

Who is this Bolisetti of whom the master speaks?

[@madebymusic95]

I found him - Bola Sete. Enjoy.

[@diabalotia]

bola sete, yeah, his record "ocean" was faheys favourite for years and he said this until he died :) he served as a big inspiration for fahey when he saw him live in the 70s

[@deepdeath68]

Anyone know the microphone they’re using?

[@santosr.vasquez392]

Where is this ? Someone's house, bookstore? Radio station?

[@pupusaslordking5617]

A good rock audience wouldnt know the difference.

[@Tangento]

Ouch, I was the 666th like. I won't give in lol

[@RickyBlackwell_X]

49:13 kitty! :3

[@reverendbryan]

Curious to know who's basement this was recorded in, John's?

[@eliyag1]

According to the person who filmed this (see original link: vimeo.com/150294804) it was Fahey's basement: The filmmaker Erik Nelson shot this video in John Fahey’s basement in Santa Monica, in the summer of 1981, for an MTV News segment. It was hot-at least ninety degrees, Nelson recalls, under the television lights-but Fahey was nonetheless in enviable form. There’s sweating! A Charley Patton demonstration! Furrowed brows! And, of course, almost an hour of beautiful guitar-playing. “Fahey, who did not suffer strangers nor fools, suffered both with us, and gave us a private concert,” Nelson said. “We filmed on 3/4 video cassette-and, as my company had no money, I have a hunch we filmed on used tape stock. We did have the presence of mind to keep rolling, and the cameraman, John Torcassi, did a brilliant job of filming, and, as we were such a badly dressed, impoverished-yet-enthusiastic rabble, Fahey was relaxed. He had an innate suspicion of TV types, certainly ones working on behalf of MTV, something he probably had never heard of. Note he asks what the taping was for!” Taken from here: www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/a-celebration-of-john-fahey-and-american-primitive-guitar

[@chrisdorr5786]

@@eliyag1 John Fahey...MTV News?? Whoa. Cognitive dissonance on hearing that.

[@itchygorilla]

I wonder if this was actually ever aired it on MTV and how they edited it if it was...

[@jeffhildreth9244]

No Fred Gerlach, no John Fahey.

[@TheBestBoyyeeehehe]

Drunk

[@billdauphine951]

There are no wrong notes . 🤔

[@WmHildy]

Somehow I landed on this video. I never heard of John Fahey, so my opinion is only on this video. This sounds really bad, maybe the guitar is out of tune, not sure. Seriously, I don’t play guitar all that well, but much better this. Perhaps this was a bad night

[@chrismason4224]

You are out of your mind...objectively speaking, you have delusional opinions.

[@alanrobertson24]

If you can play guitar better than that you are one of the best and most influential guitarists of all time

[@jasonw4053]

Pretty sure he's drunk, playing an awkward show in some strange basement full of stuff. You should try learning some of these tunes, though, and see if you're "much better" than John Fahey.

[@gp92510]

Fahey is the most non-musical guitarist ever... and "critics" proclaim his genius repeatedly... What a load...

[@keithclark486]

I think it had to do with everybody being stoned back in the day and it kinda stuck. There's some of today's artists who keep that trend going on.

[@officialpooheadjohnson]

care to elaborate? what makes him non musical? most will tell you its the rhythm that makes him shine.

[@keithclark486]

@@officialpooheadjohnson He had an unorthodox approach to music ' Odd but for some reason ' He reminds me of the scene where Forrest Gump addresses the crowd about the Vietnam war Lol ' Acceptance for that period in time. Unorthodox.

[@officialpooheadjohnson]

@@keithclark486 see, thats more vague

[@andrewbowen6875]

All depends on what your idea of musical is really?

[@robertbright1813]

Rubbish on steroids.

[@mrhands6033]

You wish you could have a speck of the talent that John had

[@jamesderoc6717]

have a good cry you will feel better

[@weewee2169]

hate is a mean thing

[@sculpt3218]

i'm sorry you have horrible taste in music

[@floobuscanoobus]

Grow a soul