[Harp-L] Off the Wall in Cherry Blossom Time

[David Hoerl <david@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Message: 8
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 12:45:08 -0800 (PST)
From: Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Off the Wall in cherry blossom time
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID: <20050228204508.27961.qmail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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Isn't it funny how we associate the music we like with our own
experiences, no matter how wildly these might differ from the
circusmtances the led to the creation of that music?

Right now in San Francisco ornamental cherry trees are blossoming
between the pre-spring rains, leaving the moist air fragrant amid the
soft pink flurries of petals - for me, Off the Wall time.

I grew up in Vancouver, BC, where late March and early April are cherry
blossom time. As a teenager under the mysterious and powerful spell of
Little Walter, I heard the siren call of Off the Wall mixed in with the
scent of the blossoms - the same prettiness, the same florid
exuberance, the same call to blood rising in a barely containable
excitement (though Off the Wall tries to  contain it with that driving
verse midway through that ends in that very hip drum break, it the
xitement somehow continues).

I have no idea what Little Walter had in mind when he came up with that
instrumental, but I doubt that it was springtime flora in a damp
northwestern seaport.

Anyone else have these incongruous associations with their favorite
tunes?

Winslow
Winslow, Funny, but I was born and raised in San Francisco, but moved to Vancouver permanently in 1986. I used to play with Sonny Rhodes and many others down there, but moved up here to play music with a great pianist named Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne. I just got back from playing a 2 week stint in Whitehorse, Yukon and the cherry blossoms are out in full force here. "Cherry Pink, Apple Blossom White" reminds me of S.F., where I saw The Fabulous T-Birds for the first time in Golden Gate Park when the SF Blues Fest used to be held in the band shell next to the Japanese Tea Garden. Flying to Saskatchewan this weekend to play a couple of Winterfests with my band, The Twisters. I'm sure there won't be any cherry blossoms there! Anyway, always enjoy your informative posts and great contributions to this list.- Dave