It wasn’t long after the pandemic had begun. Everything had shut down entirely and the music industry had ultimately collapsed overnight since gigs has been stopped and it was a time that many of us used the space to start projects, get long awaited tasks completed and lets be honest, lots of us decided to use the time to build long awaited dreams (which we usually wouldn’t have the time to do).
J was no exception. Cabin fever set in (and there’s proof too – videos of him singing while being heckled by his alter egos in an attempt to lift the spirits of others with some levity) and his guitar was rarely out of his hands for long.
However, it was at this time, when he was trying to keep me smiling by humorously jumping out from behind furniture using his bath towel to become a screeching bird (sounds weird, but it worked, his spontenaity made me smile and laugh a lot at that time to keep us out of the worry that we were all facing). But this drive to keep morale seemed to be the catalyst for a pretty awesome idea…
J mentioned that he’d been noticing that many well known musicians who usually gig and tour were out of work, and would be for the foreseeable future until the pandemic had passed. Some well known artists had been rumoured to be doing sessions at this time, since it was one of the only ways they could work – online. And it gave j an idea…
Maybe, just maybe some musicians who would usually be too busy touring would consider collaborating on his ‘humble wee songs’. We both felt cheeky for even asking, but we also knew that if ever there was a time when it even had the chance of being a possibility, it was right then. A small window where legendary musicians were likely as bored as we were (hey, maybe they were trying to laugh with their partner too). If anyone said ‘No,’ at least he’d know he’d taken his shot. If it didn’t work out, we’d just continue keeping each others spirits up until the lockdown blew over.
J reached out to collaborate with Mike Garson, Bowie’s famous Piano Man. His assistant remarked that he would only partake in the project IF he liked the songs. He listened to the songs, liked them and actually decided to play on them!
I can honestly say that we COULD NOT contain our excitement while waiting on the tracks to reach j’s inbox. I had no idea what to expect, as j trusted Mike Garson’s renowned skills implicitly, and had ultimately given him free reign to embellish the tracks as he saw fit.
Finally, j saw the legendary name ‘Mike Garson’ pop up in his inbox. The tracks were ready. I don’t mind letting you in on a little secret and telling you that I know j would have been delighted no matter what direction he had taken the songs in, but the end result far exceeded both his and my expectations and j was and still is, absolutely humbled that he chose to collaborate with him during that once in a lifetime, perfect synchronicity moment that brought hope and positivity at an otherwise challenging time.