The RIP thread

Joey Molland passed last night.

Long-time Badfinger guitarist who's lived in Minnesota for decades. Met him many times at shows and even smoked a joint with him and Mike Gibbons in their dressing room. Good memory.

He was a truly lovely man who always had time for over-exuberant, much younger fans hounding them at the gigs. Despite losing his bandmates, he always projected joy and gave everything to the gig at hand. 

Hi,

That one video of him playing his trinkets towards the end of one KC song, was absolutely amazing ... you just don't see improvisation at its best, like you get here, and I have a feeling that his ability scared RF some, because Jamie could continue and create a story with his trinkets, and RF would be hung out to dry not knowing what to play ... sometimes, I think of his own music as too stuck on a process and not "free".

(And in that very moment, RF did not follow his own words later, that specified that you listen to your fellow players, and join them, not count ... guess what ... RF, at that time could not follow and listen to the story and the touches of the trinkets to be able to add to them ... he might have learned later, but I am not so sure of it!)

His history with various improvisations is sensational and it was a real shame that he realized quick enough that the world of rock music could not enjoy improvisations, and that the commercialism around it would not allow him to play, as he did.

That couple of minutes with KC is all you need to see ... but I doubt that many folks here on PA will watch that, and not think it is stupid and a waste of time in the song. In my mind he made that song come alive like it had never been done.

You can't teach "improvisation" a lot ... all you can see is a bunch of folks just let go and ... the images they create is fantastic and special ... but it is not a "song". For many of these folks it is a complete living and beautiful person, or thing, not a song for the radio ... and I think that only a few of us can really enjoy these things.

I remember reading some 30 years ago about him quitting music, and I was sad ... it was like a sentence ... thou shalt not improvise! And it made me realize how valuable and important so much of "krautrock" was in its early days, and then seeing it for 5 minutes with King Crimson, it just showed the talent of a true actor on a stage ... and sadly he did not get the chance to continue it ... I think a lot of musicians did not like it, as it probably took the lights away from the star player and the solos!

He belonged in film and theater ... not rock music!

my condolences