I love music. Music in every form. Music from all over the globe, from the furthest tucked away corners imaginable. It's an ear's best friend. Anyways, here's my story. I went from a fetus, to a baby, to a boy , to a man. Several things happened in between. I was born in the nations capitol, Washington D.C. It was there where I learned to walk, talk and use a toilet. At the ripe old age of 4, as I began to settle into a zone, my family and I packed up our buggy and headed West by means of horse and carriage. We arrived in a little town called Los Angeles. As far as noticing any cultural change between the two vastly different cities, I must say, at that stage in my life, my world was only as large as the block in which I lived. It was here, in Beverlywood, California that I experienced my first taste of freedom. Wandering the nearby streets via bicycle, with my long lost friend Billy Rose. My memories of that period in my life are as strong as any, all the way down to the cracks in the sidewalk. Unfortunately, almost as quickly as we had come, we were gone. My family and I once again packed up the buggy and headed back East to where it all began, Washington D.C. I was seven. This next phase in my life might as well of been a long vacation. It was only after a year that we once again packed up our things and headed back to the Bi-Polar city of Los Angeles. Our Horse, Calvin, was on his last limb and we were all aware that this would be his last mission across the Heartland. This would also be the last time throughout my childhood, that my sister and I would be thrust into a foreign environment. I will say this: our inability to settle in one place caused my family more headache than I am even aware of. But being forced to adapt to numerous, different environments as a child has provided me with an open mind that I otherwise would not have. I believe that one can evolve only so much if confined to just one little crevice of the world. But to have strong, unbreakable ties to one city, one town, one street and one house, must be a wonderful feeling in it's own. Music has always been a part of my life, thanks to my mom. I was forbidden to play the drums, so the guitar was second best in my mind. I spent the early part of my teens trying to figure out what this 6 stringed instrument was designed to sound like. This continued into my late teens, until the birth of one beautiful day. The day I stumbled upon a sound that felt as natural as the air I breathe. The Blues. I had first been introduced to Robert Johnson at the age of 16 by a friends dad. He introduced RJ, as a guitarist who played rhythm and lead at the same time. My mind wasn't prepared to comprehend such a novelty and I dismissed that first introduction without much thought. I would rediscover him down the road and allow him to reshape my entire notion of how music should be approached. Soon to follow would be Son House, Leadbelly, John Lee Hooker and an overall obsession with early Blues music. To me, music and travel go together like Oil and our President. One wouldn't exist in it's current fashion w/ out the other. The world is so diverse and has so much to offer. I'd only be cheating myself if I didn't indulge. At the end of the day, I'd rather live my life as a simple fisherman. A fisherman, whose sole purpose in life is to provide for his family and treat his neighbors with kindness and respect. I lived out my final days as this fisherman and checked out of town in 1937.
A Black Ocean Tale
BEN ROTHBARD: The PendulumWhere the tracks meet the sea. A freight train that's journeyed from the deep south to a long stretch of desert coastline and soaked everything up in between.
BEN ROTHBARD: AttentionDirty guitars, wailing harmonica, smashing tambourines, infectious melodies, attitude, edge and over all great songs.
BEN ROTHBARD: Ben RothbardWalkin' down a dusty road, with a warm breeze at your back and the sweet, blue sea before you. Not another soul around.
