tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26130622.post8063683662559901411..comments2023-10-18T03:06:25.107-07:00Comments on The Daily Growler: One Spring Morning Off Spring Street #27The Daily Growlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15052460567863294528noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26130622.post-80398696367629682442007-10-23T11:17:00.000-07:002007-10-23T11:17:00.000-07:00Matty's ex-wife and little Matty (Sandy) were in P...Matty's ex-wife and little Matty (Sandy) were in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, not quite up state, but almost. After Matty, his ex- had gotten hooked up with a beautiful black jazz drummer who played with the likes of Sun Ra and Yousef Latiff. I guess she had a thing for drummers. She was cool. I liked her a lot.<BR/><BR/>You would have been astounded at the music Matty played when I first knew him. He was good, man. He gave a stunning senior recital for his bachelor's degree. He took all those music conservatory type classes in music analysis, history, ear training, and harmony and counterpoint of the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, etc., where we had to compose our own pieces in the style of whatever we were learning. Matty knew how to take down four part dictations, compose music, all of that stuff. He wasn't just a punk drummer. He was so serious as a music student at BC. He really took it seriously, and he was GOOD. He practiced all the fucking time. Tympani, vibraphone, marimba, congas, piano, even. Everything you could make a sound on by hitting. He listened to everything. There was so much in his head, which is why I liked him so much. <BR/><BR/>One of the last gigs of his that I went to was a performance of Stravinsky's "L'Histoire du Soldat" up at the Church of Saint John the Devine up there on 110th St. or whatever. Matty was listening to every version of that piece that he could find. I remember that he had heard a recording of Stravinsky himself conducting that piece and Matty talking about how the composer isn't always the best interpreter of his own work. And at that time Matthew was dating some gorgeous, snotty French girl who was the grand-niece, or something like that, of Stravinsky. Anyway, he trying give the best performance he could, and was trying to understand that music thoroughly to give a refined and nuanced reading of it. I respected him hugely as a classical musician. There was a sensitive Jewish intellectual side to him that wasn't always obvious (underneath all that speed on speed).<BR/><BR/>Matty wore little round gold-wire rimmed glasses, a la John Lennon, when I first knew him. I guess he graduated to Elvis Costello glasses later, but I don't remember that. I always remember the gold wire rimmed ones. And the insane mop of curls like Bob Dylan in "The Last Waltz". I guess he cut those off, too. Got more punk looking.Marybethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13278520565186414844noreply@blogger.com