John Fahey
John Fahey
John Aloysius Faheywas an American fingerstyle guitarist and composer who played the steel-string acoustic guitar as a solo instrument. His style has been greatly influential and has been described as the foundation of American Primitive Guitar, a term borrowed from painting and referring mainly to the self-taught nature of the music and its minimalist style. Fahey borrowed from the folk and blues traditions in American roots music, having compiled many forgotten early recordings in these genres. He would later incorporate...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMusician
Date of Birth28 February 1939
CountryUnited States of America
So I learnt a few country western songs, I bought a chord book, and right away I started writing my own stuff, which nobody else did that, I don't know why.
I was using them as teachers for technique but I was never trying to be a folk.
When I play, I very quickly put myself into a light hypnotic trance and compose while playing, drawing directly from the emotions.
As for fame, it can go to your head and you can become full of yourself.
Early Bluegrass is my favorite kind of music, not to many people know that.
From a social perspective, I am looking for friends, not acolytes.
I also know that I am not a great technician.
I just want to be treated like an average guy.
I thought I'd be wasting my time to go to commercial record companies and make demos for them, because don't forget, I was doing what I was doing and nobody understood what I was doing.
See my father knew a lot about music, he played the piano and he would do theory and stuff like that, but I didn't learn anything from him, but I played that for him and he liked it a lot.
How can I be a folk? I'm from the suburbs you know.
There is something about guitars—maybe something magical—when played right, which evokes past, mysterious, barely-conscious sentiments, both individual and universal.
I do not even laugh at this like others do because the relationship between entertainers and groupies is pathological.