Stevie Ray Vaughan died 20 years ago today.
It was probably around this time in the afternoon on Aug. 27, 1990, when a younger, longer-haired version of me heard that Stevie Ray Vaughan was killed, at age 35, in a helicopter crash somewhere in Wisconsin.
I was working at my summer job at a modular-wall-systems company in East Hanover, wishing I was anywhere else in the universe, when the DJ reported the news.
I remember that moment incredibly well: the lighting; the shelves in the back loading-dock area, packed with modular-wall-related nonsense; the compression on the DJ's voice; the "I heard the news -- how are you doing?" phone calls from my friends; having to tell my brother the wonderful news (He worked there, too).
Back then, Stevie Ray Vaughan was the biggest influence on my guitar playing -- and on my self-perception as a guitarist.
Because of him:
* In the mid-'80s, I played gigs dressed in cowboy hats and/or kimonos (Sad but true.)
* I discovered the concept of soloing in open E, quickly, in the first position. The concept didn't really exist (to me) until I saw him at Kean College in early 1984. In fact, you could say that show pretty much altered my world forever. I saw him seven times in all -- and met him and the band in Manhattan in 1984.
* I became an actual lead guitarist. Listening to George Harrison, Eric Clapton and mid-'60s Jeff Beck got me to a certain level, but SRV made me see that greater things were possible. He was proof that some people are hooked into a "channel" from some mysterious place.
* I discovered other blues artists, including Freddie King, Albert King, Buddy Guy and Lightnin' Hopkins, not to mention Lonnie Mack. I also discovered that SRV was far more talented than any of his influences, including Jimi Hendrix.
* I immersed myself -- from afar (New Jersey) -- in the 1980s Texas-blues-rock scene, discovering The Fabulous Thunderbirds, which featured Stevie's big brother, guitarist Jimmie Vaughan, another gigantic influence on me.
* I learned how to play the guitar behind my head and back, and how to use the whammy bar on a Strat.
* I discovered the sound of a revolving Leslie speaker.
* I learned that musicians I like don't have very long lifespans.
