“The good writing of any age has always been the product of someone's neurosis, and we'd have a mighty dull literature if all the writers that came along were a bunch of happy chuckleheads.”
- William Styron
My friend Bob and I had a brief discussion recently about famous musicians and how they were covered in the press when they were first getting started. It made me think of a question I saw recently, “What band or person did you see early on before they ever made it big?”
That's pretty easy for me. We went to see Sawn Colvin in, it must have been 2006, at the Germantown Performing Arts Center in Germantown, TN. We'd seen Shawn several times before, but were always excited to see her again. On the bill as the supporting act was listed someone we'd never heard of, Brandi Carlisle. No idea who that was. Whatever.
We go to the show, and out comes this female and her band. They proceed to deliver a sensational acoustic show, with stellar songs and musicianship. Brandi's vocals were powerful and rich and the background harmonies by the band were gorgeous. Kendra and I looked at each other wide eyed after a couple of songs. This was not the typical way we felt about an opening act.
I'm not going to say Brandi blew Shawn Colvin away. Colvin was far too seasoned and known for that to happen. But, a lasting impression was certainly made. We remarked on the way home that Brandi Carlisle was surely going places.
And she did, as you probably know. Like a lot of artists you start out with, I like her early stuff best, but whatever the case, good for her.
Who is someone you saw before they became “Someone?”