Time Traveler's Turntable with Daevid Allen & Trevor Rabin
Shared birthday shout-out to 2 giants of progressive music
My Time Traveler’s Turntable lands today on two great adventurers in music, both sharing birthdays: Daevid Allen and Trevor Rabin.
Birthday cheers to guitarist, singer-songwriter, producer, and soundtrack composer Trevor Rabin—best-known for his connections to the South African art rock/pop band Rabbitt…
…not to mention Yes (+ Yes spin-offs)—he was in Yes when they rocketed to #1 with “Owner of a Lonely Heart.”
As a composer he has scored over 30 major motion pictures, and he continues with a constant flow of projects.
In 1997 I was at the pre-show opening of the NAMM Convention in Los Angeles. The advantage of the pre-show (usually on a Wednesday) is there is less noise, fewer crowds, and more likelihood you can have unharried conversations. Such was the case when I came upon Trevor manning a booth for software effects.
I broke the ice by telling him I wore out his first solo LP BEGINNINGS, a record that fit perfectly in the 1977 scrim of pop metal, prog rock, and New Wave. I told him it should’ve been a hit, to which he laughed, “Really?!? I didn’t think anybody listened to it.” That segued into a talk about the mechanics of being in a high-profile band like Yes and his high enjoyment with doing film soundtracks. In hindsight, the conversation was a crash course in how a professional musician balances art and commerce. Enjoy this clip from BEGINNINGS (and look up his other recordings):
Then there’s Daevid Allen, the eccentric but illustrious Australian poet, guitarist, singer-songwriter, and performance artist.
As part of the legendary 60s British Canterbury Rock scene, he co-founded progressive rock/jazz crossover bands Soft Machine and Gong—pioneers of the field. He built an international following and his career intersected with Richard Branson, Gary Wright, and The Police. Allen's musical approach influenced guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix and Steve Hillage (who Allen worked with in Gong). As part of the legendary 60s Canterbury Scene in England, Allen was a figure in the mid-60s British psychedelic/mod/freakbeat genre—exemplified here in the first Soft Machine single "Love Makes Sweet Music" (w/Robert Wyatt on lead vocals):
On August 14th, 1980, I had the honor to be the opening act for Allen for a concert in Berkeley CA. At the time, Allen and I were both using multi-media (visuals and tracks) in solo-show settings, thought he had more experience at it than me. His set was both ramshackle and remarkable in a cosmic hippie beat poet fusionary way.
After the concert he was very complimentary and supportive towards me, which blessed my young man’s heart.
Allen passed away March 13, 2015. The London Daily Telegraph wrote, "Allen revelled in being the court jester of hippie rock and never lost his enthusiasm for the transcendent power of the psychedelic experience. He once remarked: 'Psychedelia for me is a code for that profound spiritual experience where there is a direct link to the gods.' That he never attained the riches and fame of many of his contemporaries did not concern him."
Thank God for musicians who go to the edges of the entertainment and cut new ground with creativity and a heart for edification.