Allan Holdsworth. RIP. One of a Kind.

Just to see if they did anything for Allan, I went over to the Carvin/Kiesel site. I was not disappointed.

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My HH2X is one of my most prized possessions of any kind.
 
unix-guy said:
Yes.. Sad that it takes his death to bring out the praise and recognition.

I remember reading an interview with Allan many years ago where he was talking about his job doing software sales or something because he could not support himself with his music.

That's when I really realized that true talent and genius doesn't really count for much in the music industry. He should have been able to at least support himself and his family! You see these auto-tuned, cut and paste studio creations with good hair, straight teeth and a lovely ass make millions off of the masses while someone with talent and ability that we wilI never see/hear again in our lifetime is struggling to feed his kids.
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yes...i knew a fantastic guitar player when i was young who was piss broke...it was enough to make me realize the music business in general resembles a lottery...but i will say i have tremendous respect for the folks who can make an honest decent living out of playing music full time.

it's hard to imagine mr holdsworth couldn't have cashed in on his life's work...and i don't know him but maybe he was a purist, and life is in general is not kind to these types. regardless...he will be missed....
 
200man said:
yes...i knew a fantastic guitar player when i was young who was piss broke...it was enough to make me realize the music business in general resembles a lottery...but i will say i have tremendous respect for the folks who can make an honest decent living out of playing music full time.

it's hard to imagine mr holdsworth couldn't have cashed in on his life's work...and i don't know him but maybe he was a purist, and life is in general is not kind to these types. regardless...he will be missed....
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I think Allan understood a very long time ago that his decisions to be true to his art would keep him out of the big time financially. I don't think he cared one whit about making money. I think he cared about expressing himself through his music and vociferously defending the integrity of his work. If you go back through his interviews it's pretty clear that he'd rather have his music enjoyed by five people who get it vs. 50 million that he had to dumb it down for and sell a bunch of records that he hated himself for making or being on (U.K. being Exhibit A).

He had the talent and could have cashed in at any point. Instead he did what he felt was the right thing to do and remained true to himself instead of compromising. In this world in general and in the music world in particular that's the bigger accomplishment.
 
I met him in the 80's when he opened for the Dixie Dregs at a joint called My Father's Place on Long Island. I was sitting at the bar and after he finished his set (which was mind-bending, of course) he came over to order a beer and sat down right next to me. It was my privilege to have been able to buy him a Guinness, and he sat and talked with me like a regular guy for about 15 minutes or so. Legend and genius are terms tossed around way too liberally, in my view, but he is one of the few who qualify on both counts. It's also a sad commentary on the times we live in that his family had to do a Go Fund Me to pay for his funeral.
 
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