TECK TALK
Ry Cooder hates the term archivist, although—when discussing his work—it’s hard not to use the term simply because Cooder has done so much in terms of preserving music that might otherwise have been lost. Certainly Cooder feels it’s his duty, if not one of his missions in life, to see to it that the precious, regional music of this century is not lost.
TECK TALK
IN TUNE WITH RY COODER by Billy Cioffi
by Billy Cioffi
Ry Cooder hates the term archivist, although—when discussing his work—it’s hard not to use the term simply because Cooder has done so much in terms of preserving music that might otherwise have been lost. Certainly Cooder feels it’s his duty, if not one of his missions in life, to see to it that the precious, regional music of this century is not lost. But he is no preservationist in the sense of Alan Lomax; he sees and understands clearly that what makes music of any kind survive is playing and performing it.
For a guy who has never had a hit record or even a huge selling LP, Cooder has respect and an audience that far outweigh the sales numbers. Musicians in particular tend to look upon the guitarist with a reverence that embarrasses him. If you look real close, there is a bit of boyish rascality in his character that allows Cooder to gain the respect and admiration of every musician from road dog to rocker. The guy is just plain good and his sensitive guitar playing is...well, transcendental, man.