Jack Jordan
A “THANK YOU” FROM A NONMUSICIAN
I have no idea what “per-cent” of the public actively listening to the home-taped cassettes of the ‘80s and early ‘90s were non-musicians, but I strongly suspect the number was considerably under 50%. And I’m so happy to have been in that minority number. If it weren’t for my having always searched (from age 9) for music “under the radar,” I wouldn’t have been there. As it was, I requested to be a reviewer for both OP (later OPtion) and Sound Choice at the serendipitously perfect point in time, after having read an issue or two of each – this was something I had to try to get in on! So I put my nonprofessional cards on the table and must have caught Richie Unterberger and David Caffiardini on a slow day…thankfully for me! Later on I was also privileged to express my admiration for Minóy’s music in a feature article for Electronic Cottage.
Free tapes coming in, along with trades, ultimately about a thousand in number from all sources…unique home-grown music often vastly superior to what was on the mainstream airwaves…getting to personally meet great folks like Don Campau, who lived nearby, and Al Margolis, Minóy, Jonathan and Hilary Caws-Elwitt, and Debbie Jaffe. I count Don and Al among my closest friends to this day, though we live far apart. And I have greatly enjoyed a 22-year correspondence/friendship with Tom Furgas, another of the “first wavers” whose music and efforts helped materially to define the scene. And my being bowled-over by Robin O’Brien’s early works caused me to rave about her and play some of her music for Don on an early No Pigeonholes program…well, he was obviously “impressed”!
I corresponded with many others and got on their own distribution lists for their releases. I even got a small “remuneration” one year from OPtion for my reviews…hey, they’re paying me to do this? In any event, I got to publicly spout-off on my first passion, music, for about six years (ending with OPtion when the editorship changed hands).
My range of musical interests is broad enough to have kept me listening throughout my life to this-or-that work of genius in any of a dozen genres. I moved around a lot and never settled down enough to try to learn an instrument (childhood and early-adolescent piano lessons from my father didn’t work out – I wasn’t disciplined enough and wanted to be “outside” raising the usual high-school-hell). So, my customary rejoinder to musicians having asked me why I didn’t play an instrument usually ran along the lines of “Hey – if I were spending hours and hours learning and playing an instrument, I’d have hardly any free time to listen to your music!” That always got a chuckle, but the truth is that it’s the plain truth. The originality, spark and intensity of much of what I heard during home-taping’s ascendant years revealed wonderful – and challenging – music that blissfully consumed my time. It was an era of an ever-expanding horizon of talent that the humble cassette allowed to be revealed and voiced. All those tapes are occupying custom-made wall shelves in my office to this day, and, yes, they still get played!
So, in closing, I’d like to humbly thank all and everyone who made the effort to get involved in that magical moment in time to regale us – even we non-musicians – with the fruits of your efforts. Music for a lifetime…and more. My grandchildren will hear your music.
Jack Jordan and I became friends in the mid 1980s. He was a reviewer for Option and Sound Choice and I was ( and still am) doing my radio show “No Pigeonholes” in the south San Francisco Bay Area. To my delight, it didn’t take long to get him to join me at KKUP where he introduced me and my “audience” to many exceptional independent musicians. The Silly Pillows, Robin O’Brien and David Mitros, Minoy, Linda Smith and many, many more were artists that he turned me on to. He even “co-hosted” my radio show a few times. You can even listen to a show we did about sound artist, Minoy here.
When The Silly Pillows visited from back east , Jack drove them over to the grocery store where I worked and introduced me to the charming duo of Jonathan and Hilary. We had a lot of good times sharing music with each other and talking up this little known world of underground art.
I remember visiting his house a few times and being amazed by his record collection. I envied his comprehensive and large collection of Stockhausen albums and loved the fact that he didn’t like to “pigeonhole” his tastes. From avant garde classical to The Seeds, from Indian music to psychedelic to krautrock to quirky singer songwriters, he welcomed all types of expression and was (and is) a veritable encyclopedia of musical knowledge.
After Jack retired a few years ago he moved to the southern USA but we have not lost touch. We have continued to write, trade music and stay abreast of our personal goings on.
Although Jack is not a musician, he has played a unique and important role in the underground music scene with his reviewing and championing ( he would actually pay for artists like Minoy’s tapes) of this music.
My thanks is to you my friend.
