Legba, I'm at the Crossroads
A short recollection of my days as an amateur musician...
When I was a school teacher in the early aughts, I was in a hard rock band out of Torrance, CA
We were called LEGBA.
Legba represents a West African and Caribbean, Haitian Vodou god. This god has many different names depending on the region in which he is worshipped is most commonly known in Haiti as Papa Legba. Papa Legba serves as the guardian of the Poto Mitan--the center of power and support in the home. Additionally, he allows for communication between humans and the spirit world. According to West African Voodoo practices, spirits of the dead are not able to inhabit one's body unless permitted by Papa Legba.
In studying Delta blues music, Legba appears in lyrics and lore, repeatedly. The god can be referred to/identified as "the Devil", "Papa Legba", and "The Black Man" throughout the history of the blues. In his iconic song 'Crossroads', the legendary Robert Johnson explains how Paga Legba was the diety of roads and crossroads.
According to a well-known American legend, Johnson, who was a young man living on a plantation in rural Mississippi, had a tremendous desire to become a great blues musician. One of the legends often told says that Johnson was instructed to take his guitar to a crossroad near Dockery Plantation at midnight. There he was met by a large black man (Legba) who took the guitar and tuned it. Legba played a few songs and then returned the guitar to Johnson, giving him mastery of the instrument. This story of a deal with Legba at the crossroads mirrors the legend of Faust. In exchange for his soul, Johnson was able to create the blues for which he became famous.
The Band
The band was led by two guys—Jim Hill and Terry Woulfe (with E.J. on drums). I played the bass guitar and sang backup harmonies. I was living in North Hollywood at the time and the landlord sent over a plubmer to fix my toilet. The plumber (Terry) came over, saw my rig laid out in the living room, and invited me to go 'audition'.
The rest is history ;^0)
A demo CD was ‘dropped’ and just recently, I found a copy. So, I spun up some of the tracks and… it's not bad for what it was. But it’s basically just western-European angst and anger, written by men who felt trapped in a suburban rut of a life. Not the most appealing tunes.
But it was hard, blue-collared, American, fun. AND, it's a rare thing for a group of guys in their 30s to get along so well, so quickly and put music together. We clicked.
So, for all of you, my dear, dear friends, I will 'drop' a track a day this week, just to tickle your tummies (see below for the first). The tracks were recorded in 2003 in a custom studio Jim had built into his house.
We didn't get very far. We did several shows at local pubs and even a few clubs (including the Whisky A-Go Go, btw).
I was woking in Chatsworth as a middle school teacher and driving to gigs (not to mention the studio in Torrnace) was just too much. Plus, the four of us got on pretty well, but I...well...I didn't exactly fit the mold of the Norse heavy metal god-king (being of West-Asian descent, and all). So, it just wasn’t my scene. But there’s something quite mystical to the heavy metal mythology, and I guess that’s what appeals to my sensibilities, when it comes to that realm.
Also, the songs were really dark. Like how horrilbe the person who left you is and how you're willing to compromise ideals for a quick fixes and...sucicide.
So, even though it was fun to play music (and these guys had chops, waaaay better than I was), the school teacher dropped out after our Whiskey A-Go Go show. I think about a year later, they replaced me with a woman of what appeared to be primarily African racial heritage.
Anyway, here's track one---LEGBA (Crossroads)...
I’ll release the reast of the tracks on my Twitter account… @ahangarzadeh.
Finally, here’s the only known video footage of us at some bar in LA…