Without a question this song is a Tribute to the Late Michael Hedges. Wonder were i got my login id??
Keller Williams has said that Michael was one of his biggest influences. The influence of Michael's slap happy guitar style and strong use of not only open tuned guitars but "harmonic fills" are very evident in Kellers own style.
I've often described a Michael Hedges concert as a room full, half with guitarist, and almost all of them with their jaws sitting in their lap.
Hedges was on the Windham Hill label that is mainly a New Age label. But Michael was so different from the rest of the lot because he added a lot of "funk", rock, boogie to his style while also adding a "new age" melodic solo "acoustic guitar" style to his playing.
When Keller says he "always wanted to be like him" (personally i think he is very close with a lot of hippieness in breed in him) "except for that day in the car" which is a reference to how Michael died in a one vehicle car accident in which his BMW swirved off a Northern California mountain road.
Michael's favorite guitar was an old "Martin".
"Live on the Double Planet". "Watching my Life go By", "Aerial Boundaries", "Breakfast in the Field", "Taproot", "Tourched", "Oracle" and "The Road to Return" are all Michael Hedges releases. Personally i highly recommend "Live on the Double Planet" and "Taproot" for all those who might be curious.
"The Impossible Harp thing" is a refernece to several Harp Guitars that Michael owned and played on CD and Concert. The Harp guitar is guitar that looks like a distored two neck guitar on steroids. The top part is plucked and not fretted, like a harp. The lower part is a six string acoustic guitar. They were midly popular in the 1800s in one man bands.
The "drum on a bouncing ball" is Keller reference this gigantic ball that Michael would occasionall sit (bounce) on his last few years while playing guitar. There is a video of him doing this while playing a slow version of Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone".
I'm not sure what Keller is referring to with the "Spike Collar/Rabies Tag". These are things i never noticed in any of the Michael Hedges shows I atteneded which was probably around 15 of them (1989-1997).
I think the last stanza is a reference to a time when Keller might have met Michael but i'm not sure. i thought i read somewhere that Keller did meet him but not sure, just a guess. The last line could be a Keller joke on a frequent comment made by Deadheads about Jerry Garcia. Some would freak out that "Jerry looked up and we definately were looking at each other". My guess is Keller either experianced the same thing with Michael or he is using Michael to replace Garcia in the joke.
Personal Note: Michael Hedges was the most charismatic performer, and (i love ya keller but i think you'd understand) by far the most amazing guitarist i ever saw or heard. Nothing can explain Michael more then this paraphrased William Ackerman quote: "My skull just got ripped apart as I watched the guitar get reinvented".
"No angel ever flew me throught this Heaven"
-- Michael Hedges
Without a question this song is a Tribute to the Late Michael Hedges. Wonder were i got my login id??
Keller Williams has said that Michael was one of his biggest influences. The influence of Michael's slap happy guitar style and strong use of not only open tuned guitars but "harmonic fills" are very evident in Kellers own style.
I've often described a Michael Hedges concert as a room full, half with guitarist, and almost all of them with their jaws sitting in their lap.
Hedges was on the Windham Hill label that is mainly a New Age label. But Michael was so different from the rest of the lot because he added a lot of "funk", rock, boogie to his style while also adding a "new age" melodic solo "acoustic guitar" style to his playing.
When Keller says he "always wanted to be like him" (personally i think he is very close with a lot of hippieness in breed in him) "except for that day in the car" which is a reference to how Michael died in a one vehicle car accident in which his BMW swirved off a Northern California mountain road.
Michael's favorite guitar was an old "Martin".
"Live on the Double Planet". "Watching my Life go By", "Aerial Boundaries", "Breakfast in the Field", "Taproot", "Tourched", "Oracle" and "The Road to Return" are all Michael Hedges releases. Personally i highly recommend "Live on the Double Planet" and "Taproot" for all those who might be curious.
"The Impossible Harp thing" is a refernece to several Harp Guitars that Michael owned and played on CD and Concert. The Harp guitar is guitar that looks like a distored two neck guitar on steroids. The top part is plucked and not fretted, like a harp. The lower part is a six string acoustic guitar. They were midly popular in the 1800s in one man bands.
The "drum on a bouncing ball" is Keller reference this gigantic ball that Michael would occasionall sit (bounce) on his last few years while playing guitar. There is a video of him doing this while playing a slow version of Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone".
I'm not sure what Keller is referring to with the "Spike Collar/Rabies Tag". These are things i never noticed in any of the Michael Hedges shows I atteneded which was probably around 15 of them (1989-1997).
I think the last stanza is a reference to a time when Keller might have met Michael but i'm not sure. i thought i read somewhere that Keller did meet him but not sure, just a guess. The last line could be a Keller joke on a frequent comment made by Deadheads about Jerry Garcia. Some would freak out that "Jerry looked up and we definately were looking at each other". My guess is Keller either experianced the same thing with Michael or he is using Michael to replace Garcia in the joke.
Personal Note: Michael Hedges was the most charismatic performer, and (i love ya keller but i think you'd understand) by far the most amazing guitarist i ever saw or heard. Nothing can explain Michael more then this paraphrased William Ackerman quote: "My skull just got ripped apart as I watched the guitar get reinvented".
"No angel ever flew me throught this Heaven" -- Michael Hedges