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| Musician, Corey Harris |
“I didn’t know that I was going to be a musician,” he explained, “when I was a kid I wanted to study dinosaurs, play soccer…even draw.” He laughed smoothly. The mellow tone to his voice is enough to make you want to listen; a tone like that soothes your mind, eases your heart, and calms your worries. His tone, Corey Harris’ tone, is what I vibe out to as he strum his guitar at an intimate show in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
I had to learn how he could be so in tune with the strings of his guitar. So I asked.
As we began to converse, I learned that I was speaking with Corey Harris: an American born Blues and Reggae musician, a Denver, Colorado native, a man that loved music. Yet, the road that he had traveled thus far, becoming a worldwide name, wasn’t without its lessons.
“How did blues reach you all of the way in Denver, Colorado?” I asked naively. “Blues is wherever black people are,” he replied. “Blues, R&B, jazz, reggae that was the first music I was familiar with.” That familiarity grew into a love that would last Harris a lifetime. Growing up, Harris explained that he always played music. He went from wanting to play the flute, to learning the piano, violin, and guitar. He played in his schools marching band and even learned to read music from that experience; music, a language all its own.
It was language that first lead Harris to teach. Upon graduating from Bates College, he joined Teacher for America and began teaching French to students in Louisiana. He even taught English to students in West Africa for a period of time. Yet, the love he had for music was deeply engrained in him. So, I asked “how did teaching influence your music, if any?” “I think it did so indirectly,” he replied, “I just wanted to expose children to the roots of black music, popular music.” The sound that played in his heart, lead him away from teaching and into the vibrating strings of his acoustic guitar.
Yet, he didn’t always receive the support of those closest to him. However, as they recognized the seriousness of his art, they soon became his biggest supporters. “It’s interesting,” he mentions, “Many act as if you need some sort of tangible evidence of notoriety in order to be legit. In France, artists are just as legitimate as surgeons. It’s a profession. There is a respect of art or ministry of culture, something that just doesn’t exist in America. In America, most things are about money and status. Consequently you see a lot of artists that just aren’t that good. You can speak into a magic box and sell records.”
How true his words prove to be. Corey Harris is a worldwide name. One that belongs to a man who has already released 10 albums, collaborated with the renowned Ali Farka Toure, was featured in a PBS documentary entitled The Blues directed by the famed Martin Scorsese, has been acclaimed in West Africa, toured in Europe, Canada, Japan and Australia, and is even a MacArthur Fellow. More people need to know his name, feel his tone, a sound that has gradually changed over the span of 10 albums. Self-admittedly his first album was an acoustic guitar and voice. It was very bluesy. Yet, with the “never ending soundtrack” that plays in his head, one that “plays in real time”, there is always something new to pursue in music. When thinking if his roots, Harris describes, “On any creative path, you start by copying what you love and then you develop your sound. Someone is always the fundamental influence and then you go from there.” Thus, by ‘interpreting’ what he had heard, Harris bought to his life a sound all his own.
“I always had music inside of me, unlike anything before,” he explained, “I tried to keep that flame alive by nurturing it and listening to the masters. It’s inside of me. I wouldn’t be doing justice to my craft, if I didn’t express myself.” This form of self expression is something that resonates within us. “Music is a vibration inside of us,” he continues, “So many of us are into making money that we have turned off the antenna.”
So where does your antenna point? What exactly is a great artist? Is it one that sells out concerts, speaks into a magic box, and wins the approval of those who have sampled the sounds of originals? No. According to Corey Harris, a great artist is “one that is able to express themselves through their music, yet their music is universal.”
What are you in tune to? What tone do you set? As I write these words, my mind begins to vibe out to the strumming of an acoustic guitar, my words dance across the page in color. I reminisce on the tone of his voice, the humility of his spirit, and I become in tune with my personal “never ending soundtrack.” Corey Harris is a name we should all know. A name that belongs to a man, who through his music will help us to sway to the rhythm of our own vibration.
For more information you can find Corey Harris on Facebook at Corey Harris Rasta Blues Experience, follow him on Twitter @nattyworks, check him out on Myspace at Corey Harris Music, buy his music on Amazon.com, watch videos of him on YouTube, even set a ‘Corey Harris’ station on Pandora. For bookings, please contact his agent peidmonttalent.com
~Tierra Fernandez