To anyone who may still be reading these stories, I promise you I am heading ever closer to my final, sad Pink Floyd chapters. But before I get there I do have a couple more quite extraordinary tales to tell.
I wrote in an earlier chapter about an article I had seen on British guitarist Stavros Butcher. One of the things he mentioned, that he felt was critical in good songwriting was “attention to detail”.
During lockdown a short time earlier James Silkweaver had re-recorded an old song of his from the ‘60’s, What Are You Doing Out There? (not its real title.)
I had listened to the new version several times before I got around to having a listen to the original recording.
Now, this is not a boast, but I have yet to come across anyone who pays as much attention to song lyrics as I do. I actually get a bit embarrassed by it at times, with many people wondering why I bother, or why I’m so particular about them. I don’t know. I’ve just always been fascinated by lyrics, and they can make or break a song for me.
But when I finally listened to the original version of What Are You Doing Out There? I noticed a few lines of lyric had been changed, and the changes had actually altered the sentiment of the song.
This intrigued me so much that I emailed Daphne Flowers to try to get some understanding of what had caused James to change his tune. (Not literally. The tune remained the same, but the words… Agh, you know what I mean!)
I was blown away by Daphne’s response.
Her email started with, “Bravo! I am impressed.” Then she explained the reasons behind the lyric changes. Her opening four words blew my socks clean off, and I had to turn the office upside down just to find them. But I needn’t have bothered. I’d no sooner put them back on when the next bit sent them flying again, this time almost taking my feet with them.
Daphne said, “So glad that you pay that much attention to song lyrics. You are the first person who asked about the lyric changes – James will be happy to hear this.”
Suddenly I felt this aligning of the planets again. Stavros Butcher mentions attention to detail, I notice something by paying attention, and then Daphne Flowers, wife of one of the world’s greatest songwriters, tells me she’s glad I pay so much attention!
Seeing this as another opportunity to further enhance the link between James Silkweaver and Stavros Butcher, I emailed Stav. He replied, commenting on how important songwriting is in what he does, and how words do change according to several things including changing situations.
I was finding all this Stavros/Silkweaver stuff really exciting. “We’re not!” I hear you readers cry! But stay with me a little longer, there’s more violent sock removal ahead!
I mentioned in an earlier chapter about my interest in anagrams, and how they can often be uncannily apt (a la Greta Thunberg).
Well, any Aussies reading this will know the name Michael Gudinski, and that he sadly passed away on March 2nd 2021
Michael Gudinski
Michael was an Australian music industry king pin. He founded Mushroom Records and Frontier Touring Company, and played an integral part in the success of many Australian bands and musicians.
When news broke of Gudinski’s passing, my mind naturally turned to the letters of his name and what anagrams could be made from them.
I was at the time working an hour’s drive from home, and once on the highway I started nutting out possible anagrams in my head.
I found two words which started to give me spine tingles. There were six letters still to be used. Could they make a word that would sit with the other two?
As I continued driving – and please don’t ask HOW I was driving. I have no idea! I don’t recall any car horns honking, or tyres screeching, but if I’d have been driving correctly and in my own lane the whole time I’d be most surprised!
I’ll start that paragraph again: As I continued driving the last six letters did make a word, and a damn good and uncannily apt word at that!
But I needed to check that my brain wasn’t playing tricks on me. I had to pull over and write it down to make sure I’d got it right.
So I pulled off the highway, to the sound of car horns honking and tyres screeching, and grabbed a scrapof paper and a pen.
I wrote down “MICHAEL GUDINSKI” then checked off the first two words I’d found, “MUSIC KING”. This left me with those final six letters, which spelt out “HAILED”.
MICHAEL GUDINSKI = HAILED MUSIC KING!
If there is a better way to describe this man in three words I can’t think of it.
I sat in my car, not in disbelief, because anagrams of this astonishing accuracy were becoming almost commonplace, but in sheer excitement knowing how amazed people were going to be at this.
And I was also thinking, at this very sad time for the Gudinski family, those working at Mushroom Group, and musicians who had been given a helping hand by him that it could at least give these folk a reason to smile.
I messaged a few friends and fellow anagram enthusiasts, and they were all blown away. Then I sent an email to Mushroom Group (their office only an hour from my place) hoping that the anagram may help raise their spirits just a little.
But things were to get really freaky. I mean REALLY freaky because of an unexpected link to none other than… James Silkweaver!
What? James Silkweaver? How?
I know! Just about every story I tell seems to have a link to the legendary James Silkweaver, but I can explain.
Around the time of Michael Gudinski’s death I had been in touch with Daphne Flowers about an
Australian song which on a YouTube video had been erroneously accredited to James, who’d had a hit
with a song of the same title in the late ‘60’s.
It was pretty funny, but I did wonder whether James and Daphne had come into contact with Michael
Gudinski during any of James’s trips Down Under. So I mentioned Michael’s passing… in passing… to
Daphne.
Her reply once again sent my socks rocketing!
You see, one of James Silkweaver’s sons, Belvedere (not his real name) lives in Melbourne, Australia (that’s right, an hour up the highway from my place at Eagle Rock). I had known that for some time, through my correspondence with Daphne.
But get this; Daphne told me that Belvedere Silkweaver’s wife Rhapsody (not her real name) works at… MUSHROOM GROUP!
ARE YOU SERIOUS?! Of all the thousands of businesses in Melbourne at which Rhapsody could be employed, she worked at MUSHROOM. And not only so, but she had worked closely with Michael Gudinski himself!
I had received no reply from Mushroom Group to my HAILED MUSIC KING email, but Daphne Flowers was soon able to tell me that she emailed the anagram to Rhapsody, who had then forwarded it on to EVERY STAFF MEMBER at Mushroom and EVERY MEMBER of the Gudinski family!
I had no luck getting it noticed sending it just one hour up the road, but it got to Mushroom by going from Eagle Rock to NEW YORK and back to Melbourne.
And this was all because of my contact with the wife of James Silkweaver!
Oh, and just a little attention to detail.