Some kids just don’t fit in. They are transparent; a drab wallpaper covering
the sheetrock of their adolescent society. Attempts at conversation are
pointless with other kids that smile and turn away. Teenage society is
ruthless. Games are played and jokes are conjured up with these kids as
the butt. It’s not much fun being a teen in school when you’re all alone.
After school, these kids go home to an empty house, to be by themselves.
They are latch key kids whose parents work too damn hard for not enough
money, and only the TV is there to give comfort. The result is depression,
low self worth, addictions, future homelessness, and prison; sometimes
the result is violent crime, death and destruction, anything attempting to
fill that hole in the soul. These children become no more than a blip that
vanishes from the radar of our social system.
There is a bandage to stop the bleeding and begin healing the wounds,
even for these kids. The healing power is passion. For some kids it’s
mechanics and cars. For others, it might be trumpets and guitars.
This is a story about one of those kids. School found him collecting all
the ingredients of a troubled life. There were no friends. As he told me,
“there was the ‘in’ group, and there was the ‘out’ group. I couldn’t even
make friends with the out group. There were some in my life who tried to
intercede, but I just pushed them away.” As he uncovered his passion,
he discovered dreams and informally set goals. A process developed
to begin achieving. Now this young man is a phenomenal guitarist who
entertains us every week, sometimes at multiple venues. This is the story
of C.D. Woodbury.
I’m surprised anew every time his guitar melodically releases songs and
gives birth to the improvisation that is the mark of a great musician. Why
is that? I think it’s because he isn’t a glitzy front man that entertains with
great shtick between songs. He doesn’t wow you with a well coordinated
wardrobe. He just plays great guitar with matching vocal ability. So I
forget about C.D. as, in my mind, he gets lost amongst the plethora of
guitar greats. Then he is on stage again, and I think, wow … how could
I ever forget?
C.D. grew up in Salem. Oregon. His after school friend was MTV. In that
day there was a lot of filler, such as old video of Cream, Santana, Hendrix,
and many others. The boy’s parents liked folk (mom) and country (dad).
MTV was the first exposure to the world of rock. C.D. was a trumpet
player in the band, so he had started down the road to music. It was the
sizzling sounds of Clapton and Hendrix that led him to the guitar. Dad
built C.D.’s first guitar from parts off a beater that he got from a garage
sale along with a single coil (pick up) from the store, for the whopping
price of $27.00
As C.D. puts it, “Guitar became my sanity during the teen years. I was
small, didn’t have social skills, and my parents weren’t well off during the
Reagan ‘80s. I got a lot of grief from my classmates while growing up. I
couldn’t identify with anybody and had only a few occasional friends.”
After high school graduation, C.D. joined the Army and ended up in the
prestigious First Cavalry Division band at Ft. Hood. He also found a rock
band that needed a good guitar player. When he wasn’t playing for Uncle
Sam or the band, he spent weekends in Mecca, aka Austin, Texas, a few
hours drive from the base. With the immersion into all this music, the die
was cast. Whatever else life had in store for him, C.D. Woodbury was first
and foremost, a guitarist. Everything else would have to come second.
But I’m just a fan. I have less than a rudimentary understanding of music.
C.D. can also be classified as a musician’s guitar player. If you don’t
believe me, here is what Polly O’Keary has to say: “I met C.D. at a club
called Sparky’s where the Colonel and I were running a Jam. I think C.D.
was one of three people who ever showed up. I’d never heard of him, but
when he got out that red Gibson 135 he plays, I figured he might be pretty
good. Then he played. I was blown away. Later, when I formed a band
of my own, he was the first guy I called. I still work with him sometimes.
I love C.D.”
He and I sat down one afternoon to talk about where he’s been, is now,
and where he is going. Here is C.D. about getting started.
“I liked music when I was a kid. My first instrument was a trumpet. My
parents were the last generation that didn’t listen to rock & roll. Mother
had an acoustic guitar, so I learned some Hank Williams / Johnny Cash
that dad liked. Then I got a glimpse of MTV which had only 12 videos and
ten were Rod Stewart. The program filled in with the old Sullivan show and
other shows when Cream, Hendrix, and the Doors were playing live. That
really got me interested in guitar, especially watching Hendrix playing
live on this old black & white Danish TV show. From that moment I had
to get and electric guitar. Guitar was the first instrument that I learned to
improvise on; that’s when it really got fun. I could make notes with other
instruments from school; but what I liked about music at that point was
beginning to create my own music within a format. I began to improvise
with jazz, then with blues. I couldn’t copy Clapton or Hendricks licks, but
someone showed me what the box scale was. Finally I could begin to
play licks something like what I heard on records.
RB: Did you get to the point where you could do that on any other
instruments?
CDW: Eventually I got to a point that I could play jazz licks on the trumpet.
But guitar was always the main thing. I’m probably the only person with
a music degree that can’t play a lick of piano. You have to, so I would
take the assignment, work out the theory on the keyboard, take it home
and learn it on the guitar. I would ‘yellow / red / blue’ the assignment for
the piano keys.
RB: That sounds like the long way around.
CDW: You’re supposed to be able do it on the piano. But I would work it out
on the guitar, and then fumble my way through the keyboard for the rest
of the week in order to complete the assignment. So I love instruments,
but it has been the guitar that has worked out for me fairly well.
RB: Do you think the guitar is an inborn talent?
CDW: With the guitar I was willing to put in the 6-12 months to get the
basics down. After, somebody showed me something very cool at the
right musical age. I was 14 or 15. I would go home after school and
practice guitar. It sounded cool and it made me feel good. The more
I played, the better it felt and the better it sounded. And the better it
sounded, the better I felt.
RB: A little introspection here, what do you think are your strongest points
as musician, and what are your most glaring weaknesses?
CDW: My greatest talent as a younger guitar player is that I can be a
chameleon. I’m able to direct people very well too, in informal situations.
I’m not as tasteful and note perfect as Rod Cook or Henry Cooper. I
can’t be as much as a firebrand as Nick Vigarino. But I can find a spot
in between. So if I’m on stage with a tasteful player I can do the more
incendiary music, or if I’m on stage with a hard burner I can play more
tasteful stuff. I can’t be as harmonically inventive as someone like Mark
Whitman. But I can still be harmonically inventive. While I’m not an expert
with any of those qualities, I can do a little of all of it, filling in the areas
to complete the sound. I don’t think I do anything better than the guitar
specialists, but I can cover any of them well and not be embarrassed.
RB: What is the other side of it then, what are your liabilities?
CDW: I’m still a little to young to be taken seriously. I’m a fat man in an
industry where it’s more acceptable to be a drug addict than to be an
oversized person. I’m not the show biz type. Part of the reason I play
music is that I’m more comfortable on stage than talking to people. The
break between songs is what is uncomfortable for me. I don’t do the in
between banter well at all. That’s when I get stage fright. I have no stage
fright when I play. It’s when I have to make eye contact with that person
across the way, that’s when I get scared.
RB: I hear you saying you’re comfort is in playing, not being a band
leader.
CDW: That isn’t really true. Being a leader doesn’t necessarily mean
being a front man, which is where the discomfort lies. I’m talking with
some big name entertainers right now. I might become a band leader
very soon. I can’t disclose the specifics now. A local headliner feels
he has done as much as he can as a leader and wants to become a
back up person. There are some other changes in the works, too. Steve
(Sarkowski) is rounding up some players for a big band concept, like the
band that backs Robbie Laws when he comes to town. It’s sort of like the
old Bay Area funk sound. I’m sure I’m not the only one he asked about
leading it, but I immediately said, “Hell Yeah.” I might have scared him
away because I was so excited about the opportunity. At the Snohomish
jam I’m kind of the ring leader. So I’m good with being a band leader, and
it might happen sooner rather than later.
The Oxford Jam is a big part of
C.D.’s current musical direction.
He is working with Tommy Morgan,
the drummer with The Rhythm
Method, Polly O’Keary’s band,
and Stevee Ater, bassist with the
Tone Kings. I asked Stevee if he
had a few words about C.D.
“C.D. and I have been together
doing the Oxford Saloon Jam for
over 4 years now. This project
owes much of its success to C.D.,
his playing and music direction.
C.D. has a unique combination
of education (he has a degree
in music studies from Portland
State), skill, raw musical talent
and passion. Sometimes we get
into a situation I call ‘saving the
train wreck.’ We jam to a point
where the song is going sideways
and it’s C.D. who pulls it back with
brilliant improvisation.”
RB: Musically, blues jams usually
seem to work. I’ve been to some
jams where a country picker is
followed by a flute soloist, with a
first year key player next. Then
they all play something together
and my ears begin to bleed. How
do you guys always pull off a good
jam without knowing who will show up, or the talent level you have to
deal with?
CDW: Half of the equation is the great core band with Stevee (Ater) on
bass and Tommy (Cook) on drums. Even if no jammers show up, we
can put on a good show. There is an audience expectation, but folks
understand that they might be watching a beginner. That beginner is
stepping out and attempting to get better by getting on the stage. And
no matter what the skill level, the audience always wants you to do well.
So jams always have an easy crowd that is appreciative of the player
regardless of the skill level. The other half is the mix. We never put
together three people who are all beginners. We balance out skilled and
unskilled players. Some of the good cats don’t like it much, but it’s a jam,
so it is what it is. We have very good players that come out and with the
mix of rookies and vets, we have confidence there will always be a good
show. And we have a lot of regulars in the audience, which speaks to the
quality. They keep coming back.
RB: Let’s move to business. Moving up the ladder requires writing and
making records. It also requires consistent if not somewhat aggressive
marketing. Are there plans to make and promote a solo or band record?
I’ve seen bands that come out with a great album and end up eating lots
of copies when the interest dies. Is there a record in your future?
CDW: For the past couple of months, I’ve dug through a dozen old
recordings I have found. I’m trying to put enough tracks together for live
album. I also have to put together an official band. I had a great time
recording at Egg Studios a few years back with the first Polly record.
I’ve also had some wonderful experiences with Mark Naron at Fastback
Studio doing Christina’s (Porter) album. I enjoy the process, but have a
lot better time playing live than I do playing in the studio. The material is
critical. I’ve seen (producing a record) work with Polly’s (O’Keary) band
resulting in turning a profit. It is a model for me.
In mid to late 2004 C.D. joined Polly O’Keary’s Rhythm Method, as the
founding guitarist. He was more than just the player, giving ideas for
Polly’s first rate writing, his participation was significant in making her first
record. But after three years the comfort of that position began to stagnate
his musical growth; it was time to move on.
C.D. is now the local guitarist for the Mark Dufresne band. I asked Mark
about his impressions of C.D. “When I got back to Seattle from my Roomful
(of Blues) stint I needed a guitarist. On the good word of Randy Oxford I
exchanged e-mails with C.D. We played
our first gig together, no rehearsal.
With most of the work he does with
us, he never gets to rehearse and
plays wonderfully despite this obstacle.
Regarding C.D.’s guitar slinging, he has
great tone with a natural sound that I
like in a guitar. C.D. is a versatile guitar
man which is no small praise in this age
of the ‘specialist’. He handles the lost
art of rhythm guitar beautifully. Many of
the great guitar men only know one or
two styles of rhythm. C.D. has learned
many more, which is critical. The band
feels fortunate to be working with
C.D. He is absolutely a consummate
professional. That’s A Fact, Jack.”
RB: And here is C.D. on working with
the Mark Dufresne Band.
CDW: My role in Mark’s band is very
different. With Polly I was singing
and providing ideas for song writing;
with Mark’s band I’m there only as
a guitarist. Mark is an international
class performer. He is a wonderful
song writer, incredible singer and harp
player. I joke about having the worst of
both worlds. I’m a cover musician and I
play the parts of past guitar greats such
as Billy Stapleton and Kid Ramos. I
have to play like the other cats to make
the music like it was when they were with Mark, learning both their music
and their styles. Mark has a core that goes back 15-20 years. It’s a very
cool job, but it starts and ends with being the guitar player.
So there you have the story of C.D. Woodbury. The other side of his life,
is computer related, he is now studying computer animation. He loves
graphics and has worked in related fields. Fans who know him enjoy his
work, he is a musician’s guitarist. You can see C.D. at the Oxford Jam
every Thursday night in Snohomish (www.oxfordsaloon.com). Or you can
catch a show when Mark Dufresne is in the area (www.markdufresne.
net). Thanks to Mark, Polly (www.pollyokeary.com) and Steve (www.tonekings.
com) for their contributions.
The story is more than about a great guitar player who deserves more
recognition and respect. Bringing it full circle, it’s a story about rescue and
intervention. We spend a lot of money trying to bring troubled youth back
into the fold, and we aren’t very successful. The story of C.D. tells us that
one important step is to teach kids early on about passion and how to find
it. It doesn’t matter what it is. For C.D. it was the guitar, but it could be
anything that brings a child to the centerline of a positive life path. I’m sure
it’s not the entire answer, I am sure it is an important part of the equation.
It is something we can all help with, and it doesn’t cost a dime.
Author: Roy Brown
Reposted with Permision from: The Washington Blues Society
Tags: C.D. Woodbury, CD Woodbu, Washington Blues Society
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