My grandfather Stanley used to play the trombone during World War II. He was an accomplished musician playing the piano and always singing. I grew up in a house full of music. In South Africa, as a kid, we had a piano in the house and my sister finished the 8th level of the Conservatory in piano.
I believe I started my piano lessons when I was 6 years old, and by the age of 10 I could play quite well. But then we had a boat trip and the piano was a bit too big to carry on the boat. So my sister, who brought along the guitar that my mother had given her, became the musician on this trip.
We only had 2 tapes on the boat: Linda Rondstat, a famous country singer, and Kris Kristofferson, whose lyrics and country music have inspired me since I was a teenager. My mother and father were always singing and music has been a huge part of our family lives.
I got my first guitar when I was 13 and it looked just like the one from AC/DC. It was electric and I didn’t know what to do with it. And I’ve been writing songs since I was 14 years old, poetry and music together combined to create a feeling and an emotion that can convey to other people joy, a sense of rhythm, and an experience of something that is quite.
My younger brother Filipe is a very talented musician and I hope that you can see him play one day. To be a great musician is something that must be a blessing, and I remember that when Freddy Mercury died I felt a sense of loss. Because the happiness he gave to millions of people around the world was something so unique.
Music has changed a lot in the past few years. It seems like a consumable, like bubble gum, that you can chew and throw out when it loses its flavour. But real music is like a fabric, it’s like architecture, it’s like a building, solid, it’s something that lasts forever! And David Bowie, he had that!
He didn’t ask for much, he was a very quiet and private man, who changed the whole world through his dynamic vision and progressive thinking.
I don’t know much about David Bowie, but I do know a lot about his music. And all I can say is thank you!
God bless you! Safe travel, Starman!
