Didn’t think I’d be saying goodbye when I opened Facebook yesterday
“Google Big Big Train. Your life will become better for it.” I heard my friend Tom Woods say this on his podcast probably 7 years ago.
I swear by just about everything old Tom Woods says so I checked it out, and he was right. I was introduced to the world of progressive rock music, and it’s no stretch to say it impacted the trajectory of my career and life forever because of it.
So I was shocked to learn yesterday that David Longdon, lead singer for Big Big Train, the face and voice of the group, succumbed to injuries sustained in a car crash that occurred early Friday morning.
I confess to being something of a snob when it comes to music. The “top 40” stuff never really did anything for me when I was a kid. I always found the most artistic integrity in classical music. It’s always been my forte as a performer, and to this day it’s where I gravitate when I’m practicing, preparing a show, etc.
So when I found BBT, I was more than a little pleased to hear world-class musicianship and charts that were more than the basic 4/4 time signatures, the standard chord changes. I guess the best way to put it would be it’s music that actually fits the talent level of the musicians playing it. It was clear from the first beat of “English Electric” that the people playing their instruments meant business every step of the way. TIGHT all the way.
And then Longdon’s voice. I actually got to interview David nearly 5 years ago for a little podcast project that never really went anywhere, and the recording is hopelessly lost in the intervening time. I went to my Facebook messenger account today and saw the messages I exchanged with him back in 2017. So accomplished, yet so gracious and humble speaking to a fanboy like me.
He’s so good, he was actually a finalist to replace Phil Collins in Genesis when Phil went solo years and years ago. His voice is the epitome of conviction, fearlessness. You hear
I discovered Big Big Train as I was making plans to the leave the military and was contemplating what I was going to do with my life. I was pretty sure I didn’t want to go the route of teaching lessons and finding what gigs I could find in whatever town I ended up in, or work a “real job” of some sort. Like I said, I’m a snob.
It’s no stretch to say that being introduced to rock music that is performed with integrity, by musicians who are everyday people who do it not for the hope of “hitting it big” but because their life would be incomplete if they didn’t do it regardless if 1 or 1 million people listen to it made an impact in my career decisions.
And it does to this day.
People are so consumed with money, it’s the only thing people want to talk about. There’s a scene from the movie Blindside that didn’t make it into the final cut, but is in the bonus content on the DVD where Mr. Tuohy says something along the lines of, “The boy is always hungry, food is the only thing thing that’s ever on his mind.”
You see the same thing with people and money. Two sentences into a conversation, money comes up. And usually from the perspective that they need more of it.
A group of people form a band, and it’s assumed they’re going for the big payday, hoping to one day sign a contract with “the major label” where they “hit it big.”
What goes unseen is the hardships that come in the journey to that big contract with the major label. For the .01% of groups who actually see that reality.
What is even less known is the groups of people who make music that deliberately goes against the grain of what “the major labels” are looking for. The labels are trying to make money, and they’re going for the talent (or lack thereof) that’s going to hit a chord with mainstream society.
Big Big Train is one of those groups that just makes great music and doesn’t give a hoot what the “powers that be” in the music industry think of them. They have a small base of fans all over the world that are what you would call “berserker” fans, meaning they buy, download, stream, etc. everything the band puts out for public consumption – and is willing to hack their cell phones to hear what isn’t published for the public.
Count me among that small fanbase.
So when I opened my Facebook app yesterday, and first thing I saw was a picture of David Longdon with the caption “David Longdon, June 15 1965 – November 20 2021”, I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t believe it.
Death comes to us all. We all know that. But when it comes to someone who’s in the prime of life, making spectacular music at a pace that can only be described as profusely prolific, and who has played an indirect role in the career path of this writer’s career trajectory, it’s a bit more difficult to digest than the news of the death of most anyone else.
I listened to Big Big Train’s double album on the way to and from church this morning. It’s called “English Electric: Full Power”. It was odd and a bit surreal to listen to a voice I’ve been listening to regularly for the last 7 or so years, knowing he’s no longer with us, and that I actually have a personal connection with him. For some reason, the final track “Curator of Butterflies” was the perfect way to give my own personal silent sendoff to the man.
But life goes on. I’m grateful he was with us, that I was able to partake of his artistry for a significant amount of time, and to even meet him in person virtually.
You learn to not take things like that for granted.
James Newcomb
P.S. My wife Sana asked me a few questions about my final days in the Army on the most recent episode of our Ba Vojdaan podcast. It’s not boring stuff, I’ll give it that.
Here’s the link if you want to check it out and learn a bit more about your humble email host: https://embed.acast.com/618029e40a94050019f472dc/61995aeff13bd50014eab41f