Passing The Note
Originally Published Date:
May 31, 2010
A long time ago I remember my father practicing his guitar to a song called “He Don’t Know You”. It is a very powerful ballad by Cowboy Mouth consisting of a guitar and harmony vocals. Once I heard it, I was hooked and he passed the love of the band down to me. He also raised me a very strict Beatlemaniac.
Music is the one thing that runs in my family that connects us all in one way or another. My father used to take my Cowboy Mouth records to get signed for me before I was old enough to get into the bars to do it myself. Once I was old enough, he would bring me to shows and I spent a lot of my teen years studying the Cowboy Mouth records as well as their guitarist Paul Sanchez’s solo records.
There was something about Paul that I found an immediate a connection with. He sings very gently and very softly with an acoustic guitar. Listing to Paul Sanchez sing and play an acoustic guitar is probably my favorite and most comforting sounds in the world.
One night we saw Cowboy Mouth at the Trocadero in Philadelphia. At this point, I had been seeing them for a number of years and we had befriended them. The next day, I got a phone call at home from Paul. To me this was a celebrity calling me at home. Turns out he had forgotten his guitar at the Troc the night before and asked if I could pick it up for him and hold on to it until they came back to town. Two years later we finally got it back to him and he was ever so grateful especially since it was an anniversary present from his beloved wife Shelly.
I remember one time, the family packed into the car and headed down to a Cowboy Mouth show at The Theater Of Living Arts (aka The TLA). After the show, we stuck around to get autographs and talk to the band for a bit. Paul said something to me that I will never forget. He said that it was a special bond for the Fisher Family to all go see concerts together like we did. He said he got such a kick out watching us kids grow up at the shows.
I have always had a profound respect for Paul, his story telling and songwriting. If you have ever seen him play solo you know that Paul telling stories and singing go hand in hand. He tells stories and sings about his family to the point where when his mom passed away, I felt the hurt and I never had the honor to meet her.
He told this one story one time which I would like to relate to you. He was playing a Cowboy Mouth show one night when a long-time fan came up to him to say hi. Paul said this gentleman had this amazing glow about him. So, he asked the gentleman why he was glowing so much. The man turned and told Paul that his wife just had a baby that day. Paul instinctively asked what he was doing at a Cowboy Mouth concert under the circumstances. The man quickly replied that it was “number 10” for them. Paul laughed and asked what they named the baby. He said they named her after both grandmothers "Belle Louisianne". Paul said that it was a beautiful name and with the gentleman’s permission, he wrote a song using that name about the child. It is one of the most beautiful, peaceful songs I have ever heard.
Being that Paul is such a big part of my life, I decided to put together a collection of his acoustic songs for my daughter when she was born to listen to on her way home from the hospital. I called it “My First Paul Sanchez Album”. Paul has already met my oldest daughter, Brianna. Hopefully he will get to meet Savanna as well and watch my kids grow up at his shows the way my father allowed me to be raised at concerts.
Until next time, Thanks for reading!
POST SCRIPT:
While prepping this article to be posted as an archive piece, Savanna (who is now 12) was peeking over my shoulder asking what I was doing. I showed her this article and she asked if I still had that CD. I pulled it out and gave it to her. About a half hour later, she emerges from her bedroom with tears rolling down her face. I asked her what was wrong and she said that the songs just got to her. It’s nice to know that the music of Paul Sanchez still resonates and has an impact in my household.
If you are not familiar with music of Paul Sanchez, please take a second to check out his music:
http://www.paulsanchez.com/
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©2010 ©2022 Grazie Santangelo. All Rights Reserved
Paul Sanchez and I at The Theater of Living Arts (TLA), Philadelphia, Pa
