What would Keith Richards do_ - Jessica Pallington West [6]
“Five strings, three notes, two fingers, and an asshole, and you’ve got it! You can play the darned thing. That’s all it takes. What you do with it is another thing. ”
11. OWN THE CLASSICS.
“Everybody starts by imitating their heroes.”
“The greats are the greats. You know who they are.”
At age fifteen, Keith sat at the top of the stairs at his home in the government housing district and continued to replay Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley until they were a part of him. The music became a part of his inner being; it became part of his blood. He later did the same with the blues, and with Hoagy Carmichael.
From a solid foundation, a house can be built. And one that is highly original.
It doesn’t matter what discipline it is that you choose: This rule is essential. It’s the reason that Picasso starting out learning to draw apples that actually looked like apples.
“Apart from Chuck Berry, I can do Chuck Berry better than just about anyone. But I had to stop doing Chuck Berry and start doing Keith Richards. ”
12. GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD AND FEEL IT.
“This is one of Ronnie’s: ‘Sometimes I have the feeling that thousands of people are watching me. Am I just paranoid?’ If you thought about it too much it would paralyze you.”
Ronnie, aka Keith Jr., was talking about being up on stage in front of a sea of people, but it can be related to any number of day-to-day experiences. The bottom line: Overanalyzing and overthinking can do you in. Trust your intuition and your instincts. Rationality can be a means of avoidance and a cop-out. Too much analysis can cripple you.
“I’ve always done things on a very instinctive basis, you know. I think brains have gotten in the way of too many things.”
Thinking can become like a drug. Like any drug, too much is lethal. To survive on the stage of life, just feel the music. Feel it and hear it. There is music within the activities of everyday life—whether it is riding on a train, crossing a street, or riding in an elevator. Do things. Build a house. Or if not a house, a shrine to Jimi Hendrix and a tripping room. Play a power chord. Set another house or bed on fire. Throw another car over the cliff and watch it go up in a spectacularly rich combination of flames. Get out of the head and into the body. Brains are great, but they can’t eat, or reproduce, or save a woman from a burning building. Only your body can help you with that.
“I don’t think onstage. I feel. Once you get up there, you’re who you are. We’re just feeling.”
Feel the music. Go with it.
And touch. Ever notice how much these guys in the Stones touch each other? It’s a visceral connection. Touch what is close to you and what you love. Touch the people you know. If there are no people, touch things. Go for all of it: craggy, hard, spiked, silken, smooth, iced over, underwater. Put your hands on things. You can always use a Band-Aid if you get hurt.
13. EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO DO IT IN SECRET, BE KIND.
Help others who are down on their luck and less fortunate.
An attitude of not giving a damn does not equate to being cruel.
Don’t let Keith’s bad-boy image fool you. There’s more than a little romanticizing of the image going on here. This is a guy who is secretly known for a deep moral streak that verges on some serious squareness. Maybe it goes deeper than this. Maybe you don’t have to give a damn to do someone a favor. Sometimes it’s good for your ego. Or makes for stronger chord sequences.
As original Stones member Ian Stewart said, “I saw the old devil do good deeds on the sly.” The streak of kindness goes way back. Look at this fan letter to Tiger Beat magazine in 1964: “I happen to know that the last time they were in town, Keith personally phoned an invalid girl who had been sick for years. After she heard his voice, the girl began to improve. Now she’s almost well. Don’t tell me the Stones are godless boys."
Karma is a boomerang. One act of kindness came