Veteran musician recalls career at First Friday Club Meeting

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Veteran musician recalls career at First Friday Club Meeting
BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI

A lesson on quantum physics might have been the last thing Studio City Chamber of Commerce members expected February 1 during their monthly First Friday Club breakfast meeting at the Daily Grill.

But that was what featured speaker Ray Colcord said he had in mind: “I’m sure the same questions are running through your mind that are running through mine. Who the hell is Ray Colcord? How do I write a really good blues tune? And, dude, what’s up with this quantum physics thing?”

Colcord, who has composed music for over 700 television episodes spanning shows including “My Two Dads,” “Silver Spoons,” and “Facts of Life,” is a Studio City resident, past president of the Society of Composers and Lyricists, and former A&R executive for Columbia Records. He said he discovered such acts as Aerosmith, Jim Croce and Bonnie Raitt, but failed to convince Columbia Records head Clive Owen to sign them on at the time.

“This isn’t the Wichita, Kansas Chamber of Commerce, this is Studio City,” said Colcord. “You see actors everyday – you know they’re nuts.”

As promised, Colcord shared his formula for crafting a good blues tune. He first advised coming up with a good opening lyric. “‘I got a good woman’ is a bad way to begin a blues song unless you stick something nasty in the next line – ‘I got a good woman with the meanest face in town’ – now we’re talking,” Colcord joked, also adding that blues lyricists should mention cars such as Chevys, Cadillacs, Fords and broken down trucks. Volvos, BMWs, SUVs and hybrids would all be frowned upon.

Other pointers? Something really good to complain about, Colcord suggested. “A man with male pattern baldness ain’t the blues. A woman with male pattern baldness is the blues,” he said, garnering audience laughter.

Colcord then provided an unexpected lesson in quantum physics, showcasing the depth of his knowledge on the topic. He used poster board diagrams, flash lights, a basketball and other visual aids to show the evolution of a wave-based model of light to a photon-based model. “The rest of the day compared to this is going to be so easy for you,” he noted.

At the end of his speech, Colcord shared anecdotes from his experience touring with Lou Reed as a keyboard player at age 21. He discussed the difficulty of life on tour, when he cherished the rare days he could sleep for more than three hours between gigs during a hectic schedule. He also addressed how the development of the internet and web-based sales in the music distribution industry has resulted in the shutdown of brick-and-mortar record stores. But Colcord said he didn’t see this having a negative impact on the live music scene.

“As far as I know, boys are still interested in girls, and they need something to do…There are things that are just more enjoyable shared with another group of human beings.”