← Takin' A Walk - Music History with Buzz Knight
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- [00:01]
Lynne Hoffman
Music Saved Me.
- [00:02]
Black Bach
One of the things that I can say about the Detroit music scene is that if you enter it, it's like a family. And that family perspective is part of the thing that helped me develop not only as a musician, but as a person, and also helped prevent me from getting into some of the pitfalls that exist in being from an urban environment. I can remember in the day. A lot of my teachers would call me and say, hey, are you coming down to sit in with us tonight? And at the same time, I would get the same call from, and they would say, yo, let's go do something stupid. You know, the good thing is that I chose music.
- [00:37]
Lynne Hoffman
I'm Lynne Hoffman, and welcome to another episode of the Music Saved Me podcast, where we showcase the force of nature that we know in our lives called music. Our guest is a neoclassical pianist who's performed with the likes of Rihanna and Justin Timberlake. Black Bach knows the power of music firsthand, growing up as a child prodigy in the inner city of Detroit. So, first, welcome to the show. Tell everyone who you are, are, and how has music saved you?
- [01:06]
Black Bach
Oh, wow. Well, yes, music has saved me so many times. My name is Black Bach. I'm a neoclassical composer and pianist from Detroit, Michigan. And that being said, alone being from Detroit, Michigan, music was something that saved me a bit from the environment that I was born and raised in. One of the things that I can say about the Detroit music scene is that if you're. If you enter it, it's like a family. And that family perspective is part of the thing that helped me develop not only as a musician, but as a person, and also helped prevented me from getting into some of the pitfalls that exist in being from an urban environment. I can remember in the day, a lot of my teachers would call me and say, hey, are you coming down to sit in with us tonight? And at the same time, I would get the same call from my homies, and they would say, yo, let's go do something stupid. And, you know, it was like this sort of choice of which one would I choose. And, you know, the good thing is that I chose music. I felt that music was the thing that the vehicle that could get me from one environment and could allow me to see the world, which it did. And then when we speak about mental health, and that has always been something that has been a challenge for, I think, everyone. I always have this quote that I say, which is, this world is so complex that you need therapy. The reason why we need therapy is that you need someone else to help you kind of navigate the pitfalls of life. This life has become very complex for me. Therapy and music have been kind of one and the same. Yes, I have had external therapy, but the way that I am able to express myself and have an outlet is through music, my writing. I think that music has saved me time and time again, and not only just in a physical way, but, like I said, a mental and spiritual way because of that strong connection to being a creative and dodging some of the things that could potentially be detrimental to my life.
- [03:25]
Lynne Hoffman
So you feel music has therapeutic and healing forces?
- [03:30]
Black Bach
Absolutely. Absolutely.
- [03:32]
Lynne Hoffman
How has music impacted you, you know, at a particularly challenging time in your life?
- [03:39]
Black Bach
Well, I can talk about 2020, which was a challenging time for all of us, being that, you know, it was the beginning of COVID and the lockdown. And one of the things that kept me, sort of kept the balance in my life during that crazy time was music. I wrote my first album, Black Book, during that period. And the thing that was very cool was that I was able to do it in 121 consecutive days. So music was the thing that kind of every day, you know, while so many people were kind of going crazy, going, what do I do? I went, let me focus on music. Music is gonna be the thing that's gonna keep me very much balanced throughout this crazy process. And it kind of worked 121 consecutive days. A couple months later, I signed a record deal, and the rest is ancient history.
- [04:35]
Lynne Hoffman
Wow. Congratulations on all that. Good focus. That's pretty incredible. So what does it mean to have your music profoundly impact others?
- [04:45]
Black Bach
Oh, that's the reason that I do it. You know, the reason that I do music is as an act of service. It's important to me that. That I'm putting something into the world that represents love, that represents kindness, that represents healing, that represents being emotionally just level. For me, that's the goal, you know, that's like, the number one goal. I believe that musicians have a great power, and to use that power in a way that is of service to others is exactly why we were given the power in the first place. So my music is all about that. I always say that I want to be a walking embodiment of what love is, and I want my music to be a reflection of that walking embodiment of love.
- [05:46]
Lynne Hoffman
I love that embodiment of love. And great power, indeed. Is there a particular musical genre or artists or bands that have impacted you in certain situations that you found yourself in?
- [06:01]
Black Bach
I don't know. I think all of Them have impacted me. Each genre has impacted me in a different way. I'm initially a hip hop kid from the west side of Detroit. I grew up listening to R and B and Motown. Of course, jazz was very influential in my life, but I started playing classical at the age of four. So it's just been this whole mix up of everything. I think that if more people listen to more, the more you expand your listening, the more you're able to tap into different emotions that come from different pieces of music. Sometimes people, I have friends that have, you know, been in the same room with me listening to something like, you know, like Celtic music. And they're like, what are you listening to? Saying you don't understand, you don't feel. You have to just take a moment to feel what the story is behind it. And each genre gives you a different piece of information. And that information can be used to be healing or to be uplifting or to tell a story. And that's what music is for, is to bring us out of our element and into someone else's world and to allow us to see and view and witness a different world.
- [07:13]
Lynne Hoffman
I love it. How does expression on social issues impact your view of music?
- [07:19]
Black Bach
Oh, my music is very much based around social issues and the impact that they have. I believe that many composers from, you know, very long ago did the same thing. They wrote about the things that were affecting them in their daily lives and affecting the people around them. I think that as a composer, it is important that we begin to see and address the things that matter, the social issues. You know, right now I'm very much affected by this mass shooting community. I don't even know what it is that we have going on in America right now. I think, you know, something needs to be said about it. And who better than someone who's tapped into this source of energy, like music to speak about it? So, you know, I consider that my job and my duty.
- [08:17]
Lynne Hoffman
How important is a sense of humor that you convey in your music and storytelling?
- [08:23]
Black Bach
I'm just a funny guy. I just like to laugh a lot, so.
- [08:28]
Lynne Hoffman
Me too.
- [08:28]
Black Bach
I'm one of those people, you know, I think it was Charlie Chaplin said, if you don't, a day without laughter is a wasted day. Or I'm just that same way. Like, if I'm not laughing, this is a waste. You know, Like, I think that that's very important in storytelling. I think humor plays a very big part of. Of telling any story, is a way to kind of break up the story if it's. It's a very serious story. That's definitely a kind of break up the action and have a little fun.
- [08:58]
Lynne Hoffman
You gotta laugh. I love it. All right, here's a crazy one. What do you think the world would be like without music?
- [09:06]
Black Bach
Oh, the world wouldn't exist without music. I mean, everything is vibration. What we see around us are reflections of vibrations. So I think that the world is built upon music. Everything is music. There's. There's no substance that exists without vibration. I think that the organization of vibration and air is what we call music. And it's sort of the substance that allows humans to be human. I don't think there's anyone that you'll ever meet that says, I don't like music. I think people will say they don't like a certain genre. Maybe I don't like country, Maybe I don't like classical, Maybe I don't like rap. But you never hear anyone say, I don't like music. So I think it's an essential part of our human experience.
- [09:56]
Unnamed Speaker
Must have been a few years ago that I heard of Blackrock and started to get a little familiar with his music. But it wasn't until I joined the Pistons six months ago in terms of a career change for me, and, you know, our paths crossed professionally and I was familiar with his work. Just kind of got reacquainted and reintroduced to his music in a much more personal way. Ever since I discovered his work, I've just kind of been taken back by it. It is powerful. You know, his music in general is just. It's brilliant in so many different ways. It's hard to just sum up so quickly. Every time he gets behind the piano, it's. You're going to feel something. You're probably going to feel multiple things. And when it's done, when he finishes, it's just. It's very powerful. You feel like you just heard a story or experienced a story and one word hasn't been spoken, you know, And I just think it's really powerful, his music, how it acts as a storyteller without using words.
- [11:08]
Lynne Hoffman
How does it feel when one of your fans connects with you regarding your music?
- [11:13]
Black Bach
Those moments are so very special. And the thing that I find is that they're so individualized. You know, I know that there may be other artists that, you know, someone says the same thing as another person, as another person, other person. I think that I've never heard the same thing twice. It's amazing that music with no words can convey such a message and can allow the mind to travel in a way that creates an environment where someone's able to feel something or express something or experience something, that the person sitting next to them is having a totally different experience. For me, that feedback from fans makes my day. It makes me understand that what I'm doing means something and that I'm on the right path and I need to continue. I think that, like I said, it's service.
- [12:10]
Lynne Hoffman
Okay. And one more question. Describe the spiritual component of music.
- [12:15]
Black Bach
Oh, wow. The spiritual component. This is probably a very complex question to answer because the spiritual component changes and shifts so rapidly between, you know, one composition or one piece of music and the next. The thing that I can say that they do have in common is that I'm able to feel music in a way that is beyond just my ears. It's beyond just what I can see or what I can hear. It's something that. That hits my soul in a way. And. And there's. There's information that's being transferred. Very much the spiritual component for me is that, you know, that music is the universal language. And I hear that, and I feel that. And its abilities, my ability to speak that language also allows me to hear that language in a different way. I think that every time I listen to music, I don't just hear it with my ears. I hear it with my soul. And that allows me, again, to be able to express that myself or tell that story. I always say I love that I've had the highest highs and the lowest lows. Why? Because now I can tell a story of the highest highs and the lowest lows. So that in itself is an expression of how the spiritual component of music affects me. I feel it from the very top to the very bottom.
- [13:55]
Lynne Hoffman
Black Bach. Thank you so much for joining us today on the Music Saved Me podcast. Congratulations on all your successes in life and in music.