Este no es un texto sobre Tom Waits

Este no es un texto sobre Tom Waits por Rafael A. Revilla Romero

rafastari@msn.com

Que puedo decir de este complicado personaje, músico, poeta, actor, podría hablar de su época de borracho de cantina, como el mismo le llama, podría hablar de su amistad con William S. Burroughs y de la obra de teatro The Black Rider en la que fueron socios, Burroughs escribiéndola y Waits musicalizándola , podríamos hablar de su intricada discografía llena de albums sublimes como Bone Machine y Mule Variations por los cuales ganó dos grammys, podría hablar de mi particular gusto por su disco, The Heart of Saturday Nigth de 1974 donde hace gala de todo su talento como cantante de bar, de esos bares llenos de humo de cigarro y olor a bourbon donde paso parte de su adolescencia, cantando, improvisando y hablando como un poeta de la generación beat, generación a la cual no perteneció pero parecería que toda la prosa del mismo Jack Kerouac se vivió y se asimiló en las canciones de Waits, podría hablar de su niñez en el famoso barrio mexicano de Whitter en Los Ángeles California y de sus primeros roces con la música ranchera, Waits distinguido por su tono de voz aguardentosa y melancólica, y por su letras influenciadas claramente por el escritor americano Charles Bukowski, letras que hablan de prostitutas, de ríos de whisky, de hoteles de mala muerte con fachadas de ladrillo, letras que hablan de dispararle a la luna, del perro que perdió el rastro y nunca más regreso a casa, hablar de su música es hablar de toda su vida y sus influencias, en su música podemos escuchar violines, cellos, acordeones, marimbas y sus instrumentos reciclados hechos con cubetas y talladores de ropa, hasta llegar a los famosos trombones de su disco Swordfishtrombones, encasillarlo en un solo género sería demasiado complicado para los críticos, ha pasado por el jazz, folk, blues, hasta rock, esta vez no hablaremos de todo lo anterior, hablare de su más reciente gira Glitter and Doom Tour que empieza el 17 de Junio en Phoenix, Arizona y termina en Atlanta, Georgia el 5 de Julio, dándonos la oportunidad para ver su magia, su atmosfera en vivo y a todo color en el El Paso el día 20 de Junio, Tom Waits se presentará en el Plaza Theatre, para los que no hayan tenido la oportunidad de verlo, ahora es la ocasión, si alguna vez sintieron que no encontraban el camino a casa o ganas de dispararle a la luna esta podría ser su única oportunidad.

Title:
This is not a text on Tom Waits by Rafael A. Revilla Romero

What can I say about this complicated character, musician, poet and actor? I could talk about his barfly stage, his friendship with William S. Burroughs and the play The Black Rider, in which they were partners and collaborators; Burroughs writing and Waits making the music for it. I could also talk about his intricate discography of sublime albums, such as Bone Machine and Mule Variatons, which won two Grammy awards, or my all time favorite, The Heart of Saturday Night from 1974. In this album he displayed his talent as a bar singer and throughout the album he evokes images of dark and seedy bars full of cigarette smoke and bourbon smell. He spent part of his teens in bars, singing, improvising and speaking like a poet of the beat generation; a generation to which he did not belong but to which he seems to belong to, capturing the prose of Jack Kerouac in his songs. Waits spent his childhood in Whitter, the famous Mexican neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, where he was influenced by ranchero music. His voice is his trademark, melancholic and abrasive; and his songs tell stories about prostitutes, rivers of whiskey, cheap hotels with brick facades, these lyrics that speak to shooting at the moon, a dog that lost track and never returned home, all histories clearly influenced by the American writer Charles Bukowski. To talk about his music is to talk about his life, a life full of metamorphosis and his life reflects what we hear in his records, in his music we can hear violins, cellos, accordions, marimbas xylophones, instruments made from recycled buckets and washboards, up to the famous trombones from the album Swordfishtrombones, his music cannot be classified into a single genre; it would be too complicated for critics, as he has transited from jazz, folk and blues, to rock and roll.

Instead of writing about all of this, I will write about his most recent tour, Glitter and Doom, which opens on June 17 in Phoenix, Arizona and ends on July 5 in Atlanta, Georgia. His concert of June 20 in El Paso will be a great opportunity to witness his magic and experience his songs in full-color. The venue is the Plaza Theatre, and for those who have not had a chance to see him live, now is the time. If you ever felt that you could not find your way back home or have felt a desire to shoot at the moon, this might be a chance to do so.