Playback - Spring 2008 - (Page 13)

Wanna Play? Profile QA with Robert Downey, Jr. DuRING ThE NAMM ShoW IN ANAhEIM, WE hAD ThE oPPoRTuNITy To INTERVIEW A VARIETy oF TAlENTED MuSICIANS, SoME oF WhoM ARE kNoWN lESS FoR ThEIR MuSICAl ABIlITIES ThAN FoR ThEIR ACTING TAlENTS. oNE SuCh STAR IS ACADEMy AWARD NoMINEE RoBERT DoWNEy, JR., Who RElEASED AN AlBuM oF hIS oWN CoMPoSITIoNS, The fuTurisT, IN 2004. Q WHEN DID YOU FIRST gET INVOLVED IN MUSIC? Q RDJ: “I was probably 12. There was an old grand piano at our house, and I started playing it. There was a commercial on the air at the time that was a composition of scales going up in thirds. It was so easy to learn, I thought, ‘Wow, anyone can do this.’ And then I learned that … well, 29 years later I’m still practicing.” WHAT WOULD SURPRISE PEOPLE ABOUT ROBERT DOWNEY, JR., THE MUSICIAN? RDJ: “That I can play and write but if you got me on stage with a band and said, ‘Hey, let’s play in F sharp,’ I would probably melt and leave. Maybe that’s not surprising. I like playing live if I know what the song is going to be; if not, I just embarrass the otherwisegifted musicians. “Mostly, just having a cup of coffee and blowing a cigar while writing something on a piano or Garage Band or whatever to me is the real high. You’re kind of in communion with something that’s a subtle and beautiful thing of creativity.” Q HAVE YOU BOUgHT MANY INSTRUMENTS SINCE? RDJ: “I would probably have real estate in Iowa if I had never started buying instruments. There are your big, classic pieces—pianos, strings or winds—and guitars are great to get one really good one and then stop. Unless you’re a big rock star, then you’re supposed to have a big collection.” Q WHAT DO YOU THINK INDIO’S gOTTEN OUT OF IT? Q I UNDERSTAND YOUR 14-YEAROLD SON, INDIO, PLAYS gUITAR. Q WHAT DO YOU THINK PLAYINg MUSIC ADDED TO YOUR LIFE? RDJ: “Initially it was probably an escape from pre-adolescence and later on I started learning about composition and writing. It’s like painting, I guess, in that you get an instant result from your actions. Obviously, it’s great for your mind and sound is such a great property. Plus, people love music.” RDJ: “The first 18 months of him playing was literally, like, ‘What have we done?’ And then one day at his sixth-grade assembly, he played the lead to ‘Stairway to Heaven.’ I think it was a bigger deal for me than for him. Of course, this is the generation that’s trying to say to us, ‘Dad, you should really check out Led Zeppelin’ and I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, maybe I better then…and maybe, like, Pink Floyd’s The Wall? Alright.’” RDJ: “Confidence. And the principle that you don’t just get good at something by wanting to be good at something. Learning and honing a skill and being able to track your own development is just grounding.” Q WHY DO YOU THINK PARENTS SHOULD ENCOURAgE MUSIC MAKINg? RDJ: “It’s very unlikely my kid’s going to grow up and say, ‘I’m really glad I learned to play soccer’—just like you’re probably not gonna say, ‘I’m so glad I learned trigonometry.’ Music is putting a tool in their toolbox they can use and pass down to their kids for generations. And it brings people together.” SPRING 2008 13

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Playback - Spring 2008

Playback - Spring 2008 Contents From the President NAMM Events Music in the News Bringing Recreational Music Making to Iraq Commercial Retail Reps in the Field New Domestic Members International Washington Watch NAMM Foundation Music Notes Resources Viewpoint

Playback - Spring 2008

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