Vale: Tim Chandler

One of my great musical loves, probably my second favourite band after the Beatles, is Daniel Amos. I've been a huge fan since 1979 when a friend dropped the needle on their Horrendous Disc album and told me I had to listen. I remember that moment vividly, and I was instantly hooked.

They're a band who went through a number of changes, both in line-up and style, yet I've loved every incarnation - even the country band they were before Horrendous Disc. Alarma, Doppleganger, Vox Humana and Fearful Symmetry (known collectively as the Alarma Chronicles) were released throughout the 80s, with each album changing style and instrumentation which also reflected the lyrical content.

Tim Chandler joined the band in 1981, in time to tour and record the Doppelganger album. I immediately loved his bass playing. He had his own style, his own musicality and brilliantly creative bass lines. His sound was distinctive and recognisable. Tim played on albums by a bunch of artists, and his playing was always second to none. Standouts include his work on John Wayne by Terry Scott Taylor, and Daniel Amos's own Darn Floor Big Bite.

Apparently he was a really lovely guy. Funny too. He was a member of the Swirling Eddies, a pseudonymous Daniel Amos side project. Berger Roy Al, as he was dubbed, had his own personality, who would suddenly appear in Daniel Amos forums ranting and verbally attacking Tim Chandler. Mad, mad, hilarious stuff.

I only managed to see Tim once. He played bass in Phil Keaggy's band when I saw them at a small venue in Melbourne during the 80s. I still regret not waiting to chat to him after the show.

Tim passed away a few days ago. I saw it on social media just after his friends all changed their profile pictures. Apparently he was ill, but I didn't know that. In fact there is very little I actually know about the man, yet his passing has saddened me.

RIP Tim, I wish you safe travels.

One Night? Two Nights?

Was it simply once or a couple of occasions blended together in my mind?

My memory tells me it was all on one evening. I was at my friend's house. Paul is his name, and I regret that he lives interstate and we rarely see each other. Glenn was there too. Paul and Glenn were a good few years older than me. I was 17, they were in their mid 20s, and they loved to play me music that I'd never heard before, which accounts for my tastes which are ten years older than they should be. While my friends at school were listening to crap, they were making me listen to Slade, Iggy Pop and Larry Carlton.

But this night, which seems to be indelibly etched in my mind, introduced me to to three of my favourite gospel albums.

Yes, I grew up in a Christian home, although my beliefs are now closer to a philosophy and lie somewhere between Christianity and Buddhism.  But in those days I was listening to a fair amount of Christian music.

Don't knock it. This was before the uber-commercialisation of the genre. And some of it was pretty good.

But this night, this one night, Paul played me a new album he'd found. He told me it was a country and western act, which was something I hated at the time. He was lying. He  showed me an album - blue, it was, with bright garish birds on it. Resurrection Band.  The album was called Colours, spelled the correct way, which was unusual for a band from Chicago. He dropped the needle on Autograph, and it blew my mind.

I'd heard Randall Waller before, live, when he played solo acoustic with Larry Norman (or was it Randy Stonehill) in the late 70s. But then Glenn played me Midnight Fire, produced by John Linn. What an amazing album, with superb production. It's still on my playlist.

Glenn then played me a track he thought I might like because I was such a huge Beatles fan. It was 'Out Across The Sky' by Daniel Amos. John Lennon indeed.  Then he played me the rest of the album, Horrendous Disc.  Kind of a hokey cover, but I've been a massive Daniel Amos fan ever since.  Yes, they are still playing and recording, and I have virtually everything they ever put on tape.

Was it one night? Two? Three?

Glenn has passed, and I'd love to be able to spend an evening with him. Paul lives interstate, and I don't see him often enough.  But their influence and legacy remains.

Thanks, guys.