150 - Vibrations for The Maestro

It is theorized that elephants can sense rain up to 150 miles away. Where humans depend upon The Weather Channel, sight, and or smell to prevent the consequences of unsuspecting vulnerabilities, such as soaked clothes and ruined hair, elephants' awareness of rain comes from sound vibrations.. Summer months of extreme temperatures motivate elephants to seek rain's liberation. The animals' keen sensibilities motivate the herd to eagerly move in the direction of an impending storm. It doesn't require a scientist to understand that elephants aren't literally jumping for joy with loud screams when they perceive water vibrations, however I would assume their actual reactions are instantaneous; much like human responses to captivating musical rhythms. The right sound moves us into a mode of preparation; the kind where you’re going to celebrate and dance, release and let go, or mourn and cry. We are creations - both human and species - of movement, and music gives us that. Having typed the intro to this piece, Gav’s last project “Rain from 120 miles Away”, makes a whole lot of sense now. Quite frankly, it may only be understood by musical connoisseurs. And since I fall into that category, I’m happy to decode the message. Want to hear it? Well hear it goes. Rainfall is on the way – get it – the Maestro is at work.

Gavin Williams is what Momma Paulette and Papa Frank decided on, but as fate would have it, music would afford him several aliases. As his genius has evolved, so have the names. We now call him Gav Beats, Gav Maestro and instead of the Candy Man, he’s the Music Man. A music man with talent that's extraordinary , but I will save that speech for later. Before I move on though, I must set the record straight. I’m his younger and only sibling. No worries needed; you won’t find anything personal detailed in this article. No family life, sibling comparisons, or funny stories, like my very first blank stare at the sight of Gav’s dramatic tears following Oscar the fish’s untimely passing, or the annoying nightly dinners where his pencils beat the dinner table more than his fingers grasped his dinner fork. He hasn’t talked about Oscar the fish since '86, and I don’t eat dinner at the table anymore. He’s all grown up now, marching to the beat of a drum, piano, microphone and beat machine. Gav’s in his prime, and the questions: when and how, marinate the lips of the true believers also known as "the Gav’s-volcano-will-soon-errupt-worldwide believers". We aren’t waiting for a record label to discover him, we’re waiting for the world to hear it. It’s been said, where there’s a will there’s a way, but if God knows the way, then let thy will be done.

In the world of Maestroism, there are no rules. He or she composes nothing short of masterpieces and has no regard for your opinion of his or her work. It’s understood such talent is far and few between; as many will attempt, but few will master such perfection. Their work has no direction until the end, and the time between such brilliance may be a matter of days, months, or even years. And so here is where I dissect one of my several non-negotiable maestros’, Gavin “Gav Beats” Williams. He is loudly applauded; yet quietly misunderstood and critiqued by most. If you’ve witnessed one of his shows, you come to find he’s a talker, but it’s not self-talk; only people talk. He wants to know his audience before you even attempt to know him. Maybe the people have become his muse or maybe when he talks, songs are being scripted in his head. Whatever the case may be, Gav, in the last seven years has set free his most precious work. We marveled at the never ending Hopeless Romantic series; and yes it went on and on until he sent us on a search for a Red Rose in a Black Room. It was this popular record we all grooved to and quoted word for word the oh so famous, “…trying to keep up with the Jones, but you ain’t never met them, and if you ask the Jones, they ain’t that happy with their life”, in 2017’s “Ms. Self-Esteem”. Next, he tackled the mysterious Willie Lynch chronicles (W.L.B.D), and not to forget, he developed a love for elephants in When Elephants Walk, and finally exposed the sound vibrations of elephants and rain with Rain from 120 miles. Best part about all the music he’s launched is, the residue of his sound is everlasting. But what keeps the world from catching on? Is he building up to another album release, or has he sensed the rain is coming and is in strategic preparation - a waiting mode - to adjust directions?

There was no interview or days of following him around to give you the ultimate New York Times like feature story, but I’ve entertained happy phones conversations, emails of “Casie listen to this song”, and just recently in June, experienced Gav Beats and the Band “Untitled” worked a whole wedding reception room. I saw preachers tap their feet and remain poised; seasoned couples dance like no one was watching, and hard-working citizens letting loose for a couple of hours – forgetting the worries of a Monday morning soon to come. More importantly, a bride and a groom gave us smiles; they waved their hands in the air; sat side-by-side in a chair, only to be serenaded by the maestro himself. Some past things about you I hate, but it's outweighed by the past good.

We don’t know the moment, nor the hour, but it is for certain the rain will come. So now we wait. You have a torch passed on to you from the all-time greats and you’ve been touched by God with “the gift”. Prince, Michael and David Bowie, never made music in vain, they made it for the people. And so we encourage you Gav to hold on to your umbrella because as the saying goes, When it rains it pours.

XOXO - PP