How talented is Raul Midon? Well, I went to Joe’s Pub in New York City last night, and watched him play his percussive latin-jazz-pop-uncategorizable style on the acoustic while accompanying himself one-handed on bongos, while improvising on mouth trumpet, occasionally breaking into vocal soul riffs that called up Stevie Wonder, while diverting from a chord solo to quote “Giant Steps”…in 7/4 time.
Oh, and he played a song on piano, too. So. Yeah. He’s like that.
I was fortunate to be introduced to Raul a while ago, following a logic that must have been as simple as, “you two both knock on your guitars…maybe you can do that together and write something?” I mean, sure, I knock on my guitar, occasionally, but I’ve always done it with the ‘folk music’ thought that others could figure it out and join in—the way people learn Dylan songs in their first guitar lessons. I don’t even pretend to do…that.
But it was enough to get in a room with him, so I wasn’t going to put the brakes on anything. He came over to my place, and I think the first thing that happened is that we became friends. He’s warm, and creatively restless, and annoyed with the business that he has to navigate in order to do what he loves—in other words, a true musician. And while I say I love Stevie Wonder, he’s actually worked with him. And everyone else. So, it’s hard to buckle down and get to work with those kinds of stories to tell. (I actually circled back a few years later and included a wide-ranging conversation with him in my book.)
After a while of getting to know each other, we wrote the skeleton of “Next Time,” a song that combines some exotic melodic choices, fun high notes, strong lyrics, and plenty of room to blow over, if he chose to. It hit a lot of his strengths, and got me to jump over “the wall,” which is an image I’m obsessed with.
Out the window And over the wall And free The scattering highways And lives to live up to Will end before we do
It’s a recurring theme in my work, and what can I say, I just love disrespecting a wall. Don’t we all? To me, sometimes life just feels like it’s all walls, and all you have is a tiny rock hammer and a Raquel Welch poster to hide your work behind. (And yeah, I’ll watch Shawshank with anyone, any time. Why? Walls.)
Anyway, Raul’s got his own walls, and when he opened with “Next Time” last night at Joe’s, I could hear them being scaled, even if I don’t know what they are. On the video below, I managed to catch all but the first lines, because I was clapping as he walked on stage, but it sounds like he’s been reinterpreting the song in a way that feels much more internal and personal. I can only speculate, but it felt like he’s taken the song deeper than it was when written. It’s absolute magic when that happens.
He’s also recorded the song and put it on his new album, Lost and Found, which is another chapter in his storied career. Of course I got the vinyl, signed, and caught up with him at the merch table. It’s gonna look great on the wall of my…office. But that’s for another time.
Live, Joe’s Pub, 8/23/24
“Next Time,” from Lost and Found (2024)
BONUS: Raul’s Tiny Desk (NPR)