An interview with Vinx

Vinx, please introduce yourself...

I am a kind of teacher, who loves to inspire other people and musicians. I like people who are different and who do their own thing. As I don’t have children of my own I have now reached a point in my life, where I wish to inspire the next gerneration of artists and musicians. I try to convince them to develop their own sound, to always be honest with themselves and not to end up being a cheap imitation of someone else. Thanks to our music industry so many artists sound alike and exchangeable. And most young musicians try to be accepted and appreciated by the broad mass. This is really bad, as so much individual power is lost in the process.

This is the reason I am so proud of what I have acchieved. It used to be different. At some stage I realized, that my audience was not interested in me, as long as I was merely concerned about their reactions and tried to satisfy their needs. I have been honest concerning my feelings, in the way I sing and present myself. And it worked, I suddenly experienced far more attention and recognition. This moment of realization changed everything for me. When I was still very young my father used to play a game with me and my brothers and sisters. We had to take turns singing at the table, and it was forbidden to sound like someone else. If you did, you lost. Like „Oh no, you just sounded like Stevie Wonder or Billy Ecktine. Sorry, you’re out!“.

This sounds like a really difficult game for a child!

Yes it was! We had to try and hide all our influences, and that was really hard. My dad had a big influence on me too, he was a wonderful singer, a professional amateur, who unfortunately never recorded an album.

Was it already clear to you in your childhood that you wanted to become a successful singer?

Hm, good question. Music was always an important part of me. I wasn’t always sure about becoming a musician, but it was definitely the thing I wanted to become most. Just like becoming an athlete. Although it was clear that professional sport would only be possible for a very limited time. So I initially focussed on sport, as time was already running short. But music definitely played an important role in that time too and was always my motivation. In a sense, I did everything I did for music.

What are or were your most important influences?

A very important influence is my father. Concerning professional musicians it is a whole range, starting from Jon Lucien and Andy Bey to Phoebe Snow and Sarah Vaughan up to Harry Belafonte, Billy Eckstine and Flora Purim. I especially loved her way of singing, she had a very unusual way of going about it. Her credo was: what comes out, comes out, that’s the way it is. She never wanted to improve it, she saw everything very naturally. This always really impressed me.

Was there a point in your life, where you realized that you are blessed with a special talent and where it became clear to you, that music would be your future path?

When I was young I sang in a college band and we had the great honour of performing at the 1978 Montreux Jazz-Festival. Of course not in one of the big concert halls, but on one of the many open air locations in town. We couldn’t afford tickets for any of the other concerts, so we spent most of our time in the cafés in town, enjoyed the atmosphere and played a few gigs. During one of these gigs the great Taj Mahal walked past – he was on the way to his soundcheck – and asked me, if I would perform with him at his concert that evening. His drummer had had problems with his visa and he seemed to like the way I played. My band colleagues of course approved and said „Yeah, you can go, we don’t need you here anyway, but make sure you get us some tickets!“ In this way I came to play my first professional gig really unexpectedly and was awed to be on stage with Taj Mahal, B.B. King and Chick Corea. I had never heard of Taj Mahal until then and only connected the name with the building in India. During the soundcheck I asked what I was supposed to play, as I didn’t know his music at all. Taj Mahal just told me that I could play whatever I liked. He liked my way of playing and if I played what I liked he would be sure to get what he liked, too. I was speechless and asked „So I can play anything I like?“ and he answered „Of course, as long as it doesn’t sound horrible.“ This evening and this special moment was the first time someone took me really seriously as an artist. My opinion and my feeling was suddendly important. This moment changed everything for me.

The way it sounds it was the old story all over again - Taj Mahal was essentially saying the same thing as your father: be, trust and stay yourself!

Yes, that’s true. It was just that up to that point I didn’t really believe it. I just thought „Well o.k., if you say so...“

Just to quickly finish the story: As I was already training for the Olympic Games in Moscow at that point, I had to get up really early for training the next morning. My band colleagues on the other hand had jammed the whole night with Chick Corea and friends. I didn’t mind this though, as sports was my absolute number one at that point. My heart, my passion and my thoughts were totally concentrated on this one event.

When it was clear that the US would not participate in the Olympic Games in Moscow, this must have come as a real blow to you. At this point, did you know that you would now fully concentrate on your music?

It was the first time I stopped regular training . It really hurt and it was definitely one of the biggest disappointments in my life. I was the second best tripple jumper in the world at that time and had a really good chance to achieve Olympic gold and suddenly everything had fallen to pieces. It was incredibly hard to abandon this dream. I think it would have been easier to cope had I been injured. But forces I could not influence – this was really hard for me. I didn’t do any sports for two years until I took up a job as a trainer at the University of Texas. I worked with numerous athletes and my ambitions reawoke. But I wanted too much too fast – I sustained an injury and my preparations for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles were thwarted. At this point I already lived in L.A. and decided to stay there, although these were really difficult times for me. It took a long time until I could live with the disappointment. Losing my dream was like losing a family member. I had dreamed this dream since I was nine years old, it had always accompanied me. In not being able to participate the dream shattered and I lost something that had become very clear to me over the years. At some point the pain of loss was more or less overcome and from then on it was clear that music would be the path to follow. If I had been able to participate in the 1980 Olympic Games I would definitely not be the artist I am today. It was an important time for me, a phase of self-contemplation, where small pieces slowly grew together to form a whole.

How did your story continue after the Games? How did you manage to achieve recognition among your fellow musicians?

I was one of the first private fitness trainers in Los Angeles and by chance Stevie Wonder was one of my first clients. During my active time as an athlete I also had connections to the label Motown, who wanted to record an album with me. I was the only musically talented professional athlete in the world and an album would have been a great story for the 1984 Olympics. These contacts really helped me throughout my career.

Is there a certain album or song which you would regard as typical, which you would choose if you wanted to introduce yourself and your music to somebody?

Oh dear, I don’t think this is possible. It really depends on the person involved. My style is too varied to give a simple answer to this. I think my best album is yet to come. The next project is always the best and the most important to me. I am probably most proud of my album „The Mood I’m In“. On this album I interpreted many old songs, like »Georgia On My Mind«, »Sway« and »Mellow Yellow« in my very own way.

You also work as cultural ambassador in Africa. How would you describe your activity there?

Twice a year I travel to e.g. Ghana or Sierra Leone and get together with local musicians. I try to make them realize that they should be proud of their own musical style and tradition. This is not an easy task. Many of them try to sound like American ghetto rappers, although the magic and energy of their own music is far more interesting. It is hardly surprising that the music industry is not interested in them. Their comment is: „We don’t need the drummers from Mali singing folk songs as little as we need a Lady Gaga from Benin“. I keep telling them to find their own style and try to advance it. Just like the Jamaicans. Everyone worldwide knows raggae music although it comes from a really small country. It is famous for it. There is so much wonderful music to be discovered and appreciated instead of everyone sounding the same in the hope of being played on MTV. I try to encourage and promote these musicians and their creativity and try to impress upon them that they should be exactly the way they are. What makes them special are the special circumstances and the many influences surrounding them. When listening to music I want to hear the artist and his or her heritage. This is the real beauty of music. An artist has to be identifyable through his music. This is what I learned as a child, this is how I was raised. Music is only the language, but it is the story that is important. If you don’t have a special way and ability of telling your story, then no one needs you.

I don’t expect that everyone likes me. It’s o.k. for me, if someone can’t relate to my music. I can’t be more than honest, authentic and myself. People who like this will also appreciate my music. I can’t really do more. If I would want to be liked by everyone, I would be like McDonalds. Only satisfying the broad masses, but not taste and quality.

Was this kind of work your idea or was it a special government project?

This is a project of the US embassy or, more precisely, the “United States Information Agency”, which is responsible for the PR work. Once or twice a year they send me to Africa to play concerts and to exchange ideas with the local musicians on a cultural level. In this way I have visited twelve different countries.

What are your plans for the future?

At the moment I am busy organizing a US festival tour. With this festival I want to promote independent artists without record contracts. Some of them are real gems, but the public will never hear of them as the major record labels ignore them. Some of them are probably too specialized and would be difficult to promote. This is why I want to create a platform for them through this festival. Currently I'm also working on a new album.

Since a while you organize the “Soul Kitchen”. Could you describe this project?

“Soul Kitchen” is a workshop, a kind of “creative spa”. The workshops take place in my house in Georgia. The participants are often students and musicians, but also producers, poets, lyricists, writers and script writers. In single or group excercises they can learn writing song texts, we also record songs and discuss music and other issues. “Soul Kitchen” takes place four times a year for four days. The number of particiants is limited to 22. In the workshops I try to inspire the participants just like my father once inspired me. I try to impress upon them that they should trust themselves and their talent and I also give them a lot of pratical advice.

Finally I would like to ask you what our festival visitors can expect from your concert and to what they can look forward to, particularly?

They should definitely be prepared that they will experience something they have never heard before. They will experince a special moment – the artist Vinx in this special moment. I don’t know in advance what I will say or sing. It will all happen there and then. The spectators will join me on a journey with open destination. This is why it is important to feel the audience and communicate with them. I cannot say anything about our conversation until we get together and enter into it. Someone once told me that I don’t play music, but create music in the moment, feeling and interacting with the audience. I don’t rehearse in advance what I want to play, I let the situation and the moment inspire me and then start. This was a wonderful and important compliment for me.

Thank you very much for this nice interview.

Related links

• Information on Vinx' performance at the Between the Beats Jazz-Festival
• Website of Vinx
• Website Soul Kitchen Workshops