Musician – Theo Eastwind

I first ran into Theo on a very cold Saturday morning in February. My relationship with an Upper East Side financial analyst was coming to its natural conclusion. I had spent the previous evening with said girlfriend as well as in excess of a hundred dollars on Valentine’s Day-style foods (crab, pine nuts, arugula, wine) in an attempt to impress someone with whom I had no intention of staying. For the record, she beat me to the punch (or the dump).

So I found myself bundled up and making the long cold walk, the morning after what we both knew would be our last intimate encounter, heading into the wind and the 77th St. and 3rd Ave. tunnel. After fumbling down the stairs and through my pockets and the turnstile, I headed down to my usual spot on the platform. This time I was surprised to see a man with his guitar and a drummer with a single drum. I let six trains go, bought a CD and spent a few minutes getting to know Theo Eastwind.

Theo plays with strong emotion and with a point of view and a look that confirms his stance and ultimately his validity as an artist. With a strong voice as powerful and moving as Chris Isaak, he crawls like a snail on the razor’s edge only a well connected exec away from some development funds at the very least.

Later that Spring when Manhattan downgraded the terror alerts, I again found myself on the train. This time L – Bushwick to Manhattan. A slight personal detour fortuned my stopping in Williamsburg – last stop in Brooklyn before you go under the East River and into Manhattan. There, once again, before 10am, was Theo. Before 10am, twice in the same year is really something special for a musician. He spoke of how this was “what he did” and “who he was” and that “something good can only come out of it”. He told me of a show and I went.

What he lacks in stage presence or showmanship I bet belongs more to a past that has created the music, in an environment he, you or anyone may not have trusted fully, than in any true lack of confidence or humility. The music, songs like “Rite of Passage”, have more to do with the present or the future than any longing for the past. It’s a catch me if you can attitude that exudes from Theo, his guitar and the stage.

The world is a difficult place. Humans – top of the food chain, no? Sometimes you have to go to where few people look to find what is truly inspirational. Someone else should notice this cat.