I was recently told an amazing story which I wanted to share.
Last week, a couple of buddies and I went to Saratoga, NY to see Chicago and the Doobie Brothers in concert. One of the highlights was lead guitarist for Chicago, Keith Howland. Keith and I go way back. We went to junior high together, and I also worked at IBM with Keith’s dad, Earl. Keith is a remarkable musician and a fitting replacement for the late great Terry Kath of whom Jimi Hendrix told Chicago “your guitar player is better than me." One of Keith’s heroes had always been Terry Kath, Chicago’s original lead guitarist, who accidentally killed himself with a handgun in January 1978.
On my return, I was talking to friend and fellow junior high classmate, Kurt Negaard, lead singer for Flat Elvis. I was expressing my amazement with Chicago, and he relayed the following story…
Kurt was hanging out with Keith in the band room at Robious Middle School, and Keith asked Kurt what he wanted to do when he grew up. Kurt, who is now an outstanding real estate broker in Richmond, VA said he wanted to be a rock singer. Kurt then asked Keith the same question to which he gave a very specific answer. He said, “I want to be the lead guitarist for Chicago”.
Think about that for a second. How many kids do you know who want to grow up to be a movie star or play in the NBA? Probably too many to count. How many actually do it? Not many. Not only did young Keith Howland have an outlandish goal to be a rock star, but it was to play in a specific band.
After graduating from JMU, Keith moved out to LA to learn the trade. He attended the Musician’s Institute in Hollywood and started working odd jobs in the industry.
One day, a friend called to tell Keith that Chicago was holding invitation-only auditions for a new lead guitarist that very same day. Relatively unknown, Keith didn’t get an invite. Chicago was listening to some of the most well-known guitarists in the business. He called the management company and was told “sorry, we don’t know who you are”.
Luckily, Keith had briefly met Chicago’s bassist a few months earlier, and on audition day he saw him in the parking lot where auditions were being held. He didn’t remember Keith, but agreed to run his auditioning by the band. Chicago added an extra day and gave Keith a listen. They offered him the job on the spot.
I am sure the other guitarists who auditioned were excellent. I also bet none of them had made it their life goal to become lead guitarist for Chicago.
There are a few lessons and takeaways from this story…
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