The Monks – Eddie Shaw
About who I am: I’ve been a musician all my life. I started my music career in myhometown Carson City, Nevada at the Nugget Casino when I was fifteen years old. I worked in the back room playing trumpet for a dixieland band. At the same time, future success Wayne Newton was beginning his career on the front stage. He was twelve years old.
When Iwent into the army, I was assigned to be a trumpet player in the 6th Army Bandat the Presidio in San Francisco. It was the type of plush assignment most soldiers would wish for. Well-known jazz artists Herb Alpert and Chet Baker were also trumpet players there. Since San Francisco was so close to home and I wanted to see another part of the world, I asked to be sent somewhere else. The army sent me to an artillery unit in Germany, where I later ended up as a Monk. That was the first conscious and quick wish I made many years ago. My wishes have changed since then.
I have worked with many groups (and different record producers) over the years -Nevada, Germany, Minneapolis, Chicago, Boston, and Nashville; and I still write and record music – not for money but because it’s what I’ve always done. I still have a lot to learn. Learning is the reason I do it.
Now that I’m older: Many of the musicians I have worked with over the years are gone. When someone asked the Dalai Lama if he would die, his answer was, “No,I’ll just be changing clothes.” It was an important statement to me. Yes,I was a “monk” person who played and sang “I Hate You But Call Me”. It was a love song and when I learned that fans would not look into the eyes of a monk because they were looking at a “monk” – I got a perspective about things I would have never known had I not been a monk. And now, as an older monk – it is possible that it may not be that many years before I go somewhere and change clothes. Everyone does. Monks come and go. Wie Du – We Do.*
Lessons I learned: The idea of being in love is a revelation because you become more than just yourself. The idea of one person standing alone against the world is totally non-existent. My first wish: I wish for love. And I have it.
As for people who claim the Monks were the “godfathers” of a new style: I don’t think that is totally accurate, because I think there’s an evolution going on all the time. The monks were just a part of it. Perhaps we were the first ones that got extra little fins and crawled out of the water two inches. No big deal! My second wish is: I hope we did not crawl onto the wrong island.
As for some claims that the Monks failed: I don’t agree. The idea of failure is good—if you have no failures then you’ve never tried anything. I followed my curiousity. My religious grandmother wanted me to be a preacher. When I was little she told me many times, “Eddie, you are going to be a preacher when you grow up.” After some years with the Monks, when I returned home from Germany, she was there to greet me. She said,‘Are you with the Lord, Eddie?’ I said, ‘I think so” and I showed her a photo of me as a Monk. While she looked confused, I also played the recording, “Black Monk Time”. When I said, “I became a monk, just like you wanted me to.” , she stared at me, shook her head and said, “That’s not what I meant.” My second wish: I hope I am forgiven for any offenses I may have committed.
Regarding an overall view and composite wish regarding what I want for the future: As any father – I want to see governments, including ours, protect the planet and future generations from starvation and violence. I would like to see our elected representative be morally and socially responsible for the good of all. I don’t like the results of money in politics.
Okay -We’re all monks. Does that sound right? If so – there’s nothing else for me to wish for.
Eddie Shaw, December 2018
*Wie Du (german, pronounced as ‘we do’) = like you
[Saliha Enzenauer]