You Really Got Me

Ray Davies: He's Not Like Everybody Else

In 1964, the songs of the British Invasion began forming the soundtrack for my life. I was never big on The Beatles. Instead, I opted for a trio of the Rolling Stones (for swagger and attitude), the Animals (for the soulful sounds of Eric Burdon's singing and Alan Price's organ playing) and Ray Davies and The Kinks (for satire and social commentary).

Last night, accompanied by my old Villanova University roommate Steve Fererra, I had a chance to relive a portion of my past, as Davies performed at the new Filmore in nearby Silver Springs.  Davies is on tour supporting his latest CD See My Friends, which contains14 re-recorded versions of his songs by artists ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Metallica to Mumford and Sons.

At the Filmore stop, Davies was backed by his long-time live collaborator Irish guitar master Bill Shanley and The 88, a young LA Band who performed on 3 tracks - "Long Way from Home," "Till the End of the Day," and "David Watts" - on the well-received Friends compilation.

After a strong opening power-pop performance by The 88, Davies and Shanely took the stage for a 7-song acoustic set starting with the lesser-known "I Need You" and including "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" (my all-time Kinks favorite), "Sunny Afternoon" "Dedicated Follower of Fashion," and "Waterloo Sunset," along with a verse and chorus of "Victoria" thrown in for good measure.

The all-black-clad The 88 then joined Davies and the enlarged ensemble delighted the graying, but enthusiastic crowd with more than 90 minutes of hits and pleasers like "Till the End of the Day," "Lola," "Celluloid Heroes," "Misfits," "All Day and All of the Night," and one the greatest show closers in all of rock n' roll history "You Really Got Me."

As has long been his practice, Davies, a devout fan of the British music hall tradition, extorted the crowd to join in on several sing-alongs. "You should know the words to this one," he said at one point. "If not, you should learn them."

Davies also provided a witty, running commentary between most of the songs. "Well enough of this joviality. Let's get down and depressed," Davies deadpanned..  As an introduction to his classic of modern alienation "20th Century Man," he read a lengthy passage from his 1996 book X-Ray which he said would help understand both him and the song. In a continuing reference to the acrimonious ending of The Kinks, Davies jokingly kept assessing himself a $5 fine every time he mentioned the name of "my old band."

Introducing one of his earliest, lesser known compositions "Nothin' in the World Can Make Me Stop Worryin' 'Bout That Girl," which is an artistic take on a first serious love gone bad, Davies said "It was my first girl friend. I was convinced she was cheating on me, a fact that was confirmed by my best friend, which was who she was cheating with. I was devastated. And after all these years (a long pause) I can't remember her name."

Before ending the memorable show with "You Really Got Me," Davies described the origins of that essential rock anthem. "In 1964, I was told I had to write a hit. So I came up with these notes (The 88's keyboardist then plays the notes, prompting Davies to say 'He had to play that for the audition.') I played it for my brother (Dave, the original guitarist for The Kinks) and he asked 'what the fuck is that.'  I told him it was our hit. When we got in the studio my brother, who was 16 at the time, said "I'm not going to fuck this up.' He didn't. And here we are, all these years later, still not trying to fuck it up."

Tales, Tidbits, and Traveling Tips
I had always known that I liked The Kinks, but until reflecting after last night's show, I never realized just how interwoven Ray Davies' lyrics and music are to the core of who I am. I adore satire and social commentary, Davies' lyrical strong suite. "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" is the perfect theme  for how I view my life. And it's 2 Kinks songs that really form the bookends for my rock performing career. In 1966, my Mother and Father agreed to buy me a Farfisa organ so I could join a rock n' roll band. In the spring of that year, I played my first live job, a house party less than a 1/2 mile from my home. To say I was unprepared is the grossest of understatements. I probably knew 3, maybe 4 chords. The call to perform at the house-party came about 3 hours into my 1st rehearsal with a local band "The We Gents." They played "Till the End of the Day." Not only did the song seem to have a hundred chords, the changes came really quickly. When they decided to play it at the party, I employed my only logical option ... I turned my keyboard off and faked it  Now fast forward 42 years. My guitarist brother Jimmy Overstreet asked if I wanted to join the band he was in and within a week Final Vinyl was on its way to becoming the house band for Philadelphia classic rock station WMGK. And the song we had to play to win the title - "You Really Got Me." Then followed a year in which we played pre-concert openings for Genesis, Bruce Springsteen, Van Halen, and The Eagles. So you can see, in many ways, I am just like Ray Davies. Except for his talent, his money, and his fame. But I have amassed a few fans along the way. Unless you count my wife. When asked if she is going to hear me play, she often responds. "Why? I heard him in 1966. He hasn't gotten any better, he's only gotten louder."