Fight Through It: An interview with Gen Z author Jared Weiss by Kirpal Gordon

 

KIRPAL GORDON: I saw online news of your memoir. I clicked Buy Fight Through It and your description of its contents knocked me out! It sounded so much like the you that I remember from our writing class in spring semester of 2015: “The story of my life and how I overcame a life-threatening illness, my path to healing, as well as what I have learned throughout my journey---most notably that nothing worth having comes easy and there is divine meaning and purpose in everything.”

I know a lot has happened to you since you posted “The Power of Belief” at Taking Giant Steps: November 2015. In that essay, you write: “The illness started last fall (2014) with a severe pneumonia in one of my lungs after being misdiagnosed with the flu. I was placed into a medically induced coma for two days and put on a ventilator and feeding tube. After this, I had an autoimmune response to the infection, so my body produced too many antibodies which blocked certain receptors in my brain and caused my body to have these odd movements; I couldn’t walk or talk at all at first. I was in four different hospitals for a total of six weeks, but thankfully the doctor at the second hospital was an unbelievable person who figured out everything right away and placed me on high doses of steroids over the next few months. I also had to go through numerous therapies and had post-traumatic stress disorder, which was treated by a psychologist. In addition, I had to re-learn how to do basically everything that I had been capable of prior to the illness.”

So catch us up on your college education and the recovery of your health.

 

JARED WEISS: I attended Cornell University in the fall semester of 2014. But my whole health situation started in September of that year. So then after forfeiting the rest of that semester to focus on my health (and of course being in hospitals for most of that semester), I met you at Hofstra for my first official semester in spring of 2015. After my one semester at Hofstra, I transferred to NYU. I finished my 4 years as a Nutrition and Dietetics major and graduated in 2019. So all things considered, including health challenges throughout, I am proud of myself and I know finishing up made my parents proud.  

My health has definitely changed since 2015. It’s crazy because at that time I thought I had all the answers that I was going to have about my life-threatening illness, but there was so much more to learn. And truthfully, I believe I was meant to go on this journey of self-discovery both about the illness and myself. At that time I thought and was told that everything I went through was basically random. Around 2016 however, I started having some digestive issues, once again seemingly random. That summer I was also sick several times with strep and upper respiratory infections, and also had a bunch of physical injuries too.

 

KIRPAL GORDON: What did your doctors say?

 

JARED WEISS: They didn’t have any explanation. Then I had a brief time period of stability, and my speech from the initial. really severe slur had shown some improvement albeit not perfect. I thought maybe things were finally close to being fully better or at least on that path. But the end of 2017 comes and I got hit with a whole slew of new and worsening health challenges. I reached a point where I couldn’t digest any foods properly except for only two foods which caused some issues as well. I was constantly vomiting and nauseous all the time with severe heartburn too. Next, I developed a stammer and stutter, and on top of this had some balance issues too. The next year was spent seeing and speaking to close to 30 different doctors all with no explanation for why this was happening and only telling me how to “manage the symptoms.”

 

 

KIRPAL GORDON: Managing symptoms? That sounds like they may have given up on a remedy or your recovery.

 

JARED WEISS: After enough frustration and fear that things were going to get even worse, I started researching things for myself and started looking into natural healing and holistic health. At first, due to the scarcity of information out there at the time, as well as not having any real guidance on how to go about this, I was trying different things but wasn’t getting any results. Finally, in 2019, I received my first glimmer of hope. I found a holistic practitioner in NYC, who then connected me with another practitioner in Florida, who did testing. The tests revealed that all of the systems in my body were compromised, as well as I had an ulcer, SIBO, and leaky gut, amongst a multitude of other problems. This was the start of discovering some potential causes to why I got so sick in the first place and why I developed subsequent health challenges, all of which I discuss extensively in my book. Anyway, we started on some supplements like probiotics and enzymes, as well as and homeopathic stuff too, along with detoxification methods. However, this first practitioner didn’t have the full picture. I definitely made some progress and this was a valuable stepping stone, but I then used 2 more practitioners over the next few years and continued researching. I did a ton of heavy metal detoxification, improved lymphatic drainage and nutrition amongst getting out in nature, as well as grounding and colonics amongst other tools. So my digestion has improved drastically, and I have a very healthy wide variety diet. However, I also since realized that I went too far with certain things. So this brings me to where I’m at now, trying to balance everything out and rehydrate my system after having done all the detox work. And I could go into full detail as to what exactly is going on, but to sum things up, I feel I finally have the complete picture, definitely understand everything now and am on the path to full healing. Currently while I am still dealing with these speech challenges and digestive challenges, I know I will reach a full recovery. I have come a long way since the beginning. Despite these challenges, I’m also physically the strongest I’ve ever been, and keep an amazing positive and optimistic attitude. I am extremely proud of myself and where I’m at. Once again, This is just an overview, but of course I go into everything in more depth in the book.

 

KIRPAL GORDON: And the highlights are riveting stuff. What hit me the hardest was your taking ownership of your own health, after so many experts got it wrong. That’s good medicine to think on and it’s a story worth celebrating in print, especially for people who ail and have lost faith in how medicine is practiced. To cope with the barrage of system breakdown, you really had to dig down deeply. That’s grit. Hey, I wasn’t the only one in class who knew you had that level of fortitude. It’s also all over that essay post I quoted from earlier, “The Power of Belief,” which became part of the curriculum and certainly influenced my writing students to Fight Through It. Would you say part of your recovery has involved athletics, especially basketball?

 

JARED WEISS: I am still and have always been a baller. As I talk about my basketball journey in Fight Through It-starting from a young age to receiving college offers as an underdog undersized athlete, and playing AAU basketball for some top teams, including NBA player Tobias Harris’s dad’s team---basketball has been a big thing for me. I am still playing, always working on my skills and have a deep passion for the game. And most recently, after not having played in an actual league for the past few years, my younger brother (who played college ball) and I started setting up these highly competitive runs. And after doing those for a few months, we then played in a highly competitive Men’s League in Garden City which was full of former college and even some pro players.

I loved getting to play with my brother and we had some really cool moments. And even when I’m not playing with others, once again I love working on my skills and shooting around at home. I am still in the process of trying to dunk a basketball despite being only 5’6, and the highest vertical jump I have achieved to date is 36 inches. And I have touched the 10 foot rim multiple times. But due to all my health struggles at times sapping my energy, it has been another journey in and of itself that’s not always easy. I know that I am getting there, and just as with my health, great things take time! In addition to playing basketball, in recent years I have also coached some teams as well. So, it’s safe to say basketball will always have a huge role in my life in all forms!

 

KIRPAL GORDON: Playing hoops with your brother locally with great ball players---it sounds like you’re back on the block. And I saw at your Facebook page that you’ve been making podcasts. How long have you been doing this?

 

JARED WEISS: Yes I do 2 podcasts. The interesting thing was I first started making content in the summer of 2021. But initially I didn’t really have plans of turning it into a podcast. I thought to myself if I could inspire just one person and have fun doing it then it’s worth it. And everything I do in life I go all in so I quickly became passionate about every part of the process. My best friend James helped me cofound the channel and he joined me for some videos and is still incredibly supportive and helped give me the courage to get things going. But he doesn’t love being in videos the same way (even though he’s great at it) and it turned into a mostly solo project. To start things off we did a bunch of sports and workout videos but I would add in an inspiring message into all of them. Then about a year later I was asked to be on two other podcasts and I also did my first podcast style episode with a gym friend and I loved it. I realized I have a lot to say on a host of different topics. And speaking of which, that’s why I fell in love with content creation because I’m my own boss and I’m in charge of what content I make. For instance, I can post a basketball video then a holistic health video and then a motivational video, then a video about music or pro sports etc. There’s no limits as far as I see it. And that’s kind of what I need because I never wanted to settle on just one thing. After doing those podcast style episodes, I felt called to make the majority of my content podcasting. I then purchased all of the equipment and haven’t looked back since. However the crazy thing is as I spoke about I’ve been dealing with massive speech challenges and yet I felt called to start a podcast. Looking back, it almost sounds crazy. But, I’ve always believed having “delusional confidence” is the key to achieving anything big in life. That’s what I think separates the people who win in life; they believe in themselves when no one else does and when all odds are stacked against them. Here I was dealing with significant speech challenges, yet I felt drawn toward podcasting. But I realized that if I waited until everything was perfect, I might never start. The message became more important than the imperfections and maybe this would make my story that much more powerful; putting out content while still going through these challenges. Around this time of when I first started the podcast, I became fascinated by asking questions and exploring ideas that weren't always part of mainstream conversations after starting with the health ones. Of course this was sparked since as we spoke about, the doctors basically gave up on me and had no explanation for what I was going through. After years of not finding answers through conventional channels, I began researching widely and exploring different perspectives on health and healing. Then, I was speaking on some current events and exploring some deep rabbit holes, but it was always my intention to empower people. This led to me branching off and creating the Rabbit Hole Roundup as my 2nd podcast. However,  after some time I realized I had done what I wanted with those topics and it didn’t feel right to keep going with some of this stuff because I always wanted to focus on positivity and spreading peace and love and inspiring people. Over time, I realized my greatest strength wasn't analyzing what was wrong with the world—it was highlighting what was right with it and searching for the good that’s buried under the negativity. So rather than constantly try to pull positivity from negative stories, my strength has always been optimism. There’s already millions of people who love highlighting controversy and negative stories, so maybe this could be my niche and how I change the world. Yes I know there is bad and evil in the world and there is a time and place to talk about that (as I discuss a bit in my book) but, “Where focus goes energy flows” so I choose to focus on the good as often as possible. I slowly transitioned the Rabbit Hole Roundup podcast into finding positive news stories or some really cool clips I would come across on social media or pro sports talk, music talk, and movies talk too.

 

KIRPAL GORDON: What’s the name of the channel?

 

JARED WEISS: Jared and James, and it is all about life lessons, motivation, holistic health and inspiring others through personal examples and using lessons from movies sports etc. There is some overlap but I feel like between both channels, I have a good mix of all that represents me. It’s not always easy. It’s definitely challenging trying to make this my full time thing but I believe I’m definitely helping people and when you’re proud of the videos and are helping people and are genuine and authentic, you can’t lose. Even if it may take longer for me to become a big success, my patience on my healing journey has translated into patience on my content creation journey. And this actually leads me into the divine purpose question from my book. Content creation has taught me many of the same lessons my health journey taught me. Progress isn't always immediate. Sometimes you put your heart into something and see very little reward at first. But if you believe in what you're doing, you keep showing up, and count the small wins along the way; you get a ton out of it.

 

KIRPAL GORDON: I recall the last words of your book description: “There is divine meaning and purpose in everything.” Would you elaborate?

 

 

JARED WEISS: Interestingly, my journey into content creation is deeply connected to my beliefs about purpose and meaning. So I have a very strong belief in God and the universe and see it as a living thing. I don’t claim to know every answer on what God is exactly but I most definitely believe there is more to this realm than just what we see. And maybe my soul chose this experience. But I believe we all have lessons and blessings and the more lessons we learn on our paths the more blessings we experience. So when I say everything happens for a reason I don’t mean that I “deserved” to go through these massive health challenges but rather these may have been given to me to be a vessel for God to show others that anything is possible. I always believed that and would say that all the time even before all this, so I feel like maybe the universe was testing this belief. And everything I’ve been through has made me stronger physically, spiritually, and mentally. Now, I don’t mean this in an ego driven way, but it’s like from the movie IRobot where Will Smith’s character realizes he was the perfect person to go through everything he did. Well that’s how I feel, because most other people if given my challenges would’ve given up a long time ago. And even if someone doesn’t believe that everything happens for a reason and that the universe is working for them, acting like the universe is working for you will make you act on opportunities and say yes to life because you believe in how special you are. I don't expect everyone to share my beliefs. But for me, believing there is purpose in life's challenges gave me a framework for moving forward instead of getting stuck asking, “Why me?”

 

 

KIRPAL GORDON: I gathered from your posts that you are also sending your message out via merchandise. How did that come to pass?

 

JARED WEISS: Yes that is correct. As of last year I decided it was time to design some motivational shirts and come out with my own “clothing line.” I’m always looking for things with a good positive message to wear, so I realized why not do it myself? Ever since I was little and still to this day I’ve had my own style where I love wearing shirts with motivational sayings on them. So it felt like the time was right to make these to go along with the book and podcast. Now I have been a bit surprised, because I was expecting these to sell right away but I guess as always I’m reminded that nothing worth having comes easy. But beyond that I love wearing them and I wear them to the gym all the time and in all of my videos. And one cool story related to them, so they’ve been out for a year and yet initially outside of my family and a couple gym friends I barely sold any. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a few weeks ago I had 3 people at my gym in the same week comment on how much they loved my shirts and they all bought them. So that was a really cool lesson on the power of persistence. The book and the merch can be found on my website, jaredryanweiss.com.

 

 

KIRPAL GORDON: So what are you working on now? A second book?

 

JARED WEISS: Yes I am currently working on a second book. Initially my plan was to wait at least 5 years to even start writing again (because the first book took 4.5 years to finish so I needed a break lol). But, I guess when you’re a creative mind and a writer, you can’t always control when inspiration strikes! I still want to make sure my first book has the full opportunity to get its shine, especially because once again you never know when people are going to start finding it. So I want to make sure that Fight Through It has the best chance to get out there. But, I also figured it can’t hurt to have something new ready to come out when the time is right. I don’t want to give too much away (and of course I still have a ways to go with it) but I will say this... One of my favorite music artists is Andy Grammer, and one of his newer songs is called “Save A Spot In The Back For Me,” and the lyrics in this song really spoke to me. In the chorus he says, “So if nice guys finish last…then save a spot in the back for me.” I’ve always had people try to tell me I’m too nice and “nice guys finish last,” so this book is going to be centered around the idea that yes it may take longer for us nice guys to win, especially in a world that values speed and virality, but we win in the end. And we win in ways that might not be noticed right away. It’s also about having patience and being a late bloomer. It will have a similar format to the first book, however the first book I guess you could say was more autobiography first self help second, while this book is more self help first and autobiography second. This is still going to be full of personal examples and personal stories, and will include much of what I speak about in my videos and through my posts, but will have even more of an emphasis on the life lessons I’ve learned on my life’s journey.  

BLM/Independence Day: Drummer Warren Smith Reflects on Growing up on Chicago's South Side in the 1930s

KIRPAL GORDON: I had a peek at the memoir you are writing on your life in music. On Independence Day during this national moment of Black Lives Mattering, would you share some of your experiences coming up in Chicago?

WARREN SMITH: At the time of my birth (5/14/1934), Black people lived south of 12^th Street. Chicago was fast, hip, intense---whatever was in style at the time. There was music, dance, theater, opera, night clubs, blues joints, jam sessions. Prohibition had just been rescinded, and now marijuana was illegal. I remember my father, a musician, putting on his tuxedo and tying his bow tie to go to work at the establishment whatever it was (sometimes the establishment was run by gangsters like Al Capone). Here it was right after the Depression, and everyone dressed up formally to go to work. It never occurred to me at that time to ask, who covered the costs of all that production?

We lived south of the Loop between 12^th Street and 31^st Street next to the Lakefront. The real estate phenomena that continually occurred when Black residents moved across that line resulted in their getting harassed and/or vandalized initially. Then there would be a “White Flight” as the Caucasian residents moved further south to avoid integrating with Black folks. The family rumor has it that our Uncle Steele and Uncle Lloyd had bought a house on 37^th Street and Ellis Avenue, in which several of our families were living along with our paternal grandfather, James Madison Smith. Someone set off a bomb in front of the house and blew out most of the windows. My younger brother Frank and I were untouched, but there was glass embedded in the wall above our crib. Our grandfather died not long after, certainly not helped by the experience. Other cousins and friends had similar experiences as we gradually expanded further south, but eventually the violence stopped, at least the physical violence. Until I left for New York in 1957, not much had changed. But things are quite different now for our next generation of cousins, at least geographically, as far as I know. I don’t live there anymore; I’m going on hearsay.

The important point I want to make is that this segregated segment of Chicago society felt completely empowered and pretty much self-sufficient. We had our own school system with Black superintendents, principals and associate principals. For context, let me add that I started teaching in “integrated” New York City in 1958. They got their first Black principal in 1966.

We had our own Musicians Union, with its own Credit Union. The first building it owned was on State Street at 40^th Street. When urban renewal caused that whole neighborhood to be raised, the Union bought another on Cottage Grove and 61^st Street. And they owned an apartment on Drexel Blvd in Hyde Park which afforded many of its members an affordable home during trying times. Many of these resources were lost to us when the AF of M integrated Local 208 with the White Union Local 10 becoming the present Local 10-208. Chicago’s South Side, however, has retained its power as a thriving black community. And it was so much that way during my youth that I almost never ventured outside of it except to go to school. I joined the Musicians Union at the age of 14 and got my driver’s license as well. I didn’t realize there was a Local 10 until I was 21. I was playing music in church, in social affairs, in parades and summer concert bands. 

KIRPAL GORDON: You also lived in Maywood? How did that move come about?

WARREN SMITH: Moms did not like the environment around A.O. Sexton Grade School, so in my second year my brother Frank and I transferred to Washington Grade School in the mostly Black school in District 89, Maywood, Illinois, where my maternal grandparents lived, some twenty miles due west of the Loop. Chicago’s South Side was completely urban and paved with asphalt, but Maywood had cobblestone streets.  We lived in a big two-story house with a basement, large side yard and a back yard that featured a vegetable garden cultivated mostly by my father, produce we ate daily. There were cherry trees, a rhubarb bush, currants and my grandfather’s herb garden with mint and other medicinal plants. We had a well from which we drew water daily and a rain barrel for utilitarian purposes. We raised chickens.

Maywood was just west of Oak Park/River Forest, a rather affluent area with many Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie houses in the residential neighborhoods. Maywood went from 1^st Avenue in the east to 26^th Avenue in the west and from St. Charles Road on the north to Madison Avenue on the south. All the Black people in the town lived between 10^th and 14th Avenues. One wealthy businessman owned a nice home on the corner of 15^th and Oak Street. The renowned scientist Dr. Percy Julian lived on the corner of 14^th and Oak. A few years later Dr. Julian had the temerity to move to Oak Park itself, and of course his house got bombed in true Chicago style.

Now here’s where fate gets tricky. During the Second World War the common thread of thought was that Black men weren’t courageous enough to go into serious battle with the “enemy.” So all the Black soldiers from Maywood were sent out as orderlies, cooks and other non-combat duties. A battalion of soldiers containing all the White enlistees from Maywood was sent to the Pacific where they were wiped out by Japanese forces in the battle of Bataan. There was a Hollywood movie, starring John Wayne, made years later by that name. All the Black soldiers came back from the war and the town turned BLACK within that generation.

When we started school in Maywood, during the first week we had to fight our way back to our grandparents’ house every day after school, until the neighborhood kids got to know we were “Mr. Derrick’s grandkids.” Then we began to make friends that lasted for a lifetime. And we had lots of cousins from my mother’s side of the family. We all went through grade school together and high school as well. Most of our parents also had attended the same school before us.  

KIRPAL GORDON: Would you take a chorus on your family’s “pilgrimages” to North Carolina?

WARREN SMITH: Yes, but first here's the background: My mother had an older sister and a younger brother; my father had ten siblings. I never saw them all, but the ones present in my life were very influential. All my role models were organically related to me. I grew up with my younger brother and more than a dozen first, second or third cousins. They were all like brothers and sisters. We lived together, often ate together, slept together and frequently traveled together from Chicago to North Carolina to visit the Smith family homestead. I guess that was James Madison Smiths’ 40 Acres, and there was a mule involved also. In North Carolina we also raised pigs and grew peanuts. We could walk down the red dirt road in the morning and pick wild berries and fruit from the trees and bushes for our breakfast. Sometimes my brother, my cousin Ethan and I would bring back enough blue berries for our aunts to make a couple of pies. We’d go fishing and cook outside in a big kettle over an open fire. Both sides of the family preserved canned fruit and vegetables for the winter. We made wine from fruit or even dandelion flowers! We cooked the dandelion leaves as greens or used them in salads. Very little was wasted in those days.

The trips to North Carolina took several days. We would leave Chicago with enough food to last us until we got to Washington D.C. In the 1930s and 40s we didn’t know where we might or might not get served or abused so we drove straight through to where we knew it was safe. In D.C. we had relatives. We’d spend the night, re-supply our food bank and drive the last five or six hours to the homestead. After a week or two we would all pile back into the two or three car caravan and travel back to Chicago the same way. We did this annually until our grandmother died at 103. Now we occasionally return for periodic reunions or meet at some other hosting location every few years. Somehow the tradition is still intact.

KIRPAL GORDON: You were born into quite a musical family. What was that like?

WARREN SMITH: My dad played saxophone and clarinet; my mother played piano and harp. Literally every one of our aunts and uncles were musicians and were always preparing to perform somewhere. Often even as infants we went along with them, to drop them off or pick them up and sometimes even allowed to come inside and see what was going on. This was live theater with full orchestras, dancers, singers and stage lighting. You can’t imagine how early this captured my imagination. I had decided to be a professional musician by the time I was three!

One of the most exciting times was when one of the bands was getting ready to go on the road. Maybe they had a three-week engagement in Detroit or six weeks in Buffalo. The morning of their departure, women would be cooking and preparing bags of food. There would be three or four cars lined up at the curb, all being cleaned and simonized, the white walled tires painted with white wash, a water-based paint. Then the musicians would appear, each one dressed stylishly and sharper than the last. Finally, after all the loved ones got their hugs and kisses and the food bags were distributed in all the cars, the motors would start up and they’d be off to cheers from the crowd. Boy, how the young kids longed to go with them. We couldn’t wait for them to come home and tell all the funny stories and strange adventures they had experienced.

Every once in a while, one of our special talents would get the opportunity to go to New York City, Harlem. Almost all the aspiring musicians from Chicago wanted to follow the footsteps of their musical idols to the Big Apple. As Black kids our idols were entertainers, the few professional athletes who managed to break through like Jack Johnson Joe Lewis or “Sugar Ray” Robinson, and the doctors, lawyers, and educators from our neighborhoods. Our families probably had a lot more power and influence over their lives than we do now. We certainly didn’t have as much then, but it wasn’t necessary either.

I started trying to play my Dad’s saxophone at around four. In a couple of years I could play what I could think of (not much) by ear. Being precocious, actually arrogant, I thought I knew more than I actually did. I began to tinker around with the piano, by ear. My mother and no fewer than three aunts had degrees in piano and organ, but I never thought to consult them at all. I just did it by ear and my folks were wise enough to let me find my own way. Then one day at about six I went into a ballroom called the “Rum Boogie” with my mother and brother to pick up my dad from his gig. The ballroom was on the second floor. When we entered, I immediately saw in the corner of the stage a scene that changed my life. There was the drummer and he had a set of flashing lights inside his bass drum! I immediately decided to become a drummer right then.

Times were quite different then. I remember that there was a place called “Bacon’s Casino” on Wabash Avenue. It was a Quonset hut structure, that is, a long tent with a curved roof and flat sides. On many Sundays they would have jam sessions at this place in the afternoons after church and the kids could come and hear the music. Naturally the Smith clan was usually in full attendance. We heard all the cats that were in town at the time or passing through. Roy Eldridge or Coleman Hawkins or whoever, they would make that session on Sundays and we would be there listening.

My first gigs as a drummer were at the Elks social club, with my father. Actually, my very first gig also included a young baritone player named Laurdine Patrick. Everyone called him Pat. He went on to play many years with Sun Ra, touring and traveling across the world. Pat was also on the faculty of SUNY Old Westbury for many years. His son Deval Patrick is the former governor of Massachusetts. I continued drumming during my teen years and playing in the marching and concert bands in high hchool. After my freshman year I stopped taking weekly lessons from my most significant teacher, Oliver S. Coleman, because of the commute to Maywood, an expanding social life, athletics (I started running distances around 8^th grade) and just being a teenager; I grew away from music for probably the only time in my life. I still played in the school bands and did gigs with my father and cousins, but I stopped taking lessons. I also developed a greater interest in architecture, through my friend Joe Black, one of my high school teachers at Proviso, and my dad making me aware of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Bauhaus gang with their glass and steel buildings in Chicago. One of the things that kept me connected with music was the opportunity to perform with Capt. Walter Henry Dyett and his summer concert band. in Washington Park. I would go to DuSable High School every year to see the legendary “High Jinks” show the students put on with live music. My older cousin Eddie played in the sax section with Johnny Griffin, who was also a student of my father.

I mustn’t forget to mention the constant reinforcement I received within my social environment. When we had a social occasion, there was never a question about who would entertain us. We provided our own music for all occasions almost spontaneously. My maternal grandmother’s genesis came about as the result of my African great-grandmother, Nora Sellers, being raped by a white Doctor of Music, Dr. Foxx, who fathered a famous baseball player, Jimmy Foxx. However this worked, my grandmother had 11 children. All of them were thoroughly educated in music. And this musical tradition has continued through another three generations and counting.

KIRPAL GORDON: You were exposed to European classical music as well?

WARREN SMITH: From my family and my studies in school. I managed to get into the District 89 School Band, the only black musician in the band at that time. As a result of this experience, I was immediately accepted into the Proviso Township High School Concert Band. It proved a quantum leap in my exposure as the director, J. Irving Talmadge, was a big fan of Richard Wagner. So I leaned about everything from the “Ring of the Nebilungen” to “Taunhauser Overture.”

I spent four years in the high school marching band (which I abhorred except for the football games). Then at the University of Illinois I spent another four (out of five) years marching with the ”Marching Illini.” The pattern was interrupted in my fourth year when composer Harry Partch did a year’s residency. I quit the band to play tympani in the university’s symphony orchestra. All my extra non-class time was spent in Harry Partch’s ensemble. The previous summer I had received a scholarship to Tanglewood, the summer camp of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. I studied with retiring Roman Shultz and the incoming tympanist, Everitt “Vic” Firth, as well as Harold Faberman, on snare drum techniques.

It was on my summer in Tanglewood that I realized how strong my cultural attachment was to my upbringing in Chicago’s South Side. I borrowed the car of my friend and fellow Illini, Harold Jones, to go into Pittsfield and get a haircut. As I drove, I turned on the radio of the car, and the first thing that came out was the blues! I, in my early arrogance, had lost respect for the form because I had not yet been exposed to its more intricate forms and variations. But the power and familiarity of what I heard changed my opinion of the form forever. I got so homesick I never forgot it. And the next time I got back to Chicago I started hanging out at all the old blues clubs and learning a lot more.

It’s been that way for me ever since.