That was the moment I realized who I had been chatting with over email - it was that "heavy metal" piano player I saw in Portland a couple years before! I was completely startled by this. The article included a picture of him playing on an old upright in the street (see the clipping at right). I emailed Dax to tell him how much I enjoyed his music, and then he sent me back a link to an article the local paper did on him.
It was so sad - such painful music - and yet so extraordinarily beautiful. Dax's piano music just wrenched at my heart. The music was RAW energy, pure EMOTION, VIBRANT and alive.
It wasn't studio polished - and it didn't matter. One of the things that really struck me was that the album was imperfect. He took musical risks I never would never dream of taking on a solo piano album. The things Dax did on that album were brave, bold and interesting. I said "Sure, go ahead," and a week or so later I received Merciful Dwelling in the mail.ĭax's CD grabbed me immediately. Then he asked if he could send me his own CD to listen to. I thanked him, and told him I really appreciated receiving such a compliment from another piano player. He thought my CD, The Vigil (which was my newest at the time) was incredible. He told me he was a fellow pianist based out of Spokane, WA, and that he was a HUGE fan of my music. At this point, I had no recollection of who he was and nothing in his email clued me in. As far as I knew, I'd never see him again.Ībout two years later, I received an email from Dax. I was just one of the many people in the crowd, admiring him from a distance. On that particular day in Portland, I watched him for awhile and then moved on. He looked far more "heavy metal" than "classical." You'd never guess he was a composer for solo piano. And his "look" was also unusual for a piano player - he had long, straight black hair, an unshaven face, black street clothes and tattoos. He was ONE with the instrument, like no one else I had seen before. His body was constantly fluid, always moving, weaving, never stopping - riding the emotional wave of his very unique compositions. His music was hypnotic, as was the way he moved at the piano. If you just stood there watching him play, you were drawn into him. I remember thinking to myself, "Who is this guy? He's amazing."Īnd he truly was. He was playing an old out-of-tune upright piano at a street market in Portland, Oregon. I first saw Dax around nine or ten years ago. It's the least I can do, and probably the best thing I can do to honor him. I loved him like a brother, and the two of us shared a special connection, something musical as well as emotional and even to a degree, spiritual.Ĭhances are, you, my reader, have no idea who Dax Johnson was. He influenced my music and career in so many ways. You see, Dax was a very important person in my life. On the morning of November 23rd - just three days ago now - I found out that a very dear friend of mine, pianist Dax Johnson, had died.
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