The Philosophy of Music

The dim lighting cast shadows around the avocado colored walls as Skipper Boatwright situated himself on the southwestern designed couch in his office. The office contained a big black desk with books and music sheets spread out on top of it. Bookshelves surrounded the walls and at the center of the room was a stand where three guitars and a banjo were displayed. Picks sat on multiple surfaces of the office as if to allow him, wherever he was, to pick one up and begin playing on one of his many stringed instruments. On the coffee table there sat a black modern tea set, along with several coffee cups. In his hand was a glass of Chimay that he gently sipped as he crossed his legs and awaited whatever might be ahead. 

He was calm, cool, and collected as his bright, sky blue eyes glanced up, down, and around the room. His green netted trucker hat sat backwards on his dark brown hair which was cut very short. He was wearing a button down shirt beaming of bright green and dark gray shorts accompanied by brown, worn out sandals. His stature and appearance spoke volumes about his nonchalant, philosophical, and self-controlled personality. He was assured and composed while he casually dove into his past concerning where his influence and love for music started.

Skipper grew up in Millington, a small provincial city north of Memphis, Tennessee. When Skipper was a child he was only allowed to listen to K-Love, a christian radio station. “I grew up in a very conservative, evangelical christian home where my parents, specifically my mother, did not allow me to listen to anything but K-Love,” he said,  “so from a child on into middle school I only listened to christian music, deprived of the classics and good quality music.” He was not introduced to any other types of music until many years later when he was in  the fifth or sixth grade. It was then that he began meeting friends and other people who would open the door to experiencing different types of music. 

Once in middle school Skipper said he discovered a loop hole to his mother’s rules about music by being introduced into christian “ska” bands. He explained, “The genre “ska” is a mixture between punk and reggae.” One of his best friends, who was a family friend from church, had an older brother who was five or six years older than him. When Skipper’s family would go visit their family, because they had moved away, he would stay in the older brothers room. This older brother would have “ska” music playing every night.  The bands were called Five Irony Frenzy and Relient K. These bands were not necessarily labeled christian bands, but the lyrics and content were perceived to be so and Skipper’s mother approved of them.

Skipper began venturing out into punk music, that was not christian, once he transferred to a new private school in the seventh grade. He developed new friendships that impacted his genre choices and eventually evolved his interest into heavier and heavier music. “I really enjoyed the fast, upbeat heavier music especially songs that used double bass. I began to crave and search for that style of music and still enjoy it to this day.”  

When Skipper started the eighth grade, his love for music came to a peak and inspired him to pick up a guitar and make music himself. At this point in his life, he was enticed by bands like Blink 182. The rebellious kind of artists. He stated, “I was drawn to music that you’re average person did not like listening to. I think that comes from a rebellion against my mom because she had such tight constraints on my music choices growing up.” He taught himself how to play the guitar and inevitably started a punk band with a guy from church, Michael Wade. They would meet every weekend with songs and music that they had written throughout the week and practice for hours and hours. Eventually their band came to it’s demise when Skipper decided that he wanted to write christian music and Michael did not. 

A year later, Skipper met some guys from school and they introduced him to a peculiar genre of music called hardcore. “When I first listened to hardcore with the screaming and breakdowns, I knew that was what I was looking for, that was what really set my interest in pursuing heavy music.” The bands that influenced Skipper and his friends were, ironically, christian hardcore bands. Many people describe hardcore lyrics as deep, guttural yelling like what you would think a demon sounds like. Skipper mischievously smiles as he says, “If music were to take on a film genre, I think hardcore, specifically heavy music, would be horror.” They were attracted to hardcore artists for various reasons such as the lyrics, instrumentation, and the screaming.  This flattery encouraged them to start a christian hardcore band on their own called “A Minute To Pray, A Second To Die”. 

A Minute To Pray, A Second To Die, with Skipper as the lead guitarist, practiced about once a week. They started by playing other band’s music and Skipper, not knowing how to read music, played by ear. Once they mastered other band’s music and different cord progressions, they began to write their own music. After a year of practicing, they were asked to play at a friends birthday party. During their encore, the cops showed up because a neighbor had said that they were being too loud. Following this, the band got connected with a booking company and  would play a show at different venues in Memphis about every three to four weeks. Several times they opened up for very talented and well known hardcore bands.  

The main venue they played at was on Lamar Avenue called “The Dregs”. A booking company in Memphis had opened it up due to the suffering of local venue opportunities. It was not a great part of town and the venue shared property with a liquor store, so most people were inebriated before and during the show. Several times the band would get cussed out or things thrown at them when they would try to talk about their faith. Nevertheless, they continued to play and show the love and grace of Christ during those times.

The band played continuously for about two years until the end came, with most of the band graduating high school. Everyone was planning to go to college which meant that the band would inevitable have to break up. Skipper says he would have loved to take a year or two off of school to tour but several guys were not willing to do that and it would have been difficult to replace them. Therefore, the band had their last show at a lodge in Atoka, Tennessee. Skipper said it was probably the best show they ever put on which made it even more challenging to break up. 

Now, five years later, Skipper still has an irrevocable love for music. His taste in music has changed, but he still enjoys some good hardcore music. He listens to various genres of music, although, he says he does not care for most mainstream music. When asked to elaborate, he responded: “I guess, um, because it sort of models what my mom would say: ‘This is what your supposed to listen to. This is what your supposed to like.’ I feel like that is really what mainstream music does. It puts crappy music before you and says, ‘This is what you supposed to listen to. This is what your supposed to like.’ So I hate that and rebel against that.” 

Some artists that have influenced Skipper which are not mainstream consist of Iron and Wine, Sigur Ros, a genre called post rock,  and Immortal Technique, an underground hip-hop artist. These artist are unique and bring something different to the table than most mainstream artists. Immortal Technique, for example, is a raw, underground hip-hop artist from Harlem, New York who “tells it like is and doesn’t hide anything. He is really big into conspiracy theories, political topics and more concerned with morals and ethics. . . He wants people to wake up from their slumber and listen to what he is saying.” Skipper excitedly stated. The content in an artists album is what really thrills Skipper. He is interested in the philosophy as well as the musical talent of an artist. This became clear as his blue eyes grew big and he leaned forward and said, “There are so many bands out there that are putting forth different philosophies and I love listening to each philosophy behind each piece. It’s a huge influence on my musical choice.”

Skipper has not completely gotten out of playing music. Every now and then he will pick up his guitar and play by himself or for his wife. Recently, he got asked to lead his church praise band on Sunday mornings and is venturing out of his normal box and to sing as well. He has never been the frontman for a band before and says that this is a new experience. But, also says he is willing to do it. He is simply delighted to be playing once more and is glad he can do that in his local church. Music will always be something that Skipper cherishes whether he is performing or not. “In one of my favorite quotes from Friedrich Nietzsche he says, ‘Without music life would be a mistake.’ There is something beautiful and true about that statement.”