52 Ancestors Week 24: Artistic

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 24:

The theme for Week 24 is “Artistic.” Is there a painter, crafter, quilter, knitter, crocheter, or musician in the family? This is their week.

Art by the talented Becky Hopkins and was colored in by me!

    So many people in my family have been artistic in one way or another. I've already talked about how my grandfather Marco painted some pretty cool paintings. I have a second cousin who is an actor. I may have even mentioned my own webcomic in this blog once or twice. This is only a few examples of how artistic my family can be. While drawing and acting are great talents to have. I think it's about time I tossed in some music. Ready? Blues riff in B. Watch me for the changes and try to keep up.

    I don't know if my great-grandfather Vincenzo ever played a musical instrument. He did have a great singing voice according to my mother, though. Whenever she would visit him or he'd visit, Vincenzo would actually sing to her in Italian. Now, I have no idea what he was singing or if she even knew. What I can tell you is that Vincenzo's singing was just a small part of my family's appreciation of music.

   On my father's maternal side, his cousin Joe Villanucci was also musically inclined. When he the cousins were growing up, they would play music together. Was Vincenzo the front man for the group? Probably not. No. 

    Still, they had pretty good songs from what I've been told and later Joe himself became a music teacher. He even played local gigs in Haverhill, Salisbury and other places around the Merrimack Valley. He actually taught me how to play the piano as that was his instrument of choice. I'm getting a little ahead of myself. There's more to this musical story about Joe and my father!

    When I was looking for articles about my family, I happened upon this gem from the Newburyport Daily News.

    I might have talked about this article before. This comes to us from the Newburyport Daily News on July 12th, 1962. In the picture we see Joe tickling the ivories while his brother Dennis plays the guitar. In the background, my father watches. The caption said that my dad was "playing it cool" while his cousins played their instruments.

    The small group played for the motel Joe's father Arnold and my grandfather owned. I'm not sure how big the crowds were at the Colonial Arms motel. But, it was cool that they played for the people there. You gotta love good live entertainment and I'm sire my grandfather and Arnold paid them well for their services. I mean they had an in-house band that was related to them. What could go wrong?

    The music continued well after my brother and I came around. Our father was and still is a huge fan of classic rock. He's a huge fan of the Beach Boys and this is a huge contrast to the type of music my brother and I listen to. While my dad was all about classic rock, we were very much influenced by the music we grew up listening to. And that's normal. I just wish I had some musical skills. As it is, I can only do "Rock Band"/"Guitar Hero" on easy mode.

Still playing it cool, Dad?

   My brother and I learned to play piano from Joe and every time we visited him I'd always play the piano. Was I good? I don't know. The the most I was ever able to do was "Stairway to Heaven" or "Chopsticks". Just basic stuff. I was never Elton John or anything like that.

     It's just as well, I suppose. Everyone has their own specific artistic skill. Some people draw. Some people sing. Some people act. Whatever the case is, it's clear to see that my family has many artists running around the tree making music or drawing.

    It would be nice to carry a tune, though. And hey. It never hurts to try! I was surrounded by music and got a great appreciation for the art style as a result!

See ya next time!