Nile Rodgers in Fairfield CT – January 2014

Several weeks ago I had the great fortune to be in the same physical space with musical genius Nile Rodgers. At the time I knew very little about him other than he was a pretty big deal in the music industry – from his “good times” in Chic to most recently “getting lucky” with Pharrell Williams and Daft Punk’s bizarre robots.

It turned out to be an extremely inspirational encounter. Nile was absolutely one of the funniest and most engaging people I have ever heard speak. What struck me the most was how “real” he was. I could have listened to him talk all night. Like a good friend he has a special way of making you feel like the two of you are having an intense personal discussion – even though there are a few hundred people in the room. I was bummed when the forum was over and I had to take my pesky kid home to study for her science test.

Since that time I have been somewhat obsessed about all things Nile Rodgers. First I surfed the net for all kinds of stories, videos and interviews – learning that this supremely talented guy was responsible for large chunks of the soundtrack of my life. I started following him on Facebook. Among other things, it was cool to have a ‘behind the scenes’ look at much of the recent Grammy awards show.

Next I perused a bunch of entries on his blog – which made me realize how much his unique and authentic voice also translated to his written word. So of course I tracked down (and promptly devoured) his biography “Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco, and Destiny”. Simply wow.

In addition to an up close look at the life of a rockstar at the top of his game (and inevitable rock bottom moment), it gave a glimpse into the personal, social and cultural influences that shaped his life and his craft.

Many of his words and stories resonated deeply with me. Themes of ‘fitting in’ and only ‘wanting to be in the backup band’ were particularly salient. I continue to process many of these tales and lessons as I go about my daily life.

One of the things I learned early on in my Nile Rodgers internet stalking was that he got his professional start in the Sesame Street band. So, in essence, I’ve been listening to this guy since I was a toddler. In this short and entertaining clip, Nile talks candidly (as always) about choosing a paying gig over the prestigious Julliard.

As a staunch supporter of real life experience as an addition (and sometimes alternative) to purely academic pursuits, I found his thought process to be interesting, authentic – and downright hilarious. I’m pretty sure you will, too.

http://thecollectivereview.com/nile-rodgers/from-julliard-to-sesame-street.html

I particularly loved hearing him talk about the genius of Sesame Street and how they really lived their values. Basically, the show was about a very diverse group of characters that lived and worked together harmoniously. As Nile says, “the best thing was that it was cool and everyone fit in”.

I wanna live on Sesame Street.

UPDATE: unfortunately the entertaining link with Sesame Street references is now ‘dead’ – but here’s a short video clip from an April 2016 performance. Enjoy!