Jazz at Takoma Park by Joseph Holston

Takoma Park native and legendary guitarist John Fahey had an extraordinary love-hate relationship with the city. When he created one of the first independent U.S. record labels he named it Takoma Records and recorded an album called, The Destruction of Takoma Park.

Described by critics as an "influential American artist", "crank", "recalcitrant", and "inscrutable possessor of a nearly untenable vision". Fahey lived in Northern Takoma Park during the 1940s and '50s. His parents were divorced and he lived with his father, a U.S. Public Health Service officer. Leaving the Washington area for Oregon in 1969, Fahey returned home only once in the last half of his life, coming back after the death of his father, Alfred, in 1995. During that visit, he came into contact with two Takoma Park families - likely to be the last town residents to communicate with Fahey who died on 22 February 2001 at the age of 61.

Except for an Irish Setter, Al Fahey lived alone for last years of his life. "Setters are the family's dog," John Fahey commented during his last visit to Takoma Park. During the Christmas of 1994, Al suffered a massive heart attack. In a last act of kindness, he turned on the water in his kitchen so the setter could survive. Al then lied down on his bed and left this world. Several days later, police entered the home to find Al's body and the dog, which was given to a new family.

Attorneys who represent indigent musicians contacted John, who was living in a halfway home in Salem, Ore. Drinking and emotional problems combined with diabetes and Epstein-Barr Syndrome had robbed John of the ability to perform on a regular basis. By the 1990s, he was destitute. The lawyers notified him that the Takoma Park house was being sold and that he should go home to collect whatever momentos he wanted. Fahey waited several months until the spring of 1995 to venture back to the town that inspired much of his music. References to local parks, roads, and sites appear frequently in the titles of Fahey's guitar compositions.

When Fahey arrived in Takoma Park, he found a home that was probably not much different than from when he left. The Fahey home had changed little since it was build in the 1920s, with the original wallpaper and floors still intact. The halls were choked with papers, magazines, and other items that Al Fahey had refused to toss out over the years.

One afternoon during Fahey's visit, Takoma Park residents Jim and Susan Benfield invited him over to their house across the street. They were not sure what to expect. The quiet-looking young man on the cover of Fahey's early albums had changed into a heavy-set older man with balding pate, white beard, and extended belly. The soft eyes remained the same though.

Jim remembers the day being warm and offered a beer to Fahey, who declined and asked for a glass of ice water. When asked if he still was performing, Fahey shook his head and said that his guitar was in a pawnshop in Oregon. But he emphatically stressed that once he got money from the sale of his father's home, he would retrieve his guitar.

The conversation was somewhat strained, Jim adds, saying Fahey was painfully shy and withdrawn. He volunteered little, except a fairly constant diatribe against his father. John, an only child, had not spoken with his father since departing for Oregon. In a 1998 interview with the British magazine The Wire, Fahey blamed his dad for his alcohol problems.

Most of the conversation focused on the neighborhood, which is adjacent to Montgomery College, and on Fahey's music. Fahey provided some insights into the titles, explaining the local references.
As he departed for Oregon he left one last item - a letter to Art McMurdie, who had agreed to buy the Fahey home and renovate it. The letter, addressed to "Art Baby", describes the house at it looked in the 50s. Fahey said there were once three Oaks, but all had been struck by lightning. He noted that his father, referred to as "A.J.", chopped then down.

Fahey's albums have many references to turtles, which also serve as Takoma Records' mascot. In the letter, Fahey describes a cement turtle pen that once stood in the backyard.

Fahey's letter also contained a revealing paragraph:
"The house is not haunted, but you should have it exorcised. Many nefarious and blasphemous things happened here. The house may contain evil spirits."

The sale of the Fahey home provided John enough money to make good on his promise to get his guitar out of hock. Fahey moved into an apartment, his first permanent residence in years. His career enjoyed a revival thanks to the release of a retrospective 2-CD set on Rhino records, Return of the Repressed.

When he died, John Fahey was venturing into new territory, experimenting with electric and lap steel guitars and incorporating electronic effects into his traditional American guitar music. Sober and with a little money to spend, Fahey released several albums in 1999 and 2000 and performed in several cities, opening for alternative bands such as Sonic Youth. He published a book of autobiographical stories, How Bluegrass Music Destroyed My Life. (Drag City Press). He even won a Grammy for his album notes for a collection of folk music.

After meeting Fahey, Jim Benfield became a fan of Fahey's music, intrigued by the titles John used. One especially fascinating title, Jim says, refers to the view from "the B&O overpass at Riggs Road". Jim was determined to find out what Fahey was referring to and he succeeded.

The next time you ride Metro's Red Line, get off at the Ft. Totten station and walk out to the platform facing toward Prince George's County. You will see what inspired Fahey.

This article originally appeared in the April 2001 issue of Takoma Voice from Takoma Park Md., Fahey's birthplace.