Welcome Entry - Rudolph Rustin

Welcome to my Music History Blog.  My name is Rudolph Rustin.  I am from Charleston, South Carolina and I am an avid lover of the auditory and visual arts.  I grew up in Charleston, South Carolina and Raleigh, North Carolina and as a young child I was introduced into the world of acoustic folk and bluegrass music. I can remember when I was about 5 years old, my neighbor was Ray Blouin. He was one of the “Wayfarers”, a folk trio that was a contemporary of the Kingston Trio and The Brothers Four. They played throughout the United States and were wonderful and personable people. Ray was the banjoist and lead tenor. The guitarist and baritone was also a neighbor, Dick Bailey. He had a captivating voice. They frequently involved me as a child listening and singing along, as this was a popular form of family entertainment in the 60’s. There was no Internet, video gaming, texting, or computing to distract families. Of course there was Vietnam, Kennedy, Nixon, and abundant availability of drugs as we entered the 70’s. Our generation was never short on vices.   Folk music was popular, and I would participate in family gatherings where we would trade songs and stories. The times with my family and Ray Blouin imprinted the love of music into me forever. This is still a popular part of the music culture in southwest Virginia and the Carolinas today. At age 13, I began to play the guitar and had to learn by listening to records, lifting the needle, and re-playing the song, over and over. I was finally able to get a phonograph player that had a 16 speed, allowing me to play the music at half the tempo of the 33 speed recordings. This became particularly handy when I picked up the 5-string banjo at age 14 and got Pete Seeger’s banjo album of popular favorites.  I had no formal instruction, for when I was twelve I lived in the country in North Carolina. There were no radio stations in the area – talk about painful! I would go to the “Western Auto” store and wait for the new 45’s to arrive and try them out.  My first purchase was “Hello Goodbye”, The Beatles. The flip side was “I Am The Walrus” – all for the grand total purchase price of 30 cents!

I was actively playing until age 20-32, what I call “the gap”. I entered the medical profession and playing music was all but abandoned due to the time commitment of training. Remember the 10,000-hour rule? It really applies in surgery, and that time is stamped out in a time span of about seven years after college and medical school.

After finishing residency and moving back to Charleston, I re-invented my interest in music, stimulated by a visit to a friend and guitar luthier in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia. Spending a weekend at his house created a spark in me that will never again be extinguished. I began playing, writing, recording, and engaging other artists. It has continued to develop in a positive way.  In 2008, I took an aptitude test in Atlanta, Georgia, at The Johnson O’Connor Institute, at the behest of several of my medical colleagues that as well had a passion in areas outside of medicine. After the O’Connor experience, I decided to put in my 10,000 hours and develop a second career in music. So here I am. I see music production today as a team effort. There is an ever-burgeoning development of independent artists, producers, writers and studios that will constantly challenge the paradigm of major label and major artist development. I do not see myself entrenched in that industry. Instead, I want to develop a regional niche in production and songwriting by developing a team of several songwriters, musicians, instructors, promoters and producers to develop local musicians and artists successfully in advertising, local performances (house concerts of the 60’s) and partnering with local businesses interested in loco regional success with their neighbors. Our community is abundant in great talent that is thirsty for nurturing and development. I just need to remember “no” will not always be the answer as long as I can further develop a meaningful product during my 10,000 hours.

Rudolph