Music in My Life with Author Alec Wightman
Beck Street
Beck Street
I've had a passion for music since I was a kid. The first song that spoke to me was “The Wanderer” by Dion in December 1961. I was right there for the “British Invasion,” the great psychedelic rock of the late ‘60s, and the singer-songwriters of the early ‘70s. I’ve bought albums, and cassettes, and CDs, and, now, streaming services. I’ve chased live music from coast-to-coast. I became a big fan of what we now call the Americana genre—alt-country, roots music, Nashville songwriters and the music coming from Austin.
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In March 1995, I began promoting “national act singer-songwriter” concerts in Columbus, having been talked into doing my first one by Tom Russell. I formed Zeppelin Productions, Inc. and I am still promoting shows today. Over the years, I’ve produced shows at the Columbus Music Hall, the old Maennerchor, the Grand Valley Dale Ballroom, and, now, Natalie’s in Worthington and Grandview.
I’ve practiced law in Columbus since 1975 and have been with the national law firm of BakerHostetler since 1982. I had a successful corporate practice and was heavily involved in law firm management. Today, I am pretty much retired except for a niche practice I developed of helping public company boards with their selfevaluation process.
I became co-Executive Partner of BakerHostetler, which is a heritage Cleveland firm, in 2004. I joined the board of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame that year, chaired the board from 2013 to 2016, and remain heavily involved, including as co-chair of a major capital campaign. I am also a member of the board of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, which conducts the induction ceremonies.
Recently, I wrote a book—MUSIC IN MY LIFE: NOTES FROM A LONGTIME FAN. It chronicles 60 years of rock & roll fandom, 22 years of promoting concerts, and a deep involvement with the Rock Hall. I started writing just for fun after knee replacement surgery in late 2016, which caused me to stop playing tennis (I was still playing three or four times a week), and Kathy’s health issues the following year (she’s just fine now). I took notes on 3x5 index cards—concerts, performers, albums, anecdotes. Just my memories of the music in my life. I organized them, settling on a “chronological with fast forward” structure, and began to write. I stopped about one-third of the way through. Then came the pandemic.
March 2020, I started to write again, researching where necessary as I went along. Every day. When I was done, I shared the resulting 56 “snippets” (some of which I thought might be suitable for a blog or something) with a handful of folks. I was surprised how much they really liked what I’d done and they urged me to turn it into a book. I revised the “manuscript” (as I now know it was called) into 14 chapters, hired an editor (Holly George-Warren, a noted music writer herself), and she introduced me to Small Batch Books for “self-publishing.”
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The book came out this spring and I have had a blast with it—marketing and selling; “author talks” (including one with John Clark at the German Village Meeting Haus); interviews and podcasts; and reviews (two of the best of which came from the United Kingdom!). It really has taken on a life of its own
Finally, since this is for the German Village Magazine, let me just say that I thought I’d like living in the Village before we moved here…and I’ve liked it 1,000 times more! I love our house and its location (Lindey’s across the street!). I love being able to walk to stores and restaurants and parks. But it’s really about the people. German Village is a true neighborhood, filled with wonderful, caring, fun, diverse, nice people. At this point, I can’t imagine any place I’d rather live. Really.
Click to purchase MUSIC IN MY LIFE: NOTES FROM A LONGTIME FAN
You can keep track of news and events at www.musicinmylifebook.com
You can keep track of news and events at www.musicinmylifebook.com
CREATIVE Author - Alec Wightman Issue XI
