Amp was singular. I had a press pass the year he played the main stage
at DEMF so I watched him from close up, checking his hands on the keys
and how he interacted with thousands of people like they were friends
on his couch. I drove into Chicago to see him again a few months
later, and he was the same, but different. In both contexts, he read
the room and modulated his performance for the space and audience.
When I think of comparisons, Prince, Stevie Wonder, D'Angelo all come
to mind. But it's more like they're all drinking from the same well,
not that Amp was like them, in any imitative way. He was someone who
you can identify from just a few notes.
And it always seemed effortless, weightless. The funk flowed out of
him like his breath. That's how you can tell that someone is an
artist - they've mastered the mechanical demands of their music, to
where they don't have to think about playing. They're just there in
the music, and their goal is emotion and communication. The music is
a seamless part of themselves they can share.
When I think of Amp that's what I think of: his personality, his
humor, his emotional connection. I will miss him a lot.
