The Avoider can execute on auto-pilot…
Being caught between Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce, Eric more and more just wanted to be a small-time blues guitar player. Hard to pull off when you are acknowledged as one of the greatest ever. But rather than confront that, he continued to support the tours, and get deeper and deeper into drugs. Eventually, the band broke up, and he was jamming with another talented superstar who had just left his group Traffic. Steve Winwood had a hit when he was 14 with Spencer Davis, and now was all of 20 playing with Clapton. Baker dropped by and suggested that THIS could work… let’s try this!! Adding a Rich Grech on bass… they had a group, and the press release came out in February of 1969… the Super Group of Super Groups. All the best at what they did… all leaders… how does that execute?
… and they had a contract signed within days. Without a name… without any songs… without anything… other than their reputations. And they had a worldwide tour booked, including playing in Hyde Park – today’s video is from their inaugural concert… 100,000 fans. In June – so only 4 months to write, record, and to perfect songs. Eric, being the perfectionist/Hyper Achiever was less than pleased with the outcome, and particularly on tour where they had to play Cream songs to fill up barely an hour of time… and the crowds liked the “old” Traffic and Cream songs better – the very songs he hated and wanted to get away from …
…which Pleases everyone but…
… similar to The Pleaser, The Avoider steers away from executing any difficult or unpleasant tasks and conflicts. They say Yes to things they don’t want to do rather than actually saying something different. They lose themselves in comforting routines and habits (like say practicing guitar…) rather than actually dealing with issues. Similar to the Pleaser, The Avoider focuses on not making waves, and becomes numb to the actual conflicts – either naturally or with “assistance”. They have the fake smile of “let’s just all get along” as conflicts inevitably surface, and The Avoider wants someone to make the peace rather than actually deal with issues. These emotions are either swallowed, numbed, or often will come out in side-conversations with others, but never with the person that they should be talking with…
… those who know what “you” want…
The group released just one album, and it had 3 major hits on it – out of 6 original songs. Despite the success, as the tour wore on, Eric became more and more and more isolated… and actually started hanging out with the backup band Delany and Bonnie. He credits them and The Band’s album Music from the Big Pink for turning his interest towards Americana music, which, of course, was also mostly the blues. 😉 He stayed in America and became exactly what he wanted – a sideman in Delany and Bonnie’s band as they toured across Canada. He and Winwood would stay close friends, and Eric was friendly with both members of Cream, eventually pulling them back together for a number of reunions, including a 2005 concert in Albert Hall where you can STILL see the tension ( and The Avoider from Eric) in almost every song…
How do you develop Blind Faith in… yourself??
The name of the group has its own folklore. One theory is that Clapton said “only Blind Faith” would be used to sign a group with no songs. The album cover is legendary, with a shot of a naked 11-year-old girl on the cover. According to the art director: “To symbolize the achievement of human creativity and its expression through technology – a spaceship was the material object. To carry this new spore into the universe, innocence would be the ideal bearer, a young girl”. Maybe? That would not be executed today… Anyway, he called the picture Blind Faith… and the group took it from there. As we consider The Avoider, how will you step forward and ask for what you need in an honest and authentic way… or will you Have to Cry Today?
