Fenway Park organist Josh Kantor is a utilityman of sorts, playing keyboards for a number of outfits in addition to entertaining the Red Sox faithful. His highest-profile gig is with the fantastic national pastime-themed band the Baseball Project; his hidden-track rendition of the group’s “Panda And The Freak” is a highlight of its aptly titled third album, 3rd (Yep Roc). Kantor is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand-new Q&A with him.
Kantor: A lot of people ask me if I get nervous playing the organ for large stadium audiences and even larger radio and television audiences. A lot of people also ask me what the craziest thing is that’s ever happened in the course of my organ-playing duties. If you discount the Red Sox comeback against the Yankees in the 2004 playoffs (which was definitely crazy) in favor of something crazy that’s happened to me personally, then the answers to those two questions are quite inter-related.
My first official day as the Fenway Park organist was April 11, 2003, at the Red Sox home opener against the Baltimore Orioles. As you would expect, I was very nervous. I don’t think I’d ever played for a crowd of more than a few hundred people, and suddenly I was playing for well more than 30,000 (not to mention a substantial radio and television audience).
After being comforted the day before by assurances from my new boss that I would be eased into my role gradually, I arrived at the ballpark on my first day and was told that the plans had changed and that I was to play for 90 minutes straight during team warm-ups. The butterflies in my stomach now started playing rugby. Trying to soothe my nerves, I went to the men’s room in the media area to splash some cold water on my face. The Red Sox legendary radio announcer Joe Castiglione, whom I’d never met before, was standing at the adjacent sink and must have noticed how pale I was, because he asked if I felt all right. I muttered something about the cause of my nervousness, and Joe encouraged me to relax and not to worry, which did help a little bit.
I got through the 90-minute set relatively unscathed, though I think at one point I repeated a song that I’d already played. Feeling a bit mentally taxed, I was hoping for an uneventful remainder of the day. It was at this point during the opening-day ceremony that my boss said, “OK, Josh, here’s what’s going to happen. Lou Rawls is going to come onto the field and sing the National Anthem. After that, Ray Charles will come out to a grand piano and perform his iconic version of ‘America, The Beautiful.’ Then, I’m going to need you to play something.” Let’s take a moment to recall that this was my first day. Let’s take another moment to recognize that, for as long as I can remember, the work of Ray Charles has been one of the main reasons for my love of music. I remember feeling terrified anew, and I don’t remember what I ended up playing in that spot. I think this qualifies as the craziest thing that’s ever happened to me at Fenway, and because it all happened at once and at the beginning, I essentially purged my nervousness. The game got rained out, but the day itself was hardly what you would call a wash. Ever since then, I almost never get nervous anymore, whether I’m playing at Fenway or going for a job interview or speaking in public or playing shows with musicians I’ve long admired. Having gotten through that day gave me the sense that I can get through any sort of performance situation.
So you see, if you ever need to overcome a bad case of nerves (forever), I recommend playing the organ for a crowd that’s nearly a thousand times larger than what you’re accustomed to, immediately before and after two of the all-time greatest soul singers have just performed emotional renditions of popular patriotic songs for that same crowd. It worked for me.
Epilogue: When Ray Charles passed away 14 months later, I played several of his songs at that night’s game. Joe Castiglione noticed and asked me if I’d ever met Ray. I told him how much his records meant to me, but that no, I hadn’t met him. Joe replied, “Oh, if I’d known, I’d have brought him up to meet you on opening day last year.” I shudder to think how I would have responded to that in my tattered state on that first day on the job.
