Early Life
Lurie was born in Minneapolis. Before marriage, his mother had been a painter and art teacher in Liverpool. Lurie was raised alongside two siblings, his brother Evan and his sister Liz. The family moved to New Orleans when John was six, later, they moved to Worcester, Massachusetts. In high school, Lurie played basketball and harmonica. He jammed on harmonica with Mississippi Fred McDowell, and with Canned Heat around 1968. He played harmonica in a band from Boston, but it did not work out. He switched to guitar and then saxophone.
After high school, Lurie hitchhiked across the U.S., seeing a lot of places including Berkeley, California. He moved to New York City around 1974, then briefly visited London where the punk music scene was beginning—it did not appeal to him. He was more interested in avant-garde jazz and no wave.
Read more about this topic: John Lurie
Famous quotes containing the words early life, early and/or life:
“... business training in early life should not be regarded solely as insurance against destitution in the case of an emergency. For from business experience women can gain, too, knowledge of the world and of human beings, which should be of immeasurable value to their marriage careers. Self-discipline, co-operation, adaptability, efficiency, economic management,—if she learns these in her business life she is liable for many less heartbreaks and disappointments in her married life.”
—Hortense Odlum (1892–?)
“It was common practice for me to take my children with me whenever I went shopping, out for a walk in a white neighborhood, or just felt like going about in a white world. The reason was simple enough: if a black man is alone or with other black men, he is a threat to whites. But if he is with children, then he is harmless, adorable.”
—Gerald Early (20th century)
“The secret of a long life is knowing when it’s time to go.”
—Michele Shocked (b. 1962)