Who is David Powell?

[Arnold Schnitzer]

What's your real name?

[David Powell]

Originally Posted by Arnold Schnitzer

What's your real name?

After a few more posts, I don't think there will be any doubt. Is that really you, Arnold??? I mean the sketicism is unusual.

[Robert Palmer]

Hi David - Just a little bit of obscure Welsh history for you and for others who read your post. I am sending this as a Welshman myself although I now live in Felixstowe, Suffolk (UK). For those of you who don't know, Wales is a principlaity of the UK and is attached to England on the left hand side (near Ireland and nearest the USA). Oh - and one piece of advice - never call a Welshman English, whatever his accent!

The reason Powell is a common name in Wales, along with Evans, Morgan, Williams etc, is historical. Hundreds of years ago (not sure when), as teh population of the UK grew (before it was actually the UK, incidentally), some King or other decided that, in order to ensure that people were readily identifiable, introduced the concept of the surname, insisting that all his subjects take a second name. Thus the son of Richard became RIchardson etc. Some English took their profession as a surname (Baker, Miller, Butcher etc) and the whole thing ran along very smoothly.

Except in Wales.

Now the Welsh have long considered the English to be an invading force and, at this point in history, the emotions ran a lot higher. The English had even banned the Welsh language (which is only now making a comeback - I can't speak it but my nephews and neices can). The Welsh remain at least a little suspicious of the English even today. Now, in response to the King's requirement to take a second name, whole villages, outraged at the demands of this unwelcome interloper, all took the same name! So, the 'State' had 1000s of Morgan's, Evans', Williams and, clearly, Powell's. Thus, the Welsh gave the King of England the proverbial finger in a BIG way! I guess thats what you call passive resistance!

These events still have wide consequences today as there are dozens of branches of each family name that have absolutely no genetic connection whatsoever. So you can't assume that anyone called Evans is even remotely related to anyone else called Evans.

Anyway, hope that story amuses you as much as it does me - now I'll go and get a life....

[Richard Prowse]

I think Prowse might be a Welsh name.

[Arnold Schnitzer]

David, my stepdaughter is related to Colin Powell. Does that make us kinfolk?

[David Powell]

Originally Posted by Robert Palmer

Hi David - Just a little bit of obscure Welsh history for you and for others who read your post. I am sending this as a Welshman myself although I now live in Felixstowe, Suffolk (UK). For those of you who don't know, Wales is a principlaity of the UK and is attached to England on the left hand side (near Ireland and nearest the USA). Oh - and one piece of advice - never call a Welshman English, whatever his accent!

The reason Powell is a common name in Wales, along with Evans, Morgan, Williams etc, is historical. Hundreds of years ago (not sure when), as teh population of the UK grew (before it was actually the UK, incidentally), some King or other decided that, in order to ensure that people were readily identifiable, introduced the concept of the surname, insisting that all his subjects take a second name. Thus the son of Richard became RIchardson etc. Some English took their profession as a surname (Baker, Miller, Butcher etc) and the whole thing ran along very smoothly.

Except in Wales.

Now the Welsh have long considered the English to be an invading force and, at this point in history, the emotions ran a lot higher. The English had even banned the Welsh language (which is only now making a comeback - I can't speak it but my nephews and neices can). The Welsh remain at least a little suspicious of the English even today. Now, in response to the King's requirement to take a second name, whole villages, outraged at the demands of this unwelcome interloper, all took the same name! So, the 'State' had 1000s of Morgan's, Evans', Williams and, clearly, Powell's. Thus, the Welsh gave the King of England the proverbial finger in a BIG way! I guess thats what you call passive resistance!

These events still have wide consequences today as there are dozens of branches of each family name that have absolutely no genetic connection whatsoever. So you can't assume that anyone called Evans is even remotely related to anyone else called Evans.

Anyway, hope that story amuses you as much as it does me - now I'll go and get a life....

What a wonderful story, Robert. Hundreds of years later, the BIG finger at the system persists! Passive Resistance be thy NAME! Poot thot into yer google pipe and smook it, yer TIA igots! And a good Welsh heritage indeed! A Powell I will be by Saint David! Until the death and taxes have been forgotten (in that order preferably). And think of it;- to this day, it is so easy to find a David Powell, compared to how hard it is to know which one you have found. I'm so amused by the story that there must be a bit Welsh in the blood for sure;- while which Welsh we can only wonder. So I am aptly named. A no-one born of a certain rebellious nature while of uncertain identity. I think there must be a virtual hoard of David Powells laughing at the uncommon good fortune of having an all too common name. Who, me? Are you sure it wasn't him? Or perhaps him?

[David Powell]

Good question, Arnold, or perhaps you are kin to "not me".

You see, it gets freaky being "me";- once in a while it gets really freaky: Like here is a photo of a doppelganger bassist named "me", playing a vintage Fender, just like my '73 down to the rosewood and tortoise. Anyone googling me that read my gear profile would say, "Yup. We gotta match here!" His gray might put him within a few years of my age;- his father also died of cancer within 10 years of my own father's death from cancer. He spent some time playing in bands with his brother as I did, though those names and instruments played are different.

See why a more unique web alias might be more definitive than a given name? After all, neither "not me" nor I are famous players as "me". It becomes an existential question eventually.

[David Powell]

And then there's the times I introduce myself to other musicians and they say something like, Oh, yeah, I've heard your playing on such and such website, but it might have really been this guy who is actually from Wales. And then I have to explain to those who probably think I'm not too proud of this or that context, or am "on the lamb", or some such nonsense that it's a "not me" that they have heard. "I'm a telling you;- It's a "NOT ME!" Then they think my English is bad. From now on I think I might tell them I am really Richard Prowse, newly relocated from Down Under.

In the end, you'll just have to take my word for who I am. There are some actual references showing up here;- it's the best I can do for the moment.