Guitar playin'

This is one of my favorite pictures! That's me and Linz around Christmas one year. Lindsay shares my tastes in music pretty much right down the line. Of course she likes the newer stuff that I'm not in to, but she loves all the music that I do, and we've turned eachother on to a few great bands. Were it not for Lindsay, I wouldn't have ever listened to the Dave Matthews Band, or Widespread Panic. Two of my favorite bands. You can access their websites by following the links on the right.

I've owned a lot of guitars in my life. I'm self-taught, and play more just for me than anyone else. Although I played at the Dead Goat Saloon one night with my then brother-in-law Ron. We did a cover of Neil Young's "Down By The River." To do it, I had to drink quite a bit of beer before getting up there. I don't have much faith in my guitar playing - especially when sitting next to Ron - so I needed to alcohol to dampen my inhibitions! We had a good time. In comparison to everyone else there, we were probably around the middle of the road talent wise - and that's only because I was playing with Ron. His set he did by himself was amazing. He and my sister-in-law (Chris's sister) got divorced. Ron and I don't play together anymore. I miss that. I miss the challenge of making my guitar sound good next to an accomplished musician like Ron.

Anyway, back to my guitars... Let's see, since I started playing, I've owned seven guitars total. Six accoustics and one electric. I started with this small body Fender I bought from a music store when I was 18. Turns out the neck was separating from the body, so the action was like a mile off the fret board. I went out, bought a John Denver Analogy, and began figuring it out. When I got down to college in Cedar City, I got a really nice Yamaha twelve-string. I traded the Fender for that one. I kept that twelve string for many years until in a fit of stupidity, and in a cash crunch, I sold it. What an idiot I was. After that, I was stationed on Guam, and I ordered my first "serious" guitar from a catalog. I ordered an Ovation six-sting and played that guitar for years. Then when I was in Iceland, I picked up a Fender twelve-string too. I hung onto that one for a long time but didn't play it much. I eventually sold it to Ron.

Next came an electric Fender Stratocaster and amp. I bought them used, but in GREAT shape. I could never make that damn thing sound like anything but Metallica. I discovered that distortion covers a multitude of mistakes and lack of talent! But that was unsatisfying, so I traded it in for Jumbo Dreadnaught Fender with curly maple wood, and gold machine heads. It was a beautiful guitar. At that point I gave my Ovation to Lindsay who always wanted to play. I never really liked this Fender. So I eventually traded it in on my current and only guitar, the Ibanez Artwood you see in this picture. It's bright, and clean sounding. Chris says I can never get rid of this one. She loves the sound of it.

I'm still a hack, and I don't play like I used to, but I love having a guitar to pick up and noodle around on. It helps me think, and helps me escape. I should really play more often.

Music. It's a heritage I've left to my kids. When I hear Steve Miller Band coming from my 19 year old's room, or the Grateful Dead's "Reckoning" playing in Linz's room, I know I've passed on a love for great music. This picture is special to me for one primary reason - and that is it shows two great loves of my life - my little girl, and my guitar.

This is me... take it or leave it.