Leaderboard

“So, what do you think, Di?” It was more challenge than invitation. Yet again, Dave was gently coaxing me to play an open mic with him. After two years, my resistance was gone. Ten minutes at the library? Why not? “You win. Let’s do it,” I said. Dave is a veteran of open mics. We met a few years ago at our monthly acoustic jam. Warm, self-effacing, and possessing an exquisitely light touch on his Martin, he prefers to play standing — even for two hours. I’m as envious of his stamina as his improvisation. He loves the blues, I love my ballads, but our tastes are similar. It was a jam a little while ago, as we all paused between songs, when he softly said those three little words that melt every woman’s heart: “You’re getting better.” That did it. I gave in. He signed us up. I didn’t have rose petals to sprinkle around the living room floor, so instead I put down an amp and a microphone for rehearsing. We went to work. What songs? Who sings? Any solos? Who introduces whom? We tried Margo Prices’s “Hurtin’ on the Bottle”. After about the seventh run-through, I stepped back from the mic and shook my head. “Dave, this is a fun song to play, and I can almost sing it, but it’s a drinking song. It’s not me. And we’re going to be at a library with moms and kids. Let’s pass on it.” “Really? You think so?” “Yes. Let’s do something else. What if after we’re done, the library sets up the room for an AA meeting?” He laughed. “You’ve got a point. Any other ideas?” “Yeah, here’s one I’ve wanted to try. ‘Your Wildest Dreams’ by the Moody Blues. We’d need a synthesizer for that eighties vibe, but two guitars can carry it.” “All right. Got a chart?” “Here you go. Now, there’s a hiccup after the second verse right here….” . . . I arrived early and lugged my gear to a back entrance. The meeting room held forty chairs, tiny cafe-style tables with candles, two mics, and a baby grand piano. A staffer, Pat, busied herself setting up refreshments, as our sound guy, Tom, unraveled extension cords. I introduced myself and helped Tom test the mics. I plugged my acoustic into my Fishman Loudbox. Power on, but nothing came out. I fiddled with the knobs, still nothing. I was about to unplug when I remembered the volume control on the pickup in the sound hole. Whooom! Okay, there it is. I should do this more often. People trickled in. Dave arrived. The room was cold and every string on my guitar had pulled sharp. We retuned and mingled. Pat positioned a floor lamp at the back wall, dimmed the overhead lights, and we were bathed in a cozy glow. The leadoff musician was a no-show, so Pat introduced Dave, and he introduced me. We were greeted by some thirty faces of all ages, relaxed and polite. I heard myself welcoming everyone like I owned the place. Dave smiled. Ready? he asked. Let’s play, I said, and we counted ourselves into “The Best of My Love”. And all too soon, we came down on the final G of “Your Wildest Dreams”. We reclaimed our seats as Pat introduced the next performer. I felt my skin tingling. It’s becoming familiar. The velvet-voiced singer at the microphone added another layer of goosebumps to those from the endorphins and the air conditioning. Dave gave me his what-do-you-think-Di look. I just grinned and nodded.

I hate that! Of course, usually it's the other guy. hehe I'm going to run my own monitor from now on so I can be sure to hear my vocal and guitar better. I've now moved from rhythm to lead for our band. The bad thing is that I now know both parts for every song! So when the other guitarist doesn't play something that is expected in the rhythm part, it is very distracting.

Oh Sure!?!? And I suppose the next thing you're going to say is that I should practice more! 🙄😡 Sheez! Truth be told? I could much more wisely invest my time in practicing rather than shopping. And the real time culprit for me is forums! Not just here but a bunch of other ones. PRS, Gear page, My Les Paul, etc. Soooooooo much time wasted.

For all us SRV fans, Texas Flood: The inside story of Stevie Ray Vaughan was just released recently. What follows is from Andy Aledort's Facebook page. It made the NY Times Best Seller List. Andy is co-author and a teacher over at TrueFire and a contributor to Guitar World magazine. I don't know anything about the other author, Alan Paul. "TEXAS FLOOD: THE INSIDE STORY OF STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN We just got the amazing news that "Texas Flood: The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan" made the New York Times Bestseller's list. Thank you to everyone who made it possible--all those who spent hours talking to us and trusted us to tell the story as it deserved to be told. And a huge thank you to everyone who bought the book. This is a very great honor for each of us individually but it is most exciting because it shines a bigger, brighter light on Stevie, a person and a musician of the highest order. May his memory and music live on forever." It adds to the credibility of this book that Jimmie Vaughan, Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton all contributed to this project with epilogues and forwards, etc. As soon as I finish this post I am clicking on the "Add to cart" button!

Andy is great. I have seen some of his Guitar World stuff. He has a series of lessons at TrueFire called "The Kings of Blues and Rock. Play in the Style of....". They are style lessons of Eric Clapton, of course the three Kings, BB, Albert and Freddie, Jimmie Page, Duane Allman, T Bone Walker and Johnny Winter. They are older ones and not of the video quality of newer HD lessons. But a year or two ago TrueFire had a sale and these were really cheap. I grabbed them.

Diane, ^^^ What Mike said. Your writing is unfailingly original, witty and entertaining. I always know I am going to enjoy a new post from you.

I have several Martins and always wanted a Clapton. I've played good ones, great ones and ones that were just ok. Martin just raised their prices so thats an issue too. I do love the short scale on it and have an 000-18. The clapton is rosewood and is numbered 000-28EC. Those that have them love them. I went custom shop OM28 and love it. The custom shop is a step above the standard or signature models. The new OM28 modern deluxe is something to look at too. Check the unofficial Martin forum site for some excellent deals on used Martins. I got my custom shop there and it was mint. It did come from MyFavorite Guitars and you can call Jon and he will help you out and talk you thru them. He knows how to design a custom shop model and probably has several in stock. There was a clapton one for sale in the martin forum and at Nazfest . message me and i will put you in touch with the person who has it. Im sure you could beat the deal on the one from the shop that got away. lHe got a sinker 0000--18 and is selling it. Its a sunburst one in great shape. Tom

Diane- You have such a wonderful way with words. You are a vulnerable, sensitive, honest, loving storyteller. I am still waiting for your original song, or book. Either one would be great with me. 😋 Just sayin'! Great seeing you continue to stretch and go for it! You inspire me. Mike