Now: The Wick's Virgin Experience

Well, I decided to go to Wick's pizza in Louisville to see what an open mic night is. I didn'yt bring my guitar, because I know nothing about it business and wanted to see what it is all about. We got there and nobody was in the bar except for the Mic Night Host and a friend. Nice guys. Everyone was at the State fair. I talked to John the host and he told me how things worked. I told him I wrote songs and have never tried performing. I said that I didn't have my guitar with me. Guess what? They have a house guitar there! Rats! He signed me up as the second act. He then broke a string on a warm up song. I thought that I was off the hook to perform until he said that he lived next door an would get another guitar. Fate??? I waited until he finished his songs and then it was my turn. After three trips to the bathroom and some beer I was on. A few people had come in to perform and listen. I stood up at the mic and played two of my songs. Good thing I had practiced like Tim had told me! I did ok and wasn't nervous, just worried about messing up. they actually appaulded. They invited me to come back and perform again. I will practice "Big Time" before I do. I don't want to sound bad. Crazzzzy!

NOW: Song For Rachel

After reading another, "Nashville is a commercial music hole "article, I had a song pop into my head. I had thought about writing about the streets of Nashville, but I had only been there once (so far) and didn't really "know" it first hand. It was in winter and it was very cold, not the tourist season for sure. I did see the grim side of Nashville. I remembered visiting the home and graves of Andrew Jackson and his "disputed" wife Rachel (Who cares if they were married.They were in love.). I had a little song and movie story in my head about a song writer who visited Rachel's grave and was comforted somehow. He kept going back until he finally sang a song to her one winter day. He then left Nashville and returned to his home and his love. He found his musical voice in his true home. What I wrote is not a Rock and Roll song, but it says something. It is called "A Song For Rachel". I don't know if I will record it. I like singing it. Maybe I will sing it for her myself someday.

Then:Trying to record

So, after the song "Old School" was written, I played it for my wife Dee. She was surprised that I could write songs, but said she liked it. I was thinking about old Rock and Roll songs and how every time they tried to put on a "sock hop" at a car show very few people wanted to dance. The song "It's Time to Rock and Roll" just fell out of my guitar along with other songs. Songs would come to me while I was mowing the lawn or doing other things like emptying the house to sell. We decided to sell and downsize, so I was busy fixing and cleaning daily. I kept playing guitar, but the echo was getting louder, because we had put may things into a storage unit to help with the house sale. We kept cruising our cars, but the possibility of a bigger move to be with Liam meant the classic cars must go. I wanted to save the melodies of my songs so that I could play them later. I needed to record them. I found a little microphone that came with my son Colin's Spanish program and tried to record. The echo and short cord small mic and no experience lead to primitive song recordings. But, I was getting my songs down. My fingers were getting sore because I was playing daily, but songs about the past began to pour out! The 57 Chevy wagon was mine.

Now: Cramps Gramps

I just got back from Indy and recorded "I'm in Between Love". I wrote the song while I was visiting in Oregon and staying with good friends. I couldn't bring my guitar, but the daughter of a friend (Thanks, Ashlee !) let me use her little First Act guitar. I had an idea for a song so I went out on their front steps and banged the tune out. Ashlee thought that was so cool that I wrote a song using her guitar, that she asked me to sign her guitar. The song is about friends and relatives who are "in between loves". Tim did his usual genius job of producing the song. When it came time to do the vocal I was getting tried (being past my nap time) and had been sitting too long helping with the song. I started the vocal and was standing trying to learn the changes in the song and trying to get better at "telling the story" of the song, when I got a terrible cramp in my side. We were pressed for time because Tim had to do some truly important business, so I did like Tim always tells me and acted tough. "Ya gotta be a Marine he always says."
He didn't know I wasn't all there (I didn't tell him.), but my vocal could be better and I will need to do it again. Still, the songs sounds great and is a Rocker! The album is just about done except for the clean up work. Thanks, Big Tim and Ashlee! This me getting to play a 1948 Martin guitar once owned by Stephen Stills while I was in Oregon. It was being auctioned. I couldn't afford it!

Then:For Randy

I just started bangin' on my guitar and a song popped out. I decided to write is down and managed to find some paper and a pencil. I didn't know how to record anything at this time, so I played it enough to "lock it in". The song is "Old School" and was about being cool driving a car that was not all shiny and a "trailer queen". My friend Randy, who was oddly enough a younger member of the car club, told me about the style and encouraged me to do my cars in "Old School'. I wrote this song based on his comments. We later lost Randy in a tragedy and the song is now a memorial to him, his friendship and spirit.

Then: The Club

I won the 50/50 and the person who counted out the cash was our good friend to be Karla. She was with the local Chevy club and it turned out that we joined up. I told my wife Dee, that I would really like to have a 1958 Chevy like my old high school days, if I could ever find one. Next thing you know we found and bought one. We then proceeded to buy and sell classic cars for several years (I think 15 cars?). We were living in the "American Graffiti" dream and I heard old Rock and Roll at each cruise-in. We had always listened to Oldies, but we had been listening to the Grunge Music that came out in the 1990's . The music in the 1990's was so boring! Grunge was alive and fresh. We went to see Nirvana and Sound Garden. But the car club got me back to the Oldies. I hardly ever played my Washburn guitar that I had had for many years. No time. We really enjoyed the car club and we made great friends and actually became "social" and more outgoing. As I retired from teaching I found that I had time to play my guitar, which I had told myself I was going to do. Then one night I had had a few beers and was playing my guitar (poorly, because I had almost lost my skills and my calluses.) when I heard a song in my head...