Day 31 – Me and my guitar…part 3
Me and my guitar moved away from East Carolina and the coffee house after graduation. When I first learned to play, it was to get lost in the activity, to avoid Daddy and to be in a world of my own. From there it moved to a world of creativity, expression, and joy.
In the days following ECU, I played for myself, small groups and several times in large venues of 10,000+ people. My wife asked me yesterday if I was ever nervous. It’s really harder to play for a few people who are sitting right in front of you than it is for 10,000 because the lights blind you and although you know they are there, you can’t really see them.
I have taught the bible in front of large and small numbers as well and what I have done with both playing and teaching, is to get so into the message or the music that I really didn’t care who was there or who was listening…I was in my own world.
Remember I told you that I played along with Peter, Paul and Mary records in high school? Well, a few years after college, I was working for a Christian organization in lower New York State, and I received a call that someone wanted to talk to me about Christian Coffee houses.
I drive up to Rye, NY and there was a nice mobile camper parked in a parking lot where we were to meet. I knock on the door and Noel Paul Stookey opens the door and invites me in. Here I am face to face with one of my childhood heroes and HE is asking ME how to run a Christian Coffee House. This HAD to be God blessing my life. Why in the world would this man ask me?
At concerts, he used to have something called “Paul Time” or some such name, where he would sit on a stool while Peter and Mary took a break and talk about God. He was a very sweet man and retired now, living in Maine and wanted to host a Christian Coffee House in lower New York for teenagers and college kids.
I told him about my experience at East Carolina and the coffee house we had, and he asked me if I could run it. My current responsibilities didn’t allow me to do that, but we spent about two hours talking about God, life and music. He showed me his Lamsa Bible, which I was familiar with and told me if I ever wanted to come up and record anything he had his own studio I could use…amazing.
I played my Yamaha everywhere I went, and I was playing for a small group in a home in Minnesota one night and a wonderful man named, Joe Peasley, said they had a gift for me. They brought out a Martin guitar case. In all those years of playing, as ridiculous as it sounds, I have never bought a guitar case for my Yamaha, so I was thrilled…until I opened it.
There inside was a brand-new Martin D-20 acoustic guitar. For those of you who are not guitar players, Martin is, as they used to say, the Cadillac of acoustic guitars…meaning, top of the line. I was beyond words. It was a treasured gift I could not have imagined in 100 years.
That guitar is 50 years old now, it sits in my living room and sounds as good today as it did the first time I played it…maybe better because the wood is seasoned now. I had an electric guitar and small amp once, an Epiphone Sheraton thin line semi-hollow body electric guitar…man did I love that thing, but I had to sell it. I would never sell my Martin, it means too much, but I will get another Epiphone Sheraton someday.
Music is a wonderful thing. King David use to play for Saul to soothe and comfort him and that has been my experience many times in my life. From Mama’s “Kay” guitar to my priceless Martin, it’s been quite a journey and I’ve loved every minute of it.
I REALLY love to play “Blues” now and my favorite guy is Joe Bonamassa. He has been playing since he was a boy, even played with B.B. King as a kid!!! Yes, the Blues may sound negative, but I’ll write some “positive” 12 bar blues progression, because the music stirs my soul and that’s what it is all about.
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