Gigs
I first picked up a guitar in the spring of 1966. A mysterious young man showed up at my dorm room with a Silvertone guitar in a plastic bag. Though the room was full of friends, the young man fixed his gaze on me. "Anyone interested in buying a guitar?" I asked how much, to the ridiculing cackling of my friends. "$17.50."
I opened my desk drawer and that's exactly how much money I had. (Insert Twilight Zone do-do-do-do)
And so it began. I lied to my parents, telling them that I had to do some research that required me to stay at school during spring break. It was a week of intense exploration—the beginning of my love affair with the guitar. I didn't know any of the chord names, so I called them "diagonal," "triangle," "3 across," "the bridge," and so forth. I hounded every guitarist I knew on campus, making a total pest of myself. One evening that summer I played for my parents, and they saw that I was serious. So they bought me an Epiphone Texan (pictured). I played "Doc's Guitar" and "Southbound" at a coffee house in Old Town on August 15, 1966. Nobody even laughed at my Madras jacket. My first gig.
I opened my desk drawer and that's exactly how much money I had. (Insert Twilight Zone do-do-do-do)
And so it began. I lied to my parents, telling them that I had to do some research that required me to stay at school during spring break. It was a week of intense exploration—the beginning of my love affair with the guitar. I didn't know any of the chord names, so I called them "diagonal," "triangle," "3 across," "the bridge," and so forth. I hounded every guitarist I knew on campus, making a total pest of myself. One evening that summer I played for my parents, and they saw that I was serious. So they bought me an Epiphone Texan (pictured). I played "Doc's Guitar" and "Southbound" at a coffee house in Old Town on August 15, 1966. Nobody even laughed at my Madras jacket. My first gig.
Upcoming appearances
Compass Rose
Friday, February 7, 2020 & Friday, March 20
at Maya del Sol
144 S Oak Park Ave
Oak Park, IL 60302
9-11 PM
Friday, February 14, 2020
Hey Nonny, Arlington Heights