Cypress Knee
Member
I took my 1973 F50R to the "Friendly Inn" where they have a Sunday afternoon jam session, so to speak, every week.
There were only two other people playing, an older man and I guess his son, but I sat in with them for awhile. Pretty soon, an old black man entered the room, gray hair peaking out from under a black cowboy hat, and a gray goatee accenting his lined face.
The older man whispered to me, "Oh, gee, this could be a treat."
This was a bar in a, well to be politically correct, non-diversified up and coming rural area with expensive homes owned by young professionals... I guess. Plus lots of farmers.
Be that as it may, the only black man in the bar had someone ask him to play something on a guitar. He said he didn't have one.
Well, I did...a Guild F50R, 1973 vintage that plays like butter. I stood up up and said, "Play this one."
Play he did. Wow. Country blues, blues, rock-a-billy, old standards, two-finger style with a bare thumb cranking out the bass lines and a steel fingerpick on his index finger playing the lead melodies.
Every couple songs he would glance at me and ask, "Don't you want your guitar back?" I would shake my head 'No', not as long as he had songs to play.
Finally, he was done. He complimented me on the guitar as he handed it back, but Lord, I didn't want to try to play after that!
Turns out he is some artist that the Smithsonian Folkways recruits and puts on tour these days. One guy told me that this fellow wanders in now and then, and that there are "regulars" who have never seen him play, and here I wander in and lend the guy my guitar my first visit.
C'est la vie.
CK
PS (This is the edit portion) I took a seat in front of the guitars, the other guys had a Martin HD-28 and his son an Ibanez. He was flatpicking along, but whenever the guy with my guitar wanted the spotlight he just let it rip and the guitar took over. A few people in the audience commented on the sound...just thought you guys would like to know that.
There were only two other people playing, an older man and I guess his son, but I sat in with them for awhile. Pretty soon, an old black man entered the room, gray hair peaking out from under a black cowboy hat, and a gray goatee accenting his lined face.
The older man whispered to me, "Oh, gee, this could be a treat."
This was a bar in a, well to be politically correct, non-diversified up and coming rural area with expensive homes owned by young professionals... I guess. Plus lots of farmers.
Be that as it may, the only black man in the bar had someone ask him to play something on a guitar. He said he didn't have one.
Well, I did...a Guild F50R, 1973 vintage that plays like butter. I stood up up and said, "Play this one."
Play he did. Wow. Country blues, blues, rock-a-billy, old standards, two-finger style with a bare thumb cranking out the bass lines and a steel fingerpick on his index finger playing the lead melodies.
Every couple songs he would glance at me and ask, "Don't you want your guitar back?" I would shake my head 'No', not as long as he had songs to play.
Finally, he was done. He complimented me on the guitar as he handed it back, but Lord, I didn't want to try to play after that!
Turns out he is some artist that the Smithsonian Folkways recruits and puts on tour these days. One guy told me that this fellow wanders in now and then, and that there are "regulars" who have never seen him play, and here I wander in and lend the guy my guitar my first visit.
C'est la vie.
CK
PS (This is the edit portion) I took a seat in front of the guitars, the other guys had a Martin HD-28 and his son an Ibanez. He was flatpicking along, but whenever the guy with my guitar wanted the spotlight he just let it rip and the guitar took over. A few people in the audience commented on the sound...just thought you guys would like to know that.
