The One-Dollar Gig

As a guitar player, I've played a lot of gigs over the years - but the best was an unplanned gig with my brother David. We didn’t even have our own equipment with us, but it worked well.

Dream Guitars

Guitar players love to play, look at, talk and dream about guitars. To the uninitiated, a guitar is just a guitar. For a musician though, guitars have different sounds, purposes, and looks that make them desirable. I own a cherry-sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard and a Fender American Standard Telecaster, guitars I've played for decades. They have served me well in various bands and recording but, of course, guitar players always have a list of axes they dream of owning. My list is short and no, I don't really need any more guitars, but oh to dream...

Duane and his Magical Slide

One of my guitar and musical influences was the great Duane Allman. When I was first learning to play, I started paying attention to Duane and his music. He had already died, but the music he left us with captivated me. Duane's melodic slide guitar playing was mesmerizing, and I wanted to learn to play like him. 

There were other slide players around whose music I was familiar with: Bonnie Raitt, Mick Taylor, George Harrison, and a few others. I had not paid much attention to slide before I heard Duane and the Allman Brothers Band. Obviously, there were quite a few excellent slide artists, but Duane's playing stood out for me as superior.

Ric Ocasek: Rock Star, Memory Maker

Ric Ocasek singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer, best known for his band The Cars, died September 15, 2019. He was a multi-talented guy, and many of the songs he wrote were big hits. More importantly, they were great songs - then and still relevant decades later. I didn't know him personally, but I ran into him once - literally. He also unwittingly helped me have a successful gig.

The Swamp Rocker

John Fogerty is one of the most unique talents in rock history, with a distinctive, recognizable voice and guitar style. For decades, he was the face, the voice, and the driving force behind one of rock’s biggest bands – Creedence Clearwater Revival. He also owns the distinction of probably being the only musician in history to be sued for plagiarizing himself – a result of an unscrupulous record company owner and a contract that amounted to legal theft.

Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton – A Legendary Album

My copy of the album

If you know electric blues, then you are surely familiar with the classic album Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton. It is one of the great blues rock albums in history, a record that helped to set a precedent for blues rock guitar. There were no hit songs from the record, and chart placement was not especially memorable, but none of those things mattered to those who loved the record.

Last Call Bassist

Author's Note: If the reader wants to know what Kaye is really like, I present to you her response to my article. The caps and punctuation are hers. (See below.) 

Carol Kaye is one of the most renowned musicians in pop music history, as a guitarist and bassist. She played on thousands of hit records during a long career as a session musician – a sort of anonymous profession. Studio musicians like her were well paid, but rarely received credit, so it is a good thing that Kaye, for one, is becoming better known and is getting recognition for decades of brilliant work.