I've been a musician since I was 16 years old and at 45 I still tinker but that's about it. Well my son, now 19 years old, has also become a musican, starting when he was about 16 as well.
I've been reliving my past through him to some degree with a little differnt attitude though. I mean now I'm the old guy that comes home to a garage full of kids (that all need a haircut) beating on drums with screaming amplifyers in an utter display of caos yelling "turn it down" or better yet "it's over for the day - now get out".
I've always encouraged him however, giving him my old stuff (which is really nice stuff by the way) and offering a tip here and there.
Well he's very secretive with me about what he's doing. Turns out he's very intimidated by me since I'm his old man and I've made several CD's and played a zillion gigs. He's just nervous about me being around him when he's playing, hence up to this point, I really didn't know what he had going on.
So he gets this gig at a local coffee shop in town on Saturday evening. I naturally asked him if it would bother him for me to be there. Initially he asked me not to come because having me there might make him nervous and cause him to blow the gig. So I was cool, I said " no problem, you just let me know one day when you feel comfortable enough, and I'll show up then."
Well I guess he thought about it enough and changed his mind and invited me to the show. I was so happy, and I even offered to make sure the sound was cool and stuff like that, which made him feel pretty good.
So I go to the show, they played 5 songs - all original and all written by him. As I watched them play thier songs, which were very very cool songs, I felt so proud and moved I can't even describe it. I mean here is this kid who used to fall asleep in my garage/studio durnig my band practices, playing and singing songs that he had written in a little coffee shop almost 20 years later. Just one of those moments, ya know?
Then the real kicker - I realized that the guitar he was playing was a guitar I bought when he was born. It is an acoustic guitar I bought so I could play quitely now that I had a new baby boy in the house, and there he was, playing it in a coffee shop and feeling on top of the world.
I caught some of it on video. Below are a couple of links if you're interested. I hope you all have a great day, and if you've got little one's at home, enjoy it while you can cause the next thing you know they're all grown up playing your guitar you bought 20 years ago!
Peace out!
https://www.thinkbigworksmall.com/public/showArchiveVideo/3/949
https://www.thinkbigworksmall.com/public/showArchiveVideo/3/950
Frank