Last night I played my Telecaster, man.
I’ve got this Telecaster – it’s aquamarine, a color I do not like, with a wood neck I do – that I bought at a pawn shop so long ago that it probably didn’t cost much. At first, way back when, I thought an electric was easier to play than an acoustic because it was easier to get it to make noise. That was a beginner’s snap judgment. When I got better at acoustic, I stopped playing the electric so much. Part of it was because I could play an acoustic in the living room, and it didn’t require an amplifier.
I also have a mandolin, which is easy to play basic chords on. I haven’t played mandolin in a long time, principally because I busted a string, and usually when I bust a string, I replace the whole set. (Actually, that mandolin string was the last string I busted. Now I usually replace the strings when they start sounding dull. For whatever reason, probably that I’ve grown fond of playing with my fingers instead of with a pick, I just don’t bust them anymore. Knock on wood. Or strum over it.) Anyway, restringing my cheap mandolin is a pain, and I don’t have an extra set (8) of mandolin strings, and I can’t seem to remember to buy some. To summarize, I haven’t played my mandolin in a long time.
But I digress.
I think it was Super Bowl Sunday. It may have been the day before. I was bored with a basketball game, or determined not to watch the Rolex 24 Hours of Super Bowl Pregame, and I discovered that “Woodstock” was on one of the satellite channels.
Here’s one of the oddities of guitar. When one plays guitar, it doesn’t matter how bad one is. One nonetheless becomes absolutely obsessed with watching other people play guitar. It always seems as if it’s possible to do what these virtuosos do until one sits down and tries, at which point the reality is ridiculous, and one realizes that one could play guitar around the clock for 10 years and never be able to play anywhere approaching that way.
But one can dream.
Inspired by “Woodstock,” I suddenly had a hankering to play my Fender Telecaster, which was in its case, buried deep in a closet. I dug it out and plugged it into the guitar amp in what is otherwise my home office. I had a ball. I sort of updated my electric-guitar playing to what little I’ve learned on the acoustic in the past six months.
I started playing Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Jackson Browne, Buddy Holly, the Eagles and Elton John. Then I started rocking away at my own songs. Changing the kind of guitar changes the way I sing. I start yelling a lot more. It’s fun, especially as an alternative to Super Bowl hype.
I kept on playing around with it all week. It may have been the best thing that happened. Most everything else was work except for having supper with some friends and going to a Presbyterian College basketball game.
On the second and fourth Fridays of each month, local musicians (and even I) get together at El Jalisco Mexican Restaurant for “Jamlisco,” which is part open mic and part jam session (and part cold beer and part Mexican food). I took the Telecaster last night and worked up a sweat. I went up and played whatever I wanted to at the moment I decided to. (Does that make sense? Hmm.) I only played a few of my songs. I did imitations for a while – Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Ray Price, Marty Robbins, Charley Pride, Buck Owens – and not just different verses of the same song. I sang snippets of “Omaha,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Tennessee Whisky,” “Invitation to the Blues,” “Devil Woman,” “Wonder Could I Live There Anymore” and “Love’s Gonna Live Here.” I did an Buddy Holly medley (“I Guess It Doesn’t Matter Anymore,” “Oh Boy,” “Raining in My Heart”). I played 30 minutes, rapid-fire, and worked up a good sweat. I felt energetic and relaxed.
I still like playing acoustic guitar better. I’m not packing the Telecaster away, th
I finally let my Fender Telecaster out of the house.
ough. As Dudley Moore (as Arthur Bach) once asked, “Isn’t fun the greatest thing you can have?”
I never get to SC, but next time you do Buck Owens, how about doing Sam’s Place? Love that song and never hear it anymore!
It wouldn’t take much for me to learn it. You’re right. It’s a fine song, and Buck Owens wrote and sang a lot of them. If I play one at a gig, it’s usually “Love’s Gonna Live Here” or “Act Naturally.”
Hey Monte,
I’m relatively new to this site and have really enjoyed reading your post. I sure didn’t know that you (in the words of Briscoe Darling of the Andy Griffith Show) “strainged”. I have been playing guitar for over 55 years (started when I was 4). I retired from public playing on 12/31/99 and don’t mess with it much any more. I sold most of my stage gear but still have 5 or 6 guitars hanging around and I’ll pick one up every once in a while. In this article, you mentioned your Telecaster…….the photo shows a Strat (I think). Regardless, I still have a couple of Teles. They are the perfect guitar for that “country twang” that Don Rich played on the Buck Owens records. He was a good’un. I initially got into acoustic guitar because of country music, bluegrass, and bands from the early 70s like America. I always like the purity and clarity of non-electric instruments with good, tight, 3 part harmony vocals. That stuff was good to me. As I grew older, I realized that I could make part time wages by playing in public. There wasn’t much of a market for bluegrass—-so—-I went country. During the late 80s and the 90s, that was the highest paying gigs you could get. The band I was in was pretty well organized and dedicated to trying to play the best we could. Honestly, we were not all that “hot” individually, but collectively, we sounded OK. We made it a point to entertain the crowd….play with them…..not play to them.
Me and the lead vocalist would sit down every so often and try to write songs. (same as you). It is a lot harder than most folks would think. To convey emotion with minimal words and melody ain’t easy. (yea….I know….the Moon/June thing comes to most folks mind…..but that don’t often work…lol) I think we have 4 songs listed with BMI and haven’t ever had anyone nibble at them.
Funny Story…….we were the opening act for Country Artist “Ty Herndon” at the Palomino Club – Charlotte back in the mid 90s. Ty was hot as a 2 dollar pistol back then. He could really sing and he was “purdee”. The women would flock to his shows. We already knew that he didn’t write any of his songs so we planned to give him a demo/CD of some of our original music. Our opening set went well….then he and his band “blew the place away”. After the show, we went over to him and his guitarist and hung out a little bit. He was leaving Charlotte and going straight to Atlanta that Saturday night to take a week or so off. He gladly accepted the CD and promised he would give our stuff a listen. That Sunday morning, I get a call from Morris (the singer) saying that someone just called his house but didn’t leave a message. The area code of the number indicated that call was made from Atlanta. Well……we were quite excited and neither of us could have used the bathroom in a 5 acre cotton field. About an hour passes and Morris calls the number back. The line was busy. We just knew that Ty was probably talking to his agent in Nashville about one of our songs. Morris tried calling that number 3 more times and each time….the line was busy. About 2 hours later, he calls and finally gets through. The voice on the other end told him that he was trying to sell Aluminum Siding and Replacement Windows…….#$%!@
Sure was not what we were hoping for……..hehe.
Do keep writing and performing your music. As William Congreve once said, “Music hath power to soothe the savage beast”. Amen.
I recently discovered an amazing guitarist. He’s a “nobody” and hasn’t really made a name for himself yet. But, his playing has impressed me just as much as the 1st time I heard Doc Watson, Tony Rice, or Eddie Van Halen. I think you’ll like this. (I still don’t know what Jon was thinking when he takes a 1982 Disco song and turns it into an acoustic guitar tune…….must have had too much re-fried beans that night).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vCcZIARw9k
Take Care
Steve
Thanks for writing, Steve. I’ve fruitlessly handed out a few homemade CDs of my songs, too.
I’ll keep trying.