Secrets of A Musician

“They Muttered in Silence, as I took to the Stage, I Picked up the Guitar”

I have always played a few songs that I only knew from strumming on my guitar in my spare time in my room at home. I never really finished a song completely to make any real music out of my many guitars. The three I have just sit in their holders waiting to be played, and one by one I will pick them up and play a riff or a few chords and then strum away a fairly nice tune.

I had an Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, and an old antique acoustic guitar with nylon strings and though I strummed on them almost daily, I never played a full song that anyone would recognize, so I never glutted that I was any good. I was always in tune with one another, because musically I have always played an instrument, and read notes back when I was young. I play with my ear and hear what I think sounds good, a strange hobby once I think about it.

I have a small recording studio and include all you would need to produce an album with, and though I have made songs in their entirety and recorded them as well. I’ve never thought I was good enough to be on the radio at any time, nor was that a goal for me.

I went to a Nightclub one night, because I wanted to hear some music, I haven’t done this in say twenty years or so. Well I sat at a table for four since the bar was all full and there was a band onstage, they were really very talented. I thought in my head as I took a drink from my Cola , what if I just got up and asked if I could play that nice Gibson Electric, the lead player had strapped onto him and started to play my songs. What a great feeling it would be to please a large crowd as there was in here and have them rooting me on. I saw some old friends they were old drinking buddies and they were pretty stoned, we talked for a moment and reminisced about those we knew had gone.

The band took a break and I thought, “Now is the time to go ask this guitar man if I can play my own song, and impress my old buddies and others as well with my talent.” I could not finish a song, though, I thought in my head. What a fool you would make of yourself, I had to prove it to myself, I’m getting older now and I bet the nerves would help me play something that made sense to not only me but the crowd as well.”

I drank the Cola down as it were a shot of whiskey and pumped my nerves up and ran my hands through my hair to look as though I was a rocker like them, I talked to the Gibson guitar kid and he said , laughingly , “Turn it up and go for it man”

Not knowing what I was going to play the crowd was all laughing cause that’s all I could here, maybe not at me, but feeling the panic build, I turned the volume to the desired levels and treble and bass to the settings I am use to at home, I was at a Hard Rock nightclub and decided I better play something very hard. I put on my sunglasses to look the part of a rock and roll musician and turned to the crowd, now all eyes were on me and mumbles were loud, I hammered a hard chord and began feeling a song emerge like I did at my room at home, one more Chord Hard!! And I was off playing an old Van Halen Song from the 1980s,”Running with the Devil “and everyone gathered to watch me closer and started to look amazed at what this old man could do, I had it up loud, to get the effects I needed and began playing the song , in the middle of the song , I hear the beat from the drums, I turn smiling as the drummer looked on , the singer of this local band got up on stage and started to sing the parts that were needed to finish this song, My face was a glimmer of smiles as the crowd they just danced and we played a few extra measures to make my night complete.

I began to hand the guitar back to this nice fellow and he pushed it back to me, I laughed and he said no, your darn good, and we want you to play another, well I gracefully gave him his guitar back and said maybe a next time, all the while I had not noticed that I had the crowd in a roar and it was because of me, and people were asking me who did I use to play for and was I part of a rock band and I’ve never felt better in my entire life as you see , I took to this stage because in my twenty’s it was me . I had a crowd follow me out to my car, and I drove a black sports car and they didn’t believe me at all, they thought I was this musician that just came there to play and though I can play the part and look it, I actually got to be me again, sober, rocking roll Christopher, who use to do this in my partying days.

I haven’t forgotten that night, and I never will, when people first look at me, I don’t look like a rock star, as indeed I was, and it’s helped my music out making me play some of my old songs from start to beginning, because I might have to do it again to feel young as I was that night, and feel the glory of being a star for a few moments. The Rock Star in me has not lost his sound, just sobered up and very proud that God gave me the ability to prove it once more to myself that I was good, and still have it.