Shinn the Writer

Guitar on the Road

 

So, I went on my big road trip. One reason I liked the idea of driving instead of flying is that it would be sacrilege to not have a guitar for two-and-a-half weeks. I mean, really! I should play at least a little every day. Not that I do, but I should. Michael Locke, a most excellent guitar teacher I had, said I should at least pick it up and play a note to reaffirm that I’m a guitar player. The real idea of the road trip was that I just wanted to get on the road and drive, but I tend to travel light, so taking my guitar along was no big deal.

 

Funny thing about driving all day, I found that I simply didn’t want to play my guitar. Watching television or doing computer stuff were higher priorities. It was pretty much like that on the other road trips. I brought my guitar but didn’t play it much. I always brought it in from the car to at least keep it safe from the weather or potential theft, but I just never got around to playing it.

 

It wasn’t until I got to Michigan that I played more than a quick song. Dan, as a former bandmate wanted to play and broke out his Ovation. It was good fun, though he hadn’t played his guitar in (literally) years. He played keyboards in the band. 

 

But my next stop was Mary up on Lake Superior. When we first met in Brimley State Park (literally right next door to her bungalow) I was with Dave and Gary, two friends of mine from church who also sang and played guitars. This was 55 years ago! We sang for her and the others at the campsite then, billing ourselves as “Crosby, Stills and Trash”. Guess who I got to be? Gary, Mary and I managed to stay very close over the years. 

 

So over three evenings I played her my entire setlist for the last Neighborhood Night Out that I’d done a couple of months earlier, plus every other song I could remember. I sometimes surprise myself with how many songs I actually remember. Mary didn’t start throwing things at me, so I guess it was okay. And my hands didn’t turn to mush or blister after all this playing, more than I usually do in such a compressed timeframe. Yeah, bringing my guitar was worthwhile.

 

But that was pretty much the last time I did anything more with it for the rest of the trip, more than a week. Within a week of my return I had a pair of gigs, one at church and one with my old band, but these were both bass gigs and I didn’t have a set list for either. Still, there was one song I didn’t know that I wanted to learn not just for the show, but for my own benefit. I didn’t touch it. Or anything else for more than maybe five minutes.

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A road trip would seem to be an Ideal time to get in a little playing time. But through the years I’ve found that I need an audience to play for or I don’t really play at all. Sad but true. It’s probably one reason I prefer to play on the porch more than in the house. Someone might hear me. I finally learned “Four Strong Winds”, a new song for the upcoming gig, when I got home. I was amused to find that Neil didn’t write it. It was a song written by Ian Tyson (of Ian and Sylvia) that Neil covered. Anyway, I procrastinated until just a couple of days before the performance before seriously working on it.