Last night, I had the privilege of playing a show to a packed house with a group of musicians whom I respect very much. My cheeks seriously ache today because of all the grinning I did during the whole show last night.
My friend Deborah Herbert is just a wonderful performer. Her voice blows you away, but it is her stage presence that really impresses me. Her spirit is contageous. She makes everyone in the room feel like they're getting their own private show, and at the same time makes you feel like you've just shared this communal experience with everyone else. She's passing that gift on to her daughter, Jasmin. A truly remarkable young lady with a set of pipes that many adult singers would envy.
Dave Sharman once again anchored the band with his fine guitar playing. I had heard Dave play a number of times before, but I never really got to hear him stretch out and show off his chops like I did the last couple of times he sat in with me to back up Deb. On top of that, he's a genuinely nice guy.
Ross Bracco jumped right into the fire with his upright bass. Ross has only been playing the upright for about a year or so. He bought it after joining me in forming our little acoustic blues group. His background is really in jazz, and boy did he impress me last night. We didn't reherse before the show, because for the most part, we had no idea what we were going to play until Deb called a song. If I didn't know better, I'd say Ross had been rehersing every song we did for weeks.
My nephew, Phil West is a drummer. He graduated from high school this summer, so the novelty of saying "wow, he's good for a kid" has gone. Now what people say is just, "wow, he's good." He's only going to get better as he continues his journey. I can't wait to see it unfold.
Bill Brown is just something else. He's usually pretty soft spoken and reserved, but he just lit up last night. Deborah has that effect on many people, but with Bill, it's extra fun to watch. They did a duet of "Bill Baily" that makes me smile just thinking about it. I've learned a lot from Bill, and it was great to see someone who has played with a lot of very talented people still gets humble about sitting in with someone who is really special. I hope that's a lesson I remember if I'm still doing this as long as Bill has been.
Deb invited anyone who wanted to sing or play to jam with us, and one of my guitar students took her up on the offer and came up to sing. Jennifer Brady sang and impressed everyone in the room. I also put Connie Deming on the spot and had her join Deborah for a version of "Georgia on my Mind" It was sweet. There were other musicians in the room like Pete Collin and Tim Shea who were just there to see a great show. They weren't disappointed.
This is a pretty long page compared with what I usually write, but the title is "Why I Do It" Well, the fact that I can wake up at 6:00 AM and want to tell the world about the show we did last night should be a clue. I just love good music and the feeling I get when a room full of people respond to what we do. There are some who might tell you that music is about art or working out demons or some other such business. If that's what they get out of it, who am I to argue? For me, music is an expression of joy that just makes me feel good to share.