About this blog title

I cannot tell you how many times I have shown up at events with a couple of cameras around my neck, a gadget bag full of odds & ends and a lighting kit and have been asked that question. If it happened once every few years, that would be one thing. But it happens a LOT. It's like getting pulled over by the police and he's standing there with uniform, gun, flashing lights and asking him "Are you a cop?" I would love to come back with a witty reply, such as "No, I am Jesus. Don't you recognize my beard?" However, I cannot be that rude.


Thursday, May 3, 2012

Guild Mark V Guitar & Fishman Soloamp at Wine tasting

Yesterday I played guitar at a wine tasting/art show that took place at Carthage Federal Savings & Loan, a bank in Carthage, N.Y. I used a Guild Mark V classical guitar that I bought new in 1984. Many years ago I had a piezo electric pick up installed in it. A couple years ago I bought a Fishman Soloamp 220 which I use at gigs like the one at the bank. There were probably a hundred people there at the height of the event which ran from 5:00 to 7:00. After the first hour my playing seemed to me to have improved. I took a short break and mingled with the folks and got some positive feed back. In parrticular the two organizers of the event were p-leased with what I had to offer. A local radio personality was in attendence and spoke to me briefly. He really liked the music I played and was particularly pleased with Blue Moon. "I loved your arrangement of Bluse Moon!" he said. He went on to tell me what a favorite song of his it is and how he has recordings of many different arrangements of it. The one that I play was arranged by Laurindo Almeida. After Blue Moon I went directly in to Almeida's arrangement of Lara's Theme, better known as Somwhere My Love, the theme song from the movie Dr. Zchivago. The radio man then said " Then you played Lara's Theme and, OH!" he clasped his hands together, placed them over his heart, leaned a bit backward, his head pointed toward the cieling, his eyes rolled dreamily, "It was Heavenly." A couple of other folks mentioned how much the enjoyed Blue Moon also. Near the end of the evening, about the 3rd to last piece I played was Cancione de la Hilandera (Song of the Thread Spinner), a tremolo piece by the great Paraguayan guitarist Augustin Barrios. As I reached a climactic point about 2/3rd throgh the piece a woman came up to me (as I am playing!) and gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek and said, " Your playing is amazing!"
Then I went over to a man from the Tug Hill Winery and had a short chat that resulted in me probably playing at the winery during ine of their Thursday evening Wine Down events. So, that was good. I must be sure to follow up on that.

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Please leav comments and suggestions about this blog and how I maght improve it. Thanks, Gary Walts