Postcards from the Funny Farm

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A friend’s spouse told me the other day I was lucky because with a guitar I’d never be unemployed. Hmm, that made little sense to me but I thanked him for the compliment anyway. I used to teach guitar out of my home and had a bunch of marketing pens that lie around my house to this day … without the millions of dollars I secretly thought might follow.

I played until my fingers bled as a kid and spent countless hours through my tween and teen years … even through my 20’s jamming and tuning and restringing that marvelous instrument.

But it hasn’t done me any magical favors or anything. It got me to thinking: What can a guitar player do with a guitar? Here’s my list I came up with:

1. Play on the street corner for maybe a few bucks.
2. Start a band and disillusion other people the same way you are disillusioned (LOL - Oh I have so many times)
3. Record on a home recording system that no one will hear except your wife who will be annoyed she has to sit through it.
4. Play local bars for drunks.
5. Play coffee houses for people who don’t want to hear live music while they talk.
6. “Jam” with friends from work or church etc.
7. Create melodies you think are original only to find later they are plagiarized (there is so little left to invent since the Beatles).
8. Entertain kids that are wild. Music calms the savage beast.
9. Solo to the radio and envision you’re Eric Clapton or that guy from Creed.
10. and finally, smash it to bits against the house in the backyard.

Below are MP3 links to some of the music I’ve wasted too much time making through the years. I could say it feigned insanity but then again … look at the name of my blog ;) I don’t mind the insane label when it involves a 6 string.

people.mp3 surehigh.mp3 fallen.mp3 soultraveler.mp3

If you are a player and a songwriter, you might be interested in my post on how I write songs.

What else can a soul do with a guitar? Your thoughts.