I’m No Itzhak Perlman, But I Ain’t Nero Either

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a chance to spread my wings and fly. Granted, I may only be a couple of feet off the ground, but it feels good.

I am, as I’m sure you’ve figured out, referring to the closet full of instruments that have gone largely untouched for 30 years. All through high school and into college, I had the opportunity to learn and play several instruments (mostly strings). Throughout college I had the musical outlets available to continue playing and improving on these tools.

Once I finished college, the chances to play diminished and my chops started disappearing. Any musician reading this will understand. It’s a painful progression backwards. You see others play and you hear music on the radio and you know, without a doubt, you could do that. Or at least, you used to be able to do that. Something inside you wants out again. There’s a little musical Mr. Hyde running loose inside you that wants to emerge and wreak havoc.

Nice havoc. The good kind.

I’ve had the chance here and there to play. The Warehouse Band in Paris, Tennessee let me play bass for about a year. That was great. Ask me about it sometime. I also got to play different guitars as worship minister at Christ Family Fellowship in Corpus Christi. That was wonderful.

Recently, a new opportunity has surfaced and I’m really enjoying it. Three local musicians, all former LCC Hard Travelers, asked me to join them in their western band called Brazos West. My first thought was, “sure, sounds fun.” I showed up to the first rehearsal and found out they were interested in my fiddling abilities.

Well, that was unexpected. I haven’t touched a fiddle since 1986, my last year at LCC (now LCU) playing with Mike Prather in our group, Aspen. Oh wait, also the summer following that at the Flying J Chuckwagon in Ruidoso, New Mexico. It’s been a long time, baby.

They also wanted me to play mandolin. That was something I was much more comfortable with, although it’s been a while since I did any serious lead work.

It’s taken a few weeks, but I think it’s coming around. The fiddle is sounding decent, as long as we stay in a key that’s nice to me. The mandolin is actually going well. I’m able to play most leads without thinking much about it. That’s a good feeling. I am considering adding in dobro, but I’m sure I would get the inevitable comparisons to my cousin Wally. And I don’t think I’ll ever be that good…

Maybe you’ll get a chance to hear us sometime. We have a lot of fun, which (to me) is more important for this style of music than musical perfection is anyway. Anyone like western music? Sound off and let me know.