In the late 1970’s, I attended a concert that created a spark.

The concert was staged at the Hampton Beach Casino in New Hampshire, the artist was a guy named Harry Chapin. For those of you that don’t know about Harry, he was a story teller, his music spoke of his adventures, his loves, his losses. He sang in a style that was truly his own.

I sat in the audience that night, thinking what a great job this Chapin guy has, entertaining us with his gravely voice and his guitar. I started playing guitar about that time.  Not long after, with a thumb out and a guitar case afoot, I spent a year, vagabonding around the west coast. I was a shy guitar player that would quietly strum and sing songs, making friends with other shy wannabe musicians. We would sit and jam for hours sharing beers, songs and stories. My instrument barely fit in its case with all the scraps of paper and photo copied sheet music I acquired. Years passed, and I continued playing, but those occasions were rare and without people to make music with, the spark was barely a dull flicker. About 10 years ago, I picked up my guitar, dusted it off and started playing once again and once again I found myself gravitating toward other wannabe musicians. With some poking and prodding from good friends, and a talented instructor, this shy guitar player started taking chances and stepping out of his comfort zone. The music that I sing and play today is based on what I learned as a young man. I try to make songs, that I stole over the last 30 years, mine. I put my twist on them and sing them in a style that is true to me. Just like Harry did.