At 17 Rick Hudson and I tried to be rock stars and while we thought we were pretty good I derailed our skyrocket climb to the top by having my son.
I thought Jeremy was more fun so the guitar went away until Guy Sayles talked me into attending Seminary.
If you go to Seminary you are expected to go Church ... Guy left that part out ...and after horrific peer pressure expertly delivered by Southern Baptists, I inexplicably became the "Professional Christian" of an inner city church that couldn't afford music.
We have a piano but no pianist ... an organ but no organist ... Hell we even had a set drums but, aside from Jeremy banging on them ... no drummer.
So I called my friend Mitch Wesley, pull out my guitar and we give everything we can to God, Prostitutes, Prisoners and Junkies.
The Church did well in spite of my lack of an attendance policy so Mitch went his own way and the guitar was packed away again.
Sporadically though the years I'd pull it out and ... remember what it's like to make music.
Decades later Samuel Adams, who used to play damn good live music on island, presses Sarah and I to join the Bar Church Band and it's hard to not like Sam ... and whole idea of Church in a Bar ... plus Davy is the drummer ... so I pull the guitar out and we join.
It was a lot of fun until Sam kicks Sarah and me out of the band.
About that time Monty Parks decides to start a weekly jam and I have no recollection of why he asked me or why I attended but I kept playing.
Then Sam kicks himself out of the Bar Church Band ... and Bar Church in general ... and Stephen Gross calls Sarah and I to take over the band we'd been kicked out of.
After a business meeting on the Pier, Sarah, Davy the drummer and I form the nucleus ... maybe it's anti-matter ... of the Bar Church Band.
Lona Crasks joins because ... I don't know why ... she lost her mind and joined.
John Iacovini joins and brings his Groupies with him.
Lots of musical friends ... too many to mention though Roy Swindell, Tom Cooler, Randy Stokes, Thomas Oliver and Jimmy Cochran are among them ... and even for a shinning moment Rick Hudson himself ... rotate through making it all better.
Last night it was Doug Carter from Tennessee laying it down and I realize that my 58 year old love of God and music ... the dream to play live ... with people who are better than me ... in front of a crowd ... has come true.
I'm gearing up for Bar Church now and whisper a simple prayer of thanks that I get to do this for now.
Amen.
Rock On!
