Old Man, Old Woman, a Drunk, Me and Sloppy Joes

[Veritas]

I generally play lots of metal, so rocking hard is usually my method of mayhem. However, I had a killer experience I gotta share. This was a beautiful moment in my life.

I travel a lot for business and met up with this 85 year old cat who does maintenance at a facility I call on. After talking a bit, we came to discover we both play. He invited me over to his house that night to jam. Hell, a lot better than hanging out with clients and getting wasted...

I show up to his house and he has five amazing acoustic guitars (martin, taylor, seagull, etc...) sitting on his couch. He says "Pick One!" I grab the Seagull. We go into his dining room and his wife of 83 years is standing in the corner with an upright bass, a younger guy of 45 years is sitting down with at least 15 beer cans in front of him and there are a bunch of Sloppy Joes on the table.

After formalities, we get right to business, and this is where it gets beautiful. We basically played old country, so I just kept rhythm going with chords. The lady was jamming out on the bass and singing with this wonderful "old lady" voice. Occasionally, the husband would come in and they would harmonize. It sounded amazing with them singing together. Gave me goose bumps!! The drunk would chime in here and there with this deep, drunk warbling voice that was about an 1/8th beat off..somehow it just added to the music. We sat around and played for hours with me just smiling the whole time.

This really gave me a deeper appreciation for music. It was obvious music IS their life. I can't think of a better way to live. Husband and wife making music...

No Music. No Life.

[SteveNbr]

Very nice story. Very nice, indeed.

Some of the best things in life are found unexpectedly.

In sales here too... as good as getting a big order is, it's usually something else that reallly gets you going.

[Slipstream]

Sounds like a lot of fun. I could imagine bein' there just from reading that. :)

[Emixolydian]

That is awesome. Sloppy joes rock!

I'd love to do that sometime, but I never feel confident in joining in on a style I'm not familiar with. Once I was invited to play with this Mariachi band, but I didn't know what to do so I refused.

But rock on man, that's badass.

[socialmisfit]

thats way too cool! people like that are the coolest, especially when they invite you into thier homes to jam :D

[Veritas]

Mariachi Band? Now I would not know what to do there. I guess I would just throw in a bunch of "Eyii Eyiii Yahhhs!"

That experience just showed me there is a lot of people out there who are good at heart. The guy is also a luthier. Makes his own banjos, mandolins, ukulele's and so on...

I only hope to be as good of a person as he is when I grow up...I'm 30 so I have a long ways to go.

[ValveTronix]

Mariachi Band? Now I would not know what to do there. I guess I would just throw in a bunch of "Eyii Eyiii Yahhhs!"

That experience just showed me there is a lot of people out there who are good at heart. The guy is also a luthier. Makes his own banjos, mandolins, ukulele's and so on...

I only hope to be as good of a person as he is when I grow up...I'm 30 so I have a long ways to go.

It dosent happen to be John and Betty Reser does it? They are amazing. Betty has won a few bluegrass over 50 vocalist competitions. People will take insturments to John for repairs and Jam while there over there, and keep doing it untill John and Betty decide to tell em just to come over and jam!

[Ranger]

That is really cool man. Kinda makes ya feel good inside doesn't it? :D

[Veritas]

It dosent happen to be John and Betty Reser does it? They are amazing. Betty has won a few bluegrass over 50 vocalist competitions. People will take insturments to John for repairs and Jam while there over there, and keep doing it untill John and Betty decide to tell em just to come over and jam!


No, the guys name is Les Taylor out of Phoenix, AZ. Amazing people...I'm tring to get my wife to get into an instrument. My daughter is one year and 2 months and plays around with a harmonica, recorder and a cheap snare drum. That couple inspired me to get my family into music.

[Veritas]

That is really cool man. Kinda makes ya feel good inside doesn't it? :D

Most certainly!

[mk-ultra]

haha

[shake a leg]

Sounds like a lot of fun. I could imagine bein' there just from reading that. :)

me too

its sounds like one of those moments where nothing matters, just the music.

[Veritas]

Family, friends and music...what else matters?

[adgardad]

I started playing in a band when I was 16 years old. It was a mother and father and 4 daughters playing acoustic music. I eventually married the youngest daughter. I still like to joke that I am the new guy in the band, though I've been with them now for 28 years.
Our children are now old enough that they are starting to play as well. They perform with us occasionally and are working at trying to put together their own band.
There is NOTHING as great as playing music with your own family!
Veritas - you have many great things to look forward to. You might try checking out a local bluegrass festival sometime. It is very family oriented and there are always jam sessions to play at that last late into the night. I expect that the folks you met could probably steer you to one.

[Veritas]

That's too cool!! I will definitely check out the bluegrass festivals. It would be great to learn how to jam to bluegrass...

How did you get your kids into music and how did you get them to keep their interest?

[adgardad]

I think that the best thing for the kids was just being exposed to it so much and for so long. My son first went on stage at age 4 months. We were playing a show and my wife had somebody lined up to hold him while we went on. When they announced us, surprise, nobody was there, so he just went on in my wifes arms (she just sang that night). I think he slept through the whole thing.
There were always instruments around the house and LOTS of different styles of music being played and listened to. We bought a piano and started them on lessons when they were 9 and 6 years old and did that for a couple years. They also both decided to play in the school band when they got to 5th grade. My son plays trombone and my daughter plays clarinet.
I had offered to show them how to play different instruments over the years. We did lessons a few times but it never seemed to be anything that they would stick with. I made sure that they knew that I was always there and willing to help them if they wanted. As my son got a little older he seemed to be drawn more and more to playing guitar.
The big breakthrough for him came about when we went to a bluegrass festival about a year ago. I told my son that we would go and jam while we were there. I went with him to a couple jams, helped him figure out some chords, showed him a bit about 'reading' other people's chords as they were playing and so on. He eventually went and found a jam sessiion without me, made some new friends and had a great time. He's had the bug ever since. He's really practiced a lot and asks me all the time about how certain songs go or how can I do this or that technique. He's played on stage with us a couple times now and he looks forward to every jam session that we can get to. He's already talking about his first band...
My daughter hasn't gotten the fever yet. We bought her a mandolin for Christmas but she's 11 and would still rather play with Bratz dolls and watch cartoons. I'll just keep trying to feed her interest and hope that she finds what she really wants to do.
I also gave fiddle lessons to my nephew when he was just a little guy. He didn't stick with it, but he just graduated high school and bought a guitar and amp with some of his graduation money. So now I am helping him learn the guitar as well.
I think a lot of it is just giving them the time and the support and waiting for the moment when it suddenly hits them that they just have to do this. Helping these young people that I love so much to learn to do something that I love so much is one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.

[adgardad]

My wife also just reminded me about what a friend of ours did. He said that when the kids were little they bought a bunch of instruments, put them all out on the bed and said "Don't touch those!" :smile:
It must've worked, because they had one of the best family bluegrass bands in the country. Their son has played guitar for a number of years now for Ricky Skaggs' "Kentucky Thunder". Their daughter Rhonda is the 'queen' of bluegrass music. Her band, "Rhonda Vincent and the Rage", play on the Grand Ole Opry and at bluegrass festivals around the world, and Rhonda has been the IBMA female vocalist of the year for more years than I can keep track of.

[Wildhawk]

Great story! 6 string salute to those still rockin' in their 80's.

[Veritas]

Dont touch...That's great, I'll have to use that. I can't wait until my kids are old enough to start playing. CHEERS!

[gtrhrcane]

Sounds like a lot of fun. I could imagine bein' there just from reading that. :)

ditto, nice relaying of the experience. sounds like a great time,

Wildhawk Great story! 6 string salute to those still rockin' in their 80's.

and a big ditto to this. Too cool man.

[Veritas]

I hope I'm still rockin when I'm 80... It would be cool to be 80 and sit down with some open minded young musicians and compare notes.

[gtrhrcane]

No doubt.

I get a lot of flack from 'friends' my 'age' asking me why I play with old people, "they're almost dead".... w/e, they still know more than most these punks will ever know.

That's why I continue to host and have jams with people that are twice my age. :)

[Puddlegum66]

There's nothing wrong with playing with people who are older than you or who play a completely different style than what you're used to. That's how you learn new things.

[lyleman]

That story is too good to be true. But sometimes the most unlikely people are "players".

I keep hoping Johny Cash will come back to like so that I can jam with him!

[Veritas]

I keep hoping Johny Cash will come back to like so that I can jam with him!

Imagine playing with Cash...that would be amazing!

[gtrhrcane]

I played Pipeline with a guy at these open mics I used to go to with my old band, he could do a dead ringer with Cash's playing and voice. A real quiet, non descript older fella, almost Cash like in appearance minus the roughness. Could he ever nail that Cash vibe though.

[Veritas]

I'd give a left...toe, if I could sing like Cash. The guys voice is so full of emotion. Thats how the old guy I played with sounded as well...but just not as good.

[almost a regula]

thanks for disturbing images and nightmares

[Peaceful]

No doubt.

I get a lot of flack from 'friends' my 'age' asking me why I play with old people, "they're almost dead".... w/e, they still know more than most these punks will ever know.

That's why I continue to host and have jams with people that are twice my age. :)

I don't find many people aged 114. :) :) :) :)