Guitar Gear

I’m not ashamed to say that I’m very involved in my church’s music program; and I also play music for my kids’ school masses as well. I’ll admit that a primary driver of my involvement comes from my sense of duty to my parish community, but much of it also comes from just wanting to play guitar – ALL THE TIME! So even though it’s a church service, I don’t care; at least I get to play. 🙂 Today, for instance, was my turn to do music for my kids’ school’s weekly mass. I usually do it solo, but this time I invited a couple of my cohorts from Mass Hysteria, my Sunday Mass band to play. Only one of them showed, which was no big deal. The point was to play some music together, and get the kids rockin’!

And that’s exactly what we did. With my buddy Dave on acoustic, and me on piano and Blondie, my Tele, we just played our hearts out, both in praise, but also because at least for us, it’s pure enjoyment. Dave and I have been playing together for years, so we inherently know how either of us is going to react to pretty much any situation. There are no expectations, no judgments. It’s just loving to play music together, and sharing that love with whoever’s listening! Today was particularly special because the kids (about 500) really sang their voices out with us, and clapping their hands, and rockin’ the house. It was such a charge that it made my whole day.

And I guess that’s the point of me wanting to play so much. I just want to share the joy that I get from playing music. It’s not about image or how good or bad I am relative to others. If I can spread a little joy, maybe that’ll have an effect on others, and they in turn will share their joy with even more people.

You see, playing music to me is like a drop of water falling into a still pond. The drop might be insignificant in and of itself, but once it strikes the surface of the pond, its impact sends ripples in all directions, affecting the entire pond. For me as a musician, I’ve always been aware of that effect that music has on people. Joy is contagious. And joy spread through a medium like music can change the world.