Holy Abuse, Batman

Rob's latest post almost made me cry. Seriously. I tend to refer to my attempts to play guitar as "abusing my guitar," but I still have a hard time entrusting it to the hands of others. I have flown with my guitar a few times and have always carried it on, detuning some to avoid snapping strings or warping the neck. On the way to Sacramento last spring, the flight attendant actually asked me if we could play it a little in flight. That was kind of fun, he had some flight attendant parody songs that he played for the entire plane. Crazy guy.

I actually feel bad for my guitar, because it deserves to be played better. It's exactly the one I wanted--it sounds like a honey waterfall. Gah-- gorgeous. I've thought about taking guitar lessons more than several times. However, living in Nashville it's a kind of daunting thought because everyone assumes everyone is dying for a record deal-- and I'm not. I want to do my own thing. I don't think I could handle a dictating mainstream record label controlling my life. I wouldn't mind, however, a supportive indie label guiding me along... Anyway, my friend Andy, who produced my CD project also played guitar for it, since what I know I've taught myself, and that's not much.

I have never claimed to be a guitar player. I am a singer who aspires to play guitar more and "abuse" it less. I aspire to play my own music, dangit! So, if you don't see me playing out (which you won't really) this is why: because I want to play my own music. I want to be able to get up on stage with just Barley and Me. (Barley is my guitar and my music will be registered under "Barley and Me Music"). So, I guess I better get cracking at that. Until then, I'll be able to play out when my friends will so graciously play with me.