Stretching Across Generations with Magical Musical Moments

There have been some magical moments in my backyard. It’s a pretty cool spot and part of what makes it so cool is the music. We live on the lake’s edge and have a stage there. For years we have been having these great jams on the Fourth of July, Memorial Day and Labor day, all the big holidays. Here, by the lake, we use them as an excuse to get together, plug in all the stuff and make loud music all day long.

Click through for the videos

Memorial Day this year was no exception. There were some magical moments. We had everyone put their instrument on the stage and I got in there and we shot some video and some great photos. Priceless. How often do you get that many guitars all in one place?

Another moment: friends of mine I had not seen in years, two brothers and a sister, all on the same stage at the same time for the first time in 30 years or so, having a reunion in my yard. Awesome. That’s what it’s all about. Playing with friends and family; playing with folks you have never met or haven’t seen in years; playing songs we make up on the spot on guitars that you’ve never played; priceless moments that mean something different to everyone involved. The “good” guy playing with the beginner, the drummer trying out a keyboard…I love to stretch people’s musical boundaries, my own included.

More importantly it is about fun, about just playing for fun. No audience, no show, no costumes or lights and lasers. It is just a couple of guys playing music in the sunset while other players listen. No critics, bad notes are allowed, you are encouraged to try something new and risk being silly.

Another moment: See my friend Ed’s account of the day. He finally let go and just played. What a delight to watch! It has been a while since Ed played seriously and I’ve been teasing him and tempting him with jams. This time he found some confidence – or maybe some indifference – and just let go and played. He sounded great and had a ball and you can read about that right here.

Another treat at jams like this is family. How wonderful it is to have my grandson and his father both on stage with me at the same time. I don’t get to play lead guitar very often and I’m not as good at it as I would like to be. I just have fun and hope for the best. This year my family moment came with my grandson’s dad. The Brain we call him and you should hear him shred. We haven’t played together in a really long time and this time he played rhythm and let me go nuts on a guitar I’d never touched before that moment. I had a ball. Here it is with all my mistakes, I don’t care. I had so much fun playing and watching my grandson watch us play. I hope he remembers this someday as a special day. It was for me.

This is a playlist of two videos. It may very well be the only footage I have playing with Brian.
My grandson there on stage makes this 3 generations of rock. Me and my boyz.
What a precious memory for me. This footage was meant to be “B” roll footage but the “A” roll camera had run out of tape so this is all we have. The other camera had the good sound.

It is important to me to pass music on. When my kids were little I was the local guitar teacher in town and I was afraid to push too hard. I didn’t want to force it on them like some of my student’s parents. I wanted them to pick an instrument on their own. I didn’t want them to play guitar just because I did. I wanted them to want to learn how to play something. They did, each of them in their own way picked up a little music and can play a little something. More importantly they grew, on their own, a great appreciation for music. In our house growing up they heard mostly my music and classic rock. The quality of that music and the experience of seeing music created had to have a huge influence on what they like. I’ve seen their playlists, they like good music of all types. It makes me smile to know that they like a little of everything, from big band swing to hip-hop and everything in between.

My granddaughter is starting a band, my grandson can headbang better than you, and grandpa is pleased. I hope that they, too, pick up a few instruments over the years and I really look forward to more holidays with three generations of family music. What better memory or legacy could I leave behind?

Music! It binds us, it refreshes us, it makes us cry, it makes us smile, it makes us dance, it makes us think, it makes us angry and calm and frantic and honest, it is a thing we all share. A force that can’t be escaped that keeps us sane and makes us nuts. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Go play something.

Stay tuned.

DanG