To B or Not To B and an Old Martin

[Phil Owens]

We got to see Tommy here in San Diego last night at the Balboa. He opened with "To B" and dedicated it to Chet. He spoke fondly of Chet throughout the evening. In his second set he sat down with a 1930 Martin given to him by Chet, played a lot of old songs, then finished up with a Chet medley.

The 1300 seat theatre was full and everybody had a great time. So glad for Tommy's success and that he is still giving voice to this wonderful music.

Cheers,
Phil

[bill_h]

Phil, glad you got to see Tommy. Those 45 minute shows he does at CASS are good but nothing compares to an entire set or two of non stop T.E.

I got to see him in Virginia one time while visiting relatives. He had an opening act that night so he just played about 2 hours non stop when it was his time. There's only one Tommy Emmanuel. It seems like he's caught lightning in a bottle every time I've seen him!

I'm sure everyone in San Diego heard some great music that evening!

[RandeDager]

If there was any guarantee that Tommy would play alone and not share the stage with anyone else, then I might try to see him a second time. The first and only time I've ever watched him he played maybe about 30 or 45 minutes by himself out of a 2 hour program. I would never knowingly pay for that again.

[BillB]

We went to see Tommy this evening in Dallas. It was just Tommy and 3 guitars, two Matons and the little Martin that Chet gave him. It was a good 2 hour concert, and as usual, Tommy played great and thoroughly entertained everyone. The concert was promoted by the local PBS channel for Dallas/Fort Worth, and there were a lot of folks there. I would say it was very similar to the way Phil described the concert in San Diego. One song that stood out for me (actually there were several) was a solo guitar arrangement of the Django classic, Nuages, played on the little Martin guitar. We took a couple of teenage guitar players from church, and it was absolutely a great evening.

Bill B.

[Phil Owens]

Bill,

I bet it was very similar to the show here (also sponsored by PBS). Looks like the PBS connection has really been profitable for Tommy. His hard word has paid off. Saturday we got to see Adam Rafferty here as well (super guy). He mentioned that the trail Tommy blazed in Europe has become a good tour circuit for other guitarists.

Who would have ever dreamed that Chet's encouragement of a young Australian kid would be so lasting and far reaching? You just never know where an act of kindness may lead. And that has not been lost on Tommy; he loves, encourages, and coaches my kids every time they see him. Chet sure knew how to pick a winner.

Rande, you must be talking about Frank and Vinnie. Tommy hosted them here last year for his PBS special. AWESOME!! Last week Frank filmed his own PBS special, and had Tommy as his guest; too cool. I could watch those guys for hours; those simultaneous leads they have worked are just incredible.

Cheers,
Phil

[RandeDager]

Yes Phil, you're correct I didn't want to mention names because I didn't want to offend any of their fans which might be in this circle. I'm a very different kind of listener. I like to watch details that I feel I can take home with me and use. I don't play with a flat pick. I agree that Frank and Vinnie are very skilled at what they do. However that's not what I paid for. I'll also add that my listening is not limited to guitarists. I get a lot of material from bands, orchestras, vocalists, etc. But when I pay to attend a fingerstyle guitar concert I'm watching for very specific information that I can glean from what I hear and see. The intention is for it to be sort of a "toolkit building" experience for me. Yes, Frank and Vinnie are quite exceptional.

[Phil Owens]

Rande, Kudos to you for playing! I am a mere civilian, a listener. While shopping for a new Chet record in 1998 I found "Finger Pickers." I put my boys to bed to that CD every night. I cannot tell you what a blessing it was when in 2003 Chet's music began to flow out of my son's guitar rather than my stereo. When we finally made it to the CAAS convention in 2005 the kids were exposed to jamming and swing music in the Sheraton lobby. One thing led to another and, well, following Chet led to all sorts of great music and great people.

I am still amazed at the influence one person can have through personal persistence at his own craft and kindness to others who are learning. Chet said that Django "taught the world." Well, Chet didn't do to bad himself!

Cheers,
Phil

[RandeDager]

Phil, your boys are very fortunate that you helped to give them sort of a "kick-start". My experience was just the opposite. Neither of my folks were musicians and in fact they were very much against the idea of me putting in the time practicing. They felt that it was keeping me from doing "more important things".

All I had was a passion and a few borrowed Chet albums slowed down from 33&1/3 RPM to 16&2/3. It took a lot of sneaking around and squeezing in any time that I could. There was no mentor other than for listening to Chet. It was a pianist friend of mine who loaned me the album "Teen Scene" because he thought that it would be neat to expose me to something "impossible".