Beginner's Luck

I'm a music buff. My life has been filled with good vibes ever since I can remember. (click here to jump out and see the above video - worth it!)

The house back in Texas was filled with kids taking piano and guitar lessons. We had recitals every so often with students showing off what they'd learned. Proud parents smiled as their children and friends pounded out Beethoven's sonatas, folk, blues, opera, pop, classical, vocal, ballet and more. It was fun.



I've always aspired to play the guitar like a rock star. My rock idols were Stevie Ray Vaughn, Leo Kottke and Steven Stills, among many others. Stevie played at Fitzgerald's in the Houston Heights. I'd talk with him between sets on the balcony. He'd be dripping with sweat and smiling. He was having a blast.



Leo Kottke used to play a cavernous place in Houston called The Agora Ballroom.



And, my favorite song those days was Treetop Flier, by Steven Stills on his Live album. Throughout my life, I've always had a guitar. My first was a Stella acoustic. It was a sunburst with steel strings. I had my first lessons at a music store in Houston. I still remember my teacher, Jim Breckenridge. It was the 60's and he had long hair, blue jeans and could belt out a song like nobody's business. I'd come for my lesson, play what I'd practiced and Jim would coach me. Then, at the end of the lesson, it was request time. He's play anything I wanted. I loved it. He could play as well as anyone I heard on the radio. But, I just wasn't there. I was a kid. My hands were small. The guitar sucked. I didn't know that at the time, but now I know more than ever that the instrument was the least of the reasons my music didn't sound like Jim's.

My next guitar was a Gibson ES125. I got it at the local pawn shop when I was in high school. It had f-slots, a hollow body and a Humbucking pickup. What a beauty! And, it took a shine. I loved it. When I moved out of my parent's house into my own apartment, my neighbor, Arlen Baer, used to borrow it and keep it for days. He could make that Gibson wail. I'd get it back, sticky with goop from Arlen's bad habits and dutifully wipe it down. No problem. The peanut butter and jelly or whatever always came clean and it shined like it was new. Someone dropped by my apartment and wanted to buy it one day. That was the end of my Gibson. I was a college student. I needed the cash more than a guitar.

Those days, I'd hear all sorts of talented musicians play at the University of Houston Cullen Auditorium. One of favorite guitarists was Gregg Allman. I had a back stage pass and got some good photos of Gregg playing his southern blues. What an amazing player.

My dad found an old Gibson LG-0 somewhere and gave it to me about 20 years ago. Someone had tightened the strings too much and the top was pulled up near the bridge. I can remember strumming it in the little house in West Houston I shared with my roommate, Brooks. It was a sweet little guitar. The magic began when my friend dropped by after work and played it. He could make that old Gibson sing, bowed top and all. Again, necessity being the mother of invention, I put an ad up in the Greensheet and someone dropped by and bought it.

I saw a Gibson LG-0 for sale the other day and drove out to the sticks in Florida to see it. I spent the most pleasant afternoon with Terry, pictured above, listening to him play that old guitar. He explained that he used the Piedmont method of playing. He picked out some great ballads and strummed amazing blues. He played some open slide guitar, too.

I got a Yamaha F-35 in 2002. It looks like the one in the photo above, minus the graffiti. That photo is from eBay. Current bid on that guitar is $13.50. I've had a lot of fun with my Yamaha F-35. I took it camping in the Everglades with some folks from an outdoor group called Mosaic. We all sat around the campfire in January. Two people there could play guitar. I handed the F35 to Richard Chisik, an economics professor from Florida International University and a helluva good guitar player and listened to him belt out some tunes. Another guy there was a former professional musician who now worked in elder care. He could play anything you could request! Amazing! Again, they made that inexpensive guitar sound great.

I decided to try taking lessons again in 2005 after a software project I was doing ended. I went down to the local music store and asked if they knew any teachers. They said there was a very special teacher around who was good. I started taking lessons once per week, on Fridays at 2 for a half hour. Funny, we used nearly the same book, a Mel Bay beginners guitar book, that I used when I studied with Jim Breckenridge back in the 60's. My teacher told me over and over again to remember that I was a beginner. The hardest thing, he said, for adults who were accomplished at other things to overcome was that they were beginners at music. It's been hard, but fun.

(photo from Bozo's website at Guitars dot net)

There's a luthier named Bozo Podonovic here in Florida that I met last year. He's one of Leo Kottke's favorites. Kottke plays a Bozo 12-string.

(photo from Bozo's website at Guitars dot net)




Bozo and I talked one afternoon at his shop. I mentioned to him that I had been to Yugoslavia. I said I'd been to Croatia and Serbia. He grinned and asked me which country I liked better. I was a little suspicious because I suspected he was from one of those countries. I started talking about Croatia and watched his expression. Then, as I talked about Serbia, he smiled. I said Serbia was my favorite. He turned around and asked his wife to get us both a beer.

I wound up with a Bozo Bell Western.

My guitar teacher said having a good guitar made a difference when you were learning. I still remember Ken playing my old, bowed Gibson and making that guitar sound like a Bozo. And, I am still enjoying learning.


Tal Wilkenfeld is an inspiration to me. She is such an amazing musician. Listen to her on that bass. Here's someone in her youth with so much expression, talent and in the right place. I won't say luck because her style speaks for itself.

Now, my son has a guitar too! He belts out the tunes without reservation. It's fun to hear him plug that blue guitar you see above into his amp and wail.

There's a little guitar shop on Memorial Drive in Houston, TX called Memorial Music. The owner, Ron Hudson, is a guitarist. I came in to buy some strings and bought a few of his albums. He can play so many styles of music, from rock to my favorite, ballads. Click on this link to hear some of his music. If you're ever in Houston, stop by and ask Ron to play. I keep saying I'm going to get a lesson when I come to town.

Jose Perez-Menchaca is a luthier here in central Florida. I dropped by his shop one day and got the tour. Click on the photo above to see the set of pictures I took. Jose makes beautiful guitars and stringed instruments.


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One of the best times I ever had playing guitar was with Barry Sides. He invited me to his place and coached me to play rhythm while he sang some blues. That was such a good day.