After last year’s heavy travel schedule it has been nice to have a year of more home time.
I’ve seen seasons change and that is rare for me. I do love to play whenever and wherever I am and I have missed all my overseas friends this year. I hope that the coming year will find us face to face again.
Filming a short Weissenborn segment for my friends at Peg Head Nation. www.pegheadnation.com
The pleasures of home rejuvenate and inspire me. I’m back here in the woods, a mile from the nearest paved road. Every day there’s an encounter with some truly wild thing. A flock of turkeys, a turtle laying eggs, a new patch of wild Black Trumpet mushrooms, a milk snake sunning, sharp-shinned hawk jetting towards a songbird, coyotes singing in the woods, a barred owl calling and answered. It all happens right here and something like that thrills me every single day. I fished as often as I could. I caught some beautiful rainbow trout. I pan fried them with our own organic asparagus.
I’m often asked, especially by Japanese guitar magazines if I’m inspired by nature.
I take it that they’re really asking if my work is inspired by nature. The short answer is no. As inspired by my natural surroundings as I am, I view my art as a people thing. Art requires a sense of audience to be real, in my opinion. Initially that audience is Me. I go to great lengths to amuse and engage myself and create a piece of work that I hope will amuse and engage my beloved listeners. The musical canvas is silence. Art is generative, a progressive phenomenon, as is life, society, reality, nature… Is my work inspired by nature? The long answer is; Yes.
With Dave Mingo at Mingo’s Music, NovaScotia. Great guy, great shop. Dave’s daughter Georgia is a hoot, too.
Nature had its way with us all at this year’s Canadian Guitar Festival. A hellacious thunderstorm roared into Kingston, Ontario on the final Sunday afternoon and stayed parked right over us for a couple hours. It was very intense, with big lightning striking the large performance tent a few times. The driving rain poured into the tent leaving water that was knee deep in spots. Del Vezeau, our mighty promoter was a hero and shunted the water out in no time flat. The evening concert was a bit behind schedule but I was honored to close out the festival. All my gear was a bit grungy afterward and everybody’s shoes were wet but we all got through it. Many thanks to the intrepid souls who stuck around for my set. What’s Canadian for “Mahalo?”
I did get back to many of my favorite haunts in the States this year and it sure was good to see so many old friends. I made some new friends in Bakersfield (where it was 104 degrees) and really enjoyed myself. What a fantastic audience! I hope to see you all again soon.
The Los Angeles Guitar Festival was really fun this year. Great venue, crew and sound. Always great to hang with Tommy Emmanuel and Martin Taylor, who sported the largest thumb blister I’ve ever seen. He played like a superhero nonetheless!
At the LA Guitar Festival With Tommy & Martin Taylor. Had a great time playing. Photo by sari makki
Back Stage at the LA Guitar Festival with Tommy Emmanuel and Mitch Chang. Photo by sari makki
I am deeply heartened by the knowledge that everywhere I go in this world I’ve got a friend. Know that I am yours.
Stay healthy, stay well, eat organic as much as you can. Wishing you love and music,
-Ed
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