"Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul." Plato (~400BC)
A personal history:
2001: on the way to Paleo festival to attend some world know band I forgot, I go through the program to learn a bit about the side artists. A small article describes a discovery worth checking out. From memory "a mix of Bob Dylan and Counting Crows with him very own style". I go, without expectation, and I fall in love. The next day, I go and buy the CD, and play it on Repeat all mode for days, weeks.
2006: I've been trying to learn the guitar for some time. Some would start with The Beattles covers, I start with Tom McRae. When the "Open mike night" is organized on GOL, I volunteer two friends to come and play with me. At Central Perk, I play for the first time in front of an audience. The one night "Hobbes & the Virgins band" starts with "The boy with the bubblegun". Since then, "A&B song", "End of world news" are my classics I've played at different venues, jams and around camp fires.
2008: Tom McRae comes to Switzerland for one night at Rocking Chair, Vevey, with the Hotel Cafe Tour. The invited artists are terrific (more bellow). But what makes me shiver is that the circle closes; after a gig in the middle of the audience, Tom comes back on stage, grabs is guitar. "A E A E DC, A E A E D C, A G# B"… I know what this is. A few people in the audience know the song, shout out and whistle of excitment. Fewer can sing it, but he invites us to try. I know the lyrics for sure. I don't mind blowing my vocal chords. The venue is small. Tom hears me. "Good!". We sing together.
This morning, before leaving home, my guitar on my back, I put another authographed CD on my fireplace mantel, next to BB King's one. Thanks Tom!
