It was a new day yesterday....

Last night, at age 68, I checked another one off the bucket list: playing guitar and singing in front of an audience. Those who know me might be surprised to learn I’d never done this before. After all, I’ve taught classes and delivered eulogies, sung and danced in musicals, performed in choral concerts, and of course read my fiction to rapt, amazed audiences. But never had the chutzpa to participate in the iconic role of singin’ guitarist—until now.

My gig bag finally gets a gig!

You couldn’t ask for a better venue for a debut. I’ve been going to the Open Mic night at Tallahassee’s Blue Tavern for a couple of years now. First as a post-trivia-night stop on the way home, sometimes inwardly smirking at some of the acts but more often than not just blown away by the musical talent in this town. Started getting to know some of the musicians and watching their craft (PA and guitar tech is a whole new world of geekery for me), listening to their songs and the stories behind them. It’s a highly supportive and irreverent group and they were kind enough to welcome my spoken-word interludes on occasion. The glee on some of their faces when I finally showed up with a guitar last night was delightful to see.

As I say on my website, my guitar-playing isn’t really ready for prime-time. I’ve noodled around with one off and on for decades, but never really committed to regular practice and improvement. I’ve never cared much for picks so I use a kind of half-assed mix of strumming and finger-picking that occasionally coaxes some really sweet sounds out of the guitar. I started playing mainly to strum along while singing, but it’s been really rewarding over time to get to where I sometimes just enjoy the sound of the instrument itself. But as I am reminded every time I go to open mic, I have a looooooong way to go.

So given that decidedly slack amateur status, it was too easy to keep procrastinating til I got it right. Thing is, you never get it right, just keep approaching it. And the very point of Open Mic is come one, come all. And so yesterday after hemming and hawing literally up to the last minute, I found myself out of excuses. Proudly and self-consciously toted my axe into the venue, drew a reasonable number for signup, and when the time came, sat on a stool, plugged in, and played this setlist:

• Biloxi - Jesse Winchester
• Superman - Crash Test Dummies
• A New Day Yesterday - Jethro Tull

There were errors, of course. I flubbed a lyric or two, and for some reason couldn’t play a C7 right on the last song, but the Guitar Gods did not strike me dead for my hubris and I got such warm and supportive responses from MY FELLOW MUSICIANS, who may come to regret unleashing this melodious monster onto the local music scene - ‘cause I’ll be back.