Category: Music stories

Stories involving guitars, bands, etc.

I Caved

For a few years in the late 1970s, I worked full-time with an Alabama cover band with my friend and mentor Bobby D. We played regularly at hotel bars in several states, usually six nights per week. We once had a multi-week gig at a Fairmont, West Virginia hotel lounge. On a Sunday (our free day), we visited Laurel Caverns in nearby Pennsylvania.
Continue reading “I Caved”

That’s How Strong My Love Is

Early in the 21st century, I played guitar with an unnamed Auburn, Alabama band for a wedding reception. The bride had requested we play the classic Otis Redding song “That’s How Strong My Love Is” for the bride and groom dance. The bandleader/singer sent a YouTube link of the song to all band members and asked that we learn the tune in the original key. We planned to run through the song at soundcheck, an hour or so before the event began. No problem, the band is talented, and we’ve successfully learned tunes like this many times before.
Continue reading “That’s How Strong My Love Is”

I Went To College

I went to college in my youth, and eventually received a bachelor’s degree in General Mathematics from Auburn University in east Alabama. I said eventually; I spent eight years working on my four-year degree. I wasn’t enrolled in school about half this time. I either worked blue-collar jobs to raise tuition money or played guitar full-time in cover bands. Maybe I was undisciplined.
Continue reading “I Went To College”