Hey John.. you're too young to be that good!

While my guitar gently.... buzzes like 'Neon'

(...damned ground loops...)

---

---

.....kind of an open letter to John Mayer...

'Ya know, it's funny (at least for me) how the whole musician thing works. When I first started playing the guitar about 18 years ago, I remember at first looking at the cheap-ass Fender acoustic staring up at me from the case (rented from a local music store), with it's smell of celluloid (that kind of minty/plastic-y scent that old-school picks emit) and it's gaping sound hole-mouth as if asking me, "hey...pick me up... let's go somewhere... we can be good friends, you and I..." I didn't start out too quickly, but once progress became apparent (within about two months, after getting through the "Mel Bay" method of scales, chords and obtuse renderings of "Hot Cross Buns" and similar tunes), the claws were in; A lifelong partnership had emerged.

I, as well as so many musicians of our generation spent many an afternoon locked in my bedroom tediously working out the chords for SRV's "Lenny," learning the simple yet nuanced lead work on Clapton’s "Wonderful Tonight" (after all, the girls go nuts over that one), and patting myself on the back after figuring out the at first impossibly-difficult-sounding acoustic part from Led Zeppelin's "Over the Hills and Far Away." I even started singing (mostly because the other guys in my first garage band were slightly more shy than I).... yeah, man, I was on fire; if I could conquer stuff like that, who could stop me on the rise to fame & fortune?

I honestly was probably more fortunate than most... I was able to go to a high school which was tailored for the performing arts, and subsequently helped me develop both my ear and my chops (both instrumental and vocal) pretty well... This continued into college to a certain degree, though I realized that I no longer possessed as much time nor passion for, well at least, practicing. I'd noticed too that popular music had significantly shifted from when I had first started. Melodious shreddilly-screaming solo guitars (and even competent, articulate rhythm work) turned into über-agro, chunky and overly-simplistic song structures... High Freddie Mercury/Bruce Dickenson-esque tenors were replaced by speak- screamin'/loaf- pinching-toned Eddie Vedder/Kurt Cobain clones... Not that this was bad, per se, but it simply wasn't what I had signed on for. I found that more and more, my old friends hung un-played on the wall and/or chilled out in their cases while I increasingly filled my spare time with the tedious but necessary tasks of everyday life; working, paying bills, cooking and cleaning, taking care of the g/f (now wife), etc... That was, until about six months ago.

Now this is the point where my letter switches from a detailed narrative to a more typical (I'm sure) fan letter of praise. I'm not really writing this to... I dunno... boost your ego or somehow establish some sort of special connection between us; After all, I do not nor will I ever (more-than-likely) know you. I also have no expectation that this letter will ever reach your eyes... I guess it doesn't even matter really... It's more about me, anyway, and my growth as an expressive musician (and human being, for that matter). So, what the hell am I talking about, you ask?

When I bought Continuum, I of course gave it a quick spin in my car CD player, just to see what it was all about. Once I got home, I grabbed my faithful Telecaster (your version of Jimi's "Bold as Love" blew my mind, and I couldn't wait to get it under my fingers), put the disk in my home player, and read the liner notes (standard practice for me). In it, you said (paraphrased):

"to those of you listening to this with a guitar in your lap; study and study well... We need you"

When I read those words (I shit you not) tears welled up in my eyes and a shiver went down my spine. What had been (in the previous five or so years, anyway) something I did every once in a while for a spare hour or so a week; something I know I should do but seldom got around to, became an imperative; a challenge; a sort of earnest calling from a fellow (albeit famous) brotha' musician.

I'm not sure how heavy you meant that quote to be, but I wanted you to know that it really meant a lot to me, and I thank you for it... it's something I really needed to hear... Music... honest, grimy, sweaty, but soul-wrenching music elevates us all (yet so little of it seems to be around today), whether played on a street corner, in a crappy 100 patron dive bar or a 50,000 seat arena. Either way, I gonna' try my damnedest to be a part of that again....

In other words, I'll take you up on your challenge...... in the meantime, I'll see you in the trenches....

Thanks, man...

Sincerely,

-M

---

---