Records, Guitars and Ah-Ha Moments

I was around 7 when I realized that music existed. It was always played in our home and on the car AM radio. But for some reason I woke up to the fact that music was a force that I wanted to join. My brother Jon and I had our first opportunity to sign-up for the school talent show sometime around 1968. For some reason Jon took the drums and I took the guitar. Little did I know then that the decision to play guitar would change my life forever.

I didn't see the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. I wish I could say that I bugged my dad to buy me a guitar the morning after the boys from Liverpool performed. All I know is that at some point in 1970 I knew what I wanted to do. My mom played Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder records in our home when I was growing up. My dad always played swing music and adored Sinatra. My older brother Rob listened to Al Green, Neil Young and the Beach Boys. So by that time, I was starting to sing harmonies, heard chord changes and was mesmerized and carried away by records. I remember taking my dad's stereo speakers and spreading them apart as far as they could go and sat in the middle to hear the stereo separation. My brother had these headphones connected to an FM radio that I would put on when he was gone. I wanted to create music and move others as it moved me.

My first guitar was a little classical model that my parents bought. I graduated to a blue Teisco ET-200 electric (similar to the pic below) with a little amp. I liked to listen to Deep Purple "Machine Head" and "Paranoid" from Black Sabbath and discovered that if I cranked that little amp to the max, I could get screams of distortion to play along with Richie Blackmore and Tony Iommi, all the while hearing my family scream, "Turn that down!" In contrast, I loved the acoustic music and harmonies of America, Cat Stevens, the Eagles and Crosby, Stills & Nash. I was steeped in a world of many varieties and styles of music.

Teisco ET-200- Mine was blue

That brings me to my first, "So that's how they do that..." moment. Some buddies brought their acoustics over to jam. One of the guys brought a friend with a bass guitar and amp. We ran an orange power cord from the garage out to the front lawn and started playing. When the bass started thumping and playing the rich, low notes, it became a sort of "glue" that brought everything together. I started hearing music in a new way. I was picking out parts and learning how music is arranged and put together to create that same magic I heard in my dad's speakers.

Fast forward. I made that fateful leap into making music for a living 30 years ago. My dream of living in Nashville is being realized. I have played on ump-teen records and have written songs that have sold millions. I enjoy producing music for myself and others in my studio. I have played live and in the studio with many of my heroes. One of those heroes introduced me to fiddle music and southern rock way back in '74 with his record, Fire on the Mountain. That man is Charlie Daniels. How could a kid from southern California be into fiddle? As you can see from my past, I am a confused when it comes to styles. I can't enjoy just one...I gotta play 'em all! I'm still just trying to create those ah-ha moments when everything comes together and moves people the same way the music moves me.

Charlie & Jamie- April, 2009