GARY’S DAD
A STORY OF DREAMS AND HOPE

I recorded my 3rd Album at the age of 52.  I didn’t even think about it.  A friend gave me an Idea and the music wrote its’ self.  But another friend, who was infatuated with my performance, told me a story that till this day is a story as sad as “Terms of Endearment”.

Gary (Not his real name) told me his father was a French Horn player and all of his life he wanted to play with a big band.  He also mentioned that his father was in his late 70’s.  The feeling of sadness hit me as if I had heard someone had been diagnosed with a terminal disease yet his father was clinching to this dream.  This was a disease that has been haunting me for most of my life.  Yet deep down under the tears and sadness I was able to scrape the goodness from this story.  Gary’s Dad was holding onto hope and optimism.  What kind of life can you live if you give up on hope?

I’m still able to put on a house shaking performance, but in 20 years, I doubt I’ll have the stamina or dexterity to tear a house down.  The other fear which I’m already starting to understand is that 20 years from now; nobody will give a damn about Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn or Freddie Mercury.  Just as many of you readers may have to query The Glenn Miller Orchestra.

What I took away from the the story of Gary’s Dad was that Dreams are goals without a timeline.  I wanted to make Gary’s Dad’s dream come true at the sake of sacrifincing my own dream. (Which is to play on stage with David Bowie). I found someone from the Glenn Millier Orchestra who said: “Get me a demo”.  When I went back to find Gary, I was told he had moved back across the country from California to the east coast to take care of his father who was/is ill.

I guess in the end; It doesn’t matter if you play lead guitar for David Bowie or French Horn for the Glenn Miller Orchestra.  Once you’ve achieved a dream, you need to have another to keep you going.  There is no finish line.  When you are called home, it will be much sooner than anyone would wish. I’ve had many dreams come true.  I have many more yet to fulfill.  Being David Bowie’s last guitarist on his last tour is amongst my lifelong dreams.

Keep Dreaming.