Side Projects and a Solo Career

As I said in an earlier post, I have been away for quite some time now! I really miss rocking out with the machine, but I have not been idle! I just got home from playing solo at an acoustic show at the Barn (yet another benefit, all of us are always playing benefits... maybe one day we'll get beneffitted.) It went pretty well. It's pretty lonely playing alone though, and with no Jason to crack jokes while I'm changing tunings things kind of drag.

I spent several weeks living in an orphanage in Nepal. Several of the staff there play guitar, and about 5 or 6 of the boys are learning right now. All the boys meet twice a day and sing worship songs to God and study the Bible. Well, one night after they were done, they handed me a guitar and asked to me play.

You have to understand that things aren't the same in nepal as they are here. They had what was a very nice guitar for over there... it was an old beat up Sigma. The head was broken off and glued back on, some of the pegs were missing and replaced with whittled down twigs. So i picked up this guitar, tuned it as best as I could, (tuning is kind optional over there) and played the best concert of my life.

We were in a mostly bare concrete room that echoed every sound, and forty two boys were crowded around me, gaping open mouthed. There is something special about showing a person something they have never seen. I showed all those kids what acoustic finger style is, and they loved it.

Those kids were so amazing! They had nothing: no physical posessions, no families... they live in a war torn nation filled with people who have no hope, but these kids were so joyful, so happy! While I played I saw their eyes light up, they clapped to the rhythm and laughed out loud. I sat playing on the other side of the world, and for a moment we were all travelers together. We were all experiencing something exciting and new, something foriegn and beautiful.

Music somehow brings people together. For some reason there was such a sense of togetherness there in that room. Like we understood each other, like we were all brothers. I suppose that we all are brothers in a way! I was really overwhelmed by that.

After that I was invited to play in a school over there, which was fun, then I went to New York and started out my Rap carreer. Kanye West, Eminem, Look out here I come!