Nothing, and I mean nothing, feels as good as switching on an amplifier, plugging in a guitar, and feeling the shock and buzz that travels up the cord and blasts you all the way up and down the arms. It's unbridled magic. It's the personification of power. It's fricking' all out bliss. If you've let even one E chord rip in your time, you know of what I'm talking about. You know the potential that three notes combined can offer. Chug away at an F power chord and you hold the keys to skyscraper full of ass-whoopin fury.
Some days, the amplifier and guitar sitting in the corner of my basement are the only things that get me back in the game. Some days, I'm beyond wiped out. I'm beyond exhausted. I'm beyond paying attention anymore. I just want to blast my face right off my skull, and electricity is the means I choose to do just that.
It's amazing to me to watch people who can't play a lick give it a shot anyway. I love to see their faces light up when they get an axe in their hands. They noodle around like newbs will, but god it's beautiful how power can take them away, transport them into a new land. Every time I see it, I think, "Oh yeah, kid, another would-be Hendrix has been born." When they're done, I guarantee they're better off than when they began.
One of the greatest days of my life was when my neighbor came knocking on our door in the middle of the afternoon, imploring that I turn it down. "Sure thing," I replied. When she hit the bricks, I went from 8 to 7 and proceeded to make myself happy and fulfilled again. I never promised how much. These days, as I'm laying awake in bed on any given night when her daughter throws a party and the god-awful music she's polluting the air with is throbbing against my outer walls, I feel no regret at all.
God gave me the guitar. He didn't give me all the talent that he gave others to go with it, but he gave me the guitar. And in doing so, he gave me an outlet. He gave me an avenue. He gave my electric glory. He gave me escape. It may not always sound pretty. It may not always be polished and refined, but dman if it isn't satisfying nonetheless.
No comments:
Post a Comment