IF YOU TOLD ME…

If you told me last year that I would have a new album out, a new signature pick, rehearsals with two bands and another guitar in 2021, I would have said “Really, dude?”

But what a difference a year makes.

In this picture, I am holding an Ibanez Mikro, which is a short-scale guitar that is a great travel guitar for when I teach. And don’t be fooled, this thing RIPS! Has a great variety of sounds. And…it’s PURPLE! I had a full-sized purple RG years ago when I played with TM Stevens but sold that because I needed the money. This little axe jumped out at me two weeks ago, so I slapped some cash on it to make sure nobody else walked home with it. Picked it up on Black Friday (I don’t miss retail one bit!) and threw on some new GHS Strings. Set the neck up, and it plays like butter. What a fantastic little machine!

I will be winding down rehearsals soon as the holidays are upon us. Got one more with my trio, and we will pick back up on January 2nd. Hoping to land a March 2022 show, see how things play out. As for Naked Glory, there’s two more before the Dec 11 show in Jackson. After that, the band have gigs with their own guitarists, so I get to hang back. But I am on-call in case someone can’t do a gig.

As you can see, my life (and basically everyone else’s) has gone from zero to 100mph in one fell swoop. Only now I pace myself better. No more being in 65 places at once and even better, no more being stuck behind a desk, being bored out of my mind.

I don’t miss sales at all.