It warmed my heart to see The Daily News picture on July 13 of two sisters, 10 and 12 years old, playing their violins on Inn Street. Keep at it, girls, and don't ever stop! Pick up a Jean Luc Ponte CD!
Nothing brings more joy to my life than music, except my wife, of course. I have been a guitar player wanna-be for many years, and although I'll never be a professional in this life, maybe in my next life!
When our kids were all at home, we went to many concerts as a family. Mary and I still attend 10 or 12 concerts a year. When I was a single dad, the first concert I took my kids to was Stevie Ray Vaughn at Great Woods in 1985. They were 10 and 5 years old. I took them to see The Allman Brothers, Crosby Stills and Nash, Bon Jovi and others. After Mary and I married, we took the kids to dozens of shows, including Aerosmith, Van Halen, Eric Clapton, The Black Crowes, Damn Yankees, Bad English, Santana, Dave Matthews, Journey and others.
Although I never saw Hendrix, I love telling young people that I saw Led Zeppelin at the Hampton Beach Casino in ... I think ... 1969? Those were the good old days when concerts were six bucks and no fees! My friends and I went to the old Boston Tea Party many times, The Music Hall, Concerts on the Common, Boston Garden, Paul's Mall and Stonehenge in Ipswich. We saw Jethro Tull, Ten Years After, Blood Sweat and Tears, Chicago, James Montgomery, Bonnie Raitt, Johnnie & Edgar Winter with Rick Derringer, and many others. We saw George Benson, Larry Coryell and Rashan Roland Kirk at The Jazz Workshop. We saw John McLaughlin and The Mahavishnu Orchestra eight times in the '70s.
Another favorite was Chick Corea and Return to Forever. Mary and I saw them last year on their reunion tour.
My favorite album of all time is "Rite of Strings" with Stanley Clarke, Jon Luc Ponte and Al Dimeola. Possibly the best acoustic album ever produced. We've seen them twice since they reunited for tours. We also saw McLaughlin with Chick Corea earlier this year at Berkeley. We've seen Jeff Beck five times! He does a fabulous rendition of The Beatles' "A Day in the Life," along with his own awesome repertoire.
I am a guitar-loving listener more than I'll ever be a player. Since my teenage years of hard rock listening, then jazz, to fusion, and back to hard rock as I've gotten older, my favorite guitarist in the world is Steve Vai. He is a true "guitar god" and absolutely amazing. After Berkeley, Vai started with Joe Satriani, then Frank Zappa, who coined him the "Italian Virtuoso." He then joined Whitesnake in the '80s, finally forging his solo and G3 tours. We see him every time he comes to Boston. His most famous songs are "For the Love of God" and "Whispering a Prayer." His "Live at the Astoria" DVD is awesome, and his rendition of "Little Wing" is without comparison!
I wasn't a true Zappa fan until the past few years when his son Dweezil formed "Zappa plays Zappa." Frank Zappa wrote some crazy stuff, but he was an absolute musical genius. Anyone who understands anything about music has to appreciate his genius. We've seen the band three times in the past four years. The DVD is amazing!
Our youngest son, Matthew, recently left for L.A. with three musician friends to hopefully get their music careers on track. They have more than 30 songs written and ready to produce. They just need the right connection. Much of their music has been influenced by Steely Dan and Pink Floyd. Matt has worked on Pat Metheny's road crew and has toured the world with him off and on since 2005. We just saw Metheny with Gary Burton in Boston. Interestingly enough, Matt is the only musician on the crew.
Hopefully, I'll be an accomplished musician in my next life. Music brings so much joy to me and so many. I couldn't imagine life without it! Keep playing, girls! Maybe you'll be on the big stage someday!
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Bill Chatigny of Amesbury owns Design Plus.
