What are you listening too?

[BlueCollarBob]

I live in a small town and one of the women that lives here used to live in Austin when Stevie and his brother Jimmy were playing. She was a promoter so she would book their groups often and she told me she knew both Stevie and Jimmy along with all the guys in the Thunderbirds and Double Trouble. She confirmed the rumours you posted but she also told me that the Vaughan boys had an alcoholic dad that used to beat mom and them, when they tried to get him to stop hitting mom. She said it was really sad because you could tell that Stevie used the guitar as his escape along with something he could do to compete with his brother. She remembers booking shows where Stevie played in every band so, yeah, the dude slept, ate, showered with his guitar. To be able to play like that I can't imagine you not doing that.

I got to play professionally and I'm not all that good but when I watch guys like Stevie play what I see is the endless hours of practice this guy must've put in to be able to play like that. Most people see the fireworks that he was famous for but when I see him do stuff like playing behind his back I always envision him as a little kid being dared by his brother to walk around all day playing the guitar behind his back and him doing it just to piss off his brother! LOL! Forget that he used the heaviest strings and the highest action which just makes it that much harder. HIs ability to connect with his instrument in a way that it all melds into one is the holy grail of every guitar player I know.

That's so cool that you got to play professionally. I always struggled, at best. I've been fortunate to be surrounded by talented musicians for most of my life. I would have loved to have been good enough to play out with any of them. Still, it's a blast just hanging out while they jam or learning enough on the sound board to fiddle while they practice. Maybe grab a doumbek, djembe, rasp, etc. and join in like that. People that entertain seem to be naturals across different mediums, too. Some of these musicians are the funniest people I know. When serious practice winds down and everyone starts to loosen up, someone usually grabs the mike and does a comedy club worthy stand up routine or silly song, lol.

Man, I hate to say that the childhood tragedy isn't a shocker. Seems like too much talent is born out of hardship. Messed up world we live in, but it sometimes provides outlets to people who really need it. They then share their beauty with the rest of us. Some people are able to somehow put a piece of their soul into their music. A guy with blinding speed on guitar can pale in comparison to a special talent who can pull more emotions out of you while bending the string the right way on a single sustained note. Magic.