Some Kind Of Muffin

First, you are never going to be president. You are never going to be on Conan-not even the new one. You will never be inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. Even if you sound like Hendrix, SRV, Vai you will never be as successful. Hell, even if you are better than those guys it’s just not going to happen for you. Why? No reason. Shit just happens, or it doesn’t. As negative as this post may seem it really isn’t, negative that is.

You can tell me all I need to do is practice more and want it hard enough, but that’s BS and we should all acknowledge that. I’m not saying it’s not worth trying. Quite the opposite, or inverse, not quite the opposite. What’s my point? That for me, at least, it is easier and I am happier if I simply understand my limits and work within them. I can still push those limits, that’s how we improve, but they must be acknowledged, the limits I mean. My real point? If I just want to mess around on the guitar and have fun jamming with friends or playing a Cat Stevens’ song that’s OK. I don’t have to strive to be the best. I can strive to be better or not, it’s up to me.

Side note: Stop trying to sound like your heroes. Learn their stuff and how they do it and toss it aside. Clapton, SRV, and Beck don’t sound like Robert Johnson or Buddy Guy or Muddy Waters. They studied them. Let your idols, your heroes, your whatever influence you, but don’t lose yourself in them. Don’t get their exact gear, don’t play exactly like them. With enough practice anyone might play Little Wing, but can you write something that impressive? I can’t, but to get back to my original point-I’m OK with that.

Some of my heroes