A good guitar player can make you feel what they feel.
Melanie, Sheri, and I grew up listening to Don Williams, Jerry Reed, and others playing and singing. On car trips and vacations, we had the 8 track player cranked up and we all sang along.
I always wanted to learn to play. As the years went by, I finally took some lessons.
This story is one of three stories about guitar players.
My cousin, Erik Guess has been in a band since he was a teenager. One of the first times I heard him play and sing as an adult, was at the Palace Saloon, in Amelia Island, Florida.
The Palace is the oldest bar in Florida, and being on stage there is a big deal. Erik covered Roxanne, by the Police. The song requires incredible vocal range, and guitar skills. Erik nailed it. This link is the Police version.
Photo credits - Shaelyn Band facebook page.
Right now, Erik is in The Shaelyn Band. They play in and around Jacksonville, Florida. Erik can play any kind of music: Blues, Rock, Gospel, Alternative Rock.
Erik is known for his Blues licks. As a teenager, he made his own bottleneck slides, built his own amps, and started making his own guitars. Erik learned a lot of this from his dad, my Uncle Randy. Uncle Randy could make anything. Erik's love and dedication to making music continues today.
A short video interview with Erik from The Shaelyn Band facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/TheShaelynBand/videos/817510579685963
Years ago, Terri and I saw Erik play in a Best of the Blues Guitar Contest, at The Guitar Center Store in Nashville. Music City is full of talented musicians. Erik advanced round after round, and it got down to him and one other guy. He came in second that day, to a professional guitar player. It was loud and exciting. You could see and feel the respect those guys had for each other, and the music.
The words of a well written song can create a safe place for us to go and visit painful times, and memories. Returning somehow allows us to move forward.
Erik wrote a song, "The Tree," about our Grandfather.
Judson Williams, who we all called, PaPa, had been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. Erik made road trips from Florida, back to Tullahoma, to spend time with PaPa.
The disease, also called ALS, progressed. Papa had to go on a ventilator. His muscle groups slowly shut down, until he couldn't move. The ventilator forced air, and rich oxygen into his lungs.
There was a daily and nightly routine of care. Several family members helped out. Bethel, Phillip, Uncle Charles, and Uncle George are the ones I remember most. They did for Papa all the things he couldn't do anymore. Papa was tough, and never once complained. Without fanfare, they showed love and respect in their routine of helping Papa, and our grandmother. Their unselfish daily commitment, and sense of responsibility, made a lifelong impression on me. I draw strength from their examples even today.
The weeks and months passed by, and the oxygen rich air kept Papa alive. My last memories of Papa is seeing his blue eyes sparkle. His 84 year body had shut down, but his mind was just as sharp and clear as his bright, blue eyes.
Erik drove to Tullahoma, during those difficult days. On one of those trips, he wrote this song. I recall that Erik had worked his 12 hour shift at the Jacksonville dock. He left from there, and drove all night to Tullahoma. Erik said as the sunrise began to appear, he was driving up Mont Eagle Mountain, on I-24.
The words from the chorus, as I recall them, from Erik's, "The Tree"...
Mont Eagle is calling my name.
Though it's been twenty years, it still feels the same.
I must cross this mountain, no matter what the cost.
Gotta get there before the Old Tree falls.
Gotta get there before the Old Tree Falls.
In 1998, Erik played and sang, "The Tree", when our family gathered at church for Papa's funeral. The moment was powerful, loving, and real.
Erik's words and guitar made us feel what he was feeling.
A good guitar player can do that.
Photo credits - Shaelyn Band facebook page.