My Guitar does not gently wheep...it moans and wails.

Today as I worry about all the trifling things that affect my life and my future, I a, zapped back to the things that matter once again by a tragic event affecting millions around the world. The death of guitarist Gary Moore comes in to shock me and snap me back to reality and remember that all the materialistic things we strive for are just toys to help us enjoy the world a little more than we would if living by necessity.


In the end, we all just die and what is left is our legacy. How we will be remembered? Will our enemies still hate us or remember that we treated them with dignity and love even though we disagreed? Will my children see that I did all I could and tried hard to make their lives better than mine? Will my friends at work understand I only had theirs and my best interest in mind through our adversities and when the company does better, it’s because we all grew as friends, leaders and workers?

This event however, also makes me remember that this man touched my life deeply. He gave me the notion that playing what you like and with your heart is more important than anything else. When I started off as a musician in my teens, I had designs to get signed, get that contract and rock the world. As I grew older, a family was more important to me and I coveted a family with a community to grow in and give back to. As children grew I still did the things that gave me joy with music, just playing along with Walking By Myself and Still got the Blues and trying to figure out every little nuance of the songs, not to imitate but to understand the technique and grow as a player. Not to show off or better myself for performance, but to have the satisfaction of learning and growing and enjoying the intimacy that resides in a song written and performed by a giant like Gary Moore. To pull off a feat of that stature allows me to have the swagger inside that warms my soul and in the end, makes my momma proud.

Yes this ties back to my mother again. My mother set a bar for me when I first started playing, and that was when I could play Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd note for note, I would be an accomplished guitarist. I satisfied that level of play before I went to the Air Force but I drove myself to perfect it and understand it, not just play it. Through my growth, I learned from the best as if I were in the room with them. I grabbed Randy Rhoads and began a classical tenure mixing it with metal and dark lyrics. I developed speed from Yngvie Malmsteen. I worked with Neal Schon to understand melodies and song structure. I worked with Ace Frehley to use pure drive to push my emotion into the audience. I worked with Rik Emmet to just understand theory and how it applies to pop music. I continued with Pink Floyd understanding phrasing and intonation. I listened to Eric Clapton and Bryan May tell me “Say more with less. Make a note mean something! Don’t just play a thousand notes cause you can and do perform every teaching in one song. A song is a message and emotion.” I finally focused on Stevie Ray Vaughan and how he brought color and fun to music.

All my teachings married themselves and brought my own sound and I was finally my own player. I could now profess my teachings and establish my prowess among my friends and local patrons of the establishments I played in and hold my head high as an individual virtuoso. Then Gary Moore came out with a blues album. I knew he was good. I had seen him play many rock songs and respected him but my god! He just played and fire came out of the speakers and tears followed. He was awesome and stayed that well. Even when I didn’t like the song, he just blew it away. I would hear him play with greats like BB, Albert King and Collins and he couldn’t help it, when he played he couldn’t play down it had to burn! I don’t know how that void will be filled now. It took me years to get over the fact that I wouldn’t see another Stevie Ray Vaughan record that he didn’t get to improve and perfect before releasing it. I have no idea how his brother got over his loss and now I have to go through the process for Gary Moore.

After hearing him play and watching him, I had the final ingredient in what was my influences for my style and sound. He was the personification of the last style I loved that reminded me of my mother and I knew would obtain her approval. Now for the hard part, I never sat down and played for her once I became accomplished. She never got o hear me play as an adult with skills. She passed and I lost my chance. My only solace is that she is now hopefully in the same place with Randy, Albert, Stevie and Gary and she is able to hear them play and enjoy the music that meant so much to me and I know did to her. She can experience the emotions they continue to provide me and they can see the joy they brought to so many people including me. How they changed the direction of so many musicians and influenced so many avenues of music.

I have a few heroes left still and I need to take advantage of being able to see them before they pass on. I am entering an area of my life where my friends are failing of natural causes and the athletic and artistic heroes of my day are leaving the world. Eric Clapton, Bryan May, Ritchie Blackmoore, Rik Emmet, David Gilmoore, Eddie Van Halen, Yngvie Malmsteen, Gary Richwrath, Neal Schon, Ian Moore, Rick Neilson. I need to see them when I have the opportunity and not waste it.

Now back to my mom and Gary. I have a blog some time ago talking specifically about what I felt was a supernatural communication from my mother. It could have been coincidence but it was very eerie and too much coincidence not to be something. If there is an afterlife that is organized enough to allow interaction with these other people of note, I do hope my mother has the opportunity to interact with them. She would truly enjoy herself so much as she loved this style of music.

As you can see, I rambled a bit today. I can’t imagine how I can ever speak enough about the influence this man had on my music life and how it connects with so many facets of my regular life. The unexpected death of such great artistic people such as Gary Moore, Randy Rhoads, Jeff Healey and Stevie Ray Vaughan only maximize the expectation their lives could have had on the music industry if they had been allowed to be around longer. The short careers thee men had and yet the massive impact they had resonates and echoes loudly forever. If you are not aware of them, or even just mildly aware of them, the strength of their art and creation isn’t fully aware in your thoughts. They were truly giants in a genre that didn’t need pop culture. They played what they loved and how they loved it. They were unaware of their true impact until their deaths and their families and friends are the ones that get to enjoy the flowers. They get to bask in the memories and successes of their loved ones and see the real benefit of being such a great artist. The stories you hear about people like this is most always the love that flowed from their souls through the music and through the events crating it. It is amazing and wonderful to watch them come alive in the conversations of people close to them. The eyes light up and smiles form on their faces as they remember the silly and wonderful experiences they had and it makes it even harder on the rest of us to see them as such great people as well as artists.

They made mistakes. They are human but the gift they gave us is one that stays forever and for me, I want to impart that to my children like my mother did to me. She showed me what she loved in music, why it meant so much to her and how it took her to another place so she enjoyed her time here even more. Now maybe she is getting to see those guys playing with some older greats like Hendrix, Joplin, Muddy Waters, Jim Morrison! What a show could be going on right now with those guys all together at once playing Red House and just enjoying the music.

To anyone who hasn’t experienced any of these genuses, please look up some music and just listen for the nuances and changes in the music. Watch them on the screen and see the emotion as they relive what caused them to write the music and words they perform. It is true art and is passing emotions of pain, joy and remembrance as they play and sing. It’s not just about making money: They loved what they did and pursued it with passion.

Gary Moore, on this day of loss, thank you for your dedication, love and wonderful artwork. You helped me develop myself and will continue to impact young guitarist for many years to come. Take your place at the table with the greatest artists ever and relish the wonders you bestowed on this world and rest in peace.



XO ILY YM