The blues

Okay, I'll bet there are a lot of harp players watching this show this week. (I picked taping last night to watch the Cubs-Braves game, tho.) Two observations:

I'm watching to understand the roots of the music I aspire to play. While this sounds obvious or contrite, I mean it sincerely. And I've found an emotional understanding of where the blues came from. Makes me feel like a phony, to want to play it. A middle-class white guy with a stable, boring love life--where are the blues in my life? Maybe I want to find emotions in my boring life and be forced to express them?

Second--playing the blues seems to be a very interactive experience. I watch these guitarist sitting across from each other, smiling at each other as they play. My biggest struggle with playing 'real' music is being aware of the other players (or CD). But I can feel where there is a hook, a sync, between players that pleases the soul.

I remember seeing a blues band at a bar in Atlanta, and I got such a high just counting off the 12-bar they were jamming to. Such an intimate feeling, I wish my wife played guitar.