Walking In Another Man's Shoe's; Part One
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| Feet; Property of Lauren Coye. |
When we look at a person we can start to identify what their character is based on their outer features and/or actions. For example, I asked what people think of me based on my looks. I was perceived as fashion forward, old soul, confident. Looking closer, you can tell that I have a dog that I'm close with, due to the free fur coat I get to wear everyday. What you don't see is that I am a practicing, self-taught photographer, that I love being outside in nature, and that my favorite TV show is Cheers Looking at me you wouldn't be able to tell that I'm afraid of ladybugs or that I even have a blog. You mightn't know that I am infatuated with music from generations I was never apart of. What I'm getting at is that we express ourselves in many different ways that can be both seen and unseen by the naked eye, but understood if we take the time to get to know each other or let other's into our world.
I started this project with the idea of understanding one thing about my peers that maybe people know or maybe other's don't. Taking to social media, I had asked for either a song, a hobby, movie, destination, etc. for me to try or travel to (if possible) to try and understand this particular person more. The beginning seemed to of had a very underwhelming number of participants, but once I reiterated that I would be participating in these activities the number had grown. So here I am, ready to try and understand what makes you, you.
The first post consists of the first participates I got; my twin sister Lauren.
Lauren;
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| Girl and her guitar |
Since we could hold anything in our hands Lauren and I were banging on pots and pans in the kitchen, while dancing and singing in our diapers. Music had found its way into our heart and soul and no matter how much anyone tried to persuade us to sway in another direction, the road always lead back to music. Even leading us down to a path of her taking up trumpet for four years and I saxophone, but there was always this yearning need to play the guitar.
"What is it about the guitar that attracts you to it?"
"Ooh, the way it represents the female body." she says with a high-frequency giggle. "Now all that comes to my mind is sex with strings. But I mean, any guitar is beautiful... It's just a magical instrument." She lingers off, "The tone of it.. It's magical, it's nothing else".
We would open our uncles closet door down at our grandparent's summer home on Cape Cod to find a Yamaha six-string, natural faced, acoustic guitar perched there. Change that, the face was anything but natural. My uncle's friend had carved the word's "Jimbo" and "Rain" into the body and the guitar was all scratched up, still sang, but looked like a college frat boy getting initiated into the house and in doing so played tattoo roulette getting the words "Jimbo Rain" inked on him and then scarred from all of the stupid mistakes frat boys make. Or maybe Jimbo Rain, the rightfully name and persona of the guitar now, was a biker and kicked out of some bar- we'd never hear his past though; Jimbo's all about the present. It is this very guitar that my uncle gifted to Lauren when we entered High School and Lauren has added a few more nicks to it over the years. It is the guitar and singing, she says that makes her "feel comfortable and alive". So that's what I did today.
Between the two of us, Lauren and I have eight guitars, two ukuleles, three harmonicas, a keyboard, a trumpet, a saxophone and a piano on the way. Are we any good? No. Am I being modest? Not at all. But it's enjoyable and Lauren does have a really pretty voice with the right song and when she gets going.
To understand a little bit more of why she choice this topic and the influence the guitar had over her, I asked;
"How did the guitar become a big part of your life?"
"Music has always been a big part of my life, ya know," she's standing in our kitchen, where ironically I notice a blue guitar pick is laid on our counter top as she takes a break from talking to take a sip of her tea.
"Then The Beatles obsession came into my life and I was drawn to that kind of music and when I saw the three guitars on stage it kind of went off from there. Then there was the mystery of (Uncle) Danny's guitar in the bedroom that had only the four strings, made me want it more- How it was always there and we always wanted to play it."
She then wanted to add her "philosophical quote", "What attracts anyone to anyone, it just happens"."Explain in three words what you feel when playing?"
"Freeing, definitely. If I start playing and get into a groove I feel this big wave of emotions come over me and can't explain it....Euphoria? Peace I guess.... Home. Whenever, I'm sad I guess it's home. I'm there."
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| My guitar and I. Featuring Oscar |
I have been playing guitar for as long as Lauren and absolutely love it. However, I'm not a singer. I'm very self-conscious, and mostly play for myself - when I sing, it's either in the car, the shower, or quietly while playing with Lauren. Tonight I sang out on my back deck, repeatedly while learning these songs, and switching back and forth between Petty, Dylan, and Young tunes.
It is a different experience while singing loudly and not just whispered or back up vocals while playing guitar. There is more of a connection to the song and a controlled grip over-all. Just playing guitar I tend to focus on the strumming pattern, the picking, chords and how the guitar itself is sounding- by doing both it's a focus on the song as a whole and picturing how rearranging the songs might go. Controlling the lyrics, the speed, and what not. When explain this to Lauren she agrees stating that it's an opportunity express yourself vocally,
"It opens up the Throat Chakra, allowing you to give more and get more out of it".
Freeing was a good word to use for playing. When your fingers are wrapped around the neck of a guitar, no matter what skill level you are, you can try and convey any emotion or thought simply by strumming. I don't want to say you loose the world, but when you find a groove you loose yourself. The troubles melt from your shoulders and the senses are heightened. Whether it's the scabbing of the finger tips on my left hand, the pungent smell of polish- especially when sitting out in the hot sun, or feeling the vibrations of the strings jitter back and forth with each strum and/or pluck.
David Crosby of The Bryds and Crosby, Stills, Nash (and Young), once replied "Play everyday". when I asked him "What piece of advice he would give to a musician/songwriter, what would it be?" *A few years prior he sent me a video response saying "If it's (music) the only thing that makes you happy, do it. Do the hell out it!"
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