Joe,
I know you get lots of requests like this, but I'll ask anyway. I am a United Methodist minister who, in another life, played guitar on the road and still play at our contemporary worship services and have a blues band on the side. I help lead our youth band and we have seen some pretty good young guitarists over that last few years and I have turned them on to classic blues rock players and specifically your playing as an example of how to do it right. I have been thrilled to see them lean in toward the blues and buy your CDs and DVDs and and come into rehearsals playing intros to your songs and other licks, along with the intros to Heartbreaker, Cities On Flame with Rock and Roll, and other classic rock favs.
I will be in Nashville tomorrow night (6th show for the wife and me) with two really great young players and their dads seeing you for the first time. Will there be an after-show meet and greet? These guys would just freak to meet you and get something signed. Regardless, and I know you already know this, be confident that you are reaching young players with the honesty of your craft and the depth of your soul. For them and me, and probably most of us who are fans, listening to you play is like tasting great red wine. Even if you don't understand all the technical stuff--alcohol content, sugar to tanin balance, finish, etc.--you know when you're drinking something special. These kids do, and so do the rest of us. In a world of sugary white zinfandel, you are a 1995 Opus One.
Blessings,
Larry
"...play skillfully and shout for joy." Psalm 33:3b (honest, it really says that)
