I offered my services to Brian Tallarico at his chocolate shop for a First Friday gig.  He’s paid me over the years, and really can’t afford to pay me, so I said I’ll do it for chocolate. …. and practice.  I took a lot of the new stuff down to work on, and got to crank them up in front of people.  Several kids stopped in and the dance stuff works really well. 

 

It was slow, but I continued to play for the lady behind the counter.  I looked up and there were a dad and a young pre-teen daughter there.  They noticed the cigar box guitars behind me, and we struck up a conversation.  Seems she plays uke, so I said, “Pull on down and let’s jam.”  She did and preceded to play together for 40 minutes. Early on I asked if she knew any endings, ’cause the ending is the most important part.  she came up with ‘Shave and a Haircut’.  I said that it was the classic.  So, as we played songs together, she did the ending for every one.  It was really funny.

 

Anyway, it was special that we could play together, sing together and be on the same plane as musicians for a while.  She didn’t shy away from anything.  It was very cool for me to work with her at that level and give her the opportunity to sit with an adult and play.  It’s what I was put on this planet for.

 

I got paid with a half pound of killer chocolates.