For Somewhere Joe, for Kevin Williams; for Rick Watt: Kenny Rankin

I bought my first guitar in 1974. Yes, I have been playing guitar for thirty-three years. And when I bought my first guitar, I was twenty.

The guitar was, and still is, a Yamaha FG-110. The guy I bought it from was Rick Watt. Sadly, I don't know if he still is. This is a story about unpiad debts. Not only because I owe it to Rick for ordaining me with guitarage, but the price of the guitar was $70 American and I only had forty at the time of the exchange.

We did the deal in the choir loft of St. Bernard's Catholic church, 615 H Street, Eureka, California 95501. If you speak Catholic, you pronounce it BERnerd's. Not berNARD's. Don't know why. But same holds true for St. Bernard of Clairveaux. The only time you get to say it the other way is when you're talking about the dog with the brandy around it's neck and only when on a rescue in the Alps. If it's a rescue, say, in Utah's Uintas, however, I think you have to revert to the Catholic way. Just to piss off the Mormons? Again, dunno for sure. But if I were you, I wouldn't take any chances.

So Rick and I are sitting in the loft of St. BERnerds and he flips the guitar over and shows me the battle scarred one piece back. "It's not pretty," he says. "I've hitchhiked across the country with it; ate my lunch on it many a time. But it sounds good."

And it does sound good. Still.

I handed Rick my forty clams and he said I could pay him later. Some day. Somehow. But I haven't seen him since.

I think of Rick each and every time I pick that guitar up. And because Tom is seranading Cindra on my Martin D-35 right now, I am picking up the Yamaha FG-110, and my debts to Rick, a lot.

When I flew down to Redding in January (see my earlier post), the purpose was to attend Kevin's eldest son's wedding. Kevin, when asked, said he hadn't seen Rick either. He even called around to some of the other folks who had worked at the Catholic Youth Organization camp where I met Kevin and Rick. No word from Rick. No way to pay him his thirty bucks. No way to hear his beautiful Kenny Loggins-like singing voice.

Kevin taught me how to play my very first song: John Denver's "My Sweet Lady." He also taught me the second song I ever played: Kenny Rankin's rendition of the Beatles' "Blackbird." His interpretation of that song is very slow. Very sweet. Right there and then I was introduced to Kenny Rankin.

Kenny Rankin is from New York. Maybe Paul has seen him walking around the streets where Francis the dog remains ever vigilant for Fifi (see Paul's current post). Recently, Rankin was featured on BET and he cut a DVD which yours truly truly had to purchase. As Linda Richman would say, "Like Buttuh!" Johnny Carson fell in love with him so much so that he invited him onto the show 20 times. TWENTY TIMES.

If you have met up with the beauty that is Kenny Rankin, then please welcome into the fold, along with me and Somewhere Joe and Kevin the Godsent stylings of beauty incarnate.

And Rick, if you're listening----Dude, I owe you thirty bucks. Along with more than you will ever possibly know. Thank you, Rick. Thank you so much. You too, Kev.

Kenny will be playing at Jazz Alley on March 27/28. You who live where the bluest skies you've ever seen are, should do your Seattle Asses a big favor and get them to Jazz Alley on at least one of those dates.

This is a closeup of the interior of the sound box. I got this picture off the net. Not my guitar.














THIS is my guitar. The FG-110 that I still owe thirty bucks on...


























Zoom in for a look at the sticker. Finding out they were still in existence, I emailed McCabe and Camp. They haven't seen Rick either. And they want to find him even more badly than I do. Seems he still owes them thirty bucks for the guitar. Ain't life strange? (Okay. Just kidding about Rick still owing money. The author apologizes for his character flaws.)




















Yes, that is an Alamo amp. And yes, that is my trumpet case.

If she could speak she would be saying, "Gawpo, could you please help me with my zipper?" "Oh yes my love," I would reply, "Especially since after all those girlfriends you have helped woo into my life, you have more than helped Gawpo with HIS..."





























YOU'D BE SO NICE TO COME HOME TO...






ROUND MIDNIGHT...








One of my top five Kenny Rankin favs....Pardon Me, Haven't We Met