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The following is a summary of a conversation that I had this evening with my six year old son. I actually had a couple of hours to mess around tonight and I was playing guitar and watching a Radiohead concert DVD(guilty pleasure...I love Jonny Greenwoods playing). My son came home from his friends house, sat down, and started watching it with me. As we watched, he looked around at the pictures on the wall and started asking questions.
(son)"Dad, who's that in that picture?"
(me) "That's Darrell Abbott, he made music that a lot of people like"
(son)"Who does he play for?"
(me) "Well, after he played with Pantera, he started another band with his brother, but some man who was sick in the head killed him one night".
(son) "Who is that guy?"
(me )"That's Randy Rhoads, he played with Ozzy Osbourne and was a really talented player".
(son)"Who does he play for now?"
(me)"Um...he died in a plane crash when he was a little older than your big sister is now".
(son)"Oh,....well, then who is that guy kissing his guitar?"
(me)"That's Jason Becker. He is a really talented musician. I'll have to show you a video of him playing guitar and using a yo-yo at the same time".
(son)"What band is he in?"
(me)"Well, he's not in a band right now, I think he still writes music though. He has ALS which makes him unable to move much at all."
(son)"That's sad. I wouldn't like it if I couldn't move. Who is that guy?"
(me)That's Joe Perry(whew!)He's very much alive and plays a mean guitar. He's made lots of music over the years that a lot of people like."
(son)"Well then who are those guys?"
(me)"That's a band called Corrosion Of Conformity. Killer band, all still kicking(as far as I know)and make some pretty cool music."
This went on through Kurt Cobain, Slayer, KingsX and others.
After I put him to bed, I started thinking. What must he think of these guys?? These are the same artists that I exposed my older son to, and he jumped head on into guitar and seems to be in it for life now. Will lightning strike twice? I wonder if my six year old will draw any inspiration from these guitarists, or will it be from some newer players. Or older players...or any at all for that matter. I thought about a lot of other stuff that I wondered how a six year old looks at these days too. Just some food for thought.
And don't worry folks, he is exposed to much more positive stuff. My music room just reflects my interests. We've had lots of fun in there. This was the first time he really started to ask about the pics on the wall though.
(son)"Dad, who's that in that picture?"
(me) "That's Darrell Abbott, he made music that a lot of people like"
(son)"Who does he play for?"
(me) "Well, after he played with Pantera, he started another band with his brother, but some man who was sick in the head killed him one night".
(son) "Who is that guy?"
(me )"That's Randy Rhoads, he played with Ozzy Osbourne and was a really talented player".
(son)"Who does he play for now?"
(me)"Um...he died in a plane crash when he was a little older than your big sister is now".
(son)"Oh,....well, then who is that guy kissing his guitar?"
(me)"That's Jason Becker. He is a really talented musician. I'll have to show you a video of him playing guitar and using a yo-yo at the same time".
(son)"What band is he in?"
(me)"Well, he's not in a band right now, I think he still writes music though. He has ALS which makes him unable to move much at all."
(son)"That's sad. I wouldn't like it if I couldn't move. Who is that guy?"
(me)That's Joe Perry(whew!)He's very much alive and plays a mean guitar. He's made lots of music over the years that a lot of people like."
(son)"Well then who are those guys?"
(me)"That's a band called Corrosion Of Conformity. Killer band, all still kicking(as far as I know)and make some pretty cool music."
This went on through Kurt Cobain, Slayer, KingsX and others.
After I put him to bed, I started thinking. What must he think of these guys?? These are the same artists that I exposed my older son to, and he jumped head on into guitar and seems to be in it for life now. Will lightning strike twice? I wonder if my six year old will draw any inspiration from these guitarists, or will it be from some newer players. Or older players...or any at all for that matter. I thought about a lot of other stuff that I wondered how a six year old looks at these days too. Just some food for thought.
And don't worry folks, he is exposed to much more positive stuff. My music room just reflects my interests. We've had lots of fun in there. This was the first time he really started to ask about the pics on the wall though.
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