I had always thought about performing solo, but before 2006 I had only ever played
one song in public with just me and my acoustic guitar. That was in a bar on Poplar
Avenue in Memphis for an open mic night in 1975...I played Led Zeppelin's "Ramble
On". It came off good, people applauded, and that was it.
But I was a band guy...I enjoyed the interaction, camaraderie and totality of playing
with a group, so that's what I did for the next thirty years. But in 2006, I decided to
give the solo thing a shot. I was playing with Possum, a popular band in Birmingham
Alabama, and I didn't sing at all in that band. That was a wonderful thing, being that I
had always been a primary vocalist in every other band I had played with.
Why? With Possum, I could totally focus on my instrumental parts without the
"intrusion" of having my face stuck into a microphone as I began or ended a guitar
solo or played the tonally-tricky pedal steel. But I did miss singing, and decided to try
booking a few solo gigs. Fortunately, my membership in Possum made it easy for
club owners to take a chance with an "untested" act.
For the next twelve years, I played hundreds of gigs all over the Southeastern United
States...just me and a guitar...from Key West, Florida to Little Rock, Arkansas and
all points in between. I lived in Gulf Shores, Alabama much of that time and played
there a quite a bit. And as I traveled with my ‘real’ job, I served six Southern states
and played regular solo gigs in all of those as well. And though there's still nothing like
playing in a band, I really enjoyed the solo experience.