It all started way back...
I began my musical career in 1965 learning to play a baritone
ukulele. (If you want to be picky, it really began in 5th and 6th grade
taking French Horn lessons at school. It was all that was left when it
was my turn to pick an instrument.) I soon graduated from four
strings to six with my first guitar, a very inexpensive nylon string
generic.
My earliest repertoire consisted of songs for folk masses and
secular folk music made popular by such groups as the Kingston
Trio, Peter, Paul and Mary, Chad Mitchell Trio, Up with People, the
New Christy Minstrels, the Mommas and the Papas and a host of
others. Other major influences were Simon and Garfunkel, Judy
Collins, Joan Baez, Woody Guthrie and, of course, Pete Seeger.
As I entered adulthood, my musical tastes tended more toward the
social issues of the times of the late 60's and early 70's. Musical
venues were the ubiquitous coffeehouses, parks, spontaneous
gatherings, and the occasional bar playing "for drinks and tips".
Music took a back seat to making a living starting around 1974. I
kept a guitar around and would pull it out from under the bed every
so often. I might even buy new strings and put them on. But it
soon went back under the bed for the just dusted case to begin
collecting another layer and for the strings to tarnish and deaden in
peace.
Flash forward to September 15th, 2005. I was laid off for the third
time in the past ten years. With the support of my family, I
decided to do what people often say, about seeing it as an
opportunity to make a drastic career change and to do something
you love. I decided to embark upon a career in music. Armed with
my pride and joy, a Martin D-28 guitar which I bought with the
money I saved when I quit smoking in 1997, I bring myself and my
music to as many people as I can.
I began my musical career in 1965 learning to play a baritone
ukulele. (If you want to be picky, it really began in 5th and 6th grade
taking French Horn lessons at school. It was all that was left when it
was my turn to pick an instrument.) I soon graduated from four
strings to six with my first guitar, a very inexpensive nylon string
generic.
My earliest repertoire consisted of songs for folk masses and
secular folk music made popular by such groups as the Kingston
Trio, Peter, Paul and Mary, Chad Mitchell Trio, Up with People, the
New Christy Minstrels, the Mommas and the Papas and a host of
others. Other major influences were Simon and Garfunkel, Judy
Collins, Joan Baez, Woody Guthrie and, of course, Pete Seeger.
As I entered adulthood, my musical tastes tended more toward the
social issues of the times of the late 60's and early 70's. Musical
venues were the ubiquitous coffeehouses, parks, spontaneous
gatherings, and the occasional bar playing "for drinks and tips".
Music took a back seat to making a living starting around 1974. I
kept a guitar around and would pull it out from under the bed every
so often. I might even buy new strings and put them on. But it
soon went back under the bed for the just dusted case to begin
collecting another layer and for the strings to tarnish and deaden in
peace.
Flash forward to September 15th, 2005. I was laid off for the third
time in the past ten years. With the support of my family, I
decided to do what people often say, about seeing it as an
opportunity to make a drastic career change and to do something
you love. I decided to embark upon a career in music. Armed with
my pride and joy, a Martin D-28 guitar which I bought with the
money I saved when I quit smoking in 1997, I bring myself and my
music to as many people as I can.
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| Darrell Gagnon |
Acoustic Guitar and Vocals