Having played guitar since I was in 10th grade, and I am almost 32, I've played for a number of years.  I don't know if I rank up there in the musician category, performer category or entertainer category.  I've never really been able to read music, I just know chords and play my guitar with feeling, rather than looking at what's written down on paper.

Over the years, I've had many musical influences, but over the years, the older I get the more my tastes change.  Back in elementary school and high school, I was into music like Def Leppard, Slaughter, Bon Jovi, and even D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince(Nightmare On My Street was pure genius).   But, once I got to college, I was exposed to music I never would have found were it not for friends I met while I was there.  I learned of a guy name Stanley Jordan, who is an amazing guitarist who plays by tapping the fretboard, not by strumming the guitar.  To have such a knowledge of music to play like he plays would be great.  I also ran into Pink Floyd, Rush, and several other bands...as most people my age were keeping up with the music of the time, I was going back in time, to when music was amazing, and was more than just noise.

During college, I started to dive back into acoustic guitar, as I had abandoned it for electric.  When I met my buddy Greg in college, there was a small group of us who would play in the stairwell of the dorm, for ourselves and for anyone willing to listen.  Nights playing with Greg and Don were so fun...we didn't even have to play anything recognizable. 

Since then, I've gotten very much into acoustic guitar, and it's become a big part of me.  I've learned there are stories the guitar wants to tell, and I need to figure out a way to unlock them.  I've learned a lot of other people's songs....Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, John Denver, Jimmy Buffett...these are some of the best storytellers in the world.  I know I could never even be on a level as them, but I'd like to try.  I have so many stories in me, but I have the hardest time putting them to music.  Much of my life is unwritten, and I need to write some songs so I have something to dance to in the dance of life.  Hopefully, one day, I'll find the right words and melody.