Sentimental Journeys

When I got my first gig at a senior community, I didn't know exactly what to expect. That was made more dramatic when, between my visit on Monday to see where Jeannie and I would be setting up and the day of the gig, a major remodel project threw all that out the window. So down a flight of stairs or maneuvering a cart onto a narrow elevator—either way, difficult. And by present comparison, we had brought WAY MORE gear than was necessary.

Despite all that, we had a good time. A resident came up at the end to talk about music, Turns out she knew most if not all of our setlist that day.. As we told her we'd hope to see her "next time," she told us with a sigh that she would likely not be here—or anywhere—by then, And she was right,

That's the blindside of these gigs. You learn a few faces, a few names. One time, someone smiles and sings along quietly. But soon, she sits in her wheelchair, unresponsive, her smile a fading memory like a sign pained on an alley wall. You miss that face, that smile. But it's gone, vanished. And it's really impossible to ask why.

But the upside is that the residents are there just for the music. There's no sports TV, no alcohol, no crosstalk. Just anywhere from six to sixty people listening, And sometimes singing. That's the best. Especially in the Memory Care areas where folks may seem at first disinterested or distracted. When a song lights up an image: person, place, time, and they're all in— that's why you come.

I've learned a lot playing these communities. I notice how what I know already sits with them. Often I ask, "Do you know that song?" But before that, I've seen for myself which tunes are their favorites. Then sometimes I get requests. "Do you know, 'Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey?'" (No, but I'll fake it today, and have it ready next week.) "What about Johnny Cash?" "Do you do any cowboy songs?" "How about 'Ghost Riders in the Sky?'"

Many of these requests take me to songs, even genres and guitar styles, that are new. So my repertoire has changed and grown considerably. Now, when I play for a public audience at a restaurant or bar,, I have to consciously shift decades, tempos, volume. Or not! I enjoy playing "You Are My Sunshine" with a slight touch of reggae to any crowd.

The bottom line, now that I'm playing at eight different communities, is that I've got a new niche. As I approach 80, I'm playing for folks my age and a little older, I'm learning their world, past and present. And I'm having a blast.

"Do you all know, 'Love Potion Number Nine'? All right!"