Pass it on down

This is my niece, Andrea. She and the family visited Austin last week or so, all the way from Minnesota. Minnesota shares many commonalities with Texas. Both can be hot and muggy. Both have a large amount of beer in them. Neither are as focused on cheese production as Wisconsin is. We're a lot alike. Anyway, Andrea started playing guitar last year. When she visited Albuquerque last June, she took home my old electric guitar (Chinese-made Fender Strat -- it's what I learned everything on). Apparently, she's forsaken things like homework and food for practicing, because the girl can rock. I think I remember how far along I was into my first year of guitar playing...and I think Andrea has quite a few more things figured out than I ever did. I had the fun of debuting Andrea to Austin at my Irie Bean gig last week...she wasn't nervous one bit. I used to feel like hurling before performances in high school. Yeah, that's a feeling to avoid. Anyway...the song was great and I hope it's just the tip of the iceberg! I have other nieces who play guitar...it's turning into quite the musical generation. I hope to get them down to Texas soon, too. I need more guests at my gigs. Maybe one day we'll be like the Marleys and an entire tour can exist with just family members taking part. "Wait. Do I sing a verse or a chorus here? Dangit." Here we are at the dining room table, and I'm attempting to chart out one of my own songs for Andrea to take home. That's cool. One day soon, Minnesota, you will hear "You're Gone I'm Not" at a venue near you, I hope.