Music by james madison thomas
This was another exploration of creating a song using an alternate tuning in combination with a modified capo, like I did on Waterwheel. The
video was shot in a dark room, and I can’t remember now with certainty,
but I’m inclined to think that this was a short capo which left more than one string open. I remember it being a capo different in some way from the one
I used on Waterwheel. There’s not enough light here to tell.
The song used my very first Taylor guitar, the 514cw. It was cedar, a Limited Edition, and a masterful creation. I bought it in Tampa at Mars Music.
It was a bit more than I could afford, but I believed I could work it out to pay
it off. When I brought it home, I found a message awaiting on the answering machine, informing me that my father had suffered a fatal accident. I did in-
herit some money from him down the road, so it always seemed that this
guitar was a gift from my dad.
I think of Phil Keaggy every time I see this, because he saw it through none of my doing, and he got on the phone with me and we had several discussions about capos and alternate tunings. He sent a few photos of his Olson with multiple capos on it.
I used this guitar in worship bands, most notably in my great time at
Calvary Chapel South St. Petersburg. I had a rough patch in the mid-2000’s and had to sell many of the instruments that I had acquired over many years. Because of the connection to my dad and my history with this guitar, I never expected to part with it, but I knew it would still be used for ministry, so I gave
it up. The young man who bought it was a worship leader at the big Calvary Chapel in St. Pete. A number of years earlier, Anne and I were active in a
small fellowship on the south side planted by that church. A friend came with him looking for a mandolin. I sold the Takoma mandolin too that day though
I hadn’t intended to. I have a story to tell about that instrument but I’ll save it
for the page with the video I play it on.