|
Alien Guitar Secrets 14th 6 2009.
We got to meet Steve in a small intimate venue which was informal, welcoming and relaxed. Steve was very candid and open to answer any question put to him from the attendees, and came across as just an ordinary guy who is an extraordinary guitar player. He spoke a lot about setting goals, keeping your focus, and the confidence that grows as you achieve each goal. It was all very inspirational, eloquently conveyed and Steve himself is the living proof of the power of such an approach to playing the guitar.
The downside of the relaxed mood was Steve was so open to answer any and all questions it was easy to distract him from the scope of the seminar. To his credit he did his best to cover the items in the brochure but would be drawn off onto tangents by questions about his coats and what makes him laugh etc., Steve being the nice guy that he is would try to answer each question in detail and to the satisfaction of the person asking the question. It did make the session run over and, I guess, put a lot of pressure on Steve’s schedule for the rest of the day.
To paraphrase Dave Lee Roth – “If I was a rock star I wouldn’t do it like that at all, . . . . . I’d do it just like this . . . . . “
I thought “When I was a little boy” could have been a quick bio printed on the inside of the seminar brochure, it might have headed off some of the irrelevant questions that came his way, and got us into talking about guitar techniques sooner. A lot of the things mentioned by Steve relating to goal setting, and visualisation through meditation echo many of the topics I read recently in an excellent book about self hypnosis. It struck me that a list of recommended reading could have been used to affirm much of Steve’s advice and to a depth not possible in the few hours of the seminar. It would allow him to concentrate on sharing his unique application of those subjects to the guitar and divert some of the questions by referring the asker to relevant books on the topic.
I don’t know? I’m not a guitar Guru so perhaps my view isn’t that valid, but it might help to reduce the time spent talking outside of the scope of the seminar, and help stop them from going way over time. This happened on Sunday, but Steve still tried to cover everything rather than cut it short. He seemed a little worried about a sound check and still had a long queue of meet and greats to do when I left, but he just stuck to it. It can’t be easy to keep the smiles and the handshakes going when you have a lot of people putting that much pressure on your time.
All in all it was a great day out, very informal and full of insight into the guitar techniques of a virtuoso. The head cutting duel was a joy to watch, even though I didn’t get to take part. Steve’s generous spirit became obvious in the way he seemed to coax the best out of each player when it was their turn to jam. I left the seminar with many fond memories and a big cheesy grin on my face. What more can a guy ask for in life? My thanks and gratitude to everybody involved in making the day possible.
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
