a can of worms....

Alrighty then, he may get a bit tired of me talking about him, and may even have begun to believe I am some sort of stalker (which I am not,) but I have got to rave on about this guy Joe Reyes.
This city has produced some tremendous musicians, but none of them really seem to get far from this place, and it just chaps my hide!
I have for years blamed it on a black vortex, a negative whirlwind that keeps those of us who should be able to break free held fast to the
“lameness” of this town. I am not certain what it is about this place, but progress just takes longer here. Or I am listening to mass media and being dooped into believing that everywhere else just has more to offer. I have lived in and visited a lot of places, and I know it isn’t true, but my frustration over the music scene here not getting taken seriously is not eased by that knowledge.

Joe is a huge example of what I mean. From what little I know of him, he seems content to go out and be involved in numerous projects, putting his special spice into everything he plays. He is a great producer, with a great ear for detail from what I have heard, and an unparalleled guitar player here. I have not heard him play classical guitar yet, but I do not doubt he is able. He has the hands for it. He knows the subtlety of hand fingering in Spanish music, and the guitars he holds are obviously just an extension of himself....that means to me that he understands Segovia, and Bream. Maybe someday. Maybe one day he will take my chiding seriously and do a solo CD, proving to the rest of the world what he is.

I am frustrated for him, and yet immensely happy for myself that he has not yet been discovered by someone big enough in the industry to take him away. It means I might get to hear more of what he can do, even if he is thoroughly tired of my face turning up at every gig I can. I have seen him with Buttercup, the Swindles, Patricia Vonne, and Lara & Reyes in the last few months. None of these share much musically in common,....except for him.
They all recognise his ability, and get a real kick out of playing with him. When he cuts loose and lets what is inside him come out through that instrument, well.....I would have to put it in poetry, because it is. Simple as that. Poetry written in music.

A bit mushy, granted, but it is true. I am particularly fond of Buttercup, but Joe’s playing has stopped me, turned my head, in all these groups I have seen him with. I am an artist and a writer, and I cannot tell you what it is that one guitarist has and another doesn’t that can do this. He’s got it though. And for the time being, San Antonio has him. As much as I would like to see the world acknowledge him, I am also glad he has chosen to stay home, and be a local boy first.

Maybe that’s it. It isn’t that SA holds on, so much as something I haven’t found here yet that makes some of the people here just not want to leave. I have seen much of the world, and while things out there are familiar enough that I am comfortable there for awhile, no single place has ever whispered in my ear “This is where you belong.” Perhaps that is what I hear in this guy’s music. This is where he is supposed to be. And I guess me too for awhile.
He, and the other musicians he works with, give me reason to stay put. And for a time anyway, I feel like I might fit.

I owe all of them thanks then; they give me a place to rest my weary feet for a bit, and a soundtrack to live by.