Guitar Fun: Folk Songs, Blues, Jazz, Children's Songs

	Paul & Guitars
	Rock-n-roll, country and western, folk music all come down to playing guitar. A guitar is a portable instrument and a grand piano is not. So in 1956 I headed on over to Karnes Music in Evanston (near Chicago). My guitar instructor was Bob Harris, a jazz guitarist, who taught me the 12 bar blues. Chicago was, after all, a jazz and blues town.
	For authentic "country" atmosphere we gathered at Jim's BBQ in Glenview (on Illinois rte. 42A. which was Waukegan Road) It had a rebel flag out front and country music on the juke box (those little flip-page selectors on the counter and a big juke box on the floor). Jims had great pin-ball machines. Chicago had a TV & radio program called the National Barn Dance with Country Bob Atcher in Schaumburg. It began about the same time as the Grand Old Opry and was the Sears, Roebuck Co. media for reach their best customers: farmers who used their catalog; The call letters "WLS" stood for "World's Largest Store" (Sears). We didn't talk about 1-4-5 in those days or even Nashville numbering. It was just chords. I got a job over at Chicago Musical Instrument. They owned Gibson guitar company and were the distributors. My first two guitars were Gibsons. If I'd kept them. Johnny Rector worked for CMI and taught me a slew of jazz chords. He got me hooked up with Vince Chewning's Band (another CMI employee) and later with Art Van Damme's band. Johnny was a great mentor. The Navy enlistment ended and I returned to Chicago. I went to Loyola University and played guitar in small groups (blues, polka, rock, jazz). Later I lived near Carbondale (about 400 miles south of Chicago and in the middle of the Illinois "hill" country). Carbondale is closer to Memphis than to Chicago. Kentucky and S.E. Missouri are just across the river. That is definitely "country-western" music. Back then Roy Acuff hosted the Grand Old Opry every Friday night on WSM Nashville. So I played country and western and folk and kids songs and church songs and took the kids camping and played along with bluegrass players under Coleman Lanterns. The guitar went just about anywhere. It was always easy to grab a guitar and play some tunes.
	2008 San Diego Folk Song Society 2008 Swing Street band (Tom Conti's band) 2008 Hal Jellison's Dance Band - 2008 Southwestern College -- Mariachi Band 2008 North Park Senior Dance Band - 2008 Monday Night Jazz Group -- trio 2008 Country Western Sunday Group 2008 Blues group -- Wednesday nights 2008 Jeanettes "open" Jam 2008 San Diego Folk Singers Jam -- Sundays 2008 Slo Jam (folk music) 2008 Ronald McDonald House 2008- 2006 WOW Annual Outing (sing-a-long) 2008 St. Paul's Assisted Living Home 2008 Pacific Pointe Retirement Home 2007 Inland Bluegrass & Folk, Temecula 2007 Old Tyme Music Players, San Diego (bluegrass, reels, tuples, folk) 2007 most of the jams listed in 2008 2006 Slojam San Diego, CA 2006 Fuddruckers, La Mesa, CA (jamming) 2006 summer Ronald McDonald House, Wednesdays 2006 Lazy River Jazz Band (San Diego) guitarist (sax, bass, drums, guitar) 2005 to 2006 Two Listener's Church, Oceanside, CA 2005 to 2007 San Diego Bluegrass Society 2001 to Present: playing/singing at private parties, churches, children 1986 to 1995: South Orange county & Dana Pt. Harbor 1979 to 86: Santiago De Compostella Church, Msn Viejo 1986 to 1995 Piano/guitar duet San Juan Capistrano 1986 - 1997 SASS at Coto de Caza (cowboy) 1969-75: Southern & Central Illinois - Blues, Gospel, Country & Bluegrass 1963-67: Chicago (blues bands), Club Laurel (Broadway & Wilson Av) 1959 to 62 - USN: E.M. club Fleet Sonar School, San Diego '59 - '60 1957 - 1958 Played for Johnny Rector's Jazz Knight's Chicago Area '56 to '59 1959 Union (B license) sat in with Art Van Dam Quintet, Chicago Area (jazz) 1958 - 1959 played in Vince Chewning Band, Chicago Area (dance & polka) 1956 - 1958 formal lessons Karnes Music, Evanston Illinois B.S. - Loyola University of Chicago; Liberal Arts. M.A. - Roosevelt University; management Teaching: 2001 -- >2005 Learning Annex 1999 to 2001 Army and Navy Academy in Carlsbad 1994 to 1997 Saddleback College, Mission Viejo. 1988 to 1998 Helms Group, Long Beach 1978 to 1990 International City Management Association 1978 to 1990 Cal State Los Angeles 1969 to 1975 Project A69-15: Southern Illinois University 1971 to 1975 McHenry College, McHenry Illinois