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02-08-02 - 11:25 p.m. Firstly, I want to apologize to anyone of French descent. For years I thought nothing could be more pathetically stupid than the opening ceremonies for the 1992(?) Winter Games in Albertville. I was wrong. Tonight's display of...I don't even know...was terrible! What the fuck was all that "Child of Light" and "Fire Within" shit? I loved the part where Bob Costas announced that the kid actor playing the "Child" had to hide the fact that he was starring in the production for something like three years for privacy issues. Please. He had to hide it from his friends so they wouldn't kick his ass in school! Jesus. And then the Native American thing (that was kinda cool), which led to the pioneer thing (less cool), and the trains (if they had been middle-schoolers, they'd have received swirlies). I did enjoy Kristi Yamaguchi, due to the fact that she is one of the coolest people in the world. Except that Barbra Streisand makes me want to vomit. But enough about that. I think I might go up to San Francisco for a while again. I had a good time. I'd like to have another good time. This time, I'd take Leif along to earn us some money with his incredible guitar talent. I swear I'm not exaggerating when it comes to his playing. I don't know about your high school, but at my alma mater, there were a bunch of guys who would occasionally bring their guitars to school, out of the case, and wander around. In class sometimes they'd pluck a few random strings and call it "Stairway To Heaven," a song I hate. The best of these young men were the ones who would bring their electric guitars to school, out of the case, and wander around. Electric guitars need one basic thing to create their signature sound and that one basic thing is: Electricity. An un-amped electric guitar is just not the same. It sounds rather pitiful. Good for practicing fingering, not for attempting to show off in front of the entire school. Morons. Anyway. Leif has been playing guitar since he was around seven, when he received his first basic, nylon six-string acoustic Mercury from his dad, who had apparently noticed something of a musical spark in his son. I guess that means Leif could sing "The ABC Song" in tune. So he started taking lessons when he was eight, learned everything there is to know about different types of guitars, how amps work, how to distinguish styles and develop one's own, picking, chords...everything. He started attending rock concerts when he was eleven, the first of which was Styx with Kansas. That concert must have kicked more ass than an angry migrant farmer. Then he discovered Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, who, sadly, Leif never was able to see, due to the fact that SRV died tragically in a helicopter crash in 1990. So Leif developed his skills as a player, mimicking SRV, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, and Carlos Santana until the day he first got his ears on a recording by the greatest guitarist who ever lived, Mr. Joe Satriani. Leif aspires to be the next Satch, or, he says, at least the next Vai. (Steve Vai was Satch's top student and a worthy contender for the title of best guitarist ever). Leif's obsessed with Satch and SRV. He builds his life around his desire to play. An enormous blues and jazz fan, he played in his high school's jazz band, the only guitarist. I uploaded him playing, with his school's jazz band, from freshman year. You can go listen to it HERE. It also features two of his friends, who also have solos. His guitar solo is towards the end, but he can be heard in the background throughout. Listen at the beginning of the song ("Children of Sanchez") for the hideously off-key trumpet section. That was him at age 14. Ten years ago. I love musicians. They're so freakin' cool. Anyway, I don't know when I'll go back to San Francisco, but I'm thinking soon. There, I gave Leif part of an entry.
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