Musical talent of any sort is truly a wonderful God-given gift, and I must have stepped out of line just before it was my turn. It would be hard to find anything this side of rap that I don't enjoy watching and listening to when performed live. Fortunately for my boys, musical talent, like baldness, seems to skip a generation in my family.
At the urging of his grade school music teacher, I bought my oldest a guitar for Christmas when he was very young. I also bought Ted Nugent Double Live Gonzo on CD and played "Hibernation" for him. "When you can play this, let me know and we'll go make some serious money. " It's always been like that: I'll find a youtube video or a track on a CD or old album of some great performance by one of rock's legends and forward it to him. Before long, I can't tell anymore if it's the recorded clip or CD on his computer/stereo I'm hearing downstairs or him on his Les Paul. Unlike many dads, I'm always hollering upstairs for him to "CRANK IT UP!!" instead of down. A few weeks ago for his birthday I got a great deal on a cordless setup and now he can leave the Marshall in his room and come down and let me watch him play in the living room without having to drag that heavy amp downstairs. It really opened up his live performances, too, when playing gigs at local saloons and now he can move around on a crowded stage and even mingle with the audience while getting a more accurate idea how the band sounds. Not a bad way for a teenager (soon to be college kid) to make a few extra bucks while having lots of fun. He and his buddies have been playing live gigs together since their first 7th grade sock hop. Best of all, they play classic rock from my era (70's) along with some pretty good country songs, too. I'd rather watch him play guitar than football anymore.