2010 and the Troubadour Tour

I've already seen JT twice in 2010 and I will see him again, this time with Carole King, 4 more times. Let me explain.

I live in JT land...Massachusetts. Being a JT fan, and living in Massachusetts, has to be some kind of karmic reward! He plays several times a year here and I usually get to the shows.

Recently he did two shows for Haiti and raised over half a million dollars to help those effected by the devastation. I was able to get a ticket to each show. He is also playing 3 nights at Tanglewood...the Holy Grail of JT venues...and I will be at all three. Finally I'll be at one of the CT shows. Yes, he's playing in Boston a couple of nights but I'm not going. I'm not a big fan of the large venues like Boston...except Tanglewood where I sit in the shed at Tanglewood so it's not that bad.

I must say, if you're a fan of JT you need to check out his website... JamesTaylor.com ...He's been offering ticket sales for some of the recent shows. I have lucked out....maybe because I go online when tickets go on sale...or maybe it's because I buy just one ticket and that is easy to find up front, but both times I've bought a ticket from his site...it's been front row baby!!!! (I'll post a story at some point about the time I had front row center and how that can be great and too close all at once!)

Me and JT

I've been a fan of James Taylor for only a few years now. I'd say I'm more than a casual fan. I don't know vast amounts of details; I barely recall his birthday and I don't know lots of JT trivia, but I greatly appreciate his music and I love his guitar style.

Hearing his guitar style is where I first really became aware of JT. It may have been 7 or 8 years ago that I decided I wanted to learn guitar. As a teenager I had a Les Paul style electric and a HUGE Marshall amp. I could make noise! Lots of it. But music....that was a little beyond my grasp.

Then a few years ago I decided to play guitar, except this time I wanted it to be acoustic. I know enough about myself to realize I needed to find someone that I could set as a role model so that I would be motivated and inspired to learn.

I started listening to the radio, CDs and overall kept my ear open to hear what type of music and what artist spoke to me. I don't recall the song, but I was driving back from Boston...was it on the Turnpike??...and I heard a JT song. The guitar work....THAT was what I liked.

And so a journey began. This blog will be a place to compile the thoughts, share them, and maybe a place of discovery what it was that really spoke to me and has taken me for a great ride.