Guitar Fun Memories in New Orleans tied in with how guitar / music helped me become more of a renaissance man ... developed from church ministry and open mikes at coffee houses like The Penny Post / Neutral Ground ... a missed opportunity shared from when I almost became a "Guitar Hero" as a neophyte musician ....
Pic: Keith . Neutral Ground (formerly Penny Post) Coffee House, New Orleans, January 19, 2021
Back when I was in high school and just starting to learn the ropes of guitar playing, me and my Uptown, Carrollton Area buddies used to play at open mike opportunities at the old Penny Post Cafe on Danneel Street.
Once, when David, Scott and I ventured towards Fat City where we also sometimes went and we had snuck into the old Augie's Delago Bar in Bucktown of New Orleans located in a three story building dockside on Lake Ponchartrain, I happened to see Chad, a friend of my brother from De La Salle High School.
Augie's was a cool hangout with that allowed patrons to come to by boat on Lake Ponchartrain if desired, and so we would sometimes venture outside Big Easy bars like Bruno's and Fat Harry's or from Fat City hangouts like Don Quixote, Poet's and the nearby Crash Landing, the latter which was housed in an old plane!
While a junior in high school, back when 18 was the legal age for adult beverages if we looked old enough to get in, my buddies and me also found a coffee house.
The Penny Post, now called the Neutral Ground, was a throw back to 60s hangouts where we could try our hands at playing non-amplified folk-type music on "open mike nights" and not be exposed to adult beverages.
The Penny Post had a real avant-garde atmosphere and folks could play board games like checkers, chess and backgammon while listening to great music like bluegrass and musicians with all kind of instruments like dulcimers and mandolins.
So back to Chad … he was an accomplished electric guitarist whose mentor was Eric Clapton, so I went to say hello to him in between his band's songs.
Chad knew that I was a neophyte guitarist, so he made a great proposal to me: to join in on rhythym with his band for an easy 3 chord - E, A, B - playing of the classic made famous by the Kingsmen: “Louie Louie!”
Since I was very timid back then and had not developed much confidence in my playing abilities, I passed up on this great “Guitar Hero” opportunity - aw shucks!
Oh well, I eventually gained enough belief in my abilities from playing at church, providing leadership in this and eventually putting together my first of my cds per the help of my cousin, Kenny Kleinpeter, in the dairy family - and now, it is fun to do sing-a-longs at assisted living and nursing homes.
Keith John Paul Horcasitas, LCSW, MHA
Prayer Care, LLC
So glad you are still playing and singing in nursing homes. I miss singing old favorites like Sweet Caroline at the assisted living place that I went to during Thanksgiving and Christmas for several years, stopped by the pandemic.
Oh how I wish I had taken up the guitar rather than the piano accordion! And I'm so glad that you were able to get to the places where the blues reigned in spite of claims by Memphis and St. Louis. And still do.
On Sunday, I watched Willy's 90th celebration and him play with many others of his collaborators his songs, with two of his sons, still with great facility and remembering every word for over an hour like he was still in his prime. And I've also listened to Eric Clapton generously collaborating with many other artists and helping them with their guitar skills like Willie.
Guitar playing and great lyrics have changed America for the better. I'm so glad that I was and you were part of that time when black music crossed over into the mainstream and the electric guitar became an accepted way of reaching more than just a small venue.
I am grateful to Rose, who took care of to the very end, Freddie Everett, a local Houston guitarist reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix. After he died after 6 years with ALS in 2009, I was able to hire her and she still helps out from time to time, unwilling to stay with me, but her mother, until she dies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXtNsLo5ydU Freddie at 2002 and his best.
Pic: Keith . Neutral Ground (formerly Penny Post) Coffee House, New Orleans, January 19, 2021
