Sunday, April 19, 2015

Conversations with the Guitar Man

Hi all!

I wanted to share with you today some other work I've done that I have not yet found a place for, but I believe it is too good not to share! This first one is a piece that I wrote over a year ago, while trying to find my voice. Enjoy.
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Conversations with the Guitar Man


It is near 6 o'clock on a Tuesday evening, and I am clutching my phone and my purse for dear life. After being sent on a wild goose chase around the U District for interesting characters, I headed downtown unsure what I would find. I had been there many times, but on that day, I could not bring myself to talk to the many eyes that I constantly felt upon me. There are many places I'm comfortable going alone, but, today, this wasn't one of them.
            Despondent, I decided to try again 24 hours later. I headed into Pike Place Market just before closing to find the usually packed walkways practically empty. It was kind of an eerie feeling, but it was nice. Maybe I should come here at night more often.
            “What do you listen to?” asks a guy who is “just messing around” on his guitar.
            “A bit of everything, really. Right now, I'm really into Allen Stone and Jack Johnson, the whole folk thing.”
            With that, he busts into a medley including Johnson’s “Bubble Toes,” to which I lip-sync and drum on my table unashamedly.
            What strikes me about Josh is his willingness to be candid. I can tell he is adventurous.
            Originally from Guam, Joshua Catahay started touring the music circuit early, having been in a band for the better part of 20 years, both on guitar and vocals. He said he fell in love with Seattle early on, and just recently sold everything and moved back in October 2012. He has been “busking” at the market since April 2013. He plays everything from his own original work to many cover songs, including those of his idol, Seattle-based Clinton Fearon. He has also previously been featured with well-known reggae band Kore Ionz.  Although music sustains him between jobs, he says his favorite part of this experience is interacting with people.
            “People start up conversations that would never normally happen if you didn't have a guitar,” Catahay said. “It has really enriched me.”
But he said some of his favorite experiences come from the camaraderie of the street music community itself, as well as the greater Seattle community. For example, as we were talking, somebody from the donut shop across the path offered us two huge bags of mini donut holes out of the blue, which I, of course, politely declined. And then I listened to him tell this story:
“Just last week, I came up from Fifth, I stopped by, and you know, his name is Bob, he plays the steel drums, reggae music.” So he goes on about how he became friends with him and others: “And then, the next block, on Fourth Avenue, I stopped and I met this guy, his name is George. He's a veteran, and he suffered a stroke, but he's an awesome guitarist. I played a few songs with him, and later on that day, then he gifted me an amp,” said Catahay. “That's so awesome, you know, I'll treasure that because it comes from a musician here.”
            And so, I'm sitting here wondering to myself the whole time: Why the hell are you at Pike Place Market on Wednesday night when there are only 10 people around?
“I sometimes am the first one here, and sometimes I'm the last one here,” he said. “I like to sing in the new day, and I like to sing out the night, say goodbye to the sun.”
            But whatever time of day it is, Josh always has time to talk, no matter who his audience may be. He shared with me four things that a man named Mike, an elderly musician who plays the djembe, a type of African drum, once told him about playing music.
·      Relax
·      Use your body as part of the rhythm
·      Play with your heart and soul. Own what you play.
·      Never let anybody stop you from playing music, no matter what.

Whether it is the true embodiment of soul through that guitar, or the ease with which he talks to anyone on a street corner, you can tell it's experience that changes people.
“People you least expect are the ones with the most heart, the most giving, sometimes… I'll stop for anybody and have conversation with them if they want to, no matter who you are.”
And perhaps that is worth all that, and a bag of donuts.









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