Have you ever heard of a harp guitar? I never had, until I worked at The Trellis Restaurant in Williamsburg, Virginia back in the late 1990s. At that time, the restaurant was owned by John Curtis and Marcel Desaulniers, the "guru of ganache". I waited tables, a job I hated with a passion. Some good things did come out of my table waiting stint, though. For one thing, I made decent money for once in my life. For another, I lost a lot of weight. And for another, I made good friends and got to indulge my love for music.
On Friday and Saturday nights, The Trellis often had live music. They also had a small band on Sundays that played for the brunch crowd. Luckily for me, I didn't have to work many brunch shifts, because the band that played specialized in schmaltzy music and had a sign that said "We just played that one."
Friday and Saturday nights, we'd often have a guy who played hammer dulcimer, which sounded like a doorbell that was stuck. Or we'd have Steve Bennett play... Steve Bennett, in those days, lived in my hometown of Gloucester, Virginia. He is a very gifted guitar player and he'd often play the harp guitar that he inherited from his great great grandfather. Steve Bennett no longer lives in Gloucester and The Trellis still exists, but it's now owned by other people. I still love to listen to Bennett play and have a few of his albums...
Here he is playing "The Water Is Wide" with a few others...
After work, sometimes I'd sing. On my last night working at The Trellis, Steve Bennett was playing and the manager got him to play "So Long, Farewell" for me!
He's a nice guy and a very talented musician. You should listen to his music... especially if you like to be soothed. Steve Bennett's music is one of the nice things I remember about my time waiting tables. I especially recommend his album, No Net for a lovely rendition of one of my favorite folk songs, "The Water Is Wide".
On Friday and Saturday nights, The Trellis often had live music. They also had a small band on Sundays that played for the brunch crowd. Luckily for me, I didn't have to work many brunch shifts, because the band that played specialized in schmaltzy music and had a sign that said "We just played that one."
Friday and Saturday nights, we'd often have a guy who played hammer dulcimer, which sounded like a doorbell that was stuck. Or we'd have Steve Bennett play... Steve Bennett, in those days, lived in my hometown of Gloucester, Virginia. He is a very gifted guitar player and he'd often play the harp guitar that he inherited from his great great grandfather. Steve Bennett no longer lives in Gloucester and The Trellis still exists, but it's now owned by other people. I still love to listen to Bennett play and have a few of his albums...
Here he is playing "The Water Is Wide" with a few others...
After work, sometimes I'd sing. On my last night working at The Trellis, Steve Bennett was playing and the manager got him to play "So Long, Farewell" for me!
He's a nice guy and a very talented musician. You should listen to his music... especially if you like to be soothed. Steve Bennett's music is one of the nice things I remember about my time waiting tables. I especially recommend his album, No Net for a lovely rendition of one of my favorite folk songs, "The Water Is Wide".
That's a very weird instrument. Never seen one before. 'The Water is Wide' I know as 'Carrickfergus'.
ReplyDeleteI had never seen one either, before I met Steve. Apparently, he's not the only one who plays the harp guitar, though. Look at all those people playing with him.
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