Mahalo Bash... and My First Time On Stage... By Eric Cedeno

Mahalo Bash at "On The Rocks"

Published on Apr 2, 2013

Saturday, March 30th 2013
On The Rocks
239 North Harbor Dr., Redondo Beach, CA.
There was a bunch of Hula dancing and Island style music and as the day went on my buddy Cliff and his band ended the night. I played three songs with Cliff and his band. It was my first time playing on stage and in front of an audience and it was a great way to start out my birthday weekend. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlRf_pzuXMk

Actually I started out playing ukulele (2005) before I started playing guitar. Playing ukulele or guitar is really the same concept, like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time. My first guitar lesson was back in 2005, just a few chords. Then my second lesson was in 2008, a few more chords. It wasn’t until August of 2012 that I really got started playing and consistently practicing guitar. I’m really lucky that my friend Cliff has shared his guitar talent with me. He’s been playing since he was just a little kid and is one of those people that make it look so easy, like butter (smooth). When I talk about Cliff to my friends I usually refer to him as Mr Miyagi because his teaching methods are very much the same, clean the car wax on - wax off, bar the chord major – minor. He has hooked me up with pretty much all my guitars, yes I have a few.

A few months back we were making the rounds at SAM ASH music store looking at guitars and toys and I was drooling over the expensive ones that were hanging up high on the wall. He just smiled and laughed and said “You don’t need any of those. I got one that will blow those away.”  Later on that day he sent me a text message on my phone with a picture of this awesome guitar. I went over and tried it out and it was so easy to play, it felt like butter (smooth). I told him that the guitar would look better at my house and he sold it to me for the same price he bought it for (super cheap!).

October 17, 2013

It turns out that my guitar is based on the Fender Robben Ford model (I think it’s a 2005 model made in Korea). So Miyagi tell me that my face is going to fall off because we are going to see Robben Ford Play in Concert and he’s going to sign my guitar. Sure enough we got tickets to see him play at the Catalina Club in Los Angeles. Robben Ford is so talented! He’s really amazing to watch live. I was really nervous all night and was worried that he might not sign my guitar. After the show my Fiancé ran out to the car and grabbed my guitar for me and we got Robben Ford to sign it! Awesome! I really appreciated him taking the time to sign my guitar and thanked him and told him he was my hero (and he really is).

I felt like somehow some Robben Ford magic was transferred to my guitar when he signed it. It really made me want to get even better at playing guitar and I continued to practice every day. It didn’t matter if I practiced for five minutes or five hours, it just feels good to play and I could tell I was improving which only made me want to get even better. Miyagi invited me to practice in the studio with his band and that was the first time I ever played loud. The studio room boomed with the drums, bass and guitars. Miyagi and the rest of the band all gave me really good advice that I have taken very serious. They said when you are playing with other people and you don’t know what they are playing then this is what you should do:

·       Don’t play anything yet (it’s better not to muddy up the song by playing in the wrong key / wrong notes)

·       Watch what they playing (know your chords and where they are on your guitar and others peoples guitars)

·       Listen to the rhythm and learn the rotation (Head, chorus and the bridge)

·       Just lay back / lay out (mute your stings /play softly / quietly / or not at all)

·       When you find the rotation and know what they are playing then jump in when it sounds good and when you feel good

·       And I figured this one out on my own… don’t forget to be nice (that way you might get invited back to play again)

I just kept practicing and Miyagi said it was time for me to get on stage and experience what it’s like to play for people. That when a benefit gig came up at ‘On The Rocks’ in Redondo on 3-30-13 and Miyagi said that would be the day I get up on stage and play with him and his band. We got back in the studio to practice with his band again and went through a few 1-4-5 blues songs and some Jimi Hendrix. I did pretty well and he decided on two songs for me to focus on; Route 66 and Mustang Sally. I had about two or three weeks to practice to get it down. We all met up one more time before the gig to walk through the set list and work out any kinks and I was feeling good about it.

And then the day finally came. I picked up Miyagi in my element and loaded it with our gear and headed down to ‘On The Rocks’ to set up. Then it was time to hurry up and wait for him to call me up to play. There were lot of groups playing at the ‘Mahalo Bash’ benefit and things got off to a slow start and the just pushed my stage time out to later on in the night. That actually turned into a good thing because I had a few more friends show up to watch me play. It was an awesome night and a great experience for me. It was my first time on stage and also my first time playing for an audience. It was also the day before my birthday so it was also a great gift to me to be able to play at this gig. I’ll never forget it.