If I were to describe my journey as a guitarist (obviously a very amateur one, of course), I would have to start with my youthful passion for the Italian band The Pooh. Yes, The Pooh, that’s right., the name comes from the famous cartoon… But what do the Pooh have in common with blues-rock, with Hendrix, Clapton, and the likes of John Mayer, which I am currently covering? How did I go from Italian melodies to playing the John Mayer Trio’s production? Well, it may seem surprising at first glance, but there is a connection. First of all, it should be emphasized that these are four musicians of the highest caliber. One might think, okay, you’ve grown up and your tastes have changed. But that’s not really the case. It may seem strange, but there is a consistency, a logical thread that can be found…
There’s a saying in Italy that goes almost like “If you miss the train, it’s gone”. Maybe the closest English variant is “Opportunity only knocks once”. Both mean that in life you basically only get one shot. Sometimes I find myself dwelling unnecessarily on certain choices I made in the past that influenced my geological career, and ten years after leaving the field, I still sometimes reflect on this. It’s pointless because you can’t change the past, and if things are the way they are today, there must be a reason for it, and there’s nothing you can do about it. At most, one can reflect on the choices made in order to provide guidance to our children and, why not, understand that perhaps there are no right or wrong choices, only different ones, choices that have led to different outcomes. We can play at imagining how things would have turned out, what results different choices would have led to. We can, but how useful is that? I’m not sure, but here I am, ten years after the “debacle,” reflecting on how, in the end, I can’t complain too much…
