Now about my music. I just love the Blues. My influences are Eric Clapton, Robert Johnson and Scott Ainslie. Although I have played guitar since the late 70's, nowadays I play for pleasure and the odd gig - never for money. I enjoy playing. I got into playing lead and slide guitar when I had a group in the early 80's but could never see the slide thing going anywhere until I was asked to buy a ticket in late 2005 to see a Delta Blues Guitarist called Kent DuChaine at the wheatsheaf in Boldon not far from my home town of South Shields.

Although all his music was not to my taste I especially liked his style of playing certain blues numbers and the style he was playing his guitar. I knew I had found the style of blues and slide playing I just had to learn. So off I jolly well went and bought a new Ozark Electro Acoustic and started to get into playing the guitar again. I would sit up all night long and practice the thing. I'd seen this guy on stage and I knew I could do just as well. It was a challenge. His style of playing was not very technical and a lot of the time he was just slapping the strings but there was something about the sound.

Kieth Smoult A Great Guitar Player & Vocalist	So in early 2006 when he was due to come over and play I managed to get a place to play in the interval with another technically excellent guitarist"Keith Smoult" and a harp player and we did a 4 number set, which went down quite well. When I came off the stage a bloke in the audience grabbed me and said "wow - I did not know you could play the guitar like the", which took me back a bit and when I walked around the bar to go for a smoke a man standing with his wife said "That was the best intermission I have ever had". - BUT I knew there was still something lacking in the style I had copied from Duchaine. Considering that I had been sweating all the way through and before I got up with the other 2 guys I suddenly realised that not only had I forgotten the words to all the songs but I could not remember what songs we were playing - "I believe they call it stage fright" these remarks where somewhat surprising
Me and Duchaine
Then I purchased a copy of a Robert Johnson DVD to learn how to play his style and suddenly, I had found the Master. Scott Ainslie. As far as I am concerned this guy is brilliant. His slide playing and his technical ability and technique are just out of this world. I would never go and see Duchaine again. I realised that what at first glance I took to be a great guitarist/bluesman in Duchaine was a mistake. Scott Ainslie. is far superior a musician and a pleasure to watch and listen to.	Robert Johnson. Acclaimed today as probably the most important musician of the 20th century