Thursday, December 29, 2022

A Letter To Brian




Greetings Brian,


I hope your family is having a nice holiday in West Virginia.  I looked up your town on the map and it seems like a small town in the mountain areas right off of  I-81 which is my main interstate I take to my northeast tour run I’ve been doing.  





It was great getting your message of interest in my work.  I could tell you really cared and it was heart warming.  It’s not always easy to truly connect with others through my work, and when it happens I feel like I’m on the right track.  


Since 2014, I started touring solo/duo after answering many emails just like yours.  When you saw me play in D.C. years ago, I had just figured out how to make a record and I was being thrust in the limelight and had to figure out this next phase.  A phase that made me really uncomfortable.  I longed to have my privacy back and to be creating more, not to be made into a star.  


me smelling my new 2016 Gibson L-00


This new road was a bit more rugged in the beginning  and felt like I was in a wagon wheel heading west into the unknown.  To be honest, if I’m not feeling like that in each new year, I feel I must be doing it wrong.  Things have been working on this path.  I feel truly connected to the folks that host the shows and I am totally disconnected from any middle men.  I long to play slightly bigger theatre’s and to collaborate more with folks I admire.  It’s moving at a snails pace, but when I can latch onto gratitude first thing in the morning, my days are beautiful and full.  Unfortunately, some mornings I hop onto the wrong train and I want to sell all of my guitars and do something else.  Ha!  I’m not joking though.  Those feelings do come, but then emails like yours come through with a strong message of gratitude and I feel seen.  


I’ve been into playing micro shows, maybe we can do one in a micro town like yours.  I long to make a difference in these times.  


Kind Regards,


Dustan Louque