Music - Pursuing and Pursued

After a show a couple of years ago, a gentleman asked David and I if we did this for a living. My answer was that we had to work for a living and we did this for a life.
Music has been around me all my life. My dad's family all played music. He was the only one that did not play an instrument. My Grandpa Thomas would teach gospel singing in the area, one uncle played with a bluegrass group, another uncle had a gospel quartet, and still another had a natural talent for music and was always singing or playing something, though he was not in a group as such. When he was working on the fiddle, he borrowed the bow from my fiddle for a time until he got one to go with his fiddle. He lived directly across the road from us and I remember summer nights hearing him on his front porch playing. No lights on, just enjoying the night and playing on his porch.
Several cousins also played music. Several were piano players and others with guitars or such. One has played with several professional groups over the years. Another helped get money during college by playing at coffeehouses and such.
I remember even when I was small singing and making up songs as I played. My older sister once made a comment to me about that, which I always remembered as I had not noticed it as much as she had. When I was really small, I am told that I would play my toy banjo and sing for everyone that came in. Guess I am just continuing that natural tendency.
As I said in an earlier post, I was always drawn to music and planned to play something. I put that on a back burner until getting the guitar in 1972. Then I went full blast and spent hours a day working on the instrument. After a couple of years on the guitar, I became interested in the banjo. Back to see Cecil Lance an buy and little $80 banjo he had at his store. I also got an instruction book and tapes to get started. I remember a few times going to sleep as I lay on bed doing banjo rolls.
I then played mostly banjo for a few years as we formed a band and we had 3 other guitar players already. Those were fun years and I was able to learn a lot as I listened to different people and also played with these other musicians.
But it is hard to keep a band together and we began to drift on to other things. Next we played as a trio with Jimmy Waters, David, and myself. I still played a good bit of banjo, but began to drift back to more guitar as well. We also traded off playing the upright bass during those years as well. This is the time I began to sing too. Jimmy was an outstanding vocalist and helped me fnd my voice and stay in key. I am so happy this happened as I love to sing. I don't think I am a great singer still, but am much better and truly enjoy singing. The music is great, but it is the songs that covey the message.
As Jimmy moved to other areas, David and I began our career as a duo. There are great things about playing in a full band, though I have found I enjoy playing as a duo or trio most. There are things you can do as a duo that you can't as a band, and vice versa. I enjoy listening to other duos and trios as well. I think it is a more intimate feel to the music, and brings out a little of the personal side of playing music.
It just struck me that I may want to start taking more time with these posts and rereading them to make sure they flow well and are readable. With this I am simply recounting some general things that happened.
The title of this post explains a little of my, and David's, relationship with music. It has pursued us and we have pursued it. When I don't play, there is something missing in my life and I do not feel right until I begin to play again. There is always another song I want to learn, another lick I need to add to my picking, and sometimes another instrument that catches my ear and says, don't you want to play me too.
While I have had to work for a living, I have also worked hard to make sure my schedule allowed me to still play music.
A cap I got from Cecil Lance says "Born to pick, forced to work".
See you down the road.