GORDON KENNEDY
know that! I know Pat, but I didn’ t realize that was him. Oh, that’ s funny. Yeah, well, thanks for telling me that. Next time I see him, I’ ll say something to him. You know, I met Alison Krauss for the first time 10 years after she had recorded that song. Phil Madiera was my co-writer on that song; he’ ll likely have his own story, but sometimes news like that gets by me.
As for Dean, my goodness. What can anybody say? You know, he went to high school with Mark Casstevens, who also plays on all the Garth records. It is a small world, so yeah, those moments will happen. And they’ re all great.
Indeed. And Mark, of course, is in a class of his own. We need to get him here in Collectible Guitar. In the meantime, it looks like you’ ve got your work cut out with a pipeline full of Chris Gaines projects …
Yeah, for me, doing five albums translates to 30 songs I have written. It’ s an exciting adventure, because otherwise, these are 30 songs nobody would ever hear. Garth is unearthing music that would just be collecting dust. Getting back in the studio with Tommy Sims, Chris McHugh, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Blair Masters, and Jeff Balding... it was hard for us to not just sit there and tell war stories. We just have such an appreciation for one another at this point in our lives.
I’ m experiencing that same thing with Dann Huff right now. He just got inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame last week in a class with Keith Urban, Nikki Hopkins, Michael McDonald, John
Boylan, Leland Sklar, Dolly Parton, and George Thorogood and the Destroyers. I’ ve played in the house band for every ceremony they’ ve had, but since my father passed in February of this year, I’ ve been doing so much“ dad business” that I politely asked to step aside this year. They eventually talked me into just playing the finale, which happened to be Takin’ It to the Streets with Michael McDonald. I told Dann that was the finale, and he said,“ Who do we have to call to make sure we’ re standing next to each other on stage for that?!” Because Dann and I played that song together on stage in high school.
When the moment came, we were on stage with Steve Lukather, Keith Urban, Vince Gill, Steve Wariner Don Felder, and Michael McDonald, but for those few minutes, Dann and I were the only two people in the world. We’ ve been on this journey since we were kids, and we’ ve talked so much lately about how we drove each other— that“ iron sharpens iron” relationship— and how much we just love each other after all these years. I wouldn’ t even be married to my wife if I hadn’ t subbed for him in White Heart on three shows that he couldn’ t do way back when.
When we look at each other now as guys in our sixties, we just realize what a blessing we are to one another. To actually stand on stage and have that kind of a full-circle moment the other night... it was just so much fun and pure joy.
To learn more about Gordon Kennedy, visit www. gordonkennedymusic. com
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