This is Guitar Newsletter #52 and the last one for now: Thanks for reading!

Written By Chris Dimond

Writing a monthly guitar newsletter over the past 52 months (the 1st one was published in August 2020!) has been surprisingly cathartic and spurred growth in many areas of my life.  It caused me to reflect on many things and helped me to get to know myself better.  There is a lot inside of us, and as we get older, there are many things to untangle, rethink or perhaps simply surrender to.  Putting time aside to write ended up bringing unexpected blessings in my life that I didn’t anticipate.   

One of those blessings was working on the newsletter with my wife.  As I have mentioned in the past, none of these articles would have been possible without the aid of Hannah, who ruthlessly edits all of my papers.  You should see the horrified look of my children, when she grabs a red marker and proceeds to cross out entire sections or even a full page or worst of all, dismisses the topic itself!  I learned so much from her:  clearly define and stick to your thesis, cut out the fluff, remember who your audience is, work on transitions, keep it short, less is more, perhaps swap your introduction and conclusion around.  Weird how all of these things can equally apply to playing music, like shaping a guitar solo.  In hindsight, this project has made us stronger, helped us respect each other’s strengths and weaknesses and figure out how we work best together.  Yes, indeed, life is full of parallels and paradoxes. 

However, this undertaking will have to come to an end now because I can’t find enough time to keep it going.  A monthly newsletter does not write and publish itself, and many hours were put aside to think about the topic, revise drafts, find fitting photos and images, quote relevant passages from musician’s biographies and format and publish it.  Social media and the internet can be difficult to navigate and putting all this out into the web is a challenging and time consuming experience on many levels.  

Now, that time will be directed to more teaching, practicing, composing, rehearsing, recording, making videos, posting and booking gigs and playing out live as much as possible.  Thank you all for reading and especially much appreciation to those that made the effort to reach out to me with positive feedback over the years.  

2024 has been an incredibly rewarding year in regards to musical growth.  Stepping further into the local live music scene and connecting with old and new musicians, saying yes to any and all playing opportunities has been a game changer.  Now I find myself performing with a bunch of interesting groups, and my planner is filled with rehearsals and regular gigs alongside my teaching schedule.  Being surrounded by supportive musicians, who are both my work colleagues and close friends is so meaningful and healing. How cool is it that part of my work is to share the stage with amazing people, and bring joy to those who come out to appreciate live music!

Please support live music in any way you can.  Times are not easy for performing artists, and the financial payback is ridiculously outdated.  The few venues that still provide local live music need your support.  


Don’t be surprised if you hear from me again in one way or another.  For now, I will say good-bye and leave you with the performance dates so far on my calendar for 2025.  You can follow me on Facebook or Instagram for updates or contact me via email or my guitar lessons website (all linked below).  Please get in touch with me if you are interested in taking guitar lessons or need live music for an event. 

1/17 Kerak at Riverside Theatre Lobby 7:30pm
1/24 The Fox Hill Troubadours at The Black Angel 9-11pm
2/14 Kerak at The Black Angel 9-11pm
2/15 The Fox Hill Troubadours at Club 76
2/28 Diane Road at La Wine 7-9pm
3/21 Zebra Maneuver at La Wine 7-9pm
3/28 Silt Creek at La Wine 7-9pm
4/11 Silt Creek at The Black Angel 9-11pm
4/25 Kerak at The Black Angel 9-11pm
5/9 Zebra Maneuver at The Black Angel 9-11pm
5/10 Diane Road at La Wine 7-10pm
6/7 The Crazy Critters at Preucil School Of Music 
7/6 The Fox Hill Troubadours at Baxa Sutliff Bridge
7/23 & 7/24 The Fox Hill Troubadours at the Johnson County Fair

Chris Dimond
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Adieu Music Stand!