KC Craine Live from The Rye Room [Video Premiere]

Vortex Music Magazine

The latest Rye Room Session features Portland’s KC Craine performing “Daddy’s Old Guitar.” Don’t miss him live at Maher’s Pub on July 21 with guitarist Brad Price.

For many musicians, life’s journey is accompanied by a constant friend: the guitar. Maybe it’s a little battered and road-worn. It has seen as many bar rooms and campfires as its owner. Whether displayed and played consistently, or tucked away for a season, that guitar comes to represent a musician’s creative path.

For KC Craine, his guitar is his means to “leave a legacy of music and guitar” for his children and the next generation. He is an author, producer and a teacher whose masterful instrumental guitar compositions have been used in film and television.

But it wasn’t always that way. Beginning as a folk singer, Craine hustled his way through the 1980s San Francisco music scene, sharing the stage with Huey Lewis, Jefferson Starship and Eddie Money. However, what he calls “an ill-fated record deal” led him to leave music behind entirely. Almost.

“I sold all of my gear,” Craine says. “All except one old 1966 Martin D-28 that was my first good guitar. I got married, started a family, and that guitar stayed tucked away under the bed for years until one day I brought it out and started playing at night for the kids. I’d make up songs to soothe them to sleep. That started a second wind for me, where I found a place for guitar and music in my life again.”

Craine’s personal journey echoes through the song “Daddy’s Old Guitar” as he imagines a son finding the guitar his father played for him at night and rediscovering a love of music. The melodic, dreamy tones of Craine’s guitar performance create a sense of nostalgia and longing. The listener can imagine how a childhood filled with music makes the guitar a source of comfort and self-expression. And, after all, it has worked: Both of Craine’s kids now play the guitar.

Watch KC Craine perform “Daddy’s Old Guitar” live from The Rye Room. Then look for another video from The Rye Room Session next week on the studio’s YouTube channel. Plus, catch KC Craine with guitarist Brad Price at Maher's Irish Brew Pub on Friday, July 21.

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