runnin' on faith

I'll never forget one of the many times I asked my Dad for mix-tape advice while raiding his record collection. I was 15, the whole ecstatic summer was glistening ahead, and I was dubbing songs from vinyl to cassettes; crafting the soundtrack for my first big road trip. He played me "Key to the Highway" from the Derek & the Dominos record, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. It's one of my favorite albums of all time. He said, "play this one as soon as you turn onto 91..."

The next thing I'll never forget is the rush that I felt in my soul after cranking up that mix tape in the van and actually hearing that song while watching those yellow lines stretch miles ahead as I left Cheshire County far behind & began my own adventure of self-discovery. Good call Dad!

The image above was on my desktop for a while during my "Winter of Eric Clapton Appreciation Season of 2007-08". Really spiced up the 'ole cabin fever this year to read his autobiography & chronologically listen to his entire discography of recorded material. His book, appropriately titled Clapton, is a real page-turner. As a writer for Publisher's Weekly says "Readers hoping for sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll won't be disappointed." And baby, I wasn't. It was amazing to hear him describe his journey of teaching himself to play guitar by listening to records and playing along, recording himself on a tape recorder, and learning from his mistakes. The story unfolds from there into a tornado of wild adventures as he travels through adolescence, self-discovery, addiction, women, tours, bands, a search for his roots, and a brilliant outlook on the future.

I'm gonna roam this old highway until the break of day...