Are you ready to make a difference in a guitar geek’s life? Thanks to Guitars 4 Vets I’ve got three ways you can transform someone’s life in today’s episode of Acoustic Tuesday.
★ Transform a veteran’s life: https://guitars4vets.org/
★ What kind of guitar player are you? How should you practice? Take our quiz today: https://tonypolecastro.com/
★ Get the show: https://tonypolecastro.com/get-acoustic-tuesday
In celebration of Veterans Day, I’m highlighting an incredible organization: Guitars 4 Vets. Through the support of guitar geeks around the country, they have given over 40,000 lessons to 4,000 veterans.
If you’re looking for ways to get involved, I strongly encourage you to visit their website:
★ https://guitars4vets.org/
Besides featuring Guitars 4 Vets on today’s episode of Acoustic Tuesday, I want to share the special story of one TAC Family Member who became involved with G4V and how it helped him on his guitar journey.
Last but not least, I have a TON of guitar news for you. From manufacturer news to artist news, there’s a lot of ground to cover this week!
As always, you can catch Acoustic Tuesday at 10 am every Tuesday in these four places:
I have donated a guitar to Guitars 4 Vets two years ago.
Cindy Cashdollar is a local musician with her husband, Harvey Citron who plays and builds guitars. Cindy recently played in Woodstock, 17 miles down the road.
I’ve tried to donate, contacted your website but was referred to Portland because I live in Oregon. We have a Vets Nursing Home locally and I wanted to donate here.
Tony, thanks for your program promoting G4Vets. As an amateur acoustic guitar builder I decided to do something. I put out a request for guitars, in any condition. Several came to me through posting on Nextdoor. I’m a member of NCAL ( Northern Calif. Assn. of Luthiers) and several members stepped up in a big way. I was able to get 13 guitars into playable shape and handed them off to the Santa Rosa Chapter of G4V. Due to a major hand surgery I had another dozen or so I wouldn’t be able to get to for some time. Another local amateur builder stepped up and took the remaining instruments to repair, set up, and donate. Great organization that deserves our help.
Brad Hall
Windsor Calif.
I get encouragements when I read you every day !
Thank you !
Thanks Tony for your continued support of Guitars 4 Vets!! I hope to someday be able to become involved with this wonderful organization myself, time and COVID permitting. I have wanted to throw out the name of a guitarist I’ve not heard you mention before. Jimmy Capps was a sessions guitarist and so much more in Nashville. He was a guitarist for the Grand Ole Opry for more than 60 years and apparently never missed a show. Check out his autobiography “The Man in Back” – it’s a great read! Sadly, Mr. Capps passed away in June but he left behind an incredible legacy.
The “Sheriff” of Larry’s Country Diner! Played Blueridge guitars. Great player.
Hey, Tony, I had seen an ad for Guitars4Vets in Acoustic Guitar magazine, and assumed they just gave guitars to veterans. I thought that was cool, but didn’t think much more about it. It was in one of your Acoustic Tuesday shows when I learned that there is an educational component that depends on volunteer instructors to provide a jump start to the vets’ guitar journey. Nearing retirement myself, I contacted the Cleveland chapter and volunteered. I graduated two students, and had two more students halfway through the ten-week program when the pandemic hit. One of my graduates was a guy who had arthritis. After the first lesson, where I saw that fingering chords was going to be tough for him, I showed up the next week with a slide. We put the guitar into open-D tuning, and you should have seen the smile on his face when he got a good clean-sounding chord from his guitar! In a couple more weeks we were playing “I Walk the Line”, and he was still smiling. I miss those hours of sitting with a vet, talking guitars, and opening new windows of self-expression.
Hi VikingPadre
I have read your story above and wonder if perhaps you can help me. I am 78 years old and have ParkInson’s disease. I used to be able to play the guitar quite well, acoustic model. (I have a Martin D28).
I seem to have lost the ability to form chords, even the C major chord is fuzzy.
I was thinking that perhaps an orchestral guitar, with a wider neck, may be better but as I have relatively short stubby fingers I am not so sure that this is the answer.
Perhaps you could explain the open D tuning to me.
Regards
Hea Tony, I got in to donating to G4 V when i became a T.A.C. member 5 yrs. ago when you talked about it. The way I have been doing it is by the Amazon smile program, everytime I buy somthing there they take so much and donate it to G4V. Fells good have a lot of Vet friends. Oh yeah Tony have not heard any love for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Your friend Guy B.
Tony, eyes will be wide open for lost guitar here in Tampa area. Hate when that happens, turns my stomach.
Tony, I started my guitar journey almost 1 year ago. I began my guitar journey December 2019. I am a retired / 100% disabled veteran after 33 years of service, I was diagnosed with PTSD and many other issues. I was tired of taking medicine and told my VA provider that I completely stopped them all. Well I cannot tell you the number of telephones calls I received from social workers and psychiatrist etc. I finally agree to see them, they presented me with the option to learn guitar through Guitar 4Vets, but I was on a wait list. I then went home started researching guitar lessons, and came across your infomercial. I joined TAC on my wife’s birthday December 16, and then learned about Denny S. I joined his jam club, I then was accepted into the guitar 4 vets program. I now have donated 2 guitar, pocket amp, and recently began to teach at one of the VA facilities. I am blessed to have found both you and G4V program. Denny S. is my Jam Club organizer and is a wonderful person.
I am interested in connecting someway to teach.
What a great episode, your weekly submissions are what make my lockdown life bearable, and my acoustic life more pleasurable. Did I tell you that I named my latest member of my guitarsenal Emmerson because it too arrived on September 15th!! An all Koa wood Tanglewood small bodied guitar with rosewood fingerboard and Fishman pickup that truly sings when either strummed or picked. Which reminds me, I need to purchase one of your shirts so I can submit a picture.
Oh and congrats on winning the championship, hopefully there is video footage of the event that you can share with Emmerson when he’s older, as I don’t think he was conscious during the game itself!!
Thanks again TP, Guitar Geeks Unite!!
Thanks for doing a show on Guitars for Vet’s. I’m a medically retired Iraq war vet. I wish I knew about guitars for vets back when I retired. I have just picked up the guitar (Cort acoustic) after many years of wanting to play. I’m now 53. My brother is an accomplished guitar player and if my only achievement is to play one song with him it will be worth it. With the help of your website I believe that is possiable.
OKC has a chapter. I have contacted them and about to give them my first guitar. Everyone who can read this should listen to Slaid Cleaves powerful song “Still Fighting The War.” It would make a fine theme song for GFV!