World Record!

We did it!

Blue River Band - Jason, Beth and Richard

1,859 guitar players showed up in Luckenbach on Sunday to break the world record for the Largest Guitar Ensemble. The goal was 2,000 people, and about 1,600 were pre-registered through the Voices of a Grateful Nation website. A couple hundred of them failed to show, but enough people signed in at the gate to put us over the top. The vibe was overwhelmingly positive - ain't nobody feeling no pain in Luckenbach! We were treated to some amazing singing and playing - and not all of it was on stage. There were impromptu jam sessions popping up left and right, and some of the folks were playing absolutely gorgeous guitars. I particularly like this "Martin on a Martin" paint job. My wife took most of the pictures as I had my hands full of guitar. You can see all of the shots here. The record attempt was scheduled for 2:00 P.M. but they pushed it back to let as many folks sign in as possible. Good thing, or we might not have made it. Anyway, I was standing next to Richard on the hill opposite the stage, and we started griping:

"Boy it's getting hot."

"Yep, and my feet are starting to hurt from standing on the side of this gully facing downhill."

"Can't those ding-dongs on the stage quit fooling around and just play the song already?"

Suddenly, I had a blinding flash of perspective:

"Hey, Richard, you know what? Let's complain about it for a little while. I mean let's really bitch about standing in the shade, playing guitar, drinking beer and setting a world record! Damn, nobody's shot a rocket at me all day long!! THIS SUCKS!!!!!"

Richard chuckled, and even the woman standing in front of us turned around to laugh and agree.

I was interviewed as soon as I walked in the gate, so I'm keeping my eye out for the documentary. In the meantime, you can watch this video. Again, thanks to my wife for being there. It's my fault for not erasing every last image off the memory card on the Canon SD750, as the video cuts off at the end.

I lost count of how many choruses we played, but you get the idea. Can't you just feel the joy and excitement?

Deckman's World...Record?

I'll be in Luckenbach, Texas this weekend, trying to set a world record and get my name in the Guiness Book. Well, me and about 2000 other folks - I don't think they'll list everyone by name. So, maybe I won't really have my name in the book, but still...

What the heck am I talking about? Pickin' for the Record is the name of the event arranged by Voices of a Grateful Nation. We're going to try and break the world record for the biggest guitar ensemble. Since we'll be in Luckenbach, it's only fitting that we'll be playing "The Luckenbach Song (The Basics of Love)" by Waylon Jennings. Come join us!