Brad Paisley Diary of a Player

Brad Paisley's Diary of a Player Review
By Pappy

I think I may have a skewed idea of who Brad Paisley is.  See, in my mind, Brad Paisley is like us.  If he wasn't out right now selling millions and millions of records, touring to sold-out stadiums, getting fawned over by seas of groupies and delivering the tonal goodness to millions of people, he may be right where I'm at: sitting behind a computer.  He seems to be the kind of guy that would either be reading or, more likely, writing a blog of his own, expressing his love of the instrument.  He seems to be filled with the same enthusiasm that Jon from Guitar Noize is, or I am (Jon's a much better player than I am though).

My point is, I identified with Brad Paisley (certainly) not because of his playing ability, but because of his obvious love of the guitar.  I think that this isn't uncommon.  I think this is what makes Paisley a lovable hero to all sorts of guitar players, regardless of their musical tastes or preferences.  Brad Paisley is a guitar player's guitar player.  He may have become famous for his clever lyrics and crowd-pleasing songs, but it's obvious that the guitar and his playing is the real star.  I mean, he released an album of almost all instrumentals, what else would any guitar player need to know that this guy speaks the truth and the guitar isn't merely a hanging decoration for the singer to look cool with.  He's the genuine article.

And his book was really promising.  It's called Diary of a Player, features a cover picture of him standing there, looking almost oblivious to the amount of people that are going to be reading this - just one of the many guitar players out there that just so happens to have a camera pointed in his direction at this very moment.  I was both excited and a little scared at the prospect of this book.

"Oh, hey!  Didn't see you there!  You just caught me walking by, perfectly lit holding my awesome guitar.  Yeah, you can take a picture of you want."

Let me say, I would have read this book anyway as Paisley's a hero of mine, but I was a little disappointed in Keith Richards' book because, while it mentioned the guitar, it wasn't as in the guitar weeds as I would have liked.  I suspect this is because he wanted to appeal to the widest base possible, but I also have to question this thought.  You're Keith Richards and you may be known for some great things done in your life, but most of them come with you holding a guitar in front of you.  If Mick Jagger released a book, I would expect mass appeal, but you're a guitarist for crying out loud.  Tons of people want to know your tricks and hear your guitar stories.

Brad Paisley's book is similar to Richards.  There are a lot of great stories, but any detailed guitar stuff is presented humbly, in minor detail and almost with an apologetic feel.  Like Paisley was saying "look, I know you want to hear all these great stories, but I AM a guitarist and this little bit of information is kind of important, so let's just get through it and I promise, we'll be back to the entertainment that everyone can enjoy."

So yes, I was a little bummed that the book wasn't a gear diary, but at least most of the stories orbit the guitar as if it's some holy strung sun.  He told great stories about his grandfather getting him his first guitar and his grandfather said that you'll never be lonely if you play guitar.  He meant the guitar will keep you company.  What I think is funny about this statement is that you'll always hear great guitarists say they would lock themselves in their room and practice for hours.  Yes, the guitar will definitely keep you company, but sometimes it will be the only thing keeping you company.

Just the way we guitarists like it.

Sometimes.

You get the feeling that the book is written by a guitar player and the guitar is basically the reason that all these adventures are happening to him, but you also know from reading it for just a few pages that he has a deep, deep love for music in general and the people that have inspired and played with him.  Not only does he display a love for these people but he wants YOU to love them too and provides pretty amazing overviews of their lives and careers and I found myself inspired to look deeper into these other guitarists' catalogs or histories.

I'll tell you one of the cooler things about this book: Paisley really goes into just how freaking AWESOME it is to be him.  I don't blame him one bit, either.  He's worked his entire life to get to this point and if I were in his shoes I wouldn't hold myself back too much when I talk about how, thanks to my hard work and diligence, I got to not only meet my guitar heroes, not only play with my guitar heroes, but RECORD with them.  I won't lie, I would probably be tripping over myself if I had the opportunity to play with Paisley, Heath, Setzer, or Cheney, even if they took the entire time to do nothing more than OWN me with their own fabulous playing.  I would emerge from the recording sessions, holding a disc as if it were a new infant telling strangers on the street "I just played with Brad Paisley!  He was fantastic and dominated me every second of it, but I played with him!  I have the evidence right here in my hand!"

This wouldn't be me showing off, this would be me geeking out on fulfilling a DREAM.  You always hear stories about your heroes, you may see them at shows, possibly even meet them and get a picture or autograph, but they're still far away in a way.  You have this thing in common, but you know, deep inside, that you'll more than likely never share it with them regardless of how much you want to.  You know it because you're realistic.  You play guitar in your bedroom or living room.  Perhaps you play at Starbucks or at dives.  Perhaps you're doing your own regional tours.  But you know that you and your heroes are still worlds apart.

Now imagine, even if you KNOW it's impossible, or at least highly improbable, it happened.  Tell me you wouldn't geek out the same way!

So the book documents Paisley's growth and development both as a guitar player that was unpopular with his peers, then being popular among his peers when Garth Brooks became popular and brought country music to the masses who didn't listen to country music, then his stint at college, his first writing jobs, the first time singing for a boss and then pretty great documentation of his career.  He said that he was never interested in making a big splash, but instead slowly climb the charts and become a musician with staying power, not a flash in the pan.  I would definitely say he succeeded.

I love Brad Paisley.  He's the reason I bought a Telecaster.  He's the reason I listen to the country that I do.  I admire and respect his dedication to the guitar in a world and age where playing the guitar is treated more as a filler in the background for your twangy, drawl-tastic vocals to go over which is what you see from a lot of other country artists.  I would have read this book regardless of the content.  Fortunately for me though, it's a really entertaining book.  It's filled with great stories that are heartfelt and that I sympathized with.  Brad Paisley is probably one of the most down-to-earth celebrities and that feeling is a theme in the book.  It's easy to identify with him as he's practicing.  It's easy to live vicariously through his stories of playing, of meeting his heroes, of recording, becoming a star, and touring the world. It's also easy to identify and picture losing everything in the Nashville flood and loved ones along the way.  You care about the people in this book as if they were your friends and family.  That's a powerful book.

Do I recommend it?  You bet.  Not only is it an entertaining read about everything that most us guitarists dream about whenever we have free time, written by a guitarist that is no-kidding a REAL guitarist and told to you in a down-to-earth manner that might be written by the guy down the block, but reading is good for your brain.  And this will give you even more detail for your rock star fantasies.

My caveat: I would recommend buying a physical copy of this book, not the electronic version, or at least not for the Amazon Kindle.  There were things missing on my Kindle that I saw when reading on my iPhone, and I'm pretty sure that there are pictures in the real book that aren't in either.

Check it out, folks.  It may not have been as gear-heavy as I would have liked, but my love for incredible gear detail may have made for a REALLY boring book for you.  As it is, this will entertain almost all of you, I'm sure of it.

XXX---XXX

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