It was 2006, August the 11th to be exact, I remember it well because it was my birthday. We were playing the last of a lengthy North American tour and our last stop was none other than the ‘El Mocambo’, the music venue in Toronto, famously known for being a regular stomping ground of the great late Stevie Ray Vaughan.
The place was dark, painted in terracota colours, there was the sense that great things had taken place there, great musical moments had been shared in the wee small hours between SRV and his adoring fans. My gig was packed, the walls were dripping with condensation and Craig, Marcus and I played a storming set to mark the end of what had been one incredibly long journey.
After the gig, the boys and I hung out at the bar drinking and chatting with the bar man, a gangly creature dressed in all black. We drank and talked into the dead of night until it was time to pack it in and head back to the hotel to rest our weary bones.
As we were packing up and getting ready to leave, there wasn’t a soul left in the building except for myself, the gangly bar man, my TM and band and amidst the drunken muttering I heard a sound, a sound that I’ll never forget.
It was the sound of a guitar being played somewhere in the distance. I followed the noise backstage and up a darkened staircase and as I began to climb further and further the air became thick with the smell of cigar smoke and alcohol as the guitar became louder and louder.
Eventually I reached the top and found myself in front of a door. My heart was pounding but for what reason I didn’t know. But in a moment of courage I swung open the door!
The room was dark and as my eyes adjusted I saw the figure of a man sitting in the corner on a wooden stool crouched over his guitar playing the sweetest tune my ears had ever heard. I stood there, breathless, motionless.
Amidst the excitement and panic I ran to the door and threw on the light switch to see what or who it was. I turned my back around to face the man and he was gone and the sweet sounding guitar drifted into the night along with him.
I’ll never know whether that night was a result of too much liqour and not enough sleep, perhaps I was seeing and hearing things, its certainly possible. But in my mind I will always remember that as the moment I met the Ghost of Stevie Ray Vaughan.
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