What I’m Listening To~ Billy McLaughlin
“For twenty years Billy McLaughlin, guitarist and composer, astounded audiences around the world with his complex and rhythmic music.
In 2001, Billy was diagnosed with Focal Dystonia, an incurable neuromuscular disease that rendered him unable to play his own music.
By 2002, Billy McLaughlin’s career was over.
In 2006, Billy began a comeback. He was doing the unthinkable – relearning his songs left handed.
Billy McLaughlin is astounding audiences once again with both his story and his music.” ~From Billy McLaughlin’s website
As most of you know, when we lived in White Bear Lake I worked at a tearoom called The Buckingham Bee. I love, love, love those memories. You might not know that at the same time Jeff was working at a little coffee shop, just a block away on Washington Square, called The Cupping Room. He has some cool stories of his first experiences working with coffee and being a barista. The one that stands out in my mind is that he got to meet and make coffee for the world renowned guitar genius Billy McLaughlin. Billy was a regular at the Cupping Room! We got to see him perform at the Barnes and Noble in Har Mar, and I have to say I was brought to tears by the sheer beauty and awesomeness of his music. We talked with Billy after the show, and he is a beautiful, humble, sweet person. I am so inspired by his story and his will to keep creating music and playing guitar.
Here is some of his music. Enjoy!
One of the greatest comebacks in music history
What are you listening to?
~Melissa
Yep. Billy is one cool cat. The first time I heard his music, they were playing his cd around the holidays at the Cupping Room… “Wintersongs and Traditionals”:
http://www.billymclaughlin.com/cd-wintersongs.php
Then I picked up a copy of “Fingerdance” and it blew my mind.
Did we buy that one when we bought “The Bow and The Arrow”?
Yes, Billy is the most amazing person! I met him when he played in Oregon last fall. I learned about him only 4 days before he played there & I did a crazy thing; I actually bought tickets to his show withought even having heard his music yet! (I’ve NEVER done that before) In fact I didn’t even get a chance to hear ANY of his music, so I had no idea what to expect, until he got up on stage….& I was brought to tears. (by both his personal story of battling a disease called Dystonia & by his talents) I could feel what he’d been going through at the time in his life when he wrote those songs, especially “Hold onto Forever” & “Helm’s Place”. Amazing. I was very pleased that he made time after the show to chat with his fans, share hugs & pose for photos. He seemed to really enjoy taking the time to talk with everyone & he made us all feel so welcomed and special. He is truly a rare gift to the world. If someone reading this has a chance to see Billy play, do NOT miss it, it’s truly life-changing. I’ll go see him play every chance I get.
*sometimes people fail because they quit too soon*
Thanks so much for commenting Brighid! I agree…love love love his music…and his down to earth personality…and his amazing perseverance!
Admin, (Melissa?)
“down to earth personality” that about covers it! He’s just….one of those people you never forget. I am going through some really scary difficulties in my life right now, and the way he got through HIS hard times & kept on, KEEPS on…. “shining his light” is very inspiring to me. Listening to his music (I currently have “into the light”, signed by him, “the bow and the arrow” & the DVD “mysteries of dystonia”) really helps me get through each day. The way he lost almost everything and had to basically rebuild his life is very similar to what I’m dealing with now & having met him at this time in my life feels like such a gift to me. He’s a reminder that we can all “find another way” when we have to. I’m excited to see that he’s starting up his tour again, maybe I’ll get a chance to see him play soon.
Do you personally know Billy?
My husband use to serve him coffee at a little White Bear Lake coffee house called “The Cupping Room.” He got to talk to him regularly. We heard he was playing a Barnes & Noble and went to see him. It was a tiny crowd (there were maybe 30 people there) and after that show was the first time I got to talk to him. He invited us to see him play at a little bar in WBL called “Spinnakers.” Such a great guy!
Thanks so much for sharing how his story has touched your life and is inspiring you to be strong through a difficulty. I bet he would be happy to know that he’s helping people this way.
Best,
Melissa
You’re welcome, & I think I WILL tell him how he’s helped me next time I see him play. Its easy to see that he cares about people so I’m sure it would make him feel good to know that he’s helping someone heal from trauma & pain through his beautiful music. : 0)
I love watching him when he gets swept away by his own music, taking the audience along with him, & how he often ends his piece with a gentle smile that speaks volumes. I just get chills watching him play.
(It also doesn’t hurt that he’s just SO darn good-looking!)
He must be a real “hot ticket” there in chilly MN, LoL.
Something funny happened while I was waiting my turn to talk with him; he was talking to a couple & the husband actually asked Billy to sign his wife’s breast! I could tell Billy was taken aback by this but he quickly recovered & being the funny guy he is, he said after a short pause
“only slooowly…” & being the classy guy he is, he didn’t actually DO it.
I had to laugh.
When I got to talk with him it was a small crowd too, maybe 60 people alltogether, & only about 15 or 20 stayed after the show to chat with Billy & Rhett Butler. (another amazing guitarist & awesome guy) I love the fact that Billy seems to prefer playing smaller venues where he can really connect with the audience, I hope that doesn’t change.
(Play on Billy, play on….)
Warmest regards,
Brighid
Okay, this is an off the wall question,but I miss the Buckingham Bee terribly. At the time it closed, the owner told me she was planning on doing a cookbook with all the recipes. However, I have never seen it anywhere. Now for the question….do you know how I could contact her? I would LOVE to get the recipe for a cream cheese spread used on the finger sandwiches.
I talk to Kathleen from time to time, although it’s been quite awhile since I’ve heard from her. I don’t feel comfortable sending her contact information to someone I don’t know, but the next time I talk to her I’ll ask her if she minds if I share her recipe.
Best,
M
Lynn…ps… I do know that a pretty standard cream cheese sandwich spread for tea sandwiches is : equal parts real mayonnaise, and cream cheese mixed with fresh or dried herbs and a little onion powder (for the savory sammies) hope this helps! 😉
Im getting a small problem. I cant get my reader to pickup your feed, Im using yahoo reader by the way.