Hootenany, sing-along, whatever you want to call it, it’s great fun. When author copies of Guitars arrived, we invited music-playing (and not) friends over for a guitarbeque. (Clever word, right? Wish I could trademark it, but turns out someone beat me to it…so much for having an original thought.) Several of us had performed, in various configurations, at a benefit earlier in the day, so everyone was psyched. There was a big stack of signed books, a garbage can full of iced beer, and two grills going for hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers, and some sort of fatty, skinless Croatian sausage. The kids all formed a pack and raced around in the dark for hours playing manhunter and jumping on the trampoline. And the grown-ups? The grown-ups sang!
Here’s a sing-along tip to pass on, discovered after some disappointing evenings—a week or so before the event, have everyone send you their favorite songs, chords included for the musicians. Make copies and clip together into rough songbooks, figuring on one per two or three guests. Then also type out all the song titles. Print it out, cut out the titles—they’ll look like fortunes from a fortune cookie—and put them in a hat or a box. Take turns picking out the tunes! With a properly stocked hat, this can go on for hours….
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