As American as Baseball, Apple Pie, and a Fender Strat!

Happy 4^th of July everybody!!!  I was going to blog about the new guitar in my life ... she rocks my world like no other ... but then I realized that this blog was slated to come out on America’s "Independence Day"!  Shoot, what could I do OTHER than gush about the insane gratitude I feel to have been born in the USA?  Oh ye lovers of the United States,READ ON! (Oh, and please post your replies, too!)

I decided I would make my personal top-ten list of what I love about the US, after reading my list, please chime in with your own favorite things about America by posting your replies on this blog!  Okay, so here is my Letterman-like list: (drum roll, please...)

10. Anyone can be who they want to be.  Even though I grew up on a farm in the middle of nowhere USA, I had the total and complete freedom to pack up my little pickup truck and head a thousand miles off to Nashville to make it big in the music biz.  Cool thing is, I did make it, and I’ve never lacked for good work.  My buddy David Ellefson graduated with me from that same little small-town high school; when I went to Nashville, he went to LA, and went on to co-found the band MegaDeath.  Two small-town boys, go figure!  Only in America, that’s what I say.

9. All the wide-open spaces.  Sure, it may be a bit crowded on the east or south-west coast ... but, man, the real beauty and awesomeness of America lies in-between.  From the Rockies to The Mississippi, wow, what a great place to discover yourself!

8. American Food.  As a general rule of thumb, we don’t eat bugs, or our pets; and that puts us head of about half the world’s population right there!

7. Diversity.  I don’t need to explain this one, right?

6. Chevy’s.  If they had not accepted the bail-out bucks, they would have been up a slot!  My first car was a ’57 Chevy, and I’ve been smitten ever since!

5. Fords.  Talk about taking a licking and keeping on ticking!  Man, Ford is once again showing the world how a car could and should be made.  Hot damn, if Henry Ford were alive today, he would be very proud.  I’m proud, too.

4. Gibson guitars.  Okay, the Norlin years kinda sucked, but apart from that, Gibson has consistently produced some of the world’s finest stringed instruments for over a hundred years.  How Awesome is that?

3. Martin Guitars.  Oh, oh, oh, baby ... is there anything more perfect than a sweet (made in Nazareth, Penn) Martin D-28?  I say NO, and that’s why Martin is high on my list!

2. Fender guitars and amps.  In my not-always humble opinion, Leo Fender is the coolest American to ever live; his 1950’s-1960’s era guitars and amps are the benchmark by which all electric guitars and amps since have been judged.  I doubt anyone will ever do it better than Leo.  Please note, somewhere right about here I need to mention the great American based musical manufacturers like our very own WGS who are walking in the shadow of Leo Fender.  If Leo was alive today, Fender would be using WGS speakers, I’m sure of it!

1. Religious Freedom.  No one wants religion forced down their throats; shoot, I’m convinced God doesn’t want it that way.  The only true way to find God is to seek God out on your own, and we can do just that here in America; not everyone can say that.  I am indeed blessed, and lucky as all get-out to have been born in the USA.

See y’all next week, I’ve got a great romantic tale to tell you, it’ll be awesome.   Now, POST YOUR PATRIOTIC LIST ... Reply away...    emailvaughn    About Vaughn Skow