LET THE WIND CARRY YOU 

❤️❤️ + 🎸 🎸 = BIG, BIG JOY❣️
"Let the Wind Carry You” - This video was recorded way back in 2010 (when Al and I were both a little easier on the eye.)
Gawd, how we loved playing this tune together! It was a favorite from our “Gratitude” album, released on Solid Air Records in 2000. Al and I were so, so proud of that album of groove-oriented guitar duets. “Gratitude" even won an Indie Award, which was such a thrill.
For the guitar-curious here’s the deal on this tune:
- I’m playing in BGDGAD with a partial capo, with the lowest string open.
- Al’s in his standard tuning, DADGAD.
I was first inspired to write this tune after David Wilcox loaned us one of his Olson guitars. I still remember that day in our old Takoma Park home. Before leaving us, David put his Olson in some totally, utterly bizarre tuning. Then he looked at us and laughed his hilarious, uproarious Amadeus-style laugh and walked out our front door. It took a while for me and Al to stop laughing, too. But then, it wasn’t long before I started to cry. That’s because David's guitar was so absolutely stunning, it took my breath away. I had never played such a beautiful instrument before. It was like holding a grand piano in my lap, but with none of the weight, and all of the resonance and power. OK, so it was kind of like playing a locomotive sometimes, too. 🤣That was the first of many, many times I was so happily overwhelmed by the artistry of contemporary luthiers (along with Al.) Y’all know who you are!
Al and I were always so grateful to David Wilcox, and to Cheryl Wheeler, too, for lending us their extra Olsons. Their two guitars were the main inspiration behind our “Gratitude” album. Sadly, Al and I rarely kept “Gratitude" CDs in stock because it cost us too much to purchase them for resale. We always regretted that, and always wished that more people knew about the recording. Maybe this post will peak your interest? That album's gotta be out there available for download somewhere.
P.S. Yes, that was our amazing Ryan in the background. I was a lucky girl many times over. Back then, that Ryan was my main guitar, which I kept in DADGAD. We brought our fabulous Rainsong along for all of our live gigs if we were going to play “Let the Wind Carry You” because tuning from DADGAD to BGDGAD and back again for a single tune on a single guitar got pretty old in a live concert setting. That’s one of the reasons why Al’s and my stage set-up kept looking like an entire band was about to play. Silly us. When all that lugging would get to us, we always threatened to become a piccolo duo. We never caved, though. Instead, we just added a Celtic harp, mountain dulcimer, and old-time banjo to keep our guitars, and mandolin, and bouzouki, and drums, and piano company. Thankfully, we kept at all the instrument lugging right up until the pandemic shut us down.