Comments on: A Tribute to Buster B. Jones http://www.keenerliving.com/a-tribute-to-buster-b-jones A retired professional talks about life, technology, learning Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:32:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Bruce Keener http://www.keenerliving.com/a-tribute-to-buster-b-jones#comment-36760 Bruce Keener Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:36:38 +0000 http://www.keenerliving.com/?p=1796#comment-36760 That is very moving, Tom! Thank you so much for sharing this. Makes me wish I could have been there to hug Buster, your friend Bill, and yourself. That is very moving, Tom!
Thank you so much for sharing this. Makes me wish I could have been there to hug Buster, your friend Bill, and yourself.

]]> By: Tom Redmond http://www.keenerliving.com/a-tribute-to-buster-b-jones#comment-36759 Tom Redmond Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:08:08 +0000 http://www.keenerliving.com/?p=1796#comment-36759 All of us have warts. He lived life hard, but Buster was a good person who also happened to be extremely talented musically. He did truly want to help others. We rode together in a rental car from Virginia Beach to Philadelphia in 2002 and because of traffic problems the trip took almost 8 hours. You can cover alot of conversation in 8 hours, and I learned alot of personal things about him that day. On the way out of town I asked Buster if he would stop in and visit a bedridden acquaintance of mine, Bill Grant. BIll Grant had been diagnosed with ALS years earlier and was not able to move around anymore and was pretty much confined to bed. Bill was the man that exposed me to Chet's music as a child in the sixties. I remember going over to his house as a child and hearing him play "Armens' Theme" and many of Chet's tunes which he learned the old fashioned way, from listening to the record and trial and error. Bill had (and still has) a 54 Gretsch Duo-Jet which he bought new in 54. Even though the detour to Bill's house was out of the way and Buster and I had business together in Philadelphia he was happy to take the detour and visit with Bill. Once there he chatted with Bill like they were old friends, and grabbed a guitar, playing for about a half hour, right up close, next to Bill's bed. Bill had only known about Buster through the internet and had seen some videos I had taped at the CAAS convention in 98 but seeing Buster play up close for him made him so happy. Even though Bill's hands had suffered paralysis that made it impossible for him to play anymore, he still had questions about different chord shapes and licks, and Buster showed him some of the things he was doing on the fretboard, much to Bill's delight. When we left Bill had a big smile on his face and so did Buster. That's the kind of guy Buster was. All of us have warts. He lived life hard, but Buster was a good person who also happened to be extremely talented musically. He did truly want to help others. We rode together in a rental car from Virginia Beach to Philadelphia in 2002 and because of traffic problems the trip took almost 8 hours. You can cover alot of conversation in 8 hours, and I learned alot of personal things about him that day. On the way out of town I asked Buster if he would stop in and visit a bedridden acquaintance of mine, Bill Grant. BIll Grant had been diagnosed with ALS years earlier and was not able to move around anymore and was pretty much confined to bed. Bill was the man that exposed me to Chet’s music as a child in the sixties. I remember going over to his house as a child and hearing him play “Armens’ Theme” and many of Chet’s tunes which he learned the old fashioned way, from listening to the record and trial and error. Bill had (and still has) a 54 Gretsch Duo-Jet which he bought new in 54. Even though the detour to Bill’s house was out of the way and Buster and I had business together in Philadelphia he was happy to take the detour and visit with Bill. Once there he chatted with Bill like they were old friends, and grabbed a guitar, playing for about a half hour, right up close, next to Bill’s bed. Bill had only known about Buster through the internet and had seen some videos I had taped at the CAAS convention in 98 but seeing Buster play up close for him made him so happy. Even though Bill’s hands had suffered paralysis that made it impossible for him to play anymore, he still had questions about different chord shapes and licks, and Buster showed him some of the things he was doing on the fretboard, much to Bill’s delight. When we left Bill had a big smile on his face and so did Buster. That’s the kind of guy Buster was.

]]> By: Bruce Keener http://www.keenerliving.com/a-tribute-to-buster-b-jones#comment-36737 Bruce Keener Sat, 17 Oct 2009 18:12:45 +0000 http://www.keenerliving.com/?p=1796#comment-36737 Thanks, Tyler. Glad you like the music-related posts. Thanks, Tyler. Glad you like the music-related posts.

]]> By: Tyler Ellis http://www.keenerliving.com/a-tribute-to-buster-b-jones#comment-36736 Tyler Ellis Sat, 17 Oct 2009 18:00:17 +0000 http://www.keenerliving.com/?p=1796#comment-36736 I wasn't familiar with Buster Jones before finding Keener Living awhile ago. I always dig your music related posts. I hope all is well. TE I wasn’t familiar with Buster Jones before finding Keener Living awhile ago. I always dig your music related posts.

I hope all is well. TE

]]> By: Bruce Keener http://www.keenerliving.com/a-tribute-to-buster-b-jones#comment-36735 Bruce Keener Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:58:52 +0000 http://www.keenerliving.com/?p=1796#comment-36735 Hi Ray ... glad you got to spend some quality time with Buster. Thanks for the encouragement to get off my butt and play again. Hopefully will start back today or tomorrow. Take care. Hi Ray … glad you got to spend some quality time with Buster. Thanks for the encouragement to get off my butt and play again. Hopefully will start back today or tomorrow.
Take care.

]]> By: Bruce Keener http://www.keenerliving.com/a-tribute-to-buster-b-jones#comment-36734 Bruce Keener Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:56:50 +0000 http://www.keenerliving.com/?p=1796#comment-36734 Hi Roger ... your comment is a very moving tribute itself. You point out that the full measure of a man can be more than the sum of his demons, something we do not always realize until it is too late. I very much appreciate your sharing this. By the way, I'm glad you mentioned how he helped kids learn how to play. The last time I talked with him, a couple of weeks before he passed, he mentioned that he was going to a local school the following day to entertain the kids and give them each five-minutes worth of one-on-one teaching. (He used a special tuning to help kids play easy, so they could learn something easily within five minutes.) Like you said, that didn't excuse his battle with the demons, but made up for it some. Hi Roger … your comment is a very moving tribute itself. You point out that the full measure of a man can be more than the sum of his demons, something we do not always realize until it is too late. I very much appreciate your sharing this.

By the way, I’m glad you mentioned how he helped kids learn how to play. The last time I talked with him, a couple of weeks before he passed, he mentioned that he was going to a local school the following day to entertain the kids and give them each five-minutes worth of one-on-one teaching. (He used a special tuning to help kids play easy, so they could learn something easily within five minutes.) Like you said, that didn’t excuse his battle with the demons, but made up for it some.

]]> By: Ray Betts http://www.keenerliving.com/a-tribute-to-buster-b-jones#comment-36733 Ray Betts Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:08:31 +0000 http://www.keenerliving.com/?p=1796#comment-36733 Hi Bruce, thanks for posting that. I talked with Buster several times at the NC fingerstyle event. He always took the time to chat with everyone. I was lucky enough to sit in a small room listening to him and Bresh play for about an hour. I will never ever forget that day. As good a player as you are, I hope you get back in the groove and start pickin again. I've gone thru spells of not playing also. But, picking up a guitar and playing some as seen me through some tough times. Take care, Ray Hi Bruce, thanks for posting that. I talked with Buster several times at the NC fingerstyle event. He always took the time to chat with everyone. I was lucky enough to sit in a small room listening to him and Bresh play for about an hour. I will never ever forget that day. As good a player as you are, I hope you get back in the groove and start pickin again. I’ve gone thru spells of not playing also. But, picking up a guitar and playing some as seen me through some tough times. Take care, Ray

]]> By: Roger Pratt http://www.keenerliving.com/a-tribute-to-buster-b-jones#comment-36732 Roger Pratt Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:47:31 +0000 http://www.keenerliving.com/?p=1796#comment-36732 HI Bruce.....That was a moving tribute to Buster for me at least. I must admit that I had a very opposite impression of Buster until I have read stories about him from people such as you that took the time to get to know him. I have attended CAAS for the past several years and seen Buster on several occasions stumbling around drunk and handling filthy language in from of women and children in the lobby. This is not hearsay, I saw this myself and several of my friends did also. Since reading all the great stories from so many different sources, I must rethink my feelings toward Buster. He was indeed a generous man and took the time to teach young people and old people alike anything he could to help them. I know he was a troubled man and had demons that caused him to drink just as I used to many years ago. I regret that I rushed to judgement about Buster and now wish that I could have met him and had an experience like you did. I have warm feelings about Buster's memory now and may he rest in peace. Thanks for your blog and allowing me to get that off my chest. I hope I don't do anyone such a disservice in the future. Roger Pratt HI Bruce…..That was a moving tribute to Buster for me at least. I must admit that I had a very opposite impression of Buster until I have read stories about him from people such as you that took the time to get to know him. I have attended CAAS for the past several years and seen Buster on several occasions stumbling around drunk and handling filthy language in from of women and children in the lobby. This is not hearsay, I saw this myself and several of my friends did also. Since reading all the great stories from so many different sources, I must rethink my feelings toward Buster. He was indeed a generous man and took the time to teach young people and old people alike anything he could to help them. I know he was a troubled man and had demons that caused him to drink just as I used to many years ago. I regret that I rushed to judgement about Buster and now wish that I could have met him and had an experience like you did. I have warm feelings about Buster’s memory now and may he rest in peace. Thanks for your blog and allowing me to get that off my chest. I hope I don’t do anyone such a disservice in the future.
Roger Pratt

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