I'm in Australia. Joscho. Classical guitar. Miss my gypsy guitars.

Jangle_Jamie

Hi folks, just thought I'd write a bit about my situation. Mainly to help myself connect with some musical people and cheer myself up.

I was on a short trip in September with my family to visit relatives and friends in Australia (my wife's an aussie) when my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. She's just had surgery and is recovering. We'll make it home to Scotland in January. An unplanned four months is a very long time to be away from home. I have abandoned my work as an artist, and my gigs with my little band. A new jazz club has been set up in my home town of Fort William, and Im not there to support it and I'm gutted. I miss playing sessions, gigs and I miss my guitars. Someone over here very kindly gave me a classical guitar to keep me going. Without guitar I would have nothing. Sounds dramatic, but its true. It's just a cheapo guitar - a basic model made in Japan, with a laminated top... but it sounds amazing. I made a new bone saddle for it and put some excellent strings on it, and it's just beautiful. Better than any flat top steel string could ever be. It's got me playing with real emotion and beauty. I still miss my dupont and the others, but it's amazing how great a regular nylon string classical can be. It's also made me remember that just because a guitar has a laminated top, if the construction and the laminate is good, you can have a great guitar.

All aspects of my life are on hold, and I've had some dark moments recently.

Last night though I went to see the Joscho Stephan trio in Brisbane. Their rendition of Bossa Dorado was as good as it gets. I hope to get back on track soon. I was hoping for a jam session in Brisbane, but I can't find any.

Happy Christmas fellow musos

Jamie x x x

littlemark

I'm sorry to hear about your wife. Good luck.

I can certainly empathize about missing guitars. I once took a trip to Antarctica and Argentina. It was about a month. A month of no guitar. It was wonderful. But awful.

Have fun with with the classical.

littlemark

Ps of course you made a new nut lol.

flaco

So sorry to hear about your situation! It’s a triple whammy to be going through the situation with your wife, doing it without the comfort of your guitars, and to know you are missing out on the things happening back home! The classical guitar sounds lovely, though! I don’t know if you follow Denis Chang on YouTube, but he’s been pretty much exclusively playing a classical guitar for a while now, Ang he makes it sound great!

Phil

Hi Jamie, thanks for writing from Down Under. I'm sorry to hear of your wife’s condition and wish her all the best for a positive outcome and recovery. Glad you found a guitar. Even though you miss your regular Gypsy axe, I know that just having a guitar helps keep the positive vibes of the wonderful therapy of music, which nourishes our souls. In the meantime keep your spirits up, enjoy the aussie summer, and keep making music. Here's a clip of Kreisberg and Veras...with a nice pairing of jazz and classical guitars. Cheers Phil

https://youtu.be/DAaaG8hUdgA?si=LNpYpAeLBITIdfHK

wim

Are you still in Brisbane? I know a lot of people on the Australian scene and can probably hook you up with a jam. Send me a PM.

Buco

I was wondering what's going on when you mentioned the other day that you've been without your guitars for several months. That's really tough. I hope prognosis for her are positive.

What you mentioned about the classical guitar you got mirrors my situation when we go to Sarajevo for five weeks over summer. My fix for a while was to bring a uke with me so I have at least something to strum. Which was/is great and I still highly recommend it for anyone needing an instrument while traveling. I paid about 120 euro for it in the shop in Dublin and it's been a great little uke. Then a cousin gave me a cheap classical. It's all laminate but it's wonderful to play. Easy action, easy to play and super nice sounding. I'm sure if I directly compared it to a nicely built classical I'd hear a big difference but by itself I don't need anything better sounding.

As Wim offered, try to plug yourself in the local music scene, at least a little bit. She's going to need a lot of support during her recovery and if your own batteries are recharged you can support her much better.

Jangle_Jamie

Thank you! Wim, we're actually heading to noosa tomorrow to stay at a friends place. I'll be in brisbane next weekend I think, and then over Christmas. I looked into doing some busking, but you need permits and there's all these rules!

Should be flying home around 12th jan, but have to pay a fortune for new kids visas, grrrrrrrr.

Just taking things day by day here.

Thanks folks

billyshakes

Jamie,

Thanks for sharing your situation and we're here to provide moral support as much as we can. Really hope things are on the up for your wife and the whole situation. And I'll second Phil's comment to enjoy the Aussie summer. I'm sure the temps are much more pleasant than winter on the Great Glen. Nevertheless, there's nae place like home! ;-)

Good thoughts to you and your family for a better 2026.