The New Kid

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Chris Detrick.

The Eyewitness Blues Band has a new lead guitarist, although if you want to be picky about it, Chris was our original lead guitarist. He was our instructor when we formed the band in the fall of 2006 as part of the Bandworks program.

Chris must have been shocked when he realized our guitarists were me and Mike Sugerman. Forget about a lead guitarist. We were lucky to be able to play basic chords and stay in rhythm. Chris did what he could with us. Busted me several times for my lazy chord fingering. Showed me a dinky little solo I could play on Green Day's "When I Come Around". Drew some rudimentary chord charts for Mike and me.

And when it came time to play our inaugural gig, Chris stood over on the side of the stage, beaming. And slipping in some sweet little riffs and runs here and there. If you listen to recordings of that show, you can hear the little bit of polish Chris applies to our runaway train.

We've played a lot of music since then and had our share of highs and lows. But now, Chris is back, and it feels right.