Lee And His Guitar example essay topic

In the fall of 1993, while the rest of America was electing Bill Clinton as their president, most typical seventh grade boys were busy mutilating their toy Ninja Turtles or harassing their helpless little sisters. However, there was one thirteen year old that would have nothing to do with such frivolities. He spent his days in seclusion, hours in his room without the sound of anyone's voice but his own. Yet unlike his hyperactive counterparts, this young man was content with solitude. He found a best friend not in the neighbor next door, but instead in a piece of lifeless wood with six strings attached to it. Even though it caused him to forget the meaning of loneliness, this boy was not a recluse.

This boy was a musician. Roger Lee Jones was born on December 5, 1979 in Morristown, a small community smuggled into the rocky foothills of eastern Tennessee. His father, Roger, now 48, had recently begun a career as a pharmaceutical sales representative, and his mother, Teresa, now 46, had previously been a lab technician before she gave up her job to assume the full-time position of "mom". In 1985, Lee and his family moved from the edge of the Appalachians to a much colder climate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After three enduring years of snowmobiles and blizzards, the Jones's once again packed up and left town.

This time they headed for the sunny south. Roger and Teresa, along with their three school-age children, settled in Greer, a growing city ten miles from Greenville in upstate South Carolina. Several years later Lee entered into the sixth grade at Greer Middle School. At first, he played football, baseball and ran track like the rest of his energetic, roughhousing pals. "Then, all of sudden, none of it mattered anymore", said Lee.

"I liked being an athlete, I liked being challenged physically everyday, but I needed that challenge mentally, emotionally and psychologically too. I wasn't getting to that level on any sports field". Things changed for Lee shortly after. While in a CD shop one afternoon, he decided to buy the disc for a relatively new metal band named Metallica. When he arrived home, Lee immediately played the CD. Yet, instead of hearing the raw squealing of guitars and thundering drum solos, he heard a different sound.

Lee heard the music of something slowly coming together inside of him, and he finally understood. The chords struck a note that he could not tune out. They sang to him his destiny. The remainder of his junior high years was spent mainly in the company of only himself and his guitar.

Like a little boy and his puppy, Lee and his guitar were inseparable. He lugged it along on family trips and sometimes even begged to take it to school". When Lee began playing the guitar, Roger and I used to get so angry at him. He would lock himself in his room for hours and refuse to come out. We had to force him to eat dinner!" said Teresa. Lee continued to play feverishly throughout high school.

During his senior year, he played in a band with five classmates. Their name was Isaqueena and they specialized in entertaining anyone who would hire them. They often played in small, smoky bars where the prominent d'ecor was either Nascar or Budweiser. Their sound proved to be catchy, and eventually Isaqueena acquired some groupies who came to every show.

They recorded one CD, "Intro to the World", which sold several hundred copies. The band played until the fall of 1999 when then the circus life of college set in. Keeping Isaqueena together and living in different cities was too much for the boys to juggle. Without the band Lee played on. He moved into an apartment by himself and turned it in to a recording studio.

From then on, the majority of his time was spent writing songs or writing papers. School and guitar left little time for anything else in Lee's life. To some, his world seemed confined, but to him it was a realm of endless possibilities. His guitar could take him to places where existence was irrelevant, where nothing else mattered but the melody. The instrument was his salvation. Now nearing graduation, little has changed for Lee.

He plays daily, sometimes getting together with another guitarist, John Pay, for casual jam sessions. "I've played with a lot of people before, but Lee is exceptional. His talent and introspection are supreme. When he plays he is totally consumed", said John, "I learn something new from him every time". After he receives his Bachelor's in Business at the College of Charleston, Lee plans to study music production at Berklee College in Boston.

He ultimately hopes to form another band some day, but until then he is not worried about having to play alone". I've come this far all by myself, absolutely nothing can intimidate my dedication", Lee remarks, "As far as I'm concerned, one guitar makes just as much music as two.".