If you've heard anything about John Denner, you probably know he was born without a right hand.

And if you've had the privilege of hearing him play, you also know he's one of the most phenomenal guitar players in rock today.

These two facts alone are enough to amp up the guilt in your "I can't because . . ."  file.

But you can't feel bad around him.  There's something about John that makes you want to celebrate ... to marvel ... to wonder what it is about his playing that moves you so deeply.

What you can know is that 1) John doesn't read music.  2) He had to invent a makeshift picking device before he could even attempt the guitar.  And  3) He honed his skills by learning to play Eddie Van Halen's "Eruption" by ear.

What you can hear is the result of endless hours, days, and weeks of going deeper and deeper. and deeper still.  Searching for ways to coax and stretch and pick and purge every exquisite sound from those strings.

And what you can feel is the existence of a creative force transcending the conscious mind.

This goes far beyond ability.

Technical proficiency, even as stunning as John's, is still only the key that opens the door.  Stepping through, surrendering that hard-won proficiency, surrendering control, to a force far greater than individual perspective...that takes real courage.

This courageous "letting go" seems to be where John's musical magnificence is fully realized.

When you experience John playing from this dynamic, monstrous place--- feeling the rapid fire riffs shooting through his veins, muscle and tendon tensing with every surge and crash of soul jarring sound--there are no words to adequately express your amazement.

You just want to laugh with the joy of it.

It is the place you've hungered for.  The elusive "home" you want to return to...but can't seem to find.

And you can't help but gravitate to people like John who have found it. You want to bask in the warmth of their atmosphere. Especially when you believe your own passionate dreams can't be shaped and offered up for entrance.

So maybe what moves us so deeply when John plays involves our own primal longing . . .

Maybe it's the sound from the other side of the door.

Maybe it's a renewed sense of our own possibility.

Maybe it's John demonstrating so clearly that the only real disabilities are fear and doubt.

Maybe it's all of that ... and some really cool music.

  

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