My Students

I don't mention a lot about teaching guitar on my blog because I don't want to advertise on here. Most of my students have come by word of mouth, which is what I prefer. I'm lucky to have some incredible students and I wanted to take a moment to brag of their achievements ;-)
I've been teaching regularly for the past couple years now and nothing is more special than seeing the fruit of my labor. One of the biggest challenges with teaching kids is finding ways to keep them interested and engaged. So when a student is eager to sign up for talent show or is excited to play/sing a song for me ... I feel so proud.

This is 13yr old, Ethan. He's been taking guitar lessons with me for about a year now. He recently played his guitar at a recital in front of hundreds of people. I was so happy to have been invited to watch.

And here is 9yr old, Finn. She's absolutely adorable. She's only been playing for about 6months and is already challenging herself by singing and playing guitar at the same time. I find her songs to play from Taylor Swifts, Selena Gomez, One Direction, and Miley Cyrus and she absolutely loves it. Here she is performing 'Who Says' by Selena Gomez....

Love my students ♥

My Perspective

Here's a picture of the Grand Mosque just before sunset. I snapped this picture real quick with my iphone as I was driving by on the highway ... and did a little bit of editing, of course.
I remember the first time I saw the big golden dome on top of the mosque - I had just landed in Muscat around 1am. As we were driving on the highway, towards Ghubra, I truly thought the dome was the moon. I feel like a complete idiot for thinking that now but when you're sleep deprived and driving through a foreign country, you can mistake anything for just about anything.
But hey, when Ash first got here, he thought the mosque was a hotel. I guess that's what 20hrs of flight time does to you ... and a lack of research beforehand.

Traveling out to the Middle East from the States is an exhausting trip. But traveling to the Middle East and flying standby is even worse. I started my trip in Boston and then flew to Atlanta, where I would then take a direct flight to Dubai and then hop on another flight to Muscat. Unfortunately when I landed in Atlanta, I found out that the Dubai flight from the previous evening had cancelled due to a maintenance issue... which then would screw up my chances of getting on the Dubai flight for that night.  Nevertheless, I hung around the airport for 9hrs and waited to see if I'd get lucky and make it on. But nope, the gate agents never called my name and I was left in an empty gate holding my guitar and a useless standby ticket.
Thankfully one of the Delta gate agents had pity on me and helped me out as much as he could. He called a local hotel for me and booked me a night and got me a discounted rate. Since I couldn't retrieve any of my luggage, he even gave me a toiletry bag and a Delta t-shirt to wear to bed.
The following morning I had to check out by noon. I headed back to the airport and hung around for another 9hrs and thank the heavens, I made it on. That same gate agent gave me free liquor coupons to use on my flight and also arranged for me to have the whole back row to myself. He was such a sweetheart.
By the time I actually made it to Muscat, I was horribly tired, hungry and had been in the same clothes for 3 days .... and then my bags didn't make it.

...and that is why I thought the dome to the mosque was the moon. 

Follow Up Interview with Wareham Weekly

I'm really grateful for all the support from my hometown. Since filming I've had the privilege of doing a couple interviews for the local paper and I've received really sweet Facebook messages from people from my hometown giving us support and encouragement. It's nice to know that there's a place, in this big huge world, that I can always call home. I guess that's why I was never afraid to leave hometown - my mom would always remind me, "If you try it and don't like it, you just come back. No worries". You can't really be scared when the worst case scenario is that you book yourself a ticket back home.

With that being said, I just wanted to copy and paste the follow up interview that I just did for the local paper in Wareham, MA. Once again, Caitlin, you did a good write up :-) Click HERE to read the first article she wrote about our story.

And one last thing .... if you happened to miss the airing of our House Hunters International episode, do not fret - it'll air again on June 21st at 11pm and again at 2am EST.

Eliza Austin-Richardson's life is a little bit like a television show, so it made sense that the show "House Hunters International" wanted to profile the Wareham native's journey to Muscat, Oman.

The show helps people who are looking to live abroad find their way in a foreign country. The episode was shot last spring, and since then, 25-year-old Richardson has carved out a niche for herself in her adopted country.

"Life here's been good … I guess I'm just getting a bit more established," said Richardson. "I think as time goes on, you get a bit more settled."

Richardson was working as a flight attendant out of Boston when she met her future husband, Ash, who happened to be a pilot. He knew he'd have more job opportunities abroad, so he decided to see what was out there. Then, he landed a job flying out of Oman.

"House Hunters International" discovered their story through Eliza's blog, and reached out to the couple to document their transition to life in  Oman.

Richardson was a little nervous about how the editing process would cut and paste their life for the small screen, but she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the finished product.

"I was actually pleasantly surprised," said Richardson. "I'm really happy with the way it turned out. ... It was really accurate. They did a good job."

Richardson was excited about the move, but apprehensive about how she would fill her days.

"We came out here for him … but for me I kind of had to start from scratch," said Richardson. A self-taught guitarist, she decided that with no immediate job prospects, it was time to pick up her guitar again.

She's been giving guitar lessons to children and teachers who attend The American International School in Muscat.

"A long time ago I put up a flyer in the teacher's lounge, and that's how I got most of my students," said Richardson.

Oman is a relatively liberal Muslim country, but some things are still slightly different. Sometimes Richardson will try to click through to a news article on the Internet, and find that it's been censored.

Some elements of popular culture are censored as well.

"Say they're showing something on a red carpet [on T.V.] and a girl is wearing a backless dress. All that is blurred out," says Richardson.

Despite the adjustments, all in all, Richardson says she's having a ball living the ex-pat life.

Article taken from HERE 

Music Review - Macklemore

I haven't done a music review in almost a year. That's sad. Then again, there aren't many musicians that come along that inspire me enough to feature them. But just recently I came across a rapper that has a unique message, compelling lyrics with an inspiring back story. It's not often that you can describe a rapper in that sort of way. How many rappers do you know actually support (and rap about) same sex marriage? Or a rapper that doesn't glamorize substance abuse and alcoholism?

Let me introduce you to, Macklemore (Ben Hagerty).

photo via

Most of you have probably heard his chart topper song 'Thrift Shop', which I think is hilarious and a great radio friendly song. Honestly if it wasn't for the 'Thrift Shop' song then I may have never heard of Macklemore, which is a sad thought.

Another reason I'm loving Macklemore is that he is a completely independent artist. I am a HUGE

supporter of independent artist and those that are able to really make it without the help of record labels. Watching an artist work their way up and build a fan base makes everything feel so homemade ... and who doesn't prefer homemade over the pre packaged greasy sh**? This is a real artist who has learned his craft and has worked his ass off to get to where he is.

And to continue my reasons of why I love Macklemore, well,  he battled with substance abuse and actually got out. He went through his share of rehab and redirected all of his energy to creating incredible music, and his passion is heard throughout his albums.

Within the past 5 years(ish), Macklemore has partnered with Ryan Lewis and they have become this powerful duo together. Ryan Lewis is a writing partner, helps create beats and lay tracks, photographer and also directs and produces all of Macklemore's music videos. And I am telling you, they are some of the best music videos I have seen in a very long time.
Billboard 100 says " Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are the first duo to take its first two singles to No. 1 in the Hot 100's almost-55-year history."

photo via

The first music video I saw of Macklemore, other than the 'Thrift Shop' video, was of his song 'Otherside'. Ash showed this to me and between the heartfelt reality of the lyrics and the captivating message in the video, I was in tears. It's very powerful ... make sure to listen closely to the lyrics.

And this video is also powerful and beautiful and incredibly moving.

And on a little lighter note, you may have heard this tune on the radio and I absolutely love it.

And since I'm married to a ginger, I really like this song ...


I hope you enjoyed this music review. Go buy their album The Heist and let me know what you think of his music!