have a nice stretch, and then the next one comes along, and you’re feeling a little bit lost. Then the home phone rings and I say “Hello,” and this British voice says “Hi Vince, this is Eric Clapton.” I say “Sure it is!” (Both laughing) And he says “No, really it is!” So I say, “Okay, whatever you want the answer is yes! Yes!” (more laughing) So he tells me he is having a really cool guitar festival and that he is inviting guitar players that he likes. It just killed me! You know? Here is one of the greatest guitar players in the world that saw me for who I really was. At the end of the day I’m just a musician. I sing and play and do a lot of things but I have the heart of a musician. I think I always have and always will. My bands will tell you that - I have always liked just being in a band. So that stretch for the last ten or fifteen years has been the stretch where people go, “Oh, he plays a little bit.” (Laughs) Amy [Grant, his wife] tells this story which is priceless to me. The first Crossroads thing was in Dallas, and I was sandwiched in between Joe Walsh and James Taylor. And that’s not a good place to be. (Laughs) Joe is getting ready to go on, and he ruled this whole place- I don’t think I’ve ever seen any- body as beloved as Joe. The crowd adores him and I do too, we’re great
friends.Amy says “I want go out there, I want to watch this hap- pen! So she goes out in the middle of the crowd and she’s got a beer, and after Joe they announced you and your first song, and peo-
17
ple started leaving en masse. She says I was looking around, drinking my beer and saying “where’s everybody going?” But she said what was real cool was, you started playing, and you could just sense that the whole place just stopped. And everybody kind of turned around- and they all went back and didn’t take that opportunity to go get their hot dog and beer.(Laughs) But that was a gift at the time. I didn’t know how desperately I needed it. It meant so much to me. And through those Cross- roads events, its been a great op- portunity to go and spend timne with these great peo- ple and great players. It al- lowed me to spend some time with Eric, and he recorded
one of my songs. I played on a session with him recording that song. And other things transpired with other guitar players that I’ve always love because of the festival. Many of us bonded as friends, and I’m just still enjoying the ride, you know?
With the Crossroads Festival, you’re the only one who has played every one of them. (Excitedly) Is that right? I don’t think that’s possible.
It’s true. That means I don’t have much work! (Laughs) That’s interesting. I wouldn’t have guessed that in a million years. Well we ended up being in the house band. Not for the first
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