In hockey, I play defense, or sometimes am a forward. It just depends.

Do you ever worry about hurting your hands and not being able to play guitar?

At first, I didn't think anything of it. Now, I worry a little. But I like hockey and I'm not giving it up anytime soon. I'm still a kid, you know. I need to have fun.

And school? Are you a good student?

I'm okay. I have to keep my grades up because that's the deal I made with my dad. Music can't get in the way. Besides, I need to do well with school so I have something to fall back on. There are no guarantees in the music business.

That's pretty sensible!

You have to be smart about it or you won't get anywhere.

What kind of music do you like? I don't want the "I like blues" because you play blues, I want the real answer.

[Laughing] Really, I love the blues! I like all kinds of music. Except rap. No rap!

My favorite musicians are Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hendrix, B.B., Buddy Guy, Mike Bloomfield... and I love the Beatles. Plus, Mike's got me into Peter Green and a lot of others. They're all so good.

[After this rapid-fire, enthusiastic conversation, it was time for Chris to cut out, and John jumped back in.]

John, that kid has energy! How does it translate into his playing?

Energy... yeah. Chris focuses all his energy on the guitar when he plays. Sometimes it's hard for him to hold back. He's always waiting for that solo where he can just tear it up. This is where Mike's influence comes in.

What I see, what's really — not just incredible, but inspiring and moving — is the role Mike's assumed in guiding the kids and how they've grown as musicians. With his knowledge and patience, he's teaching Chris in particular how to develop patience, how to work the music, how to play rhythm guitar. Chris watches Mike like a hawk. Mike's made a point of teaching him how he can say something in his playing.

"Say something, say it strong, say it with taste, with heart." That's what Chris is working on. It's what we all work on.

You know, it sounds like we're all about music, but it's a lot more than seeing Chris develop these skills. He's getting the chance to do things most kids don't and he's meeting legends, visiting places with such historical importance, and learning concepts that'll help him other areas of his life later on.

As a father, it's pretty gratifying to be able to do these things with my son and see how much he enjoys it. It gets even better, like when I heard him talking about Pinetop telling him the story of how he got stabbed in the arm as a young man. Chris will tell and retell the story if you let him.