Phil Keaggy: Humility and Servanthood
In my last post I mentioned that I saw Phil Keaggy live at The Father’s House. Now I realized that just menti
oning him was huge insult.
If you don’t know who Keaggy is, he is notably one of the most skilled guitarists in the world. I’m no expert, but I’d call him the best. You may have heard the rumor that Jimi Hendrix was on a late night talk show and was asked the question:
“How’s it feel to be the best guitarist in the world?”
Jimi Hendrix responded “I don’t know, ask Phil Keaggy.”
The rumor may not be true, but even so, that’s sweet. He’s recorded over 50 albums in his lifetime, spanning records with bands, guest tracks, and compilations. It’s usually a stretch for a band to put out one album a year. He put out around 50 while starting in his 20s. You know what else is sweet? He has 4 fingers on his right hand. Wow.
I didn’t know much of Keaggys music before the show, but man was I impressed. Every song made me incredibly happy inside. I don’t know why, but music has that effect on me. Especially his. I was filled with joy when listening to his excellence in music. Some of the stuff he was doing was incredible. For instance in one song he put a piece of plastic in between the strings of his guitar to create a percussion sound which he looped behind him. Another time he would sing into the sound hole of his acoustic song and would over lay harmonies. In interview he says this sounds horrible, but it’s fun and different.
I was amazed by how humble of a musician he is. Honestly, his interview with Pierre was pretty boring. But that’s probably because he doesn’t feel like he’s better than anyone else. He is just doing what he loves and doing what he feels called to. That’s cool. I hope to resemble Keaggy sometime in humility.
