A man who Eric Clapton once called the best guitar player in the world is in Wetaskiwin this weekend, teaching at a summer guitar camp.
63 year old Caleb Quaye has played with the best; Elton John, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger, to name a few. He lived the stereotypical rock star lifestyle for years.
“I got involved in the excesses of rock n’ roll and everything, was addicted to drugs for about 18 years.”
Quaye says he eventually grew tired of doing drugs and the lifestyle that came with it.
“You just have to get to a place where you don’t need it anymore, where you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
It was Easter 1982 when Quaye turned his life around, after going to church with a friend of his.
“He was a fellow musician. We’re the same age, we’re in the same line of work, but he wasn’t crazy and doing drugs like everybody else in the business,” Quaye recalls adding. “I thought to myself, this guy has gotten a hold of something, and whatever it is, I want it.”
He says the quality he was looking for was peace. Quaye did not go to rehab instead, found that peace through the church and his music.
Now, Quaye is very involved in the church. He is a pastor and travels the world as a self proclaimed “musicianary.” This weekend he is working with a number of young people at a guitar camp in Wetaskiwin. He hopes to teach and inspire them through music.
One of the youths he hopes to inspire is 14 year old Shane Bernard. He has been playing the guitar for three years and is excited to learn from a music legend.
“It just feels really great that professionals like them would like to come out and teach us.”
Inspiring the next generation to play their music without giving in to a life of drugs is something Quaye says is extremely important to him.
“They don’t have to get into all of that. They can play their music with a clear mind and be as creative as they want to be with the intention of blessing people. That to me is a win-win situation.” Quaye says adding, “The creative gift, whether it’s music, fine art, whatever it is, was given to help motivate people to look up in hope instead of looking down in despair.”
The camp also features the guitarist who laid down the tracks for the video game Guitar Hero and the lead guitarist from Skillet.
With files from Quinn Ohler.
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