Ever wanted to play the guitar? I have but, alas, the guitar gods are against me as I fumble through the first 8 bars of Sweet Child O’ Mine at one tenth of the required speed.

So, when I found out that Barbara Gorin, a wonderful musician and great friend of mine, volunteers her time at the local Guitars Not Guns non-profit organisation, I wanted to hear more. After the initial shock of being told I was too old to join, she then sat down with me to talk about the program and how they provide guitars and guitar lessons to the local kids and teens in a bid to show them their potential and build self-esteem.

Barbara grew up in Silver Springs, Maryland and moved to California in 1988. Her father,  Sal Caruso was a musician, playing bass, mandolin and guitar and always had a band of his own while she was growing up. However, he was an old school Sicilian, and back in the 70’s and 80’s there were not a lot of “chick” guitar players, so Barbara’s father never really embraced her love for music.

Her Mother, Dorothy, on the other hand, always encouraged her to practice and play.  When Barbara turned 18 her Father finally realized her love of guitar, and surprised her with a beautiful 12 String Yamaha Guitar which she has to this day.

It wasn’t until a couple of years ago, however that Barbara decided to try her hand at performing and joined Red House Studios, a local music studio here in the East bay. That was a decision that changed her life…

mg:  So, what IS Guitars Not Guns?

bg: Our Mission Statement is “We provide guitars and free lessons to foster kids, at risk youth and other deserving children in a classroom setting with qualified teachers.” No child is turned away for lack of funds.
We are grass roots non-profit organisation and whose founder, Ray Nelson (a long time musician) and his wife Louise, were foster parents themselves. Since it’s Northern Californian beginnings in 2000, it has since spread throughout California, and also to many different states throughout the country.  We recently we began a chapter in Canada, so I guess we are now “International!”

mg:  When did you first become involved and why?

bg: I had never heard of the program until I joined Red House Studios around July 2006. In the September, at the annual Walnut Festival, Red House were showcasing some local bands and had also put together a  benefit CD featuring 12 Bay Area musicians who had each donated a song for the cause. Frank Darling, the California Chapter President and Randall Davis, the VP of Guitars Not Guns were there with a booth and their banner, and they were selling the CD’s. So I walked up to their booth and asked what they were about.  They described the program to me and I instantly became intrigued.  I grabbed a handful of the CD’s and went out into the audience and started asking people to buy the CD to help raise money for the program. It was as simple as that. I then swung by one evening, watched one of the classes and instantly became hooked!

mg:  how do you try to raise awareness and funds?

bg: Actually, we just attended a fundraiser for the Monument Crisis Center, organised by Rick and Jan Martinez. Guitars Not Guns is currently holding an 8-week class for children whose families attend the crisis center for food so when I heard about it, we just had to be a part of it!

We also attend the Delta Blues Festival in Antioch each year where we’ve been fortunate enough to raffle off a great electric guitar each time.

The pièce de résistance however are the two beautiful guitars that we were lucky enough to have donated to us by Gibson and Daisy Rock.  In the very near future I will be organising a couple of fundraisers where we will ask well known local musicians to perform using the guitars themselves. We will then hold a raffle for the signed pieces.  This will not only give us the opportunity to have a great night’s entertainment but it will also allow us to raise funds to be able to buy the guitars for our kids to use.

If anybody wishes to learn more about our program or would like to donate time, money or guitars for our great cause, then please email me (Barbara) at meliketorock@aol.com.  Also, be sure to check out the guitars not guns webiste and also their MySpace page.

mg:  Generally, have the public been supportive of your efforts in trying to help the children?

bg: The support has been amazing. We have had some great support from such companies Dunlop, Deane Markley, Hot Picks, Ernie Ball, Steve Clayton, Stage Ninja, Red House Studios, Daisy Rocks, Hal Leonard, XOX Audio Tools, Guitar Center, Mono Cases, Laballa Guitars.  I met these companies at the NAMM Show in LA and all have donated accessories and guitars.  One of our National sponsors is Gibson which is really cool!

mg:  Have you ever had any negative response?

bg: Well, believe it or not, yes we have!  At a recent fundraiser a guy approached me asking us to change our name.  It turns out that he was an avid gun enthusiast and didn’t seem to understand our concept.  It’s not about guns, it about keeping guns out of kids hands!

mg:  what has been your biggest achievement?

bg: The biggest success is being able to bring music into the lives of children who would not necessarily ever have had the opportunity otherwise.  I feel blessed that I am apart of such a beautiful thing.  Children and music – what a wonderful combination!