Who is Gus? and other things...

Hello, 

Emily Quisenberry here 

:)

Gus is my guitar.
He is named after one of my favorite animated characters: GusGus from Disney's Cinderella. 


And how did I come across Gus? It all started with necessity. You see, I've been song-writing since I was a little kid. I started piano lessons at 5 and have been playing nearly 20 years now. Piano is where I am "fluent" in music you could say, and is very natural for me. I just love to spend hours at my piano bench, practicing Chopin, writing music, singing, etc.  


Now, my original reason for wanting to learn guitar might seem a bit silly to you, but it was to learn because I am somewhat of an insomniac and seem to come up with song-writing ideas late at night. Living in a college dorm and surrounded with sleepy or studying students was not exactly the easiest (or courteous)  environment to write on the piano at two in the morning. Of course, my school provided several pianos and keyboards for student usage, but access was limited to midnight (except of course when I made friends with the security guards who liked hearing me practice/write...ehem, ehem). Even so, my music writing suffered and I would lose idea after idea late at night. I knew I needed something quiet enough to hold me over until I had piano access again. Hence, Gus.

My 20th birthday I was surprised by friends and family who pitched in to send me to Guitar Center to buy my first guitar. Shocked and so excited by their generous surprise, I enthusiastically went to the store to pick one out. After trying out several different models I finally decided on Gus. 

It's been a little over three years I've had Gus now. I've had excellent, world-class teachers who have helped me navigate my skills (very raw by the way) to better write songs for guitar. (Dave Clark and Caleb Quaye to name a couple). They are both great influences and encouragement of my writing style. Learning from such talent is both humbling and motivating at the same time. 

So, what exactly will you find in Gus and Me? Short videos or recordings of songs I've written on the guitar. Some with lyrics, some without lyrics...maybe even some covers. Eventually I'd like to start selling my originals and/or compilations.

And my reasons for starting this blog? Well, here's a few: 

1. I am always looking for ways to improve my playing/writing

2. People keep asking me for my YouTube channel and I'm not a movie maker ;)

3. Blogging gives me the opportunity to both sell you music and give you a background on songs and why I write them. 

4. It's a great way to promote other friends who are trying to make it in the music industry.

My goal? 

Eventually turn Gus and Me into a fund-raising blog for non-government, non-profit organizations my husband and I believe in and work with. 

So...hopefully you are blessed by this blog. I plan on posting one song every two weeks to start with. :) 

Until next time- 

Emily