|
| At age 6 Gene showed enough interest and patience to learn the intro's to "Johnny B. Goode" and "Secret Agent Man" but didn't play again until he was 13 years old. He became involved with a local church youth group (Fire Power) and started playing guitar in their Praise and Worship band called "Heavy Rain". This all took place just months before his very first competition ( The National Fine Arts Festival ). He found out about the Fine Arts Festival in October, however the first round of the competition was to be held in either late February or early March, not really giving him the time needed to learn the guitar well enough. His father asked Gene if he was serious about entering the competition and Gene said yes. His father then told Gene that if he wanted to enter, it would take a lot of work, learning new techniques, phrasing, right hand exercises, mastering vibrato and how to play with feeling! Gene said he was up for the task , so that October Gene's father made him start practicing four hours a day . March 2003 Gene played like a seasoned pro and the judges were excited at this new talent and they invited him to the Finals to be held at the Washington D.C. Convention Centre. The judges gave Gene ratings of Excellent and Superior and awarded him a medal for his performance! This gave Gene the drive to practice on his own. Over these past five years Gene has grown to appreciate different kinds of music and expresses these influences in his own writing and playing. |
 |
| |
Gene Coppage III (left) and Aaron Collins (right) enjoying one of many afternoon recording and jamm sessions in 2004
|
|
