Music and friends: Guitar club strikes a chord with retirees in St. John's

It's 10 a.m. on Tuesday morning and the St. John's Retired Citizens Club is buzzing.

The place is packed with retirees, their guitars and the sound of G chords strumming.

In it's 14th year, the club's Musical Friends program is more popular than ever with more than 60 enrolled in each session. There's people in their 50sup to their 80s, someplayers who've played music their entire livesand some who've just begun.

It has changed lives, it's done a lot for a lot of people.- Muriel Mills

Muriel Mills started the group when she retired. After taking some private lessons, she just wanted a reason to keep it up.

"So I asked a couple of friends if they would play with me. Then I started getting phone calls like you wouldn't believe," she says.

"It has changed lives, it's done a lot for a lot of people."

There's a house band for each session and members sign up to front the band for half an hour at a time. Everyone elsestrums along.

Art Lawson has been with the band for about 10 years. He spends most of the music sessions tucked into a pedal steel guitar that he made himself.

Like many others, Lawson's playing catch up with music, after putting it on the back burner nearly 50 years ago.

"You go your different ways," Lawson said.

"You get married, you get into business or whatever you're in to and you sort of forget it for a while. When you retire, you look forward to something else. That's what brought us back."

The club also offers beginner guitar classes at five dollarsa lesson. Some beginners are well into their 80s.

Richard Harvey is one of the volunteer teachers. He's happy to help foster talent, especially when it's gone untapped for solong.

It's never too late to pick up a musical instrument we're finding that seniors really adapt quickly.- Richard Harvey

"It's never too late to pick up a musical instrument we're finding that seniors really adapt quickly."

He's watched as many people go from green to gifted.

"They get excited about it when they discover that they can play, and they really take to it."

Yvonne Dillon learned how to play through the group threeyears ago. A few weeks after her first lesson, she wrote her first song.

"Never knew I could do it. So you don't know where your talent lies until you give something a try."

Brenda Garland's guitar was collecting dust in her living room for about 20 years. Until she heard about the club.

"It's just a great club, everyone's so welcoming," Garland said. "There's no bad vibes."

She has no rock star aspirations, but like everyone else, she's just grateful for music and friends.

"Who'd have thought seven years ago I'd be up in front of a crowd playing guitar and singing in front of them?"

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