Dustin Blatnik was born and raised in Tacoma WA… the home of blues legend Robert Cray, and sister city to Seattle, hometown of the Greatest Guitarist ever – Jimi Hendrix.
Spending most of his childhood in Spanaway WA, Dustin was extremely involved in sports, school leadership, and what he is most known for – Music. Friends of Dustin recall the countless movie nights where Dustin would attend, with Fender Stratocaster in hand, to hang out and watch the latest flick – while simultaneously working out his newest guitar riff. "It was like he couldn't go anywhere without it," says an old friend of Dustin. But that…was just the beginning.
The Tradition Begins:
Dustin wasn't the first to hold a guitar in his family. His grandfather (John Blatnik II), who died of a heart attack when Dustin was only one year old, purchased the family's first guitar around 1961 (a 1959 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster – for $150!!!)
While John Blatnik and his wife Patricia didn't even have a couch in their house at that time, they had a beautiful upright piano and that (now vintage) '59 strat. Close friends and family remember comments like, "You might not have anywhere to sit down when you go over to the Blatnik's house, but you'll be entertained." Similar to Dustin, John was well known for playing the guitar whenever the opportunity would arise – including the bathroom! "I remember John playing a lot of 'cowboy' music on the guitar," says Patricia Blatnik with a laugh. While she never really liked that kind of music at the time, after John's early death in April 1981 she realized how much she missed the sound of him playing that old guitar. John may not have known it at the time, but that guitar was the start of a great tradition for the Blatnik family.
Dustin's Dad:
Dustin's father, John Blatnik III, began playing guitar in Elementary School. John describes his first guitar teacher as "your typical 60's looking, beatnik kinda guy, who focused more on smoking his cigarette than actually teaching the guitar." Nevertheless, John was inspired by the music of the Beatles and eagerly hoped to learn their songs. He remembers his first performance at an Elementary show-and-tell around the 5th or 6th grade. Although John's interest in guitar faded throughout the remainder of his school years, his musical passion and desire to play songs on the guitar were later rekindled… John recalls it like this; "A friend of a friend came over to my parents house during the summer following our first year of college. We were just hanging out and he saw my dad's guitar. He asked if it was okay to play it so we plugged it in. The guy wasn't great but did play a couple Led Zeppelin tunes and really inspired me to play guitar again. So, I made a goal – that after completing the Coast Guard boot-camp I would purchase my first, very own, acoustic guitar." It was a beautiful Takamini acoustic that John often used to jam with his friends on the ships. With his guitar in hand, John was known among the guys on the ship as "Captain Blatnik" (even the ship's Captain would get a kick out of calling him that). Following one of the many talent performances on the ship, John recalls one of the Commanders grabbing him by the shoulder and telling him, "I could listen to you play all day long." – clearly one of John's favorite memories from those days. Nevertheless…somehow…as the years progressed, John became more involved in his career working with technology, leaving little time for playing the guitar.
Music at a Young Age:
Although playing the guitar professionally was not a desire of John's, it didn't prevent him from keeping the acoustic guitar close by throughout Dustin's early childhood. There are quite a few pictures of Dustin at a very young age with that guitar in hand…prophetic at the very least!
Dustin remembers a few occasions when his Dad would make playing the guitar a part of the bedtime routine – specifically singing the song "Puff the Magic Dragon" (a childhood favorite song of Dustin's). "It seemed like I had a million favorite songs when I was just a little kid, I remember those times as if they were yesterday... my Mom singing me lullabies until I'd fall asleep, songs like: 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' and 'Tura Lura Lura'... those memories are priceless -- I don't think I'll ever hear a voice as beautiful as her voice. I love you Mom."
The gift of music was strong in Dustin's family, and at a young age Dustin was exposed to the music of: America, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Blue Oyster Cult, Kansas, Steely Dan, Def Leppard and much more. Dustin remembers watching his Dad occasionally pull the '59 strat out of the closet – plugging in the orange colored Earth Amp and jamming to whatever was on the radio. "I never really got to play the '59 that much, being as it was such a valuable guitar and all…but I sure enjoyed watching and listening to my Dad play it. I remember thinking to myself – how does he play all of these songs on the radio by ear? It was quite an inspirational experience for me, and I often dreamed one day of doing the same thing."
Fast-forward a few years... to Christmas 1989:
It was snowing that Christmas Eve in Tacoma, as John & Marissa Blatnik drove their family across town to the annual Christmas celebration at Dustin's Great-Grandma Rosa's house in Lakewood. "I remember us listening to the radio on the way to her house, all of us singing Christmas songs together -- looking at the pretty lights on all of the homes in the neighborhood. Then, all of a sudden, the radio announcer came on the air to tell a brief story of how a young boy he new received a guitar for Christmas. I remember my Mom and Dad turning to look at each other in the front seat... as I sat there in the back seat with my sister, both of us thinking how 'cool that'd be' to get a guitar for Christmas.
Eventually, we arrived to Great-Grandma's -- the chaos-like gift exchanged began -- and all the presents had been opened from under the tree. Just about then, my parents said that my Grandma (Patricia Blatnik) had one more gift for me in the other room. I got up off the couch and followed her into the room. As I walked in, I saw the guitar sitting there... I instantly recalled the story on the radio... my jaw dropped for about an entire minute... I could not believe that I was that lucky boy I heard about on the radio -- CRAZY!!! As the night went on, I watched my dad play the guitar, excited that I too one day would be able to play that guitar.
What next?
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To be continued… in the coming months we will be adding stories about my first few guitar lessons, recitals, Jr high, high school, college. and about my professional career as a musician and songwriter... this story just keeps going :-) ...if you have read this far, check out http://www.YouTube.com/DustinBlatnik to see some of the story unfold first hand.
