Jamie muses that unseen forces shape the direction of one’s life. He recalls the television variety show Hootenanny, which Conrad used to watch with his best friend, Ronnie Paquette. One night, Ronnie’s grandfather, called Hector the Barber, criticized the musicians on the show for being too young to properly play blues music. He brought down his own Silvertone guitar and played “My Mama Don’t Allow Me” by American Musician Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup. Everyone was rapt until Hector snapped a guitar string. Ronnie retrieved the guitar and learned to restring it. He and Conrad started a folk music duo called Con and Ron, though Conrad eventually lost interest in music in favor of athletics.

In 1969, 13-year-old Jamie develops a crush on the new girl in town, Astrid Soderberg. He picks up Conrad’s abandoned Gibson guitar one afternoon and is surprised by his natural talent for music. He supposes that he could get good enough at playing guitar to impress Astrid. When Jamie starts high school, he is approached by a senior student named Norm Irving, who invites him to audition for his band. Impressed, Norm introduces Jamie to Kenny Laughlin and Paul Bouchard, his bandmates in Chrome Roses.