Doug Clark: Happy to loan guitar to out-of-towner for Street Music Week

Guitarless in Coeur d’Alene.

That’s the tragic situation Chris DeClerk found himself in the other night.

The longtime picker and songwriter from Little Rock, Arkansas, had come to the Lake City to attend a business conference and decided to leave his six-string back home.

But then he went online and discovered it was Street Music Week, the second year for Coeur d’Alene, the 13th annual for Spokane.

There was only one thing to do.

The 39-year-old found my email address and sent the following call for help.

Would it be “OK to borrow a guitar? Is that something that is allowed?”

On Tuesday morning I pulled outside the hotel where DeClerk was staying.

The guitar crisis was over.

I loaned DeClerk my beloved old street music warhorse, an Alvarez Yairi that bears the autographs of Charlie Ryan, the Spokane guy who gave the world “Hot Rod Lincoln,” and Allman Brothers guitar ace Warren Haynes.

A few hours later, DeClerk was strumming away on the sidewalk near Hudson’s Hamburgers. He said he performed a mixed set of originals and cover tunes for the lunchtime crowds, collecting donations for the Second Harvest food bank.

“I had a great time, a lot of fun,” said DeClerk. “I don’t know how much money I made, maybe 20 bucks.”

Don’t worry, Chris. It all adds up.

Tuesday, in fact, was the day that Street Music Week officially passed the $100,000 milestone in total donations.

Wow. A thing like that almost deserves a cake.

DeClerk is a likable guy. He said he started playing guitar at age 6, encouraged by a musician father who taught him how to play the blues.

“Being a child of the ’80s I was into anything that rocked,” he said.

Over the years, DeClerk’s musical tastes expanded into “a myriad of different influences” that now include country blues and jam bands like the Grateful Dead and Phish.

Irrigation pays the bills, however. DeClerk works for Delta Plastics, “the leading manufacturer and supplier of irrigation polytube for the agriculture industry,” according to the company website.

When he’s not irrigating, DeClerk plays music and fronts his band, Weakness for Blondes.

I Googled his name and checked out a few of his original songs on ReverbNation. You should do the same. DeClerk has fine guitar chops and a wonderful voice, clean and clear.

The more I listened the prouder I became to have loaned him one of my trusty guitars.

This is another example of why Street Music Week is so much fun.

You just never know who’ll be showing up.

On Wednesday it was Brenda and Steve Beaulieu, founders of Ukestra, Street Music Week’s first all-ukulele group.

The band, I was told, performed such ukulele standards as “Surfin’ USA” and, in honor of yours truly, “Last Train to Clarksville.”

I’m touched more than you know.

Street Music Week continues this week during the noon hours. Today, the great Peter Rivera, former lead singer of Rare Earth, will be singing some of his classic hits like “Get Ready” and “Celebrate.”

As always, Rivera will be set up in downtown Spokane near the Starbucks on Main Avenue, across from Pottery Barn.

And on Friday, I’m excited to announce the Street Music Week debut of the “Three Rivers Saxtette,” a saxophone quartet (plus bass and drums) from the Tri-Cities.

And not only that, but the band is led by my brother, Dave, a fine sax man but failed zucchini farmer.

But that’s a tale for another day.