For more than three decades, Scott Paris was a fixture of Northeast Ohio鈥檚 live music scene, performing up to 200 shows a year in bars, clubs, casinos and festivals.
Now, the longtime Canton-based musician is reflecting on his career in a new book, 鈥淎 Guitar Called Harry V and the Cover Band Conundrum,鈥� a memoir told through journal entries chronicling his life with one special guitar.
鈥淭his was never meant to be autobiographical. It really is the story of a boy and a guitar,鈥� Paris wrote in the book鈥檚 opening lines.
The guitar at the heart of the story is a Fender Acoustasonic Telecaster, which Paris purchased in January 2024 and called 鈥渕y sword in the stone, my one ring to rule them all.鈥�
鈥淥n a Friday night, I might be solo acoustic at a little bar, and then Saturday, I might have to do a big rock performance with a band at a festival or a casino,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or years, there was never one guitar that you could just take everywhere.鈥�
That cherry-red and wood-accented guitar became an important part of where Paris decided to head in his career.
鈥淎 guitar鈥檚 a tool for me, the way your car is a tool for you. It gets you somewhere,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 found it, and I thought, 鈥極K, I鈥檓 keeping this for a while.鈥欌��
Naming his collection of stories
Paris named the guitar 鈥淗arry V鈥� after a chance encounter with actor Alan Tudyk at a fan expo in Cleveland.
A self-proclaimed nerd and sci-fi lover, Paris used to tour with the now-defunct Wizard World Comic Con, performing as part of its traveling house band.
When he met Tudyk, who played Harry Vanderspeigle on the TV show 鈥淩esident Alien,鈥� Paris asked him to autograph the guitar, right above the 鈥淩esident Alien鈥� sticker plastered to the back.
He signed both his real name and his character鈥檚 name on the instrument. Paris said he had never nicknamed a guitar before, but at that moment, he christened his 鈥淗arry V.鈥�
鈥淣ow it鈥檚 got a personality and a persona,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd then I ran with that.鈥�
Paris鈥� book captures a full year of gigging with Harry V by his side in 2024.
鈥淎 guitar鈥檚 a tool for me, the way your car is a tool for you. It gets you somewhere."Scott Paris
He and his bandmates wanted an excuse to see each other more outside of playing music, so they started a podcast where they shared stories from decades of gigging together.
Paris changed storytelling formats as the podcast began to wind down and started journaling about his guitar, gradually filling up notebooks until he had enough material to bind it all together.
鈥淓very time you see a date, I wrote that entry that day,鈥� he said.
Whether it was a winery, a festival, or a water park, Paris documented the load-ins, the crowds, the anxiety 鈥� and the gear malfunctions.
鈥淚 tried to keep putting my perspective as talking to someone who doesn鈥檛 play,鈥� he said. 鈥淟ike if you鈥檙e not a musician, you don鈥檛 know that I have to load my gear in through the kitchen of the place, or I have to take an elevator two flights up and then load it through all these hallways you鈥檒l never see.鈥�
The resulting story is a behind-the-scenes look into the life of a working musician, hustling from one gig to the next, not moving to Nashville, New York or Los Angeles to break into the business and become a celebrity, but amassing a loyal fanbase closer to home.
鈥淚鈥檝e put out lots of original music, played to empty venues because it was original and no one knew what it was, so no one showed up,鈥� Paris said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檇 done nights where I played top-20 certified hit songs all night because I learned them.鈥�
That balancing act between original artistry and commercial cover gigs is what Paris calls the 鈥渃over band conundrum.鈥�
He and his band, The Imaginary Cookies, formed two decades ago when Paris realized playing cover songs could provide financial stability.
鈥淲e used to sneer at cover bands. And then, you know, I got married and we started to have kids. Bills got very real,鈥� Paris said.
He said playing cover songs allowed him to fund his creative endeavors.
Paris said writing about 鈥渢he cover band conundrum鈥� and his adventures with his trusted guitar will be of interest to casual music fans, other musicians or those who like to peek behind the curtain for more about the life of an artist.
鈥漌hen we share these stories, it鈥檚 like the old guys at McDonald鈥檚 at nine in the morning talking about Vietnam," he said. 鈥淵ou connect with other people who鈥檝e seen the things you鈥檝e seen.鈥�
Playing for fun
As 2024 came to a close, Paris found himself facing a turning point. With no gigs booked for 2025 and a growing sense of burnout, he decided to step back from performing.
鈥淚 really did kind of go through, I don鈥檛 know if you call it a 鈥榤idlife crisis,鈥� but like a kind of like an 鈥極h my God, what am I doing? I sing in bars for a living,鈥欌�� he said.
Thinking about how his 鈥渂ig break鈥� hadn鈥檛 come and playing gig after gig wasn鈥檛 sustainable long-term, Paris landed a non-music day job to support his family.
He now performs only occasionally, when it feels right. But he has no regrets.
In the final pages of his story collection, Paris wrote a poignant message to his children:
鈥淛ust fall in love with something, anything. And if it sucks, give that up and try something different. And don鈥檛 let anybody tell you that you have to have your life put together.鈥�
More than a farewell, 鈥淎 Guitar Called Harry V and the Cover Band Conundrum鈥� is a love letter to the life of an independent musician, filled with the raw highs and lows of an artist who never quite 鈥渕ade it,鈥� but still made his music matter.
