What made you pick it up? .....

[Streetcleaner]

I'm not talking about eating utensils, you Idiots ....lol....well, maybe for some of you.No, what I'm talking is what made you pick up the guitar and start to play and then to, like there was a fire in you're belly(like when it's a beautiful sunny summer day and you blow off going to the pool or park or whatever with your friends ,because you're in your room hunkered over your instrument learning a song or writing one....for hours and hours and......)okay you get it,that's fire !! .Now before you stop reading, this isn't just for guitar players...Bass players,drummers,singers any genre of music...even country and ............I guess rap...that hurt me to say but I have to be fair.......ehh? Now.if you ever see my posts in" what are you listening to" I do have a wide variety but tend to always fall back to heavy,it's the feel and attitude and aggresion.....I always gravitated towards the heavier songs by bands like Zep,the Who,really even the Beatles to an extent....Hendrix, But I learned from the classics first(a very wide variety of classic rock bands)....and the first heavy metal band before there was a name for it...Black Sabbath.I always loved music from a small age because of my older brother and sister always listening to music ,music was always a big part of my family growing up and still is today with the ones around me,my 2 sons and my Ex. ....Anyway...I digress,I started late by most standards (17) I was too involved with sports,then all things changed....the first event was my junior year of high school.My really good friend and fellow music lover had this huge boat of a car,I think it was a Delta 88 or something, big trunk and back seat, great for parties and drive-ins and general cruising....lol A fucking gas guzzler, we called  MOBY DICK !! . It was a Sat. night and "The song remains the same" was playing at the theater.So we threw a cooler in the trunk with cheap beer...haha, is there anything else in high school? grabbed the Bud(herb) and off we went.By the time we got there we were ...well,in the perfect state.

That movie changed my life !! I was in awe !! totally blown away !! Jimmy Page was a God to me !! next was me and the same friend ,over at his house listening to "Live at Leeds" by the Who, the rawness, the growling distorted tones Pete Townsend was getting and John Entwhistle.Mr.Moon and Roger ....I had to start playing !! So another friend of mine ,who was a year younger than me but who was a fucking awesome guitar player...name drop time : Todd Haggeman who now lives in Chicago as far as I know.....

a Beatles freak I might add had a very nice Gretch Country gentleman ...showed me the Minor pentatonic scale and that moving chord in Yes's Starship trooper "The Wurm" and that was it !! I took that scale and with help from him and others, started learning or figuring out Beatles,Stones,Zep,Who etc..I know we have a few guitar players out there that I know of...Stormcrow,Mike_B,Mr.Crowe,Demonio,and I saw some others with guitars in their profile pic and I'm sure there are more out there,including other musicians .So,what got you started?

note : I would also like to thank a very special person, who shall remain nameless ,they know who they are(see how I said they...)Who basically inspired me to pick up the guitar again,after not touching one for almost 11 years !! because of marriage,kids,other responsibilities etc....to many sorry ass excuses. Now I am writing again and recording etc... with a passion ,So thank you....You.  \m/

Looking forward to some stories

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Streetcleaner]

not one person has a story?...that is sad and why I rarely make posts or let people in with a personal story of my own.

Hell, even posts about map rotation gets more comments...no love lost, just disappointed that's all,thought there might have been some good stories and insights....I was wrong.

[WldPenguin]

@Streetcleaner, I tagged you in my music video post, saying that I would be responding soon.....busy weekend, probably for many of us.......so be patient.  I'm sure the stories will come out.   

[BUDMAN]

hey buddy !FU... lol

[RobMc]

2 hours ago, Streetcleaner said:

not one person has a story?...that is sad and why I rarely make posts or let people in with a personal story of my own.

Hell, even posts about map rotation gets more comments...no love lost, just disappointed that's all,thought there might have been some good stories and insights....I was wrong.

Hey buddy, don't be sad if you want a story about guitars I'll pluck one out of thin air for you, no strings attached, it may strike a chord.

It was in the early sixties when I taught Jimmy P..e to play, up till that point he had only played with his organ which was making him cross eyed, I saw the effects of gripping it too hard and demonstrated softer strokes with my sister, who later became my first wife and my fourth. We toured Europe together in an old transit van, our first gigs were a disaster, Jimmy was distraught at getting no applause, but later that night my sister gave him the clap. It was on his first visit to the std clinic that our lives changed forever, he fell in love with the doctor giving him an injection, later she gave him another dose, all jobs have perks.

We met two lads called Robert and John who had the thing our band needed most - petrol, Robert also knew another boy called John who he had been introduced to by his bird at a yard sale (get it?) and we decided to go on tour. Now I didn't understand the rock world , I booked a bus to take us to the Trossachs, Loch Lomond and Ben Nevis, the others looked slightly shocked, I was a wild one in those days man but got the idea I was wrong when we played to two Highland cattle on our first gig on the tour. At this point they booted me out of the band, which was lucky as afterwards I had a successful career in the Navy, as the saying goes when one door closes another door opens, I was shit in submarines though.

I've often wondered what happened to those lads?, they're probably bricklaying or scaffolders now, they'd be jealous of my career I bet, sorry part was I still can't play the guitar.

[Streetcleaner]

good story Rob. TY !   .....  NOW PISS OFF YA WANKER !

[7Toes]

she said 5 dolla love you long long time

[bds1961]

 

Tried but couldn’t play worth crap.  So instead I built my son who plays great a custom electric.  Building it became the obsession with better ideas for the next one 

[WldPenguin]

Ok, so mine story starts when I was 10.........but even before that, I LOVED music, and singing.  Every year, my mother was in our church musical - anything from South Pacific to Guys 'n Dolls to Fiddler on the Roof.  My sister and I would learn all of the songs since my mom played the album at home to learn her parts, and we'd end up putting on a show each time because our living room entry way looked like a stage opening  

But what I got for Christmas that year, started my "career"  as a piano player, as well as a singer.  As pictured below, that electronic organ was the coolest thing to me ever (well, at least at 10 years old it was  ).

I learned every song in those music books, and my mom was always buying me more and more books, until there weren't any left.  So that is when I started to learn to play by ear other songs that weren't in the books.  She ended up signing me up for piano lessons, and we went out and bought a beautiful piano.  I practiced A LOT!  I ended up joining the youth choir when I was 12 or 13, and not only sang in the choir, but became the accompanist as well.  Not sure how I did it back then, because when I was older, I ended up being very nervous in front of a crowd......until..........

Fast forward about 20-25 years......now I'd been singing in choirs throughout high school and then church choir, where there weren't enough tenors so my sister and I both sang with the guys, having lower voices than even some of them lol.  I also became involved with the church musicals, but was more often behind the scenes being a stagehand or prop manager than out in front of the audience performing.  That's the time period when I was shy & nervous to be on stage instead of behind it.  

But I LOVED music - all kinds, but rock and metal really excited me.  Music for me is life - without it I think I would be lost.  I love that a song can bring me back to a place where I can vividly recall the memory associated with it, or it can help ease the pain of something bad.  I still can get lost for several hours in all kinds of songs that take me back, or that I need to hear the lyrics to, to get past whatever it is that I'm facing at the time that might not be so great.

So, how did I get over this nervous thing?  Well, when I was married, my brother-in-law was in a rock band, and we'd go listen to the band play all the time.  I REALLY wanted to sing with them SO BAD, but I was too scared, of course.  I knew the harmony to most of the songs, and I'd sing along quietly from my seat in the crowd.  One night, I'd had a few beers, and my brother-in-law was trying to get me to come up and sing.  I kept shaking my head "no".  Finally, on a song he only needed to sing and not play guitar or keyboards, he motioned for me to meet him toward the back of the bar.  He had his mic in his hand, and before I could ask him what he was up to, the next song started playing.......a favorite of mine - Shine, by Collective Soul.  

I knew that song inside and out, and was pretty excited to hear the opening chords.  I don't exactly know what came over me at that moment - maybe it was the beer, maybe it was adrenaline - but I grabbed the mic from my brother-in-law, and began singing harmony against the lead singer's amazing voice.  I made it through the entire song, and no one knew that it was me singing from the back of the bar.  After the song ended, the lead singer was like, "WOW!  Larry! You actually hit every note dead on tonight, what happened?"  And that's when he grabbed the mic and said, "Because it wasn't me singing, it was Jen!"  

And that's how it all started for me.....singing in a rock band with the boys, Saturday night gigs for quite a long time.  It was so much fun, and it was a huge high to sing in front of a crowd.  Go figure, after all those years of nervousness, that I'd actually almost crave it.  But it happened........

That lead singer and I had some really tight harmonies, and we had such a good time trying out new stuff.  I even had acquired some groupies at one point, mostly the wives and girlfriends of the other members, and lots of friends and family that would come out to listen.  The second pic is of me right before a gig one Saturday night.  I couldn't find much else.  Probably on a different phone lol.  LOVED every minute of it.  Until.......the divorce.  Once my ex-husband and I got divorced, the band was no longer an option for me, since my brother-in-law was in it.  I still am in contact with the lead singer, since he's been a tax client for years and still is, and we often reminisce about all of those awesome weekends playing out.  They still play out almost every weekend, but I don't feel I can sneak in there and have a listen, even for just a few minutes.  When my ex passed away, it didn't fare too well between his brother and me, so I'm thinking that I would not be a welcome face in the crowd at this point, at least not by him.

I hadn't really sung in quite awhile, until recently, also by the encouragement of someone who I'd like to thank profusely, gently nudged me to take it up again, and I've been getting more serious about it now.  Who knows where it will take me - I'd love to be back in a band again - but for now, I am enjoying my daily "sessions" at my pc, with my mic and my headset, finding some of the awesome music I love to sing, and just letting it all out lol.  

Perhaps at some point, we could have a big XI "jam session"........there's actually a teamspeak channel already set up for such a purpose.  I bet there are some really talented musicians in this bunch of idiots, just waiting to be heard.  

 

[J3st3r]

  @WldPenguin   I used to play piano and sing. I took lessons for both but my piano instructor said that I should considerate on singing because I wasn't much of a pianist. What a kick in the nuts that was for a 9 year old eh? I knew I was a good singer. Name a Irish Catholic choir boy that didn't have a good singing voice lol.    I still sing a bit when no one is around. You should hear me in the shower.

Edited September 3, 2019 by J3st3r

[Streetcleaner]

First ,I would like to thank ROB for his story of adventure as a .....I don't know?what the hell were you?....lol

and to @bds196 ,that is a nice looking guitar the wood grain looks really cool.

Jester too, for his shower singing but that was pretty cold of a music teacher to tell you this when you were still so young...what an ass.

and thank you WP for your story, it was nice to see someone else letting us in ...it takes a lot to open oneself up and tell some personal things about ourselves, so thank you and it was a good story too and it's good you found the passion again like I did.Keep on singing !!

Hopefully we can get some more musicians in here to tell their story......hhmmmm

You don't have to be a musician to have a passion for music like WP said, how music has always played a big part of her life and how songs can affect you,or bring you back to a certain time in your life or how it can lift you up or turn you around or make you cry or laugh or sing along....I know a lot of the people that post in "what are you listening to"have a passion for music and it plays a big role in their lives as well.I don't think I could live without music or even what I would do without it..... Rock is dead they say....LONG LIVE ROCK !! .... AND MUSIC !!

Edited September 3, 2019 by Streetcleaner

[RobMc]

Love the picture of WP playing piano with the Barbie doll box in background, can't think she plays with it now - but I imagine J3st3r still plays with his?? You should hear me in the shower he says, what? he only sings once a year at Christmas ????

 

Edited September 4, 2019 by RobMc

[AyaqGuyaq]

27 minutes ago, RobMc said:

Love the picture of WP playing piano with the Barbie doll box in background, can't think she plays with it now - but I imagine J3st3r still plays with his?? You should hear me in the shower he says, what? he only sings once a year at Christmas ????

 

Crazy bastige . . .

Love you in a, you know . . .

Ayaq

[WldPenguin]

@RobMc, the Barbie stuff actually belonged to my younger sister lol. I asked for things like microscopes and books and musical instruments while my siblings wanted dolls and toy guns

 

[MikeB]

I started in HS just because I have always loved music.  I remember from age 4 and on, every grocery trip or shopping trip, my mom or my grandparents would let me get a record.  Well a record or a Hot Wheel (my choice).  Anyway at 14 I got a Fender Music Man electric and a Fender Champ.  Never looked back.    Yes during the late 80's and 90's I sort of hung it up (raising a family).  But in the past 12 years I have started in again.  Playing and recording both other bands and my own shit.  Fun stuff.  But as with anything life gets in the way from time to time.    But the main reason picking it up at 14 was getting chics !!!!  And it worked !!!!

[StormCrow]

Alrighty, here goes!!
 

I was 17, serving 12 months in a youth detention  center here in Canada. At night I would hear one of the councilors/guards playing guitar after us youths/inmates went to bed. I knew my folks had an old guitar kicking around at home. This was an "open custody" style detention center. Meaning dorms, open doors, you could walk out at any time, but, if ya did, you went to maximum security, so, ya didnt want to screw up! I asked the guard if he would teach me to play, he said if I went 2 weeks with no infractions he would put in a request to allow me to bring in a guitar. I did it and he kept up his end. He started to teach me the basics and I caught on fast, within a month he was teaching me short classical finger picking pieces, Intro to Dust In The Wind, Intro to Stairway, Bouree in E minor, 316 by Eddie V. He saw something in me and made me see something in myself. When i got out of custody I kept playing and practicing for a year or so then life took over, responsibilities, kids, work. I didnt play guitar for about 15 years. Then my Father won a Walking Dead custom electric guitar in an online contest and gave it to me, I bought a small amp and started goofing around. Then along came this rock band from Canada called Monster Truck. I wanted sooo bad to learn their songs and would spend hours pouring over youtube videos and such to figure out the riffs (i am mostly tone deaf, figuring stuff out on my own by ear is near impossible for me, I need Tab or 1 on 1  instruction) I started learning more and more of their tunes and became friends with the band on a personal level. The boys in the band even had me up on stage to play a song with them a year or so ago after I lost over 140 lbs of fat to fit into their clothing and merch! Now I get to go hang out with the band nearly weekly, get to hear and watch them record and create new songs for the upcoming albums and get to pick the lead guitarists brain about his riffs and his mastery of the D penatonic scale!

[Streetcleaner]

That was a great story Stormcrow !! I'm glad you shared that with us and to be close to those guys and see it from their perspective and jam with them is so cool !

Keep on jammin' !! like I really need to tell you this.......

It seems to be the prevailing story that we all took a long time away but somehow through fate,someone or just falling back into it none the less. It's like a part of me and when I started playing again, that part of me came back and filled a void I didn't know I still had...so thank you again, to that someone who shone the light on the path I needed to take, to get that part of me back.

\m/