what made you want to play?

[Goport]

I remember being a teenager and seeing a black and white rerun of Jimi Hendrix live at Blackpool. Stunning - he pulled out all the stops and played guitar with his teeth and behind his back, between his legs etc. all the Hendrix tricks - but it looks really sexy and fun. Very few people made that much of an impact on me.

Secondly it was the clash - in 1978 I was 11 going on 12 and used to elope to London to see the clash. the punk scene was supposed to be dead but I wasn't interested in punk - just the Clash. they were an amazing spectacle (worth getting grounded for - which I did on many occasions). In fact it was only the last time I saw them that my parents thought I was old enough to go - I had seen them 14 times until that point. each time I lied to my folks and told them I was staying at a friends house or something. at least 6 times we were reported missing and the police were out in force looking for 2 pasty faced boys returning from london. Funny thing was - some of the biggest names in punk looked after us at the gigs. Glen Matlock got us into one gig. Shane McGowan bought me my first pint (I was 12 lol), a band called 999 tooks us home one night. for such a volitile time we were treated pretty good.

Also seeing Elvis Costello live in 1978 with my dad. The attractions were held at the airport but Elvis flew in by helicopter and did a solo set for 40 minutes until the rest of the band showed up. the guy is a genius and even then shocked me as a really intense performer (even unaccompanied).

And the Jam!! they were fantastic! I saw them in Brighton in 1980 ish and they blew me away - I wasn't even a fan but they were inspirational!

what made you guys want to buy a guitar etc...

[wahwah]

Hearing 'Billion Dollar Babies' got me interested but it was finally hearing Be Bop Deluxe' 'Modern Music' and Bill Nelson's amazing one-off style that made me really want to play.

[DannyBoy]

my first real interest in music was when i was about 7 and my dad lent a Michael Jackson CD from a friendly neighbour . he put all the tracks on to Tape and i just remember i loved it . for the longest time Jacko was "The man" in my eyes (and ears) . When i hit my teens my attitude changed a bit and i wanted something a bit heavier ( i think most young people go through this). when i was about 12 - 13 i heard Voodoo Child on an Advert on TV . my dad told me who it was , and he went out and bought Experience hendrix , 20 tracks of some of his finest tunes . It blew me away and from that moment on i had to have a guitar.

mind you , although i always knew i wanted to be good at guitar . it wasnt until a year later when i got my first electric that i really started to take it seriously and work hard at it . I remember praying to God asking if he would please give me the gift to be able to play Voodoo Child . and damnit he still hasnt got back to me on that . nobody can play it quite as well as Jimi himself ... he was so passionate and fiery in his playing . so much of himself went into it . we can all learn the notes but we cant play the notes the way he did .

but it was the initial hearing of Voodoo Child that did it for me . the next milestone was For The Love Of God ... which actually took about 10 listens before i truly "got it" . havent looked back since .

[Dutch]

criss oliva live at dynamo open air . end 80ties i think



when i heared what he could do with a guitar on that stage i decided i wanted to play , that was so cool , he had a wall of sound and his whammy dives make me want to be a rockstar at that moment lol.
the tune hall of the mountain king and the intro for that song did it for me
i had to get the money and buy a guitar


bought a shitty electric and a shitty amp
couldnt play like criss tho , couldnt play at all in fact hahaha

i tried too noodle a bit over the years and then didnt touch the guitar for a year or so picked it up for a week and left it again lol

i got kinda serious 4 years ago and since then i never have put the guitar down for longer as a few days

[DREW-OU812]

Wow, my story is really lame compared to the others. I loved Raffi when I was real small. So I always wanted a guitar like Raffi did. I never actually got real guitars but my parents got me a little junky acoustic when I was like 5 from some toy store. I never learned to really play it. Then when I was in 6th grade I got a Fender Stratocaster for Christmas. At first I didn't take it seriously and just kind of blew off my lessons and didn't practice too much. Then my teacher lent me a bunch of cd's to try and turn me around. The cd's were stuff like Jason Becker - Perpetual Burn, Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force, Steve Vai - Alien Love Secrets, Joe Stump, Dream Theater - Images and Words, etc. I put off listening to them for a few months and then I really got into it. Alien Love Secrets really stuck out for me and I went out and bought "The Seventh Song" which is a compilation cd of the 7th track off of all of Steve Vai's cds. Then I got serious.

[cormack]

my dad had a spare one laying around

[bluesplayer]

I think i must of been around 7 at the time but i remember it was one of those hot Sunday summer days , and i was walking home with friends after a long day in the park mucking around . anyway we walked past this house which had its windows open and i could hear Hank Marvin doing Apache . swear down even then it came acrross like heavy metal to me . The sound was unreal , i sat on the grass listening . Years later i swapped a 5 inch flick knife for a scratched copy . That was the song that launched me anyway .

[pranav]

the first time i heard summer song i was 11.bout an acoustic but didnt practice (believe me i couldnt play a chord.then i got into it serously when i was 12 when i heard stairway to heaven.no looking back since that day only forward.just love the guitar cause it is the most expressive instrument ive heard

[Goport]

Originally Posted by bluesplayer

Years later i swapped a 5 inch flick knife for a scratched copy.

Note to self - Never upset Bluesplayer!!!

[Dutch]

hahaha