Post your story as a musician here

[CanyonCarver]

I'm opening this thread so we can tell our story as a musician.
Wheter you are/were in band, made any money, or just picked up the instrument because you wanted to make noise, tell us about it.
I'm sure there are tons of great stories to be told and to share.

It's all right here, baby! [img]images/smilies/icon_thumb.gif[/img]

[ericgtr]

I started out by playing the drums originally, I played trumpet in jazz band but always wanted to be a drummer and when I was about 15 and my parents bought me a drum kit. One time in jazz band we had a tournament to go to and one of the two drummers we had got sick and I got to play against the other drummer for his part and won. So even though I had no technical training on drums I got to play for the tournament, where we placed 12th out of 13 :wesucked: but it was a good experience.

I then moved over to guitar, playing my mothers accoustic and trying to learn tunes like Panama. Ever since I played both drums and guitar professionally for most of my 20's although I never drank or did drugs so it was pretty hum drum staying up all night in those days. Then I got into computers and here I am [img]images/smilies/smile.gif[/img]

[CanyonCarver]

That's a great story!
Wish you would tell us more about the pro part of playing in the 80s.

My experience is coming up as soon as I'm done typing my novel..

[CanyonCarver]

Here's the story behing me playing the guitar:

I was still living back in Europe in the mid 80's when I met a guy that had just returned from spending a three-year vacation in L.A. He had lots of cool stories to tell about life in Cali, about working just enough to have food money and living rent-free while banging a horny, divorced chick in the Hollywood Hills, who liked him because he looked like Eddie Van Halen (can’t tell you how many chicks this resemblance got him).

He played guitar in a couple of small bands in L.A. before returning to Europe when the money ran out and the INS caught up with him. He wasted no time forming a band that played hard rock, much in the style of Tesla.

The singer was a 16 year-old girl he had met outside a high school while putting up concert flyers. The girl had attitude, moved just like DLR, and had the most amazing set of pipes I had ever heard. (Note: She is a professional sessions singer and performer today, making a very decent living in Europe)

I basically hung out with the band every weekend for rehearsals and served as the band's guitar and drum tech for all of their local gigs (there was nothing but local gigs by the way). I manned the sound console and the lights on several occasions since I knew all of their songs. They were not playing ANY covers—all original material.

The 2 guitarists were very creative and kept bouncing ideas back and forth to write incredibly good songs in a matter of hours during rehearsals.
After they played a set at the house where they rehearsed, I would pick up one of the guitars and noodle with the drummer and learn some licks from the guys. This led me to buying my first guitar (a cheap Vester) and taking a few lessons at the music store. This was the starting point of a devouring passion I have for playing guitar for the sake of playing guitar.

I never was part of that band as a musician—or any other band for that matter—but I learned a lot about playing your own music—what you hear in your head—while hanging with this fun bunch.

Anyways, the three years I spent with my friends were the very best years of my life, and I wish I had realized it back then. The band’s name was Blackswan, and they called it quits in 1994, having never caught the attention of a label (not surprising in Europe, where pop, rap and dance music rule).

Fortunately we all kept in touch. Today the guitarist, bassist and drummer are in the process of writing and recording 13 new tracks as we speak. They are looking for a decent male vocalist but have not been successful yet. Their search goes on, and so does their passion.

As for me, I got much more serious about playing guitar over three years ago and have been taking lessons every week. I practice the shit out of it, and I hope to make the instrument an extension of what I hear in my head. Why? The answer is: Why not? I’m not going to have a musical career— I know it. It doesn’t matter because my learning the guitar is truly about the journey and not the destination.

I hope this rant didn’t come across to you as pompous, self-indulgent or anything like it. I’m just trying to share my experience.

Cheers,


CC.

[Stiglar]

Cool idea for a topic !

this is gonna be weird cause i haven't really had that much of a "story" yet (i'm only 18), but i'll give it a shot !

I began at the age of 9 or 10 i can't remember which but i started taking lessons on the classical guitar , which i didn't really enjoy but kept going anyway .. around the age of 13 i bought an electric guitar (an epiphone les paul which took alot of working and help from the olds !) and used to play all the time ,

these days i'm studying jazz guitar at university and i'm in a small jazz combo which has taught me a bucketload about soloing and scales etc which i've learnt quickly cause .... if you don't know the scales you look like an idiot ! hehe!

i'm also in a covers band and i love van halen possibly my favourite band of all time , i also love dire straits , and my music that i write is a pretty good meld of this ,

that's my story !

[CanyonCarver]

Good story, Stiglar. [img]images/smilies/icon_thumb.gif[/img]
I wish I had started as early as you did and had support from my folks. It probably would have made a world of difference... [img]images/smilies/icon_jam.gif[/img]

[ericgtr]

Stiglar I had no idea you were that young, it's great to hear someone from your generation is into VH! You are a very good guitar player, especially for your age. Thanks for the background dude.

[Stiglar]

Thanks guys !

I was glad i started as i did on the classical guitar .. it really improves your technique and knowdlege of the fretboard ,

i've got a few of my friends into vh but i wouldn't say they are followers !

[CanyonCarver]

[ QUOTE ]
Stiglar said:
Thanks guys !

I was glad i started as i did on the classical guitar .. it really improves your technique and knowdlege of the fretboard ,

i've got a few of my friends into vh but i wouldn't say they are followers !



[/ QUOTE ]

I'm glad you're here to bring the average age down on this board.
Keep up your playing and stick around! [img]images/smilies/icon_jam.gif[/img]

[Stiglar]

hehe don't worry i'm gonna stick around i love this place !

[Wolfman]

Well, my family had a lot of background in music to begin with while I was growing up, so I was pretty much surrounded by it from day one. Dad was a music teacher out of college and went on to be a pianist, organist and composer. He ended up going in to the Ministry and was a Minister if Music for almost 40 years before retiring a couple years ago. At the end of his career he was leading a good dozen vocal choirs, a half-dozen handbell choirs, and had written three brilliant musicals. We still get on him to this day to have them published. Mom is a classically trained vocalist who still performs once a year at the age of 70. Both my folks are that age, actually, but you wouldn't take them for a day over 55 if you met them.

Amyway, I started piano lessons as a kid, under my Dad no less. Not really sure why I didn't stick with it for more than a couple years, but I do know that once I heard KISS, I was in love with the sound of an electric guitar and KNEW I was going to be a player. When we moved from Jersey to Lexington, KY when I was 12, my folks finally got me a Les Paul kncock-off from J.C. Penney, right around the time =VH= was hitting the scene. Forget KISS, I was past that at this point - it was all Edward after that. I actually taught myself basic chords and the fretboard for a year before I took lessons. My guitar teacher actually told me after a year that he couldn't teach me anymore, for two reasons : 1) He didn't think I could learn as much from him as I could on my own (even though he was a very adept player), and 2) He was tired of me coming in and wanting help picking songs apart to learn.....LOL. [img]images/smilies/icon_redface.gif[/img]

So I continued to teach myself after that, and with the advent of Tablature and good instructional books (no more simple Mel Bay chord books - the GOOD stuff was finally being published) it got pretty easy to stay motivated. I started getting into a lot of classic rock guitarists, including Jeff Beck, Clapton, etc.

In my Junior year of High School, I entered a contest for... you'll love this..."HOTTEST HIGH SCHOOOL GUITARIST IN CENTRAL KENTUCKY" [img]images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif[/img] We submitted tapes of our playing, and I did a thing on 4-track with a bud of mine that was a little older and tught m e all about multi-tracking. Totally creative guy - I probably picked up a lot of my tendency for sound effects and thematic writing from him. So, out of some 70 entrants, I got selected for the top 20. What we got from there was the opportunity to play live with a backing band at a real hot dance club in the area (which became a strip joint megaplex after the dance craze died out [img]images/smilies/icon_dance.gif[/img] ).

We had to do three things in the competition - an excerpt from a popular song, a freeflight guitar solo, and a 12-bar blues. My first week I did Ratt's "Round and Round" for my song choice. When it came to the freeflight solo, I had no idea what I was going to do up until I got on stage, and ended up winging "Eruption" pretty damn well for having no whammy bar. Now this is 1983 or so guys - very few young guitar players had learned that at this point, much less played it live. The judges told me afterwards that I had nads for attempting it and that I pulled it off great. The funny thing is when it came to my 12-bar, I had chosen to do a slow blues. Well, the setup they had for us to play through was so feedback-prone that I was forced to speed up my playing to keep the feedback demons at bay. [img]images/smilies/icon_confused.gif[/img] The band figured out what was going on and sped up for me ( [img]images/smilies/icon_thumb.gif[/img] ). I made the top ten cut and was becoming known as a prodigy around town (mot MY words, trust me). The second week (the finals), I did "You Really Got Me" , a real mish-mash of an original freeflight solo, and finally got to do my slow blues after they fixed the effects rig from squealing like a pig in heat. I placed third, and the only thing I can remember about the winner was that he did Ozzy's "Over The Mountain" and kicked ass on it.

My involvement in the contest actually was a little detrimental in forming my first bands because a lot of guys thought I would have an ego the size of Russia (remember Russia? LOL ) and figured I would be difficult to work with, which wasn't the case. I was very humble, even though I realized I had some talent. I didn't go around acting like Joe rockstar or anything. I was also expanding my interests a great deal, listening to jazz, fusion, and a TON of blues.

I ended up playing with several bar bands up through about the age of 30 or so and then just kind of settled in to recording, because the live music scene was getting pretty lame around Lexington. I'd still like to be gigging, but until rock and roll comes back into fashion, there aren't many good places to play here still. That's one of the minor reasons I am pushing to move to Cali, because tripoutski and I have talked about putting a band together once I can get out there, and we seem to enjoy playing in the same capacities and like the same kind of music to play live.

Lots of war stories in between all that, but that's the gist of my music story. [img]images/smilies/icon_jam.gif[/img]

[Stiglar]

that's a really cool story wolfman ,

you should keep trying to gig , even if it's only to a handful of people in a bar , i know i've found you stop giggling then you get up to do it and you forget what it's like !

[Stiglar]

why the hell did i write giggling ?!?

i meant gigging hehe

[Wolfman]

[ QUOTE ]
Stiglar said:
why the hell did i write giggling ?!?

i meant gigging hehe



[/ QUOTE ]

Who cares?? That's one of those typos that is worth it. [img]images/smilies/icon_thumb.gif[/img]

[CanyonCarver]

Wolf, that's a fantastic story. Thank you for sharing it with us!