Waaasssuuuppp!!!

Its been thirty years since i touched one... which is for the benefit of mankind trust me
32 years since I put one down, so there's a loose symmetry there.

I just got back from my lessons. Talk about humbling. Like, you've been doing this how long as still can't do XYZ?
 
maybe you inherited my, ahem, talent...the absolute best thing you could say about my playing was that it was loud enough to drown out the others.. this an electric btw ive never played an acoustic
 
Aging myself here, I too was in "garage band" before I learned to drive. Our mother's took us to and from practice and, believe it or not, paying gigs. After football games dances in the rec center were our mainstays as they didn't pay very well and fit the payers budget. Mostly played Louie Louie, Gloria and Midnight Hour because we knew the chords and most of the words. Terrible musicians but great memories made in the process. I had an old Gibson SG with a repaired broken neck blasting through a Sear's Silvertone twin 12" amp (I still have the amp). Trying to be cool.
 
cherry red DMs without laces.
Why?

I'm thinking I lived in a different world.

I was in a garage band too. I was lead singer for my sister's (ex-)husband's (I refuse to call him anything with the word brother in it - also screw punctuation) band for like - 6 months. They actually weren't bad for a rock cover band and I wasn't the worst by a long shot, but also definitely not the best. The free drinks were cool though.
 
the name was definitely the best thing about us... imagine if you will a crew of three young men two with hair to make Whitesnake jealous, me with a white mans afro not unlike bob ross. Tye died shirts with white roll necks beneath, jeans with turn ups, and cherry red DMs without laces.. plus the female lead singer who has big blonde hair, a pink latex dress with white stockings and make up on her teeth, Julie sings but is less melodic than a cat being castrated, I play guitar really badly and nearly all my tracks feature either the chorus from smoke on the water or the 'good bit' from sunshine of your love, Mickey plays the drums with no sense of rhythm, and danny allegedly plays bass but would be better off with the fish.

add in painfully bad lyrics, and a light show with a smoke machine that only works if you kick it, and a couple of amps which are a hazard to basic electrical safety.. all conveyed to the venue in a transit van with a snide MOT

we broke up over a year because Danny wanted us to play some songs he'd written and Julie and I said no because they werent up to our (already woefully low) standards

This seems as good a place as any to insert this:


Footnote: Eric Idle mentioned that a few years later, he was driving down the highway with the radio on, and then the DJ came on to say "Hey, that was the new song by Toad the Wet Sprocket..." and he nearly drove off the highway. ;)
 
How old and where is it?
I bought it ($50) from a friend who had stained the body with brown shoe polish because the finish was worn off and that was in 1967. It is dust in the wind. I don't have a clue. I couldn't afford a guitar stand so I would prop the guitar against the amp, and alas, it slid off and broke the neck at the top under the bridge area. I glued and clamped to repair and it actually still tuned up pretty well. I do wish I still had it.
 
I was also the lead guitarist. Solely because my guitar had a cool paintjob.

Translucent Aardvark, however, sounds like something I'd definitely pick up in the shop.
32 years since I put one down, so there's a loose symmetry there.

I just got back from my lessons. Talk about humbling. Like, you've been doing this how long as still can't do XYZ?

maybe you inherited my, ahem, talent...the absolute best thing you could say about my playing was that it was loud enough to drown out the others.. this an electric btw ive never played an acoustic

I play bass. I have a 6-string Peavy Grind-6. Been a few moons since I picked it up. All we need is a drummer...
 
'I shoulda learned to play the guitar, shoulda learned to play them drums
look at that momma got it sticking in the camera, man we could get some
whats that, hawiian noises, he's bangen on them bongo like a fork truck
that aint workin..'.

apologies to mr knopfler
 
'I shoulda learned to play the guitar, shoulda learned to play them drums
look at that momma got it sticking in the camera, man we could get some
whats that, hawiian noises, he's bangen on them bongo like a fork truck
that aint workin..'.

apologies to mr knopfler

Bonus points for referencing the finest guitar player of the latter 20th century.
 
Long time ago in school, my dad that is not a musician but knew a bit about playing the guitar was hanging out with a band that later (with most of new members) achieved a decent regional success. I played the piano in the elementary school but had regular stage frights during the exams at the end of the school year, don't think I was cut of to be a musician exactly but I occasionally wonder if I should try writing songs, I sometimes include song lyrics in the texts I write and feel like the precise melody could express what I couldn't in words.
 
I've always found it interesting that when talking with other writers, playing music often comes up. Particularly, playing in bands and being up on stage. Not a lot of people ever end up ever trying that, yet it feels like it's not that uncommon amongst writers. Wonder why that is.

Anyway, yeah, I'm yet another one of those people. Bought a used bass at 16 and joined a band, played plenty of shows, even got paid for some. Also played the drums for a band and was lead singer for another. I have some guitars and can strum and sing (and have busked), and though I am competent, it's easily my weakest instrument.

I never had the heart to get rid of my musical equipment. Stuffed into my tiny apartment are all the pieces needed for a 3 or 4-piece rock band, and we can put on a show at any time. Even though I haven't done so for a very long while.

Screenshot 2025-05-24 214657.png
 
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