Musically-speaking, what are some of the nicest things that have happened to you?

[Mark L]

Mine seem to revolve around people on here, mainly

 

 

1. The first time Craig Anderton got in touch with me on here to say he liked my tunes. That was nice

 

2. When he asked if he could cover one of my songs. That was very nice

 

3. Ernest Buckley covering one of my songs. That was nice

 

4. Meeting Craig in London in 2013. That was really nice

 

5. Being told by Adrian Snell (one of my musical heroes) that I sounded like John Lennon. That was rather nice

 

6. Having my songs played at The Cavern last year. That was nice

 

7. Being signed, briefly, to the late Angelo Clematide's label. (R.I.P. Angelo). That was nice

 

8. Recording a demo with a band in a 'proper' studio in the mid-80s. First and last time. That, too, was nice

 

 

 

 

[nat whilk II]

In terms of Forum support, this response from an esteemed member of the Songwriting Forum to one of my songs I posted gave me immeasurable encouragement -

 

 

Oh my God. My songwriter head wants to say it's too long but I couldn't possibly lose ONE of those poetic and beautiful words... totally transported me, filled me with emotion and made me think of everything big and small.

 

Delivered perfectly and with real believability.

 

If you never write another song then at least you have written this one.

 

Has to be the biggest compliment I've ever received for anything I've produced. Kinda choked me up, to be honest.

 

The thread:

http://www.harmonycentral.com/forum/forum/Forums_General/acapella-37/31303431-fresh-material-who-will-understand

 

 

nat whilk ii

[Notes_Norton]

How can I answer? I've been a pro all my life.

 

• When I was in junior high, the rock band I was in got hired to play for a dance in the gym. I was up there with my buddies, playing the songs we loved, and that cute girl who wouldn't acknowledge my existence in English class was 'giving me the eye'. And at the end of the night they actually paid me for that!!
  
• Warming up in concert for, sitting in with, recording with, and being treated as an equal peer by the hit-makers of the day.
  
• Meeting my wife, a fine vocalist, guitarist and synth player
  
• Not having to work a 'regular job' for most of my life (I did try a couple to see how 'the other half' lives -- but I wasn't happy with a day job).
  
• Being able to play music with people from other countries who I could only converse with in simple terms in English or their language, but touch each others spirits musicially
  
• Learning how to listen to music --- really listen to music -- and get the enjoyment of being thrilled by a great symphony
  

 

I know I'll think of more when I hit "Post", but that's a good starter.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

[Ernest Buckley]

I`ve been fortunate to make music my entire life so I can write a book on the subject. Here are some highlights…

 

1977: I`m 4 years old, sitting in a really large space, surrounded by beautiful stain glass windows but its the music that calls me. I see the organist in the loft and the choir and I know that that is what I want to do with my life… make music. I have no idea at that time that that guy making music in the loft would become a great friend.

 

1984: The entire school I am in is required to audition for the choir. I sit there listening to dozens of kids sing. Somehow I know which kids can sing and which ones can`t. Deep inside me I know I can sing somehow even though I`ve never done so.

 

1987: My parents buy me this old beat up electronic organ with 2 octaves of keys at a flea market for $10. I have no idea what I`m doing but I absolutely love that little instrument. A few months later I start to take piano lessons which I pay for myself thanks to a paper route I started just a year before. Later that year, I write my first song.

 

1988-1991: I start performing throughout the city with various groups and discover the excitement that comes from working with others. Its electric!

 

1995: I start a band with a couple of college friends. Later that year, I go to see the Rolling Stones at Giants Stadium. I finally understand the power of rock and roll. There is love in the air.

 

August 1997: I`m at a dead end job, frustrated and completely at wits end so I go for a ride… suddenly I hear a voice to call this person Brian that someone mentioned to me just a few days before. I turn the car around, go home and call him. He has a job available in South Brooklyn that needs a music director ASAP. I call the Church and schedule the interview/audition for the next day. As I arrive in the parking lot, I experience a peace I have never felt before. Suddenly I realize that the job is already mine and that this place will become my home. That was 18 years ago and I`m still there.

 

October 1997: After a Church service, two beautiful women walk over to me and start asking me about the choir. One woman does all the talking and even introduces her younger sister to me. I don`t know who this young woman is but she's very shy and the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.

 

October 1999: I end marrying that shy girl. We dance to a song I wrote and through a friend of my wifes, I meet a person who will not only mentor me, but becomes one of my best friends. This man will end up co-producing my first album and playing drums on it. He becomes an angel in my life, his name: Steve LaCerra.

 

January - February 2002: A childhood friend contacts me and asks me to engineer a rap record he is putting together. The experience is invaluable. When the project is over, I meet up with Steve. I play him some songs and ask him if he would help me record them. He says yes. I`m reminded that music unites people and brings new friends.

 

November 2002: At our first recording session, Steve introduces me to his friend Pete, who is playing guitar on my tunes. Pete and I start talking and we discover within minutes that we are long lost brothers. We become great friends… 13 years later and our families vacation together.

 

February 2007: My first album is completed. Holding it in my hands for the first time, I am relieved and proud. Its a lifetime of work in the palm of my hand.

 

June 2015: One of my first piano students invites me to his high school graduation party. I started teaching him in 1997 when he was 4, now he is 22. He thanks me for inspiring him to make music. Suddenly I am reminded of myself when I was 4, sitting in church, looking up into the choir loft… that organist also became the reason I became a musician and he became a great friend in my life.

 

Music…

[Mark L]

In terms of Forum support, this response from an esteemed member of the Songwriting Forum to one of my songs I posted gave me immeasurable encouragement -

 

 

Oh my God. My songwriter head wants to say it's too long but I couldn't possibly lose ONE of those poetic and beautiful words... totally transported me, filled me with emotion and made me think of everything big and small.

 

Delivered perfectly and with real believability.

 

If you never write another song then at least you have written this one.

 

Has to be the biggest compliment I've ever received for anything I've produced. Kinda choked me up, to be honest.

 

The thread:

http://www.harmonycentral.com/forum/forum/Forums_General/acapella-37/31303431-fresh-material-who-will-understand

 

 

nat whilk ii

 

Great song, nat. Lovely playing and singing. Wonderful lyric

[Mark L]

How can I answer? I've been a pro all my life.

• When I was in junior high, the rock band I was in got hired to play for a dance in the gym. I was up there with my buddies, playing the songs we loved, and that cute girl who wouldn't acknowledge my existence in English class was 'giving me the eye'. And at the end of the night they actually paid me for that!!
  
• Warming up in concert for, sitting in with, recording with, and being treated as an equal peer by the hit-makers of the day.
  
• Meeting my wife, a fine vocalist, guitarist and synth player
  
• Not having to work a 'regular job' for most of my life (I did try a couple to see how 'the other half' lives -- but I wasn't happy with a day job).
  
• Being able to play music with people from other countries who I could only converse with in simple terms in English or their language, but touch each others spirits musicially
  
• Learning how to listen to music --- really listen to music -- and get the enjoyment of being thrilled by a great symphony
  

 

I know I'll think of more when I hit "Post", but that's a good starter.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

 

You did answer, and it was a good answer. Very cool stuf, Notes

[Mark L]

I`ve been fortunate to make music my entire life so I can write a book on the subject. Here are some highlights…

 

1977: I`m 4 years old, sitting in a really large space, surrounded by beautiful stain glass windows but its the music that calls me. I see the organist in the loft and the choir and I know that that is what I want to do with my life… make music. I have no idea at that time that that guy making music in the loft would become a great friend.

 

1984: The entire school I am in is required to audition for the choir. I sit there listening to dozens of kids sing. Somehow I know which kids can sing and which ones can`t. Deep inside me I know I can sing somehow even though I`ve never done so.

 

1987: My parents buy me this old beat up electronic organ with 2 octaves of keys at a flea market for $10. I have no idea what I`m doing but I absolutely love that little instrument. A few months later I start to take piano lessons which I pay for myself thanks to a paper route I started just a year before. Later that year, I write my first song.

 

1988-1991: I start performing throughout the city with various groups and discover the excitement that comes from working with others. Its electric!

 

1995: I start a band with a couple of college friends. Later that year, I go to see the Rolling Stones at Giants Stadium. I finally understand the power of rock and roll. There is love in the air.

 

August 1997: I`m at a dead end job, frustrated and completely at wits end so I go for a ride… suddenly I hear a voice to call this person Brian that someone mentioned to me just a few days before. I turn the car around, go home and call him. He has a job available in South Brooklyn that needs a music director ASAP. I call the Church and schedule the interview/audition for the next day. As I arrive in the parking lot, I experience a peace I have never felt before. Suddenly I realize that the job is already mine and that this place will become my home. That was 18 years ago and I`m still there.

 

October 1997: After a Church service, two beautiful women walk over to me and start asking me about the choir. One woman does all the talking and even introduces her younger sister to me. I don`t who this young woman is but she she's very shy and the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.

 

October 1999: I end marrying that shy girl. We dance to a song I wrote and through a friend of my wifes, I meet a person who will not only mentor me, but becomes one of my best friends. This man will end up co-producing my first album and playing drums on it. He becomes an angel in my life, his name: Steve LaCerra.

 

January - February 2002: A childhood friend contacts me and asks me to engineer a rap record he is putting together. The experience is invaluable. When the project is over, I meet up with Steve. I play him some songs and ask him if he would help me record them. He says yes. I`m reminded that music unites people and brings new friends.

 

November 2002: At our first recording session, Steve introduces me to his friend Pete, who is playing guitar on my tunes. Pete and I start talking and we discover within minutes that we are long lost brothers. We become great friends… 13 years later and our families vacation together.

 

February 2007: My first album is completed. Holding it in my hands for the first time, I am relieved and proud. Its a lifetime of work in the palm of my hand.

 

June 2015: One of my first piano students invites me to his high school graduation party. I started teaching him in 1997 when he was 4, now he is 22. He thanks me for inspiring him to make music. Suddenly I am reminded of myself when I was 4, sitting in church, looking up into the choir loft… that organist also became the reason I became a musician and he became a great friend in my life.

 

Music…

 

Ernest, my old chum, that's a wonderful post. Reading it brought tears to my eyes. I envy you

[rasputin1963]

1. I arrive early at the Dallas show for the British pop group, ABC. I was a huge fan of the group, having spent the summer in London, where ABC were massive! Yet very few Americans had heard of them. In the audience-- The Agora Ballroom was set up like a supper club, with tables--- sat Peter Gabriel. Like a real ditzy fanboy I went up to him and gushed that I loved his music, especially the single "Biko", which had been banned in South Africa while I was there. Instead of being a dick, Gabriel was SO kewl and asked me to sit at his table and watch the show with his girlfriend. When it was over, he took me back to meet the members of ABC. This was an electrifying evening for me, and I had stardust in my eyes for many days thereafter.

 

2. Accompanying the singer Joanie Sommers on piano, while she sang her great 1962 Hal David hit, "Johnny Get Angry". My heart soared.

 

3. Performing all the Supremes songs with Mary Wilson, the former member of that group. She let me sing all the lead Diana parts... while she did her own vocals as we know them from the 60's records. I coulda died and gone to heaven.

 

4. Singing on the BET television program, THE BOBBY JONES GOSPEL HOUR. I got to sing lead with the whole 70-piece black gospel choir behind me. Maybe about 5 white folks in that group, me one of them. This was like sailing on a cloud of pure spiritual emotion.

 

5. Playing an intro session before the Weather Girls went on. When I was finished, Martha Wash said, "Damn, you sure can SANG, vanilla puddin'." You could've shot me then and there, I was so happy.

 

6. This one's weird, but it sticks in my memory: I was aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship out in the Caribbean. At night, a bad fire took hold in the galley, and all passengers on board were told to don their lifejackets and assemble in the large dining room. Lights went out, and passengers started getting very scared and nervous. The cruise director, in desperation, told me to get out in front of them and sing a song to reassure and soothe them. So I sang about four songs, accapella, no mic, into the sea of blackness where all the hushed passengers sat. It was truly surreal, and yes, it felt like something from TITANIC or THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE. Finally the fire was extinguished and all were allowed to return to their cabins safely.

 

[rasputin1963]

I`ve been fortunate to make music my entire life so I can write a book on the subject. Here are some highlights…

 

1977: I`m 4 years old, sitting in a really large space, surrounded by beautiful stain glass windows but its the music that calls me. I see the

 

I adore these tales, Ernest. Bless you.

[rasputin1963]

Mine seem to revolve around people on here, mainly

 

 

That, too, was nice

 

 

Gorgeous moments, Mark. I would LOVE to meet our fearless, brilliant leader myself.

 

And yes, we do miss Angelo, that brilliant wacky dude. May he RIP.

 

 

[Ernest Buckley]

 

Ernest, my old chum, that's a wonderful post. Reading it brought tears to my eyes. I envy you

 

Mark, you write great tunes. Its a gift. You have to share it.

 

Its not always easy because we creative souls, are by nature, loners. But the true magic of life happens when we open our hearts and minds to others. I need to take this advice too. I feel that I have grown stale in the last 8 years or so and now as I re-read my post I realize all of those wonderful moments of my life came about because I was open to the world and the people in it.

 

I`ve been thinking about joining a local choir lately which would not conflict with my work. I really want to do it but I keep putting it off… why? I`m comfortable I guess. But I`m reminded that the magic happens when we extend ourselves a little bit further than our comfort zones.

 

I really need to take my own advice…

[Ernest Buckley]

 

I adore these tales, Ernest. Bless you.

 

Thanks David. Writing that post and now, just re-reading it I am very much reminded that life happens when we step out a bit from our comfort zone. I`ve got to get out more and make music with more people… thats where the magics at.

[Vito Corleone]

Hmmm....hard to say. Too few to remember, too many to mention.

 

1968. I was seven years old and my mother takes me to a piano instructor who says he normally doesn't take students so young but will make an exception in my case.

 

1976. First time I performed for money with my first band when I was 15 and the guy paying us liked us enough to give us an extra $50. I realized then I could make MONEY doing what I loved so much? Was that a blessing or a curse? I still don't know.

 

1982. My first (and only) "audition" for a band. Scared to death, and I felt liked I totally sucked, but they hired me anyway. I stayed with that band for 10 years.

 

1983. First time I did a radio station promo for a live performance.

 

1983. Quiet Riot--who was just breaking their first hit on the radio at time---opened for US as a twist of fate would have it. Huge crowd liked us just as much or more.

 

1985. Hearing our newest song on the radio for the first time. Was that really us?

 

1992. Putting the finishing touches on writing a song I was writing with my band that Mark Kendall from the band Great White was producing. He called my lyric and melody combinations "genius". That felt pretty good.

 

2000. Danced to "At Last" with my wife at my wedding. Asking her to marry me was then and will always be THE best decision I ever made in my life.

 

1976-2015+ Everytime I've heard applause or taken a bow after a performance. It feels as special today as it did the first time.

 

 

 

 

[Mark L]

1. I arrive early at the Dallas show for the British pop group, ABC. I was a huge fan of the group, having spent the summer in London, where ABC were massive! Yet very few Americans had heard of them. In the audience-- The Agora Ballroom was set up like a supper club, with tables--- sat Peter Gabriel. Like a real ditzy fanboy I went up to him and gushed that I loved his music, especially the single "Biko", which had been banned in South Africa while I was there. Instead of being a dick, Gabriel was SO kewl and asked me to sit at his table and watch the show with his girlfriend. When it was over, he took me back to meet the members of ABC. This was an electrifying evening for me, and I had stardust in my eyes for many days thereafter.

 

2. Accompanying the singer Joanie Sommers on piano, while she sang her great 1962 Hal David hit, "Johnny Get Angry". My heart soared.

 

3. Performing all the Supremes songs with Mary Wilson, the former member of that group. She let me sing all the lead Diana parts... while she did her own vocals as we know them from the 60's records. I coulda died and gone to heaven.

 

4. Singing on the BET television program, THE BOBBY JONES GOSPEL HOUR. I got to sing lead with the whole 70-piece black gospel choir behind me. Maybe about 5 white folks in that group, me one of them. This was like sailing on a cloud of pure spiritual emotion.

 

5. Playing an intro session before the Weather Girls went on. When I was finished, Martha Wash said, "Damn, you sure can SANG, vanilla puddin'." You could've shot me then and there, I was so happy.

 

6. This one's weird, but it sticks in my memory: I was aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship out in the Caribbean. At night, a bad fire took hold in the galley, and all passengers on board were told to don their lifejackets and assemble in the large dining room. Lights went out, and passengers started getting very scared and nervous. The cruise director, in desperation, told me to get out in front of them and sing a song to reassure and soothe them. So I sang about four songs, accapella, no mic, into the sea of blackness where all the hushed passengers sat. It was truly surreal, and yes, it felt like something from TITANIC or THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE. Finally the fire was extinguished and all were allowed to return to their cabins safely.

 

That's a very impressive list, vanilla puddin'

 

The story about what happened on the cruise ship is, as you say, surreal!

[Mark L]

 

Mark, you write great tunes. Its a gift. You have to share it.

 

Its not always easy because we creative souls, are by nature, loners. But the true magic of life happens when we open our hearts and minds to others. I need to take this advice too. I feel that I have grown stale in the last 8 years or so and now as I re-read my post I realize all of those wonderful moments of my life came about because I was open to the world and the people in it.

 

I`ve been thinking about joining a local choir lately which would not conflict with my work. I really want to do it but I keep putting it off… why? I`m comfortable I guess. But I`m reminded that the magic happens when we extend ourselves a little bit further than our comfort zones.

 

I really need to take my own advice…

 

You're right, Ern. I need to take your advice, and so do you. First priority is to get a job. I'm unemployed at the moment

[Mark L]

Hmmm....hard to say. Too few to remember, too many to mention.

 

1968. I was seven years old and my mother takes me to a piano instructor who says he normally doesn't take students so young but will make an exception in my case.

 

1976. First time I performed for money with my first band when I was 15 and the guy paying us liked us enough to give us an extra $50. I realized then I could make MONEY doing what I loved so much? Was that a blessing or a curse? I still don't know.

 

1982. My first (and only) "audition" for a band. Scared to death, and I felt liked I totally sucked, but they hired me anyway. I stayed with that band for 10 years.

 

1983. First time I did a radio station promo for a live performance.

 

1983. Quiet Riot--who was just breaking their first hit on the radio at time---opened for US as a twist of fate would have it. Huge crowd liked us just as much or more.

 

1985. Hearing our newest song on the radio for the first time. Was that really us?

 

1992. Putting the finishing touches on writing a song I was writing with my band that Mark Kendall from the band Great White was producing. He called my lyric and melody combinations "genius". That felt pretty good.

 

2000. Danced to "At Last" with my wife at my wedding. Asking her to marry me was then and will always be THE best decision I ever made in my life.

 

1976-2015+ Everytime I've heard applause or taken a bow after a performance. It feels as special today as it did the first time.

 

 

 

 

Good stuff, guido

[Ernest Buckley]

1. I arrive early at the Dallas show for the British pop group, ABC. I was a huge fan of the group, having spent the summer in London, where ABC were massive! Yet very few Americans had heard of them. In the audience-- The Agora Ballroom was set up like a supper club, with tables--- sat Peter Gabriel. Like a real ditzy fanboy I went up to him and gushed that I loved his music, especially the single "Biko", which had been banned in South Africa while I was there. Instead of being a dick, Gabriel was SO kewl and asked me to sit at his table and watch the show with his girlfriend. When it was over, he took me back to meet the members of ABC. This was an electrifying evening for me, and I had stardust in my eyes for many days thereafter.

 

2. Accompanying the singer Joanie Sommers on piano, while she sang her great 1962 Hal David hit, "Johnny Get Angry". My heart soared.

 

3. Performing all the Supremes songs with Mary Wilson, the former member of that group. She let me sing all the lead Diana parts... while she did her own vocals as we know them from the 60's records. I coulda died and gone to heaven.

 

4. Singing on the BET television program, THE BOBBY JONES GOSPEL HOUR. I got to sing lead with the whole 70-piece black gospel choir behind me. Maybe about 5 white folks in that group, me one of them. This was like sailing on a cloud of pure spiritual emotion.

 

5. Playing an intro session before the Weather Girls went on. When I was finished, Martha Wash said, "Damn, you sure can SANG, vanilla puddin'." You could've shot me then and there, I was so happy.

 

6. This one's weird, but it sticks in my memory: I was aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship out in the Caribbean. At night, a bad fire took hold in the galley, and all passengers on board were told to don their lifejackets and assemble in the large dining room. Lights went out, and passengers started getting very scared and nervous. The cruise director, in desperation, told me to get out in front of them and sing a song to reassure and soothe them. So I sang about four songs, accapella, no mic, into the sea of blackness where all the hushed passengers sat. It was truly surreal, and yes, it felt like something from TITANIC or THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE. Finally the fire was extinguished and all were allowed to return to their cabins safely.

 

I`m calling you "puddin`" from now on!

 

And yes, #6 definitely had me thinking Titanic which from what I have heard, that string quartet never played when it was going down.

[Anderton]

I've had a lot of them, and some would look kinda self-aggrandizing so I'll just mention one. I was coming offstage, and Mike Bloomfield was coming onstage. As we passed each other, my SG at the time in hand, he said "Was that you playing guitar?" Yes, I replied. He paused, and sort of shook his head with that "no way" kind of vibe..."Man...you sound like Coltrane!"

[UstadKhanAli]

Off the top of my head in no particular order. I'm sure I'm leaving a bunch out, and possibly some of the best ones since I can't remember anything....

 

- Headlining Helter Skelter for 2000 people, almost all dressed in black with black hair. Hey, it was heavy Goth....

 

- Having music on MTV and VH1 programming.

 

- The first time I ever heard one of my songs on radio.

 

- Nels Cline comes over after a gig and says he really enjoys my guitar playing. Seriously....are you freakin' kidding me? One of the greatest guitar players of all time says that to me?

 

- Playing in front of hundreds of Japanese people at The Whisky, all of whom were jumping up and down in time to the music and shouting, "You are GREAT! You are GREAT!"

 

- Getting good enough on guitar to play in a band. This was an especially proud achievement since it was always something I wanted to do, and I managed to muddle through and practice real hard and finally do it.

 

- Playing piano in front of hundreds of people at a retirement home. Maybe this doesn't sound like anything really exciting in terms of a crowd, but being around people who are that appreciative of classical music and my piano playing at a young age made me feel really great, and one should never take any sort of appreciative audience for granted.

 

- Recording music in general. Love it!

 

- Playing improvisational music in The Integratron in Landers, out near Joshua Tree National Park, way out in the desert.

 

- Without going into specifics, meeting charming, fun, beautiful women while playing gigs.

 

- Being interviewed on NBC News for music, having the news flip back and forth between our band and Metallica. Strange stuff!

 

- Having my albums reviewed in Alternative Press and elsewhere.

 

- The Evil Sound Man Story:

 

Some years ago, I played keyboards in a band around the Hollywood area. We used to play occasionally at Club Lingerie and some of the other clubs. At Lingerie, there was a large oaf of a guy doing sound, knocking back beers while slapping the waitresses on the ass as they walked by.

 

We played our set, and of course, it sounded like garbage since he wasn't behind the boards most of the time. Afterwards, he tried to rush us off the stage, physically pushing our female bassplayer down the stairs in the process. There was almost a fight over this. We complained to the manager. We were due back in a few weeks, and we said that we didn't want this guy to do our sound.

 

We showed up at Lingerie for our gig a few weeks later. Murphy's Law reared its head. Same sound guy, same ugly attitude. We had a feeling that this would happen.

 

As we played our set, I used my Korg DSS-1 sampler to trigger sounds that I had created in anticipation of this misogynistic slob doing sound again. I had it all: horrid crackling cable sounds, microphone feedback, strange intermittent buzzes, the works. It was all we could do to stop from laughing as we saw this guy diving for the board, trying without success to get rid of a loud 60 cycle buzz or excruciating microphone feedback. To fan the flames of his frustration further, we had some of our friends in the audience continually complaining to him and the manager that the sound was really horrible, and that the feedback and lousy sound was hurting their ears.

 

We played Lingerie a few more times, but never saw him there again.

 

[Beck]

Musically speaking, the nicest thing that’s ever happened to me is a when I got reacquainted with a girl I went to high school with years later (Not too long ago). Turns out she’s been belly dancing since she was a teen as part of her heritage… the real thing. So one night she danced for me in a candlelit room wearing only a belly dance hip scarf around her waist and nothing else. It had coins that jingled with her every step, dancing to a CD of Middle-Eastern inspired pop. I did not know hips could move like that. I don’t remember all the songs. She even used finger cymbals! Actually that’s one of the nicest things, musically speaking or not that’s happened to me… ever!

 

That’s the first thing that came to mind as a, "Nice musical thing" even though I’m sure I’m not cooperating with the direction of this thread. Sooo… as far as my own music, there have been many things, but no matter what, I’ll remember the day I carried home my first multitrack, the orginal TEAC/Tascam Portastudio 144 and felt the joy of multitracking in the privacy of my own home anytime of the day or night whenever I felt the inspiration. We take that for granted now, but I remember when I was the first kid on the block that had one and could do that. My one man band, of me, myself and I started then and the rest is history.

 

[video=youtube;wByRGdFEbAg]

[dboomer]

Backing up Wild Man Fisher!

 

 

 

Jamming on stage with Jimi Hendrix

[Notes_Norton]

Thanks

[onelife]

A friend of mine told me I had to "give it back" so I started teaching.

[philboking]

The most important to me, personally, was when I was 3. We were moving from the family farm in Wisconsin. To get me out of the way, I was put in the front seat of our car and left alone for an hour or two with my Dads precious Montgomery Wards acoustic guitar (it had a picture of a cowboy riding a horse on the front). It was the first time I ever played, and I sat there happy as a clam playing with it and singing for the whole time. This would have been around 1957 or so. It planted a seed that stayed with me from then onward.

 

The next time was when I was 12. My sister had given me a thick Beatles book and my first guitar, an entirely plastic one with friction tuning pegs and nylon strings, when I was 10, called an Emenee. I'd been self-teaching and playing for a couple years. I had worked out an arrangement of 'A Taste of Honey' where I could play both chords and melody at once. My brother-in-law Al took me to a guitar store in La Crosse Wisconsin, where I got a chance to play a real wooden guitar! So I played this rendition of 'A Taste of Honey', and the guitar store guy said he had students that studied for 5 years who weren't where I was. I was fairly puffed up about it; it encouraged me to tackle that Beatles book once more, and try to work out other tunes where I could play chords and melody together.

 

Here's what that plastic guitar looked like:

[Ernest Buckley]

A friend of mine told me I had to "give it back" so I started teaching.

 

My 8th grade teacher told me I would end up a bum after I told her I wanted to make music with my life… I ignored her and busted my ass to make it happen.

 

Every time I wanted to give up, I thought about her… it fueled me. My gut has always pushed me towards music for some reason even when my head told me differently so I always knew it was to be but her words did hurt.

 

All of the great people and things in my life have come from music… You were probably meant to teach my friend.

 

I think we end up where we were supposed to be if we follow our guts.

 

If someone tells you that you suck and should drop music, but something deep inside tells you to stay with it, then you stay with it.