why did you start playing??

Well around 1993-95 my mom was playing this new CD she bought from the Powerzone (store on military compounds i.e. Ft. Knox/Campbell that's like Circuit City, but with no tax). I had no idea what it was, but I remember it starting kinda like "Wake up kid it's half past the youth ain't nothin' really changin' but the date! You a grand slammer but your no Babe Ruth but you gotta learn how to relate!" Then it kicked off with slammin' drums and power chords with these rockin' little rifts. It was then I learned who Joe Perry was. Shortly after that we get to that little question everyone remembers in Kindergarten that still echoes in my mind:

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

I stood up, proudly mind you, after all the other kids said astronaut, firefighter, veterinarian, etc. and said "I will be a rockstar." Said it seriously. I meant it, and to this day I still do.

I then started listening to that CD every day and every night. My mom even got me a little tape player and ripped the CD onto cassette so I could listen to it without giving her a headache. After that it branched out into Metallica, Pearl Jam, Def Leppard, Megadeth, Rush, Guns n' effin Roses! So many! I wanted that so bad.

Then a couple of years ago my mom takes me to Kentucky and we walked into a shop called "Joe's music store" or something to that effect. There was a guy there who owned that shop and gave lessons for who knows how long. It was quite the cliche. He plucked an acoustic from the wall, threw in a stand, soft case, handful of picks, and two extra packs of Ernie Ball.

So now here I am, two years later, hair past the mid of my back, tight jeans, a sexy Ibanez, and attitude free of charge. I'm here some 15 years later with my eyes still on that lime-lit stage.




Oh yeah... I also write a lot.

Originally Posted by: hunter60Have you played at "The Porch" in Cincinnati? I was just there last month for a benefit. Nice venue. Check it out sometime. :)

I assume you mean The Porch of Sorts” on Symmes Rd. No, I have not played there. I am not a professional guitarist (one who makes his living playing). I only play places within my comfort zone, such as, reunions, pig roasts, family gatherings, coffee shops, etc.

Originally Posted by: looneytunesI assume you mean The Porch of Sorts” on Symmes Rd. No, I have not played there. I am not a professional guitarist (one who makes his living playing). I only play places within my comfort zone, such as, reunions, pig roasts, family gatherings, coffee shops, etc.

I'm not sure - I think the place I'm talking about was called 'The Front Porch' or something like that. It was a really nice place though - great stage, nice sound system, good food...etc. I was just wondering.

alaska.
by between the buried and me.

i started playing because my dad made me when i was young...but i took to it quickly after. loved the blues and i always knew i wanted to be a shred guitarist. i think i'm far more widely-influenced in my playing styles, but that was initially what attracted me to the instrument. hear bands like suicidal tendencies and old metallica got me so pumped up. i remember getting metallica's "kill em' all" tab book and just about crying because it was so difficult. i sat in my room for hours and just copied kirk's soloing. i came out of my room 1,000 times better and i've since moved on to better things than kirk's crappy repetative solos. but they'll always be close to my heart, i suppose.

Originally Posted by: jamesplaysgitaralaska.
by between the buried and me.

Niiiice. :cool:

My Dad played a little guitar, nothing serious, he just knew a few chords....Showed them to me on his guitar and I fell in love with it....been hooked ever since. That was around 20 years ago.

It was all because of jimi hendrix

Honestly, I started playing cause I wanted to impress hot chics, but after a while I just loved playing so much I never stopped.

I started playing for me, rather than for other people.

my friend and my brother wanted to start a band my bro would be on the electric drums, my friend would be on the bass guitar and I would be on the electric guitar of course none of us knew how to play any of those instruments so we're trying to practice what kind of music we're going in I have no idea it'll probably be down to rock and pop :D

Flatout, because of Ace Frehley of Kiss....I was a huge Kiss fan (pre-Dynasty era stuff) and Ace is THE main reason why I got my first guitar. I didn't actually even begin to learn anything about the guitar until many years later...it was all air-guitaring to Kiss records at that time...But Ace was it for me at that point in time.
(Oddly enough....I haven't been even a moderate Kiss fan for more than 20yrs now....LOL)

As to a specific event that got me actually playing & learning the guitar....My one buddy that I grew up with was the bass player in a band & they needed a 2nd guitar player, because their singer couldn't play & sing at the same time. So....I broke out my old Sears guitar and tried to learn some fancy leadwork (LOL). I was able to play a couple bars of the tapping section in Eruption, so I was IN! :D
I could barely string together more than a couple basic open and/or barre chords, but I could whip out that sweet little tapping bit & so we started playing parties and carnivals, etc. LOL
(Again...oddly enough....Even though it was one of the first things that I learned to do...I've never really been all that much of a tapper over the years. Yngwie & Vinnie Moore came along & I forgot about nearly everything legato related for a loooonng time. LOL)

Don

Nahh, just kidding, I always listened to music with my dad, heard him play live shows since I was 5. He also played around the house, one day I asked him to teach me how to play.

He showed me the G, C, and D major chords, and said if I really wanted to learn I would figure out the rest. I learned all the major chords, but was still having some trouble changing chords. Then he showed me how to walk in and out of chords, which allowed time to set my fingers for the next chord. It also called for single notes, which I thought was like playing lead. Dad taught me a lot of cool stuff, and I'm still adding stuff in my tutorial that was inspired by him.

I got a little off the subject, I guess I knew I really wanted to pick when I sat in at my first jam session. These guys knew hundreds of songs, and I was playing along with them. I started learning to sing songs myself, and sang several at the next jam session with all of dad's friends.

The next thing I did was sit down with dad's record collection, the first song I learned to pick was "Wildwood flower" By Mother Maybelle Carter. After that it was Doc, and Merle Watson, and when I heard Tony Rice I was picking up all kinds of hot licks to play at jam sessions.

Since then music has been my vacation from the real world, a release of all the tension of everyday life. I started writing songs at age 14, and performing at a square dance every Saturday night. Joined several bands, and eventually started my own.

To this day there's nothing like performing for a crowd of people, and hot women. Of course that was part of the reason, but definitely not the only reason.

JD

Because drums, being my first musical desire after being inspired by John Bonham, were way more expensive. Hardly anyone even knows who John Paul Jones is, so bass/keys were out of the question. So the obvious choice was to follow Page. :cool:

I can't remember not playing music. Its me. :)

Growing up in the early 60's I would listen to the radio for hours. On my 8th birthday my parents got me a classical guitar and a years worth of classical lessons at the University of Miami. That must have been a funny sight. The case dragged when I carried it... I'm always looking to learn more. :)

I always loved music. I started playing when I was about 14 because I loved the metal genre but didn't see many females in the mix :P Thats when I decided I'd try my hardest to get somewhere with it.

Ive just always wanted to play ... all my heroes happened to play guitar and they just kinda inspired me especially cuz my dad used to play.

Hi all I am new here but this thread is worth a post I am learning to play the guitar because I felt it is one of the most beautiful instruments in existence. Some of the greatest songs ever written depicting a story of love or fierce rage are brought to life by the musician with the guitar strapped onto them. The possibilities seem endless and in my very troubled life music has always been the one way I could feel normal and good about me. This is my choice of legacy to leave with my son. After I am gone I want him to remember me playing my guitar and singing to him when he was afraid for whatever reason. I am hoping he finds the passion as I have so that I may also pass this off to him and maybe he will do things with it I could only dream of.

Originally Posted by: JStewartHi all I am new here but this thread is worth a post I am learning to play the guitar because I felt it is one of the most beautiful instruments in existence. Some of the greatest songs ever written depicting a story of love or fierce rage are brought to life by the musician with the guitar strapped onto them. The possibilities seem endless and in my very troubled life music has always been the one way I could feel normal and good about me. This is my choice of legacy to leave with my son. After I am gone I want him to remember me playing my guitar and singing to him when he was afraid for whatever reason. I am hoping he finds the passion as I have so that I may also pass this off to him and maybe he will do things with it I could only dream of.

Great first post, JStewart. I want to pass down playing to my son also- got him an epiphopne SG Deluxe for Xmas last year. He was excited at first but is now bored with it. I'm not gonna push him, but hope to ease him back into it. Welcome to GT!

metal pure and simple. It's hard to explain, but I am a slave to metal. Since I was 11 years old maybe younger it's all I've been exposed to and all I ever think about. It is my calling I guess.