(My memory is a little fuzzy, so forgive me for my lack of detail)
My Musical Journey.
It was inevitable that I would blog about this, it's indeed my biggest obsession and has been for close to 7 years (and counting).
I've always had a love of music, from the age of 4 I was a huge Michael Jackson fan, from then until my teen years there was barely any other music in my life that I enjoyed - yep, it was hard to beat MJ back then. Of course when I turned 12 that's when I started enjoying other genres of music like rock and what would best be described as nu-metal? Mainly stuff like Linkin Park, Korn and Limp Bizkit...it varied, I wasn't stuck in a phase of crappy screechy "emo" rock bands (the term rock is seriously debatable when it comes to Linkin Park though). Sometimes I gave rap and hip hop a listen. It was never my thing though.
To be honest, I was never satisfied musically, I was always looking for something different and I think everyone does that from time to time. I never sought to do anything more than listen though, which is why in the Spring of 2003 I had finally found the missing piece of the puzzle.
So it begins...
I was stuck babysitting rabbits, my sister had gone on holiday for a week so she left me in charge of her room while she was gone. This room would eventually be mine as she moved out that same year. Anyway, there wasn't alot for me to do really, just make sure they didn't gnaw on any electricals or valuables and just maintain everything until she returned. What does any of this have to do with music? You'll see.
So, I still had to go to school even though the bunnies were most likely terrorising the room while I was gone, but hey what can you do? So it must have been a Friday as we had a music lesson in the afternoon. Usually for music we would piss about with computers and midi programs, it was all pretty boring and taught us nothing, which is why I was relieved when I saw my science teacher Mr Heath come in with an acoustic guitar. He was going to give us a guitar lesson, my first and last.
In all honesty I was shit, I couldn't hold down the strings with my weak fingers to save my life...chords were a fucking nightmare. I could sense the frustration on Mr Heath's face, not just with me, but with everybody, I'm guessing he hadn't given too many guitar lessons or we were just the worst he'd ever taught. Nevertheless, after about an hour he gave up on the basics and just taught us how to play our favourite songs on one string. It was then that I learnt my first riff - Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes. I played it over and over with my friends and we had a laugh.
It was rare that I went home with a feeling of excitement, I couldn't believe that I could actually play something on the guitar. I didn't tell my mum or anything, she was busy, so I went upstairs to check on the rabbits and have some time alone to think about the day. I remember opening the door to find one of the rabbits on the bed staring at me...it's weird the little things you remember isn't it? Anyway, I was exhausted so I moved the rabbit and laid down, all I could think about was the guitar and that riff. It was playing in my head like a broken record.
It was then that I looked over and saw that Sally had a guitar (I don't actually know if she is aware of this story at all), it was a classical 3/4 beginner, obviously I had no idea what that meant at the time. I picked it up and gave it a strum, it was most likely out of tune, but back then I doubt I would have noticed. It felt weird because, even though I swore I had memorised how to play it, I just couldn't. Eventually however, after about half an hour or so, I had found the right place on the fret board to pick and play the riff. The feeling was awesome.
That's all I remember unfortunately, I said before that it's weird how one can remember such little things, but I believe it's even stranger when you forget such big things. All I know is that somehow I ended up getting that guitar off Sally (did I buy it or something?) and learnt a ton of new stuff because of it.
Going Electric
Similar to Bob Dylan (yeah right), it was my time to move on from what was essentially a toy, to what is essentially the thing that helped me progress the most in my ability. That of course is the Electric Guitar. As I was still a beginner and had limited funds, I had to purchase the cheapest guitar out there...from Littlewoods. For those that don't know what Littlewoods is, it's basically a catalogue store that let you pay for your stuff on a weekly basis...and charge a shitload of interest in the process, not only that but my mum would get a commission. It's your standard rip-off. Anyway, I had probrably spent around £150 (which took me around a year to pay off by the way) for the shittest guitar ever made - once again, I had no idea at the time. It came with the shittest amp, the shittest strap and they even forgot to include a shitty cable, which meant I actually had to send the whole shitty lot back and wait 2 shitty weeks for them to deliver it again...with the shitty cable this time.
So, I quickly progressed, learning new songs, new techniques and even whole albums. The first album that I could play all the way through was American Idiot by Green Day. I could play plenty of their other stuff too, but American Idiot, even now, is an integral part of my musical ability...even though Green Day couldn't play their way out of a paper bag.
It wasn't just Green Day however, bands like Blink 182 and the Foo Fighters were added to my repetoire, which kept growing and growing. Of course, this was all power chords and little licks here and there, I would eventually branch out into other realms of guitar, it was never easy though.
The Killers
It wasn't just Green Day however, bands like Blink 182 and the Foo Fighters were added to my repetoire, which kept growing and growing. Of course, this was all power chords and little licks here and there, I would eventually branch out into other realms of guitar, it was never easy though.
The Killers
Definitely the biggest influence on my guitar playing, other than Green Day has been the Killers. In the Summer of 2005, my family and I were packing our stuff and leaving Manchester for Sutton, it was around this time that Live 8 was on. So as we were putting all our valuables into boxes we watched tons and tons of bands and artists play some awesome music. Around halfway through, the Killers came on, wearing all white. I thought "Christ..." I was actually dreading it, but they played exceptionally well, I couldn't believe how good Dave Keuning's guitar sounded! They only played one song "All These Things That I've Done", but it was probably the highlight of the entire event for me.
Over the next couple of days I loaded a blank disc full of Killers songs (that I had downloaded for free...bad Allen) because I needed some music for the long drive that Jenny and I would be taking (we were moving a bunch of stuff to the new house). It was a bit of a risk to have only one CD of songs that I'd never listened to on such a long drive...what if I didn't like them? Obviously, since I've dedicated a whole section of my blog to them, I needn't have worried.
Since then, they've released 3 more albums and a live DVD. I can play every single song they've ever made, infact, around 4 years ago, probably more, I recorded Mr Brightside on my acoustic guitar, with just a headset to record with...here it is:
There is two tracks on there, rhythm and lead. Both done in one take each. It is ridden with mistakes and mic bumps, but I like it, it's raw.
Anyway, enough about the Killers...
Pain.Over the next couple of days I loaded a blank disc full of Killers songs (that I had downloaded for free...bad Allen) because I needed some music for the long drive that Jenny and I would be taking (we were moving a bunch of stuff to the new house). It was a bit of a risk to have only one CD of songs that I'd never listened to on such a long drive...what if I didn't like them? Obviously, since I've dedicated a whole section of my blog to them, I needn't have worried.
Since then, they've released 3 more albums and a live DVD. I can play every single song they've ever made, infact, around 4 years ago, probably more, I recorded Mr Brightside on my acoustic guitar, with just a headset to record with...here it is:
There is two tracks on there, rhythm and lead. Both done in one take each. It is ridden with mistakes and mic bumps, but I like it, it's raw.
Anyway, enough about the Killers...
Bit of an exaggeration, but yes, since I've been serious about guitar I've had to experience some pain and a little bit of sacrifice. Let's bullet point...
- First and foremost, my fingertips are like leather...it's pretty much deadskin, I have no sensation there at all which can be annoying at times.
- Now and again I can't feel anything in my right shoulder, all of a sudden it will just go numb.
- In my wrist I've experienced a dull ache here and there, most likely due to RSI. These days it's mostly OK though.
- The hand in which I hold the pick has bled numerous times, due to me strumming and my pick missing the string/s...which results in my thumb hitting it instead...major pain.
- The joints in my left hand can hurt, especially when I'm playing power chords.
The Rest is History...
I could go into some major specifics about what my setup is and all that, but obviously I'm going to do that in another blog further down the line. I also want to go into more detail of how I learnt and how I keep learning.
I will say this though...I can't believe how much I have progressed in such a short time. 7 years it has took me to get to where I am musically and it keeps going. My abilites nowadays can range from Led Zeppelin to Jimi Hendrix...if I put my mind to it and focus hard enough, I can usually play it. The more I play however, the worse the pain gets. I'm still not sure whether it's worth the tendon damage, but I guess I'll find out the hard way in years to come. Ah well, fuck my nerve endings.
For a look at some of my guitar playing, Click Here
I will most likely do another guitar blog as I didn't cover alot. There is 7 years worth of guitar playing to look back on and I want to have it written down to the best of my knowledge on here.
Anyway, this is going on too long, I'll check ya later.
'Till next time...
I will say this though...I can't believe how much I have progressed in such a short time. 7 years it has took me to get to where I am musically and it keeps going. My abilites nowadays can range from Led Zeppelin to Jimi Hendrix...if I put my mind to it and focus hard enough, I can usually play it. The more I play however, the worse the pain gets. I'm still not sure whether it's worth the tendon damage, but I guess I'll find out the hard way in years to come. Ah well, fuck my nerve endings.
For a look at some of my guitar playing, Click Here
I will most likely do another guitar blog as I didn't cover alot. There is 7 years worth of guitar playing to look back on and I want to have it written down to the best of my knowledge on here.
Anyway, this is going on too long, I'll check ya later.
'Till next time...
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