Guitar the Right Way

Practicing in bed because of my back. It’s always helpful to have a bedroom guitar.

Not to be glib, but I like to say I’m in the throes of my Second Guitar Renaissance. This time, I think it’s with me for life. Why? Because I’m going about it the right way.

The First Guitar Renaissance took place between 1996 and 2007. I picked up a guitar primarily because I needed a hobby and I had recently shredded my shoulder, forcing to give up tennis. From Day One, I went about things all wrong.

When I got my first guitar, King Crimson was deep into the music of their Double Trio lineup. I couldn’t get enough of them. From the moment the guitar came into the house, all I could think about was starting a band.

We might learn a Crimson tune or two, but we’d focus on writing our own material. No covers for us! We’d record albums and maybe even go on a quick tour or two. This was gonna be great! And it was.

Until it wasn’t.

Una (Latin for “one”), a 1988 Fender Stratocaster (yes, American for you guitar nerds). She’s my primary guitar named not just for the Latin but also after Una Chin Riley, the first officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise on *Star Trek: Strange New Words.* Hence, the Starfleet delta.

I made the mistake of relying on others to achieve complete musical satisfaction. This was a bad idea. A CD was recorded, though not to my satisfaction. We couldn’t keep a drummer. And the other guys weren’t nearly as committed to the band as I was. It was a recipe for disaster. Which is precisely what the experience was.

The gigs never happened, the band collapsed, I got depressed, and I all but quit playing guitar. I sold off just about all my gear. What was the point?

I shouldn’t have done that. Let’s go ahead and call it the third biggest mistake of my life.+ The guitars I gave up … I just want to cry when I think about it.^

In 2017, I thought I wanted to play again. I even wound up buying a couple of guitars. But it didn’t take. For the most part, the gear just sat around. Ironically, it took the piano part of the theme for the HBO series Westworld to not just re-ignite but pour gasoline on my musical pilot light. A digital piano led to an acoustic guitar led to David Bowie led to me getting excited about playing guitar.

Little Troublemaker, an Epiphone ES-339. So named because that was my first thought when I felt the neck. Perfect for my “jam band” mindset.

But this time, I’m doing things the right way.

What does that mean? Well, for starters, I’m playing guitar strictly to amuse myself and no one else. I have less than zero interest in forming a band. That’s not to say I won’t play with others. I have been asked to sit in with a group now and then, which I find intriguing. And my recording project Break’s Over, will feature more than a few friends making a racket with me. But just about all the collaborations will be “one and done.” No pressure.

And I’m learning other people’s songs. Lots of them. I’m slowly filling a notebook with the chords for songs I really like. Some of them I’ll perform for my friends in Skokie.* Some of them I’ll learn for my own amusement. The point is, while I may come up with my own tunes here and there, I’m more than happy to work out the chords from someone else’s work so I can jam along in my living room.

I’m also trying to absorb a little more music theory, though the results have been mixed. I’ll get there. Or not. Either way, I’m gonna have fun just playing.

The Menace, an Epiphone Les Paul Standard. Perfect for my metal moods.

So, here I am. The song chords notebook is filling up, the callouses are forming on my fingertips, there are days when I have a guitar within reach at all times. I’m enjoying myself.

And that’s everything. Anything else is a great big bonus!

Excuse me, would you? Una is calling.

+ The second biggest mistake? Selling off the vast majority of my CD collection in 2006 and downloading all the music into an external hard drive. Disaster. The biggest? I’m keeping that to myself.

^ What did I offload? Let’s see … a Taylor 314CE I adored; my original Number One, a ‘96 American Strat I modified heavily (and Adrian Belew signed); my Gibson Chet Atkins SST; a Japanese hardtail Strat; a black ‘84 Strat with a maple neck that looked like Eric Clapton’s; a ‘79 Strat I modified with three “Hotrail” pickups; a Sterling MusicMan Stingray 5-string bass; a chrome metal dobro … the list goes on. Fuck. These days, only Una is American made.

*I’m part of a group of talented musicians (who seem willing to tolerate me) who play music online together every week and have the occasional party where everyone gets together in person. It’s a great time and I’m eager to participate.

#cirdecsongs

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