New member saying hi! Back on guitar after a decade.

[CrackHouseBoat]

Hey everyone! My name is Allan, brand new here so just thought I’d take a moment to introduce myself. I’m 40 years old and currently live in Northern California. I have been playing music virtually my entire life. Picked up the guitar around age 11, followed by drums about a year later. I’d say drums are where I excel, but I’m fairly decent guitar player as well. Started my first “real” band at 16 and would continue non stop up until the pandemic ruined things for us. During time I played guitar, drums, bass, and sang lead with 8 different bands, mostly indie, punk, and emo stuff, but played drums in a classic rock a’la Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and rhythm guitar in really fun group that I best describe at The Strokes meets classic soul music. A couple of the groups did alright, never made the big time, but was lucky enough to go on several tours, put out a handful of hard copy records, some digital releases, made a few magazine features, it really was an amazing time. I still play, my new project will be in the studio here in a couple months and will be playing shows up and down the state, possibly pacific coast, but I believe my touring days are behind me.

After spending most of the past decade behind a drum kit, I’ve just started a new project that has me back on guitar in far too long. I’ve had a ton of gear over the years, but recently decided to par down the collection. I’m left with only 3 electrics; a 1995 Fender Jag-Stang in Fiesta Red that I purchased new, it’s modded with an Invader in the bridge and I think it’s an underrated player; a 1994 Gibson Les Paul Premium Plus in sunburst, also purchased new, and for the majority of my life was my main guitar, now my backup. A couple years after purchase, I installed a vintage Bigsby on her, and somehow she stays in tune better than just about any guitar I’ve ever owned, go figure haha Praise Slash’s Ghost lol ; and my 2012 Gibson Jeff Tweedy Signature SG in Blue Mist. This is the second SG I’ve owned (had a mid-90s Standard at one point) and is my main guitar for my new project. I just recently sold my long time rig, a pristine vintage Hi Watt Custom 50 head with matching Hi Watt 4x12 cab, and am now running through an Orange TH30 head and matching Orange 2x12 cab. I do my own setups and whatever repairs and electronic work I’m capable of. I spent several years learning from a rather skilled luthier when I was in my late teens-early 20s and, believe it or not, some of the knowledge still remains. I just set my Tweedy up for .12-.56 strings, she plays and sounds fantastic and now stays in tune like nobody’s business.

I’m happy to part of the community, and I look forward to chatting with you all and undoubtedly learning many things along the way.

Speak soft and play loud.

 

[CrackHouseBoat]

Pardon any and all typos, this new phone is absolutely killing me with the autocorrect!!

 

[Go Nigel Go]

Hi and Welcome! Sounds like some fun and diverse projects. My idea of heaven is a collaberative project where everybody is swapping instruments, making noises, and taking chances! Learning new things always gets the creative juices flowing.

 

[CrackHouseBoat]

Hi and Welcome! Sounds like some fun and diverse projects. My idea of heaven is a collaberative project where everybody is swapping instruments, making noises, and taking chances! Learning new things always gets the creative juices flowing.

Thank you for the nice greeting!

It has definitely been fun getting to dip my toes in a few different styles of rock music over the years, it definitely helped me progress as a musician, especially the soul group, that one pushed me harder than any of the others.

And I agree, having other band members who play multiple instruments is such a luxury when it comes to songwriting. The drummer in my current project is a talented bass player and guitar player as well, and having an understand of how one another’s instruments are played has really opened some new and exciting doors for then both of us, if I hear a missed opportunity for a drum fill or suggest he try something half time, or maybe he thinks my chord progression is wrong, or wants to hear the solo smoother with more sustained notes rather than “picky”, being able to make such suggestions or critique one another freely without it ever coming off a being a jerk is great. We’re having to work on our other guitarist a bit in that regard haha he’s coming around, but can still be a little, let’s say, “protective” of the parts he writes haha

 

[Go Nigel Go]

I hear you, cultivating an open collaborative environment where everyone serves the music first before individual glory is the key to all of my favorite bands. They all do it, and while it may be hard for some folks to establish at first it really makes everything easier and improves the final results. I have been in a couple of bands that had that going, and it was great. They were the longest lasting (5-ish years or so) and most productive projects I ever worked on even though they were primarily cover bands playing in bars. The "magic" was far more memorable than the money for sure!

 

[papagayo]

Welcome, do you have pictures of the Jeff Tweedy SG? I like the pelham blue body with natural neck finish.

 

[CrackHouseBoat]

Welcome, do you have pictures of the Jeff Tweedy SG? I like the pelham blue body with natural neck finish.

Thanks! Definitely happy to be here, it’s a great community. More than happy to share a few pics, please excuse the messy workbench.

In a few, I’m going to post sort of a write up/review of the guitar just in case that sort of thing might interest you. I’m basically playing it for the first time recently here, and seeing as it’s really made quite an impression on me, I want to share my thoughts. I know it had a pretty low production run and I see they’re not exactly inexpensive anymore. I believe I paid $1,200 for mine back in 2012 brand new through Guitar Center using my buddies artist discount, so I was willing to chance it sight unseen, but at what I’ve seen them going for recently I might have a harder time pulling the trigger. There’s reviews out there already but not all that many, hoping mine might offer something to help a person stuck on the fence.

 

[CrackHouseBoat]

I hear you, cultivating an open collaborative environment where everyone serves the music first before individual glory is the key to all of my favorite bands. They all do it, and while it may be hard for some folks to establish at first it really makes everything easier and improves the final results. I have been in a couple of bands that had that going, and it was great. They were the longest lasting (5-ish years or so) and most productive projects I ever worked on even though they were primarily cover bands playing in bars. The "magic" was far more memorable than the money for sure!

The memories are everything. Music has given me an incredible life, shared the stage with some of my idols, traveled to places I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to see, and bright some amazing people into my life.