music history

[Wiley]

I thought it might be interesting to see where everybody's music styles ect came from.  A little story about our own history.   I will be brave and start with mine.  In high school I played upright bass. Then started bass guitar. Graduated started in a band.  3 years later our band hit the road. PLayed midwest area mainly.  But I got to play in Canada 3 times. Thunderbay, Ontario.  Medicine Hat Alberta, MooseJaw, Saskatchewan.  This was in mid 70's. Loved it.  Then got marrried whoa  Stilled played in bands.  LIved in Ne. for 10 yrs. Lived in Mi 10 yrs. and now back in Iowa.  Have had bands all along the way. Mostly country and old rock'n roll . Hence the country voice. But I am trying to break away.  Now I play occasionally.  Am finding it's nice to find out that some of you really aren't that far away.  But this is so much nicer.   We can come together from all over the world. That wasn't possible before.  And I want you to know that this site has inspired me to keep on playing and singing.  I love you all!! 

[Kody]

Well............. My dad always played guitar and sang- mommy sings too. My older brother picked up the drums pretty good by age 15. So when he and my dad would jam, I'd be jealous that I didn't get to play....so, I picked up the bass at age 11...Dad showed me around...By age 13 I was strumming on the 6-string.  My brother and I got to play in all the bars w/ are dad (it was just NE Nebraska). By the time I was 15 I started a band w/ my cousins and my Brother played bass(yeah the drummer)It was called Empathy. We did pretty good, playing almost every weekend. The highlight I would say of that was playing live on the local radio.  We recorded an album and even got permission to cover "House of the Rising Sun" by the time the album was done- we went are separte ways. I had a kid when I was 19...but still had a few bands here and there....Now I'm 27, going to school to become an Elementary Music Teacher... Don't have much time for a band, but I LOVE recording new songs and sharing them with you all on this wonderful website!! There it is.......in a nutshell!!

[Ferryman]

OK, here goes:

- My older brother played folk guitar and got me into music like Traffic and Pink Floyd aged 10/11.
- I can remember wanting to play guitar from age about 10 onwards. Got my first acoustic aged 11 in 1968 (scary!).
- Took a few classical guitar lessons at school and hated every minute of it. Stopped that and taught myself, in those days there was no one to give you any lessons and no books on how to play rock guitar. Never had a lesson, but did buy a chord book. Just listened to what I liked and tried to copy it.
- Saved up to buy an electric guitar a couple of years later (lot of money in those days). Played through an old radio to start with, later got a Sound City amp and my dad and I built a speaker cabinet to go with it. No effects apart from a FuzzFace (sounded pretty bad).
- Played rhythm guitar in a band at school doing covers and one or two originals (72-75 era), played parties, school concerts, small gigs.
- Formed first serious band at University in 1975. As soon as I saw the guitarist I met play, I dropped the guitar and switched to bass (he was, and still is, stunningly good). We started playing heavy rock/prog stuff, our keyboardist could play like Keith Emerson and the guitarist could cover anything by Hendrix or Brian May. Our vocalist was not good so I played bass and sang, then dropped the bass to concentrate on vox.
- Got into punk in a big way in 77/78, so the band was a kind of prog/punk crossover - I wrote three minute manic songs and they were played by incredible musicians!
- Left University in 78 and played in punk/power pop bands in Brighton. One band I was in was featured in an article in Sounds mag with a then as yet unsigned band called U2.......
- Played in Brighton, London and around the UK south coast very seriously till about 88-89. Played bass first and then switched back to guitar. Tried very hard to get signed, one band called Masque actually got pretty close in 85 but after that it was all down hill. Mainly post-punk/goth type stuff (imagine Simple Minds meets Bauhaus with a bit of Killing Joke thrown in).
- Gave up in 89, sold the Marshall stack. Became a bedroom musician, always planned to write and record stuff, never got round to it until I discovered the BR, this site and you guys.
- One bright spot in recent history - three of us from the University band got back together for a reunion when were all 50 a couple of years ago. We have continued playing since then and plan to do one or two gigs this year. 

That's the quick version - the rest will have to wait for my (never to be published) autobiography!

Cheers,

Nigel

[Greeny]

I grew up on a diet of The Beatles, Cream, Blues, Stones, Hendrix, Ian Dury and Nick Lowe etc - my dad had some good stuff I still love to this day. Nobody in my family is musical, but I picked up my sisters 5-string (and out of tune) acoustic guitar at the age of 15 and started teaching myself some chords. I was writing songs straight from the off. About the same time, I got a little casio keyboard and started experimenting with electronic music. All my favourite bands at the time were electronic-based: Heaven 17, Human League etc. And Japan. Pretty soon I hooked up with my school friend's synthesiser band as a vocalist - practising and writing but never gigging. It all fell apart as we went our separate ways when we finished school.

I got my first electric guitar at the age of 18, and progressed a little with my playing. I started a punk band called 'Charlie Don't Surf' and we used to make a racket at our village hall practice sessions. The trouble is, none of us could play very well, so I quit and spent the next 15 years playing and writing my music at home. Nobody ever heard it.

During my twenties I started doing a LOT of writing... poetry, stories, articles and the first stab at a novel. Words have always been important to me, so lyric writing is one of the things that comes easy (kind of...). I also did a lot of art and illustration. Painting is my first love, after all. 

A few years ago, I got bored of not knowing what chords I was playing, so I started to teach myself a bit more about the guitar. It was a revelation to learn new chords, and with every new chord I learned, my songwriting improved. The songs started to get better, along with my playing. I was confident enough now to sing live in front of an open mic audience, and I loved it. That was three years ago. Since then, I've honed my voice and songwriting with live performances in mind. It's been an ongoing improvement since then.

The final shift was getting the BR. Suddenly I had a professional-sounding recording studio in my hand, and the last 6 months has seen my songs take another leap forward.

So... that's me in a nutshell 

[Bro]

Well started playing the guitar when i was.. what?... 12 years old i think..
Had a strat squire. Went from being the guy who just stated playing to being the best in my grade, quite fast (The other guitar players never rehearsed).. (Trying not to sound like a selfish prick here, but thats not easy sometimes!)
Well a year later i started playing in this band where drummer, just started playing drums for the equation (imagine that  ) We were playing for about a year. Mostly Heavy metal cover songs .
Today i play in the same band, but with a new drummer.. The band in it self is as good as doomed.. (A lot of discussions!)
Anyway we have a show coming up this saturday.. Wish me luck!

[Ferryman]

Anyway we have a show coming up this saturday.. Wish me luck!

Good luck!

Cheers,

Nigel

[Bro]

Heh, never though that anybody would reply on that one 
Thanks anyway!

[Ferryman]

All my favourite bands at the time were electronic-based: Heaven 17, Human League etc. And Japan.

Ah Japan. Used to love them. At one stage I had a big floppy fringe with blonde highlights a la Sylvian. One of the best gigs I ever saw was Japan with Masami Tsuchiya on guitar, totally awesome. Also supported by Sandii and the Sunsetz, another great but underrated band from the 80s. My missus and I's "song" is Japan's version of "I second that emotion". Now I'm going all maudlin.....

Cheers,

Nigel

[Wiley]

I wish everyone luck on their adventures.  It's really neat to hear what got everyone started and to where we are today.  Greeny you are just to cool. Everyone is.
Thanks
P.J.

[Kody]

I started a punk band called 'Charlie Don't Surf' and we used to make a racket at our village hall practice sessions.

Dude, I distinctively remember Axl Rose wearing a "Charlie Don't Surf" Tshirt on some live Gn'R concert footage!  What's up with that!?