The next step

In his most intriguing campy 50's superhero announcer voice...

"When we last left our hero in the previous blog post, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place having to sell his precious bass guitars for some quick cash. But little did he know the true task at hand that was awaiting him. THE ATTACK OF THE TWELVE STRING ACOUSTIC GUITAR!!! The skillmanship, the hours among hours of learning this new craft, and of course, having to tune the damn thing."

(insert high-pitched woman's scream)

"Will our hero prevail or will the next song that the BootLeG sampler.. will play be 'Taps.'"

Well, it's been hard trying to learn how to play a new instrument, but that should go without saying. Also factor in that I try to find time from between work, family, and other life distractions, it's just been going slow for me to try and pick it up. It's not like how I were learning how to play cause I had nothing to tie me down like in high school, I wouldn't be talking about it now. Of course I could use this time to practice as well, but I figure 'why if I already didn't have time and I was already on the computer, blog about it...'

So about a week or so ago the wifie decided to try to help me out in my guitar learning venture and picked up a copy of Guitar for Dummies. Not to say that I felt a little belittled because it's a Dummies book, but being a musician needing a Dummies book. So regardless of that, I used it, and to my great pleasure I was learning from it. It was good. After tuning the 12 string properly I was getting down and dirty with learning some of the basic essential chords.

Although Guitar for Dummies is designed for a six-string, I was arrogant enough to think that why not, I got 12, it should sound even more harmonic. But when I finally got to try to put some things together and play "Kumbayah," it left some things to be desired. Maybe it was the tuning of the guitar; (I did only tune low E and did everything else by ear which might have bit me in the ass more so than I thought) maybe it was the fact that I couldn't change up chords fast enough to keep to the rhythm; who knows. All I know is that it sucked at first. But than again, so did my bass playing why back when.

So I leave you with this. I will eventually conquer the guitar. I will make my twelve-string sing like a fat lady in an opera house, and it will be epic. Either that or wait until I have enough money to get a new bass and get back to the old habits.

Either way, it will be epic.

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

Full Circle

Guess all things do come to an end. This blog, at least for the time being is not what I'm talking about. What I'm referencing is the fact that I had to do probably one of the hardest things in my musical life. I sold my bass guitars. My babies that I acquired from the many, many years of playing and mastering, I had to sell.

There is reasoning for all this. One is the fact that I try to find time to play with them all but I just can't. Secondly is that I don't have that much space here so I need to get some stuff cleared out. Third; I kinda need the money, and I offer to sell them in other times of crisis but the wifie wouldn't let me until I manned up and said 'I gotta provide whichever way necessary,' or something to that effect.

It's just that I went through so much with those guys. They were my first true outlet to most of the music I learned to enjoy and love. I've been playing bass since I was 15. I started learning piano at 6 but never really took interest in that or any other instrument until high school. I can still play a couple of keys on a piano but I craved and loved the bass. Jazz, rock, soul, rap, gospel, country, Mexican-hat-dance,\; you name it, I played it. And now it's the end of an era.

The first one this week was my Ibanez four-string guitar. That's the one that got the most play since that was when I was in a real great and talented band that was local to when I was stationed in Camp LeJeune. I bought it when I was in Okinawa, took it back here and had a blast. That was a hard one to sell (as well as all of them I sold this week.)

The second one was my Ernie Ball five-string. It was my first five-string bass guitar and I felt like king of the world with that thing. I tuned it down to play slap bass like Fieldy from KoRn and P-Nut from 311; to just about any jazz set that I could get going. A lot of my later songs were composed for a five-string so that was good in that respect. It was hard to see that one leave right in front of me too (the other 2 basses this week the wifie sold while I was at work after I gave her a high-low price on them to sell at.)

And finally yesterday (well, earlier today depending if you read the post as soon as I posted it), I had my very first bass leave me. I was a student and just learning how to play it way back when. The wifie sold it to a mom and her fifth grade son. That was a sobering moment knowing that I gave my first bass to a kid as his first bass. I hope that he treats her right (yes, I refer to my basses as hers, it's just like cars or any other male possessive tangible property, it's how we're wired.) And I'm not afraid to admit; I cried a little, but it was a well deserved cry. This was a moment of mourning of something I had cherished go away. But I'm feeling better now that I've expressed such.

It's not that I'm lost without an instrument to play. I do still have my acoustic twelve-string guitar that I'm learning how to play. It's like the next step of my musical evolution and I look forward to making the plunge. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of bass guitar memories I will play on mastering the art of the guitar. Besides the wifie said that the next chance I get when there's a little extra cash that I'll shop for a new bass (insert gitty-school-girl wheeeeee here.)

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...