Music
February 11, 2008 | Nostalgia, Self-Kudos
After a L-O-O-O-N-G hiatus, I’ve started getting serious about music again.
Mom can tell you the stories. I got my first “electric bass guitar,” a Fender Mustang short-scale, when I was 15. My bio-Dad made the down payment for me and Mom and Dad arranged for the credit. I paid them by babysitting for the kids next door when we lived on 27th Street, whose single mother worked until the wee hours of the morning as a cocktail waitress.
I had that bass until my Freshman year in college when it was stolen from my dormitory. Wish I still had it; I think we bought it for something like $350 in 1973, and it’s now worth about $1,200 on eBay!
I didn’t have an amplifier at first so I bought an adapter cable at Radio Shack and plugged it into the amp in the cabinet-style stereo we had in the dining room (used to drive “Papa Luis” crazy because I’d forget to plug the turntable back in and they couldn’t figure out why the record player didn’t work!)
I went on from there to learn to play the acoustic guitar, then took classical guitar lessons at Alabama School of Fine Arts and majored in Music for a couple of years in college. While in college, I played bass ALL the time, upright bass in the college symphony, in a bluegrass group (”The Mud Acres String Band”), and in a Jazz trio. Played electric bass in a sort of “prog rock” band as well.
But after I dropped out of school for while in ‘77, I sort of lost my zeal for it, always thought I was just “not good enough,” really had low self-esteem in that regard, I guess. I got married to Lynda, and we immediately made Seay, and that was about it.
Of course, since then Seay has been trying to establish a music career of his own, and I’m proud of him.
I’ve always had a guitar or two lying around and from time to time I’d play a bit, then lose interest again. About three years ago I started getting VERY interested in playing again and got together a small group of guys in an “acoustic guitar” band, but that fizzled out pretty soon, too, with everyone too busy with other stuff.
My guitar (and bass) collection kept growing, however. I now have several acoustic guitars, three basses, a nice “jazz” guitar and a bunch of amps and other odds and ends. But lately, since I turned 50 I guess, instead of going for a sportscar and maybe a “blonde” accessory, I started really obsessing about playing music. I hunted around for some guys to play the stuff that I like - “jazz-rock” for want of a better name - and even have begun taking lessons in Jazz theory from a local professor of music.
Saturday I had my first “full-fledged” band rehearsal with some guys I found via the internet. One is a keyboardist about my age, has a music degree from University of Houston, very accomplished; another is a transplanted Englishman who’s an engineer at TI and does a lot with “programming” synthesizers, and the drummer is a young kid who doesn’t like the stuff most kids his age play.
The keyboard guy, Rick, already had some charts written down of some things he’d composed, and we just went at it, and really sounded pretty good by the end of the three hours we spent. I can still read music just well enough to get along, and then we just explained things to the drummer, who quickly “got it.”
I don’t know where it’ll lead - things like this usually fizzle out soon after they start for one reason or other - but it was just FUN to play again! I just missed it so much.
Anyway, when and if we record anything (which we plan to do very soon) I’ll be sure to post it up here.
(Gosh, I need to dredge up some old memories about Mom’s interesting reactions to some of my music “projects” when I was a teenager! Remember, the first kid is always a BIG revelation to the parents!)
5 Responses to “Music”
Way to go Bill. If your drummer drops out and you need a drummer for a record of course you can call me!
By lainie on Feb 11, 2008
I played last year with a group “Wayne & the Well Known Secrets” mostly rhythm and vocals. Wayne is a huge George Harrison fan so we would launch off into 40 minute long versions of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. I had it set to play every THUR at a pool hall in Southside but, the other members just got too tired too soon and they lasted for about 3 shows. I had to turn the next 4 months of our contract into a Singer/Songwriter night. The main thing about playing is, ask yourself a couple of questions.
1. Do we want to play live? If so, who is our audience? Where is our audience?
2. Do you just want to jam, practice and record? Do all of that you can and when you have a couple of CDs, then ask yourself all the questions from #1 whose answers you will apply to your CD release parties:).
That’s the BEST way to build and enjoy a following near and on the web:)
By Bud on Feb 11, 2008
Good Gollie Miss Mollie!! The things I don’t know about my adult young’uns would fill a volumn of Harry Potter sized books!!
Bill, All I remember about your early romance with music was that you almost drove me nutso that your life was going nowhere (you were fifteen), that you didn’t know what your future held, that you were hopelessly mired in a rut of never-ending nothingness of meaningless argh-gh-g-h-gh-gh!!! That you needed this kind of guitar and that kind of stuff of every kind of things I never knew existed or what you were gibbering about, but it all came out that you obviously were groping your way toward a “true love of music” and I didn’t know how to help you because I had to have my last thin dime to buy Carmen a diaper. That’s all I remember, Bill. Bottles and diapers. That’s all I remember in those days. Oh, yes, and some horrible, yucky kinds of Gerber baby foods that I shoved down Carmen’s mouth with a new baby thingy that was out on the market. You put the food in the container, and put the nipple in the baby’s mouth, and shoved it down baby’s throat in two seconds, then grabbed baby, Tony, Brenda, and Beth (who could only find one shoe, and I made her go bare footed, and it was November) and left for the super market. That’s all I remember.
By mother on Feb 13, 2008
Anyway, on a much lighter note….Congratulations, Bill. I saw some of those very neat guitars when we were there. I’m so glad you’re getting interested again in something you have always really loved to do; although somewhat intertwined in and out of your lifetime of fifty years. You have the talent that the Lord gave you, so use it and enjoy it. Who knows what will become of it. Bud knows the most about it.
By mother on Feb 13, 2008
Bill I found a set of drums I wanted today, they have earphones so no one hears them but you, and they are electronic, maybe people might maybe feel the impact , there only 1.500, just spot me that and I will be in your band
By lainie on Feb 16, 2008