Assuming we have musicians in this OT forum tell some history or stories and beginnings

Sky Blue Lou said:
I wanted to be a Rock n Roll Star - So inviting, so-o-o enticing to play the part.

Yeah it's all Bowie's fault. And Freddie. Saw Queen at 15. Blue Oyster Cult at 17. I had a Secret Treaty. Couldn't play a fuckin lick but I could sing along.
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Same here. Until I lucked out and learned to play. Said it before but you have some fine taste in music, sir.
 
Seeker of Rock said:
No shit, a jukebox? And not being digital back then with complex mechanics, those things were seriously business. Your folks own a bar or diner they ordered it for or they were just rich and shit?
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My father was a tool and die maker and an excellent diesel and engine mechanic. A bar owner in town owned a large party fishing boat and blew the diesel engine. He hired my father to fix it. Part of the payment was, the bar owner was replacing his 78 jukebox with a 45 jukebox and my father took the 78 jukebox as partial payment. My old man could fix just about anything I came to find out. He had three cookie tins of watch parts and would sit there with his eyeloop and put together maybe a watch every two months from the parts. He took lawn mower engines and mounted them on bike frames and my brothers and I had dirt bikes before they were the thing. He could weld an braze anything. He would always fix my HO cars and trains if they went down. He made a lot of money on the side doing mechanical repairs of all kinds. He built his own steam engine, his own air compressor etc.
 
jimmys69 said:
Ok, I'll continue with my short life version:

After I saw KISS at 8 yrs old, I begged mom for a Hondo Destroyer. Got it. After a few years I still sucked at guitar and met a guy who played bass and that took over my muse. Guess it was time to be Gene and not Paul... lol

I started playing Iron Maiden records from top to bottom. Quite well I will say. Friends nicknamed me Jimmy Harris. Was 16 by then. My friends had a shitty band called 'Chicks With Dicks'. They wouldn't let me in the band because I was too good and my hair was too short. A fucking blessing actually. They were so Poison like. Ugh.

So I joined a cover band with musicians in their 30's. Mind you I just got my drivers license. That didn't last very long.

From there an original act stole me. That band was so close to being signed. Barry Fey was managing us. Headlined tons of local gigs and got layed way too much for a bass player. Performed at mid size theater and club gigs opening for everyone from Pantera, Fates Warning, COC, Nuclear Assault, Doro Pesh, Savatage, Flotsom, Bullet Boys, Extreme, Lynch Mob, to one wonderful gig at Mile High Stadium. Rocky Mountain Jam 2 with REO Speedwagon, Damn Yankees, Kings X. Yeah we played at noon, but wow! Oh, and I conceived my 30 year old daughter that evening. Rock N Roll! :love: :drunk:

So when the recording contract fell through, we split up and I changed instruments to drums. From then I hooked up with a local DJ and formed another original band. With the use of the DJ's connections, I played many other really large venues opening for Kid Rock, POD, Suicidal Tendencies, and oh yeah, Firefall. One of them fuckers stole my Rok n Sok drum throne!

After that got old hearing from others that I was just in the band to play big shows (DUH!), I started some other more personal projects playing drums or bass.

Life went on, got older, and became more of a daddy. Now I record other peoples broken dreams. LOL

Actually tonight I am jamming with the remaining 'living' members of the band that played Mile High Stadium. Just for fun. No intentions other than maybe a glory days gig.

Life goes on for a wannabe washed up rock star. LOL! I'm happy though. :-)
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You and I have sooo many similarities in our paths and timeframes of when and how 🤟
 
Track Rat said:
I come from a musical family. I have a banjo the was my great grandfather's. My Dad worked for Gibson back in the early 50's and did some radio work on WSM. There was a jam session at our house nearly every weekend when I was growing up. Many of them recorded as my Dad had a decent Sony reel to reel. That's when I knew what I wanted to do.
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Sent you a PM btw

You are one of my analog inspirers and keepers of the faith from yesteryear. Some accomplished engineers that used to (maybe some do) hang out at this site and a wealth of knowledge in here. You had a hand-built (but basic unfancy) mixer stand for your analog board, outboard chain and real everything in early 2000’s when ITB was ALL the rage and a small few weren’t convinced and kept doing what we knew and how we knew how to do it. Ironic that the home ITB has turned on itself. The cheap wheel levels version of TASCAM 4 track for $99 in 2002 sells for thrice or more that price, and a 414 will cost you a finger or left nut. Dumpster Diver Dave, Ghost of FM, Chessparov, Blue Bear studios, so many more. Remember you well and came across the ‘Does anyone use real drums anymore’ thread recently. When I log in I try to brief a few music forums and briefly peruse, usually stickies at the top, so I still feel like a musician and part of that realm of this community. Hopefully you’re still all analog and holding the torch high 🤟🤟🤟
 
Seeker of Rock said:
They cut their teeth for a bit before becoming brilliant businessmen as documentaries and autobiographies go. Same with Queen.
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I'm referencing the band New England. The issue was they had the same management (Aucoin) as Kiss but got booked for the same accommodations and travel as Kiss without the headliner paycheck. When offered the second tour, they negotiated to arrange their own.
 
Seeker of Rock said:
You did not share your Zappa story here yet. Do tell
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I met Frank after his last show in Portland, Maine 1988. Went to the bar at the hotel he was staying at. Saw all the band guys but no Frank. It was late, we had an hour drive home so went to leave and waited for the elevator. A long time. When it finally came up to our floor I was bitching. "About fuckin time!" sez I and turned to get in and was standing face to face with Mr. Z himself. He stuck out his hand, we shook and we rode the elevator to his floor. I told him it was a great show, he thanked me and went to his room. A highlight for me. Frank was my hero.
 
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Sky Blue Lou said:
I met Frank after his last show in Portland, Maine 1988. Went to the bar at the hotel he was staying at. Saw all the band guys but no Frank. It was late, we had an hour drive home so went to leave and waited for the elevator. A long time. When it finally came up tour floor I was bitching. "About fuckin time!" sez I and turned to get in and was standing face to face with Mr. Z himself. He stuck out his hand, we shook and we rode the elevator to his floor. I told him it was a great show, he thanked me and went to his room. A highlight for me. Frank was my hero.
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That’s pretty fukking cool man🤟
 
dogooder said:
My father was a tool and die maker and an excellent diesel and engine mechanic. A bar owner in town owned a large party fishing boat and blew the diesel engine. He hired my father to fix it. Part of the payment was, the bar owner was replacing his 78 jukebox with a 45 jukebox and my father took the 78 jukebox as partial payment. My old man could fix just about anything I came to find out. He had three cookie tins of watch parts and would sit there with his eyeloop and put together maybe a watch every two months from the parts. He took lawn mower engines and mounted them on bike frames and my brothers and I had dirt bikes before they were the thing. He could weld an braze anything. He would always fix my HO cars and trains if they went down. He made a lot of money on the side doing mechanical repairs of all kinds. He built his own steam engine, his own air compressor etc.
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You’re not gonna tell me you were born a poor black child are you?
 
I worked hard to reach the musical ability I have. I am not a great player but I am not a slouch either. It got to the point where I knew what I was doing, don't play the wrong notes, stay in time, remember the lyrics, try and sing it with feeling, all so rigid. I miss the days when everything was an experiment, new. I would start learning jazz if I actually liked it, but I am not that fond of a lot of it. I like big band swing a lot. I get bored listening to myself and have lost the motivation to do anything about it.
 
dogooder said:
I won the lottery, I was Born in the U.S.A. with half a brain and penchant for lying. Grew up in a lower middle class family in a very small town on the Jersey coast.
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Jerry Springsteen? Bruce's brother or 1st cousin? Spill the truth.
 
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