Only idiots don't know what a whammy is for!
Hello folks. Well, what can I say. Win some lose some. I made a stupid mistake in my REVERSED ROOT Chromatic doohicky. But I fixed it. Think of this as ear training. Move it to any string and think of which Chord form you are using. Then reverse it. Play this round of fifths in BOTH frames of reference, calling the root out loud...12 TIMES in the morning. 12 times at night, for a week, and I'll guarantee you will begin to see things you never thought about. THEN, move it up a string and memorize THOSE roots. THEN, up another string...well, you get the idea. Ok, where
was I........oh yea, cowboy land........
1961- YEEEEEEEEEEES,

schools out, summer is here, and I get to move home. Our new place is in Rancho Cordova California. About 8 miles from Folsom. HOTDANG, just got my license and I'm 16 years old. But still got no geetar! Oh well. Time to play.
Rancho was very cool. Lots of kids my age, lots of stuff to do to. Like go to Folsom Lake. Absolutely stunning. I get to drive there once in a while to swim. Water clear as ...well, water. Ha! Still is. If you ever get go there, do. Not as nice as Lake Tahoe, but still great. On the way, I pass what will be my new highschool in Folsom. Nice school. Hope I fit in. You know those feelings.
Summer nights in Sacramento are beautiful. I stay up late most nights listening to the radio. Pop radio stations in Sac are hip. I love it. Rock and roll is changing but I still love it. There are lots of new stars, and lots of guitar stuff that I can't wait to learn. But WHEN!!! After a couple of weeks, I settle in and roam around the neighborhood, meeting other kids and finding out the
"scene". There is Mather Air Force Base right up the street. Since my dad was in the navy, he has access rights even being retired. That means I do too! I go out to the base. Cool. They have the usual movie house, bowling alley, the commisary...cool, I can make a few bucks bagging groceries.. and a giant pool!!
I loved to swim. Most days, I'd go to the commisary in the morning and make about $20 and then go swimming or bowling. Too much fun. The pool is loaded with girls too. WOW! Hatchahatcha! Sixteen...my hormones are going nuts. And the American river too. 'Bout a half a mile away. By the time I walked to it I'd be burning up from the heat, but the river was ice cold and clear. Beautiful. But most of the time I was thinking about a guitar. I'd save for a week and then blow it on gas and movies. There was a drive in movie about a 1/4 mile away...man, compared to Whidbey, this place had everything. Everything but a dance hall. Where were the dances. Little did I know.
One night I get a call from my Aunt Pat. She lived in Oakland California. Her and my uncle had a veterenary hospital. He was a vet, and their janitor was going on vacation for two weeks. So they asked me if I would like to work for 2 weeks and make a little money. Cool. I loved my Aunt Pat.
She had money, a nice house and a BRAND NEW THUNDERBIRD!! Holy moly. Sure I said. I always liked going there because my cousingJackie was only a year younger than me, and we had a ball when we got together. He played piano too, which I always wanted to learn. Hmmm.
The next day dad takes me there. Two hour trip to the Bay area. Man it was good to get out of that valley heat. The bay looked great and the air was cool. Weather was nice in the summer there. Jackie and I spend the weekend doing all kinds of fun stuff...swimming at the WMCA, skating, fooling around on the piano...and then there was the PARTY!! Saturday night they were throwing an adult party with lots of music, food, dancing and BOOZE. Hahahah. First time I got really drunk...we snuck a bottle down into the basement...Jack Danials I think.....oh my head. But kids recover quick. Besides, there was fun to be had.
I learn the job routine pretty quick. The days go by fast too. Lots to do after work. Movies, etc. My aunt liked me. She smoked, and I was trying out stuff. Smoking looked cool. She gives me a pack of cigs. Wow. I feel like an adult. She asks if Jackie and I would like to take the Thunderbird
to the Drive In on Friday night.

Its a 1961 Cobalt blue convertable. HOLY SHIT! Do I want to WHAT??? Does a bear shit in the....you know. Of FUCKING COURSE!! She knew. And grinned. What a ball. She gives us a Twenty and says have fun. We do. LOTS of it. After the movie, we cruise the local Hamburger hangout. Tons of girls and cars and BAD MOFO's with slicked back hair, black leather jackets, etc. Motorcycle club dudes. I was nervous. We don't stay long.
The end of the second week comes quick. Time passes fast when you are having fun. Even work wasn't bad. Lots of animals, and great lunches at nice restaurants. My folks are typical military with not much money. This is heaven. Last day, and its PAYDAY!! YES YES. My aunt is very generous. She says, "you did a great job. Now, I can either pay you or buy you something
you really want. THE MAGIC WORDS!! Visions of guitars are rolling through my head. "I want an electric guitar Aunt Pat". No problem. Lets look in the paper. Like I said, I was never around guitars much, so I really didn't know anything about them. What brands, what colors etc etc. I knew what I wanted though. I wanted a black Fhole with white purfling. Didn't matter the brand, if it looked like that Sears catalog special, I'd be happy.
We crused the want ads. Wow. Theres six or seven for sale. But they are expensive. What about an amp too. hmmmm, never thought about that one. Damn. I couldn't have made much money. I mean, minimum wage was a buck an hour. Crap. I see one with an amp and its only a mile away. Cool. But its $400. My aunt looks and says, lets go look. My heart stops. Then starts
beating out of my chest. Naw, couldn't happen in a lifetime. I'm not that lucky. We drive in the Thunderbird.
The guy is on the porch and says come on in. We walk through the door...OH MY GOD!! Its FUCKING BEAUTIFUL. Exactlly what I want. A jet black F hole with white purfling. Naw, this isn't happening. I pinch myself. "You want to try it out?" he says. WHO? ME? Gulp. Now, I never held an electric guitar, let alone pluck one, or strum. What do I do? "Heres a pick" he says. I take the pick. My Aunt is grinning. I am shaking. Over the shoulder with the strap, and now what. Oh, want to plug it in?" he says. PLUG IT IN? OH SHIT. I hadn't even noticed this giant box in the corner. White with black grill cloth. Hmmm, whats that big chrome thing on the floor
next to it with a red light and a cord coming out? You gotta be fucking shitting me. THATS THE AMP?

Might as well been a stack of marshalls. Hahahahaha, it was really small compared to amps these days, but it was a fucking monster to me.
He plugs it in. Then reaches over to the other side......wha the...?? Another cord? Yea" he says. Stereo. WHAT DID YOU SAY? Stereo. He's crazy.

There's no such thing...I mean...what the fuck is stereo? He turns on the amp and runs his nails across the strings ......"BRIDDDDINGGGGGGGG...G G G G G G h Gha wa wa wa !
WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SOUND? "Vibrato" he says. HOLY FUCK! I've never heard something sound so BIG, SO COOL< ......I'm haveing a dream...my heart is beating, the room is vibrating ...IN STEREO!!! I WANT IT!! My aunt walks off to talk to him...I'm haveing visions of rock and roll stars..hahaha! thats it....PULLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEESE ...,my Aunt walks in the room...Does
that fill the bill? OH YES!! ..Its yours. I faint. Almost. I can't be alive. This aint happening. She pulls out her checkbook. I sweat. This deal isn't happening..is it? It is? FUCK... a guitar!!! WOW
He takes the check and says..here is the case, picks, a guitar book and a tuning fork. Holy cow, the whole kit and kabootal. AND, lets put the amp together. I didn't even notice. Stereo speaker boxes....holy moly. The amp looked like an old Macintosh..chrome chassi with a black expanded
metal cover over the tubes. Those pointy knobs and a big red light. Two inputs, and two speaker outputs. The amp slipped into one of the bottom of the back of one of the speakers, then the other snapped over it to enclose the amp. Wow, it was even on wheels. I was in heaven.
We load it up and head for home. I don't sleep all night. Just stare and strum nothing. I'm numb. I try to finger some notes. I have clubs for fingers. They don't move like musicians fingers. Clumbsy,
un-subtle, clubs. I don't even plug it in yet. Its late and I don't want to wake my Aunt. My shirt sleeve catches on something.......what the hell is that? I was so in shock I hadn't even noticed this long, metal bar coming out of..what do you call it? The bridge? And whats that spring there
for. He hadn't shown me that....what does it do. I touch it and it feels springy. I look.....wha the..hmmmmmm. I strum and push the bar....WOW!
BHWANGGGGGGOOOWWWOHHHHHHHAH!! The pitch drops. I move it back and forth..holy shit. Whats that for? Hmmmm....theres four knobs too! What do those do...man, what a jerk. I was so shocked, I really hadn't even looked at everything on the guitar..Two giant chrome pickups, and a white pickgaurd...hmmm...theres a switch too...bet it selects the pickups. I can't wait to try it out tomorrow. Chrismas in the summer. Thats what it was. I was in heaven. I finally had my first electric guitar. Things were looking up.
Well folks, here it is midnight again. Time for bed and a question.
What brand of guitar do you think this was? To this day I've never seen another. I sold it for $50 about a year later. What a moron.
Here is another question? What scaletone 7th chord is a half diminished chord. And what scaletone chord in the same key is enharmonic to it with no root?
Ok folks, thats all for now. Tune in same time, same station, for another episode of theJourney.
fitZ