About 2 months ago I received a very nice surprise in my pay packet in the shape of about £1k as a result of having been slightly underpaid for the past couple of years. Now anyone who knows me will understand just how large a hole this instantly started to burn in my pocket. Before I had even confirmed with payroll that there had been no error made I was planning just what I could spend all this lovely money on. After dismissing the obvious first thoughts such as “how many CD’s could I buy?” I decided I needed to purchase something ‘substantial’.
I don’t have what you would call a hobby beyond listening to music and as I’m quite happy with my Hi-fi at the moment I didn’t see the need to replace any of my gear. So what else could I turn my hand to? And perhaps more to the point what could I turn my hand too that wouldn’t lead Gill to looking up divorce lawyers in the Yellow Pages? The answer came out of the left field and totally threw me when it popped into my mind. What was this shocking thought I hear you ask…well I decided to…wait for it…learn to play the guitar!
Now those very same people who understood the money…hole…pocket…burning scenario will know just how unlike me that decision was. I have known guitar players for years and always admired their skill and the sound they could create but never once had I expressed an interest in playing. In fact I hadn’t even picked up a guitar in my life before never mind tried to play one. This was going to make selling the whole thing to Gill a very interesting exercise.
I need not have worried though Gill was very understanding and after getting over the initial shock of my announcement she agreed that I could buy what I wanted but with one proviso, which I will come to later. How did I get Gill to agree? Well I was honest, as simple as that. Remember earlier when I said I had no real hobbies? What I said to Gill was that I was sick of wasting my evenings coming in from work and plonking down in front of the TV or PC and vegetating. What I needed was something to do in the evenings that would take some hard work and dedication to achieve but I could do by myself, hence the guitar playing. I didn’t want to be in a band or get up on stage or anything, I just wanted to be creative and work my mind a bit harder.
Buying the guitar was my next challenge…what should I be looking for?…what other gear would I need?…what sort of price should I be paying?…and how do I know the shop is not ripping off the poor schmuk guitar virgin? Facing this challenge I did what I always do in such a situation, research by buying several relevant mags and surfing the internet. All this really did was confirm how little I knew and just how much guitar gear was actually available. What I need was a guide to take me through all the info and pinpoint the important stuff and prepare me for that trip to the now dreaded instrument store. So I turned to an old friend from my college days, Val, who also works at the hospital and arranged to pop around and pick the brains of her guitar playing husband, Russ.
To call Russ just a guitar player is doing him an injustice he is a very, very talented musician and a good friend to boot. Russ is one of the North East’s stars of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene having played with Satan, Blind Fury and Pariah (pretty much the same band with a different name/line ups). He is currently creating a stir around the pubs and clubs here as the leader of the Russ Tippins Band performing both lead guitar and vocal duties. So armed with a few bottles of beer I headed around to have a chat and try to get my head around what I should be looking for/asking. Russ’s solution was simple, he would take me shopping at the weekend and play the guitar so I could be sure I liked what I was hearing and ensure I wasn’t buying a duffer. What a guy!
I have to admit that on the way to town with Russ my stomach was tying itself in knots…was I really planning to spend money on something I couldn’t use?...would they make me try and get a sound out of something?...would everyone in the shop stop and stare at the sad old git going through his mid-life crisis?...can you really teach an old dog new tricks? Russ asked me if I had any preferences on what type of guitar I would like and if I was trying to get a particular kind of sound. After digesting my answers he suggested I should look at a Les Paul style of guitar but to also see if anything else in the shop caught my eye and with that I walked through the door…
Russ had brought me to Sound Control on Dean Street in Newcastle as he had had dealings with them before and knew the staff well. Standing in the shop I could feel the guitar clad walls closing in on me and I nearly crapped myself when Mark the assistant came over to us. Thankfully Russ took control of the situation and once we had confirmed the type of thing we were after Mark pulled a couple of guitars of the stands and handed them to Russ to put them through their paces. In the end we only listened to three guitars because it quickly became obvious that what I wanted and what I was going to buy was an Epiphone Les Paul. All that needed to be determined was which model was going to win out and that was decided by Gill’s one proviso…”it has to look gorgeous”.
I finally walked out of the store with a Flame-top Epiphone Les Paul Custom, a Line 6 Spider II 15 watt practice amp, a Korg CA-30 Guitar Tuner, a guitar bag, lead, strap, stand and a selection of plectrums. I can’t remember the exact price I paid for all of this but I do remember that I needed a couple of drinks afterwards. Russ left me at home with my new gear, a couple of quickly taught cords to practice and the telephone number of a guy who taught guitar and may be prepared to take on a total novice. I pulled up a chair, strapped on the Epi (that’s what we guitarists call an Epiphone), got my fingers into position and started to strum...
So why am I telling you all of this now? Well after a couple of weeks of practicing and getting my fingers used to the sheer agony of fretting the strings I stopped playing, just stopped. Work was becoming a distraction, I was considering changing jobs and my workload was increasing and I used this as an excuse to do nothing other than sit and vegetate in front of the TV or PC once again. The guitar stood on its stand in the living room accusing me every time I walked past it and Gill was biting her tongue desperate to say something but knowing I was punishing myself enough.
Yesterday my annoyance at myself got too much and I finally cracked. The telephone number Russ had given me was sitting at home so rather than let the moment pass I searched the internet and found the number of the Northern Music Centre in Heaton who provide one to one tuition and gave them a call. I now have a date with one of their tutors and I feel as if I have cleared a huge hurdle. I look forward to finally starting what I had set out to do. I’ll keep you posted at various times on my progress but I don’t think any will be as important as that made yesterday.
I don’t have what you would call a hobby beyond listening to music and as I’m quite happy with my Hi-fi at the moment I didn’t see the need to replace any of my gear. So what else could I turn my hand to? And perhaps more to the point what could I turn my hand too that wouldn’t lead Gill to looking up divorce lawyers in the Yellow Pages? The answer came out of the left field and totally threw me when it popped into my mind. What was this shocking thought I hear you ask…well I decided to…wait for it…learn to play the guitar!
Now those very same people who understood the money…hole…pocket…burning scenario will know just how unlike me that decision was. I have known guitar players for years and always admired their skill and the sound they could create but never once had I expressed an interest in playing. In fact I hadn’t even picked up a guitar in my life before never mind tried to play one. This was going to make selling the whole thing to Gill a very interesting exercise.
I need not have worried though Gill was very understanding and after getting over the initial shock of my announcement she agreed that I could buy what I wanted but with one proviso, which I will come to later. How did I get Gill to agree? Well I was honest, as simple as that. Remember earlier when I said I had no real hobbies? What I said to Gill was that I was sick of wasting my evenings coming in from work and plonking down in front of the TV or PC and vegetating. What I needed was something to do in the evenings that would take some hard work and dedication to achieve but I could do by myself, hence the guitar playing. I didn’t want to be in a band or get up on stage or anything, I just wanted to be creative and work my mind a bit harder.
Buying the guitar was my next challenge…what should I be looking for?…what other gear would I need?…what sort of price should I be paying?…and how do I know the shop is not ripping off the poor schmuk guitar virgin? Facing this challenge I did what I always do in such a situation, research by buying several relevant mags and surfing the internet. All this really did was confirm how little I knew and just how much guitar gear was actually available. What I need was a guide to take me through all the info and pinpoint the important stuff and prepare me for that trip to the now dreaded instrument store. So I turned to an old friend from my college days, Val, who also works at the hospital and arranged to pop around and pick the brains of her guitar playing husband, Russ.
To call Russ just a guitar player is doing him an injustice he is a very, very talented musician and a good friend to boot. Russ is one of the North East’s stars of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene having played with Satan, Blind Fury and Pariah (pretty much the same band with a different name/line ups). He is currently creating a stir around the pubs and clubs here as the leader of the Russ Tippins Band performing both lead guitar and vocal duties. So armed with a few bottles of beer I headed around to have a chat and try to get my head around what I should be looking for/asking. Russ’s solution was simple, he would take me shopping at the weekend and play the guitar so I could be sure I liked what I was hearing and ensure I wasn’t buying a duffer. What a guy!
I have to admit that on the way to town with Russ my stomach was tying itself in knots…was I really planning to spend money on something I couldn’t use?...would they make me try and get a sound out of something?...would everyone in the shop stop and stare at the sad old git going through his mid-life crisis?...can you really teach an old dog new tricks? Russ asked me if I had any preferences on what type of guitar I would like and if I was trying to get a particular kind of sound. After digesting my answers he suggested I should look at a Les Paul style of guitar but to also see if anything else in the shop caught my eye and with that I walked through the door…
Russ had brought me to Sound Control on Dean Street in Newcastle as he had had dealings with them before and knew the staff well. Standing in the shop I could feel the guitar clad walls closing in on me and I nearly crapped myself when Mark the assistant came over to us. Thankfully Russ took control of the situation and once we had confirmed the type of thing we were after Mark pulled a couple of guitars of the stands and handed them to Russ to put them through their paces. In the end we only listened to three guitars because it quickly became obvious that what I wanted and what I was going to buy was an Epiphone Les Paul. All that needed to be determined was which model was going to win out and that was decided by Gill’s one proviso…”it has to look gorgeous”.
I finally walked out of the store with a Flame-top Epiphone Les Paul Custom, a Line 6 Spider II 15 watt practice amp, a Korg CA-30 Guitar Tuner, a guitar bag, lead, strap, stand and a selection of plectrums. I can’t remember the exact price I paid for all of this but I do remember that I needed a couple of drinks afterwards. Russ left me at home with my new gear, a couple of quickly taught cords to practice and the telephone number of a guy who taught guitar and may be prepared to take on a total novice. I pulled up a chair, strapped on the Epi (that’s what we guitarists call an Epiphone), got my fingers into position and started to strum...
So why am I telling you all of this now? Well after a couple of weeks of practicing and getting my fingers used to the sheer agony of fretting the strings I stopped playing, just stopped. Work was becoming a distraction, I was considering changing jobs and my workload was increasing and I used this as an excuse to do nothing other than sit and vegetate in front of the TV or PC once again. The guitar stood on its stand in the living room accusing me every time I walked past it and Gill was biting her tongue desperate to say something but knowing I was punishing myself enough.
Yesterday my annoyance at myself got too much and I finally cracked. The telephone number Russ had given me was sitting at home so rather than let the moment pass I searched the internet and found the number of the Northern Music Centre in Heaton who provide one to one tuition and gave them a call. I now have a date with one of their tutors and I feel as if I have cleared a huge hurdle. I look forward to finally starting what I had set out to do. I’ll keep you posted at various times on my progress but I don’t think any will be as important as that made yesterday.
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