Eddie Van Halen.

 The 6th of October was a very sad day for anyone that loved his music and for all those millions of guitarists out there, who on first sight, couldn't believe their eyes.

I was one of the first lucky few to see him in the UK, 13 dates into a UK tour, with Black Sabbath. They rolled into one of the best places in the midlands at the time, Demontfort Hall - noted for it's acoustics and layout.

A friend and I had managed to get tickets to see Sabbath and travelled to Leicester to see them and for both of us at the time, an unknown band, their support - Van Halen.

This was May 31st, 1978. No internet, no mobile phones - to know what was going on, you would buy the NME and scan through it.

As was the usual case, we would head to the bar for the first part of the evening, as quite a few supports we had seen in the past, were not up to much - this night was different! With a pint of Newcastle Brown each, we stood in the bar and the support struck up. Within seconds, the bar was empty and there was crowd, all open mouthed, staring at this young man in total disbelief!! What the . . . . ? Who is that? How is he doing that? The amthmosephere was one of the most electric I can ever remember, it was, as my friend said, "Truly Amazing"!

What Eddie did in those early days and the following years, was change the face of Guitar Playing, forever!

To me, a real Hero and a true Legend - the memories of that night are still very clear in my mind and to think that aged only 65 years old, he is no longer with us, is very saddening.

Thank you for your time with us, Eddie Van Halen.

October is here and so am I!

 Hi to all out there. : )

There has been a lot of activity on my posts for my MPC Electra 620 and also my Ovation Magnum.

What tends to happen is, a bass comes up for sale somewhere and people do a bit of research before bidding, guess that's what it is.

There is a new Blogger interface and seeing as the virus has not gone away and the bad weather is coming. . . . you never know, there may be a bit more activity on here! 😉

Sit tight, let's see what happens.

Stay safe.

Cheers.😊

Music venues in serious trouble.

Back again!

In lockdown, it was understood that everything came to a standstill, including me playing anything. . . . well almost, I just dont seem to have the heart/feel the vibe.
Now things are opening up, with only localised lockdown, it's a shakey start for many shops, pubs, eateries etc but for specialised music venues it is a non starter.  
I can think of a bucket load of places, with some very happy memories, that are small and intimate and are brilliant places to see live music but in my mind's eye, I can't see a lot of them being around in the future. 

Where does that leave the growth of new bands and music and how will people who are hungry for that live experience get their fix? At this stage, I have no idea.
Perhaps up and coming bands will break out on line but standing shoulder to shoulder, screaming out the lyrics and being at one with the whole experience, that is a long way off! 

It really is a case of Watch this space.

I have my fingers and toes crossed that some will make it through to the other side.

Stay safe, wash those hands and hang on to some hope.

All the best.

Cheers. : )

How the world has changed for musicians of all kinds. . . .

If you have landed here. . . . Hi. : )

In January, I thought that I could launch myself into getting the blog rolling again, starting with a unique Telecaster project but once again, things got in the way and this is the first post since January. . . . . Shame on me!

Since January, the whole world has changed and I find myself sitting here this morning, thinking about the performing musicians of the world, who's life's have be changed way beyond they could have ever imagined.

I have many friends who are amateurs, semi pro and professional and it doesn't matter what level you are at, we are now all affected in the same way.
No stadiums, parties, weddings, clubs, pubs, festivals. . . . nothing - the nearest thing to live music has been on the streets on the clap for the NHS but these has pretty much now stopped and everything else has been streamed on line.
A great deal of effort and imagination has gone into these and for the time being that is the way things are going to be.

I seriously doubt I will be gigging this year and with so many venues under so much pressure to stay afloat, where would I, you, your friends, your heroes get to play anyway.

Since lockdown, I have barely played a guitar or bass, which is sort of weird, given that in reality, there has been a lot of spare time to do so and plenty of instruments to choose from! I think it may have something to do with not having any goals to aim at - new numbers, rehearsal etc. Hopefully this will pass and my enthusiasm will return.

I hope all of you that have landed here can look forward to returning to the way things were in the future but I think it will be some time before that will become reality.

Stay safe and keep playing.

Cheers. : )

Gordy Headless Bass, Ibanez and Ovation. . . .

This is the last of the Blasts from The Past, next post will be about a Telecaster Project.

Next time, Operation Telecaster!

Cheers. : )

Twin Neck, Peter Cook, Ray Cooper and Yamaha. . . .

Whilst I'm at it, here's a few more!

Cheers. : )

Guitar and Bass images

Here are some more pics from the past.

All of these are featured in the blog.

Back with some more and a unique finish on a Telecaster project.

Back soon.

Cheers. : )

Happy New Year - 2020, a new decade!

Hi to all out there - 2020 has arrived!!

I have been messing around with some projects recently, an old Eko bass, SB900 and an old and slightly battered but much loved, Greco GO II Guitar, as the outdoor things I should be doing just aren't that attractive in the wind and the rain!
I'll keep you posted on how I get on.
In the meantime, here are some pics from older posts to keep you going. : )

See you next week with more. . . . . . .

Cheers. : )