I have been involved with music, in many forms, all of my life. I knew at an early age that music had a great, positive effect on me. I got the bug to play music in elementary school, and as will happen, got handed a trombone by the music teacher. That lasted only a year because, as I found out, it’s damn hard to look cool with a trombone! I wanted to ROCK, and decided drums were the only way to go. After a summer of whining, I got my first drum set while in sixth grade. I spent the best part of the next decade immersed in music. I played in bands, was a roadie, a sound engineer, a groupie, a road manager, live recording engineer, and a driver. When I wasn’t playing or involved in music, I went to every live music event I could get into.

 

In the late 70’s I moved all my possessions to Seattle to take a “real” job. I continued to play drums but had to stop gigging. Because of my job, I just couldn’t work nights. I played at home for my own enjoyment and kept involved with the local live music scene. In the end, as will happen when you get older, I started to enjoy watching music more than playing. The mid to late 80’s saw the Seattle music scene get world attention, and I was in the middle of it, loving it!

 

Sometimes life comes full circle, and along with getting married, the time had arrived for me to move back to the east coast. I didn’t want to pay to move my drum set, so in an “opportunity only knocks once” moment I sold my set to a young drummer named Tyler Long. The band he was starting was named The Kent Three. I was happy to watch their history (and maybe MY drumset) last through four good CDs of tasty music. 

 

Life becomes a blur for quite a few years following the move, but basically as I remember, it was children, work, home, children, no money, children…or something like that. I still went to local live music shows but in a very selective range of locations and artists. You then find out old age catches up with you, you can’t party like you used to,  moshing is definitely out, sleep is definately in...it’s all quite adult, but still pitiful. 

 

 

About this time my daughter asked me for an electric guitar for Christmas (yes, I’m that old!). So, naturally I spent the next two months researching a topic that I knew very little about. My first guitar purchase, for my daughter, was a pivotal moment in my adult life. I combined what I had learned about wood and construction with what I already knew about electronics. That all merged with my eye for aesthetics and form; and the reality that guitars were a lot smaller than drum sets (and could be hung on walls)! That was the beginning of my hobby (actually, it’s an obsession) that continues today, seventy one guitars...and I'm still looking.

 

Though I still haven’t learned to play guitar, I do know I’m missing out on half of their fun. The different sound of each guitar and their playability is still something new for me to experience. Genetics have dealt me some very short, fat fingers and possibly because I’m also afraid I would suck at it, I’m not in any hurry to learn to play. The time to learn is drawing closer though....I am running out of wall space, and my daughter insists we take guitar lessons together; I've bought guitars for my teenage grandsons which has positively enriched both their lives.....Go figure, my life has come full circle again. 

Q-Ball