Musical background, anyone ???

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Just wondering if anyone has any musical interests, or is, has or wants to be a muso (and, no, this is not a "whose your fave band" thread )

I've mentioned in previous posts that I left a band to start my course, so as a prompt for anyone else, here's what I've got to offer...

As a kid, I trained to Grade 6 in piano, then picked up a guitar and learnt it (with a little help from my friends :roll: ) Since discovered that it's possible to get a tune, or least a note, out of anything, apart from saxophones and accordians

So having gigged around as the local Jean Michel-Jarre (substitute as appropriate), I then gets offered the gig playing bass guitar in a mate's up and coming band.

Lo and behold, after a few months, we actually obtained (no B-S here) Simple Minds' electric piano (as seen on World Tour video). So I was back to my main instrument, but alas, before EMI could sign us, Microsoft stole me away and here I am. EMI had to settle for Robbie Williams instead - who got the bum rap there ????


So come on, lets hear all your musical stories (well, the repeatable ones anyway :P )

 

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This one time......, at band camp...., i shoved a .........never mind

I once tried to learn to play the guitar, but never got round to it, every year however i go to rothbury for the traditional/folk music festival (no my nickname is not SPIDER ). it's really just an excuss to get pi**ed, everyone brings whatever they can play, there is one guy thats there every year who play the spoons, they sit in the lounge of the local (the turks head) and someone will start struming, then someone else joins in, they everyone starts singing, it's a real good atmosphere, and every year i come away thinking "i wish i could play the guitar then i could join in"

 

This about sums up my musical talent, or lack of

When I was a kid my parents made me take piano lessons as an extra-curricular activity, week in week out i'd plonk away in the lessons for about 2 years until in a fit of exasperation the tutor turned to me and said "look, there are first years who have just started who are better than you!" it was at that point I quit and have never felt the urge to get musical since

 

I played the flute at school to grade 5, then joined a band called "Thru The Blue" playing bass guitar from age 15 to 26 in the pubs of Bristol. We started off playing Clash, Jam and Who covers and ended up doing kind of jangly pop. CBS nearly signed us once (Well, they nearly saw us play a showcase, but they were early and we were late!)

Ah what could have been...

 

Keep the stories coming ... :P

Best I can claim is getting p*ssed with Clint Boon (keys with Inspiral Carpets)when we were his support, and turning down Deacon Blue's gear at a gig in favour of my own (cheap'n'nasty) rig

I think we held the all time record for appearances by the same band at King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow (brilliant venue )

 

I once played the kazoo for my local football supporters club That about the range of my musical prowess.

 

hmmmm, have I started a bum thread here ??? :roll:

The best thing I found about being in music was that the stories were actually better than what you actually did, so keep them coming

Can't wait to hear from McSmoothie

 

Hey, watch those comments about saxophones, fella! My wife and I are completely non-musical. I tried the trumpet for about two weeks in the fifth grade and she tried her hand at the piano for a bit in her youth. Today, we listen to CDs.

Our kids are another story. My two sons started clarinet and flute respectively in 5th grade while my daughter (two years younger) started violin in 5th grade. Eventually, the clarinet became a sax and my hyperactive son found that he was born to play drums and thus gave up flute.

My daughter is keeping up with violin but started drums...partly after discovering these folks: http://www.kodo.or.jp/. I don't think she has as much inborn talent as my son, but she's spirited and determined. All three are now in high school band...my sax player is also in jazz band...and the house rings with music...I love it.

 

Hey Trip - zero disrepect to the sax intended, me old china

Quite the opposite - I love it so much, I was just really p***ed off that I couldn't get more than a goose-fart out of it

There isn't an instrument on the planet I don't respect (shouldn't be too long before someone brings up bagpipes, tho' :P )

 

I sing badly in the bath ...

I wake the village on a Sunday morning by ringing Church bells badly!

I'd love to play the bagpipes

 

Can't argue with that, McSmoothie :P

So, how does "badly in the bath" go again .... :?:

 

Ok, Trip sent me here....finding this very cool tho!

So, musical background...I'll only tell you if you promise not to laugh at the early stuff!! :P

So at 12yrs I really loved New Kids On The Block....(I can hear you sniggering!!) And me and my mate decided that the best way to meet them would be by starting our very own 5girl band. This is before the Spice Girls. We went through numerous line up changes, infact, if I remember rightly, the last count was 81 different band members before we were 15 and decided to cut it down to 3! Me, Claire and Kelly-ann were a pop group called.... Karess

Me and Claire wrote around 10 songs and met with a few record company A&R men but there was something missing. Me and Claire realised we weren't really wanting to go the pop route after all and at 19 we left Kelly-Ann to it (with all the songs) and we picked up guitars and started a punk pop band.

We found Sarah, a drummer from Darlington, moved there to save money on travel, and thus began Yen.

Claire became the lead singer and Bass player. I was the guitarist/ backing singer.

We released our first independant single in October 98. We released 1000 and it sold out. Way hey!!

We did a big tour for the single and went down really well. Got plenty of press and TV.

My best story is when we travelled to Dublin to perform on Echo Island (thier version of Blue Peter) and flew home the next day, only to drive straight down to Wolverhampton for a November 5th Radio roadshow where we performed on this radio truck. It was in this field and While we were playing we could see 50 or so people on the front row. Then someone lit a firework to the far side of the field and it lit up the entire crowd! There were 25,000 people there!!! Talk about pooing yourself!!!

I had a great time in the band. Ooh, I played King Tuts Wah Wah Hut too Jakamoko!

There. Is that enough info?

xx

 

I play the guitar, electric more at the moment but I want to get myself a good acoustic when I have the money.
I love blues music and I constantly have blues internet radio on when I'm on my computer.
Apart from blues I'm into anything from jazz to classical to spanish guitar music and world music (just getting into ethnic stuff at the minute).

My ambition is to become a guitarist in a blues band.I think real music is gaining momentum again and I reckon there'll be another decade like the sixties on the way.I think people are fed up with plastic music and I think the internet is a great tool because people have choice in what to listen to.
I personally hadn't heard of many groups I now listen to because they aren't marketed like plastic bands.

 

Great stories, Guys - keep them coming ....,

Kelly - I liked yours :P Moral of that story being "never play with fireworks - as they can cause incontinence"

 

Thank You Jakamoko! I never thought of it that way....

Made a mighty mess of that stage mind...hmmmmm

 

YES!

 

Just to let you know, I've spawned a second generation internet forum lizard...my daughter. Her favorite forum is http://www.drumlines.org. Her fav group is http://www.kodo.or.jp/. I'm listening kodo right now while my daughter is looking at what I'm writing over my shoulder. She didn't appreciate the "lizard" comment and I got a smack on the shoulder for my troubles. I'd better stop while I'm still unbruised.

 

Ah, the bagpipes ! I remember many days in school learning to play the chanter and pipes, i never got passed Scots wa hae apart from a wee bit of The brown haired maiden.

On accordians, i can play a tune on the black keys...wooooooo..

I went passed a music shop last year and decided to buy a guitar, what a beauty it is too, but i cant play a single note ( well one or two). It looks nice though and people always give lifts to people with guitars, so it could come in handy if I break down one day.

One day i will learn to play it....promise.

 

Which bit of the brown haired maiden did you get and what was her name?

Sorry, but someone had to.