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At The Back => Time Out => Topic started by: TwilightOdyssey on June 04, 2008, 05:03:21 PM

Title: QUARTER CENTURY of playing guitar
Post by: TwilightOdyssey on June 04, 2008, 05:03:21 PM: I just realized a few minutes ago that with my last birthday (which was last Thursday, btw) I have reached 25 years of playing guitar. I am now 38 years old.

A bit of my personal history:

I started playing guitar at age 13; I basically commandeered my mother's Martin 6 string and was instantly hooked on trying to make the guitar 'work'. I began writing music the day I picked up the guitar.

Within a year I realized that I would not get very far on my own and started a 10-year journey as a guitar aficionado and student.

I studied the Sandoli method with the man himself, Dennis Sandoli, throughout the 80s. This was an approximate 3hr train ride door-to-door each way from NYC to Philadelphia every Saturday. It also required a minimum of 4-8hrs practice every day to keep up with the material.

Later I had the privelege of taking lessons or attending master classes by:

Joseph Scro
Joe Frederico
Tal Farlow
Arlen Roth
Pat Martino
Steve Vai
Sharon Isbin
Paul Gilbert
Greg Howe
Carlos Alamar

During that time I played guitar in many bands and got kicked out of many, also. Most of the bands had classic '80s names like Back II Back and Hat Trick. PDT_008

In 1994 I joined the Chamber Society of New York and took a bunch of pickup gigs for 2 years. This was like being in the Special Forces: You get a call for X gig playing Y pieces, and you'd have 2-3 weeks to learn the material and then play it in an ensemble with people you've most likely never met before. It was nerve wracking, but also enjoyable and basically got me immune to feeling nervous when playing live.

I didn't play in many bands during this period, and started teaching guitar seriously for the next 10 years or so.

In 2004, the gravitation pull of music from my teenage years proved to be too great and I formed a progressive metal band, Urshurak. When my current writing partner, Pamela Berlinghof joined Urshurak, we trimmed the songs down and changed the direction a bit more towards classic metal and changed the name to Twilight Oddysey.

In Urshurak and TO, I've had the privilege of playing with, and in one case co-headlining with the following bands:

Jag Panzer (co-headline)
Lynch Mob
Blaze
Symphony X (3 times)
Fozzy
Metal Church
Overkill
Angel Dust
Nightwish
Angra
Nasty Savage
Testament

I also have the honour of endorsing several great products, including Bare Knuckle pickups, Wayne Guitars, Splawn amplifiers, and Home Brew Electronics pedals.

It's been a fun ride and I'm still learning new things every day. Looking forward to the next 25 years!!
Title: QUARTER CENTURY of playing guitar
Post by: Davey on June 04, 2008, 05:10:01 PM: Old fart PDT_007
Title: QUARTER CENTURY of playing guitar
Post by: gingataff on June 04, 2008, 05:11:01 PM: Congratulations Ben, on your silver jubilee!
Title: QUARTER CENTURY of playing guitar
Post by: ilÿti on June 04, 2008, 05:11:54 PM: *thumbs up* Sounds like 25 good years. I listened to your song Outlanders recently, great tune. Best of luck with the next quarter century, TO. I am nearing my 10th of a century of playing guitar and I haven't accomplished anything. *sigh* :cry:
Title: QUARTER CENTURY of playing guitar
Post by: hamfist on June 04, 2008, 05:14:51 PM: Congrats on the 25 yrs !! When I count mine up, I find I'll be hitting the same milestone next year. Wish I'd worked as hard on my technique as you did. I'm still a bit of an old hack !
Title: QUARTER CENTURY of playing guitar
Post by: Jonny on June 04, 2008, 05:16:43 PM: Hope my 25 years would be like that, or something like it :)

Best of luck for your future endeavours with music :)

And OMG with Paul Gilbert!?! And with Angra!?! And Symphony X!?!

Dude. RESPECT. :D
Title: QUARTER CENTURY of playing guitar
Post by: silentrage on June 04, 2008, 05:31:17 PM: Jesus christ mate.
Way to make people envious. :/
Title: QUARTER CENTURY of playing guitar
Post by: Philly Q on June 04, 2008, 05:57:09 PM: Congrats on your Silver anniversary and that terrific CV Ben! :D

I've done 28 years but stopped progessing after year... 1, probably. We can't all have talent.

Now get working on that Gold!
Title: QUARTER CENTURY of playing guitar
Post by: gwEm on June 04, 2008, 06:44:41 PM: great story! 25 years is a bit different from my 6 years :)

my story is that i need guitar for an electronic music track i was working on. i brought a 2nd hand v and a sansamp modeller... my plan was to sample some basic chords and put it all together on the computer.

in the last year i feel i have reached a standard where i don't need to be embarrased any more. wish i could shred a lot better though, to do this i'll have to bite the bullet and practise hard - if i want to.

happy birthday too for last week!
Title: QUARTER CENTURY of playing guitar
Post by: Antag on June 04, 2008, 07:43:20 PM: You're 2 years ahead of me in playing time, but light years ahead in terms of accomplishments. Well done! :)

My sole claim to fame is that my first guitar teacher also briefly taught music to Shane Emburey of Napalm Death...
Title: QUARTER CENTURY of playing guitar
Post by: dave_mc on June 04, 2008, 07:45:22 PM: wow, nice history there. :)
Title: QUARTER CENTURY of playing guitar
Post by: lulusg on June 04, 2008, 08:51:45 PM: Congratulations!! There can be only one( or two ) drinks for that a Macallan 25 years old and an Old Speckled Hen.... Cheers!!!
Title: QUARTER CENTURY of playing guitar
Post by: gingataff on June 05, 2008, 03:12:04 AM: Oh, may I also wish you a
very HappybelatedBirthday :gif:
Title: QUARTER CENTURY of playing guitar
Post by: Afghan Dave on June 05, 2008, 05:20:50 AM: Ben, why are you telling us this?

Are you under the impression that I give a sh1t?

(Happy Birthday dude) PDT_002 PDT_015
Title: QUARTER CENTURY of playing guitar
Post by: Scotty477 on June 05, 2008, 10:02:10 AM: I've been playing for 32 years now and started when I was 11.

Hmmm.

I suddenly feel very, very old ........
Title: QUARTER CENTURY of playing guitar
Post by: TwilightOdyssey on June 05, 2008, 03:55:18 PM: Thanks for all the comments and well-wishes, especially Afghan and Davey. PDT_008

My musical road has not taken me where I would have expected it, but that's the way life's surprises often play out -- not what you expected, but oftentimes they are precisely what you need to transcend.
Title: Re: QUARTER CENTURY of playing guitar
Post by: Brow on June 05, 2008, 05:49:04 PM: Quote from: TwilightOdyssey

I had the privelege of taking lessons or attending master classes by:

Joseph Scro
Joe Frederico
Tal Farlow
Arlen Roth
Pat Martino
Steve Vai
Sharon Isbin
Paul Gilbert
Greg Howe
Carlos Alamar

In Urshurak and TO, I've had the privilege of playing with, and in one case co-headlining with the following bands:

Jag Panzer (co-headline)
Lynch Mob
Blaze
Symphony X (3 times)
Fozzy
Metal Church
Overkill
Angel Dust
Nightwish
Angra
Nasty Savage
Testament

I also have the honour of endorsing several great products, including Bare Knuckle pickups, Wayne Guitars, Splawn amplifiers, and Home Brew Electronics pedals.

So basically what you're saying is that it's been a complete and total waste of time as you haven't achieved anything in that time and to cap it all off, you STILL have cr@p taste in equipment! :twisted:

Happy belated Birthday btw, dunno if you got my Myspace PM or not?
Title: QUARTER CENTURY of playing guitar
Post by: 38thBeatle on June 05, 2008, 06:54:13 PM: Bet you can't play an E # demolished though. Happy birthday belatedly Ben.
Title: QUARTER CENTURY of playing guitar
Post by: TwilightOdyssey on June 05, 2008, 07:07:29 PM: Quote from: 38thBeatle
Bet you can't play an E # demolished though.

Everyone knows an E# demolished is just an F flatulent with a raised front loader.
Title: QUARTER CENTURY of playing guitar
Post by: Ratrod on June 06, 2008, 10:09:52 AM: Happy birthday Ben.

I started playing guitar when I was about 17 or 18. So I'm a long way from 25 years of playing. But I am on my way of playing guitar longer than I haven't.