I started playing guitar back in the mid 80s. We had a music exploratory class and in it, we played a VERY little bit of guitar. But that was all I needed. For as far back as I can remember, I wanted to be a rock 'n' roll star! And what better way to get started on that dream than playing a flying V like the stars? So I got a flying V from the JC Penney catalog that year for Christmas and let me tell you, it was AWESOME!!

When I was a freshman in high school, I traded in the V for a B.C. Rich Iron Bird. I find it hard to believe now, but I don't think I have ANY pictures of me with the Iron Bird! I have included one here for your reference, but the color is nowhere NEAR as cool as mine. The color of mine was called ultraviolet and it was kind of a pinkish-purple color. The paint job was such that depending on which angle you viewed it from, the color seemed to change. So anyway, I traded the V for the Iron Bird and man, it was one SWEET axe!

During high school, I hooked up with a guy who was an AWESOME guitar player. He also played bass, drums, piano and who knows what else. It was through this exposure to him and his abilities that I had the chance to learn a little bit about playing these other instruments. We even played in the freshman talent show, Freshmen On Stage. We played "Wipeout", which happened to be the first song I learned. Of course, Freshmen On Stage is one of those things that, if you try out, you make it, so it really wasn't a very good gauge of skill... Jeff and I found a bass player and tried out for the all-school talent show with "Smoke On The Water", but we didn't make it.

I also took a music theory class in high school. There were seven people in the class; six of them were in either band, orchestra or both and already knew a LOT about music. And then there was me. They were all very patient with me, but I think the patience was really tested on the day that we played our compositions for the class. It was the very first song I ever wrote and it was required to be a Christmas song. I wasn't really hot on the idea of a Christmas song and I let the teacher know this, but he wouldn't budge. So I wrote a Christmas song. It started out as a really happy-go-lucky, major key thing about Santa being at the mall with the kids and everyone was having a great time. For the first verse, that is... For the second verse (and the rest of the song), it went into a dark, minor key dirge-like drone while the lyrics changed tone a bit. Santa got sick of the kids and pulled a machine gun out of his bag of toys. He blew away all the kids and all of the security guards that came running to see what was going on. For the grand finale, my song took the ultimate dark turn and Santa turned the gun on himself. All of my classmates and the teacher sat in stunned silence. Looking back now, I think it's probably a good thing that I was in high school before the Columbine days because if someone did now what I did then, they'd probably yank them out of school so fast it would make their head spin. But I digress...

Once I got into college, I met Pat, who played bass, and we tried out for the UNI talent show with "N.F.B. (Dallabnikufesin)" by Anthrax. For those that don't know, "N.F.B." is a love story about a guy and a girl who get together and have a storybook love, then he sleeps with all her friends, but she forgives him and they get back together and... well, I can't give away the ending. Just check it out for yourself. ;) The end result of that tryout was one guy (on a panel of half a dozen or so) standing up and cheering while the others sat in stunned silence. (That stunned silence is starting to sound like a recurring theme, eh?) We didn't make it into the show, by the way, in case you couldn't guess.

As time went on, I played less and less. And of course, being in college, there came a point where I needed the money more than I needed the guitar, so I did the now unthinkable... I sold it. :( There have been many times since that day that I could just KICK myself, but live and learn, I guess.

Fast forward to November of 2005. I had hurt my back that summer and had to stop teaching martial arts. Without opening THAT whole can of worms, let's just say that I was looking for a replacement activity. I had been thinking about getting back into playing guitar, but I didn't know if that was really what I should do. I didn't really stick with it the first time and I didn't want to waste a bunch of time and money on something that I was just going to abandon again. I had been throwing the idea around and wasn't taking it really seriously, but then one day, out of the blue, my wonderful wife said to me, "I think you should get back into playing guitar." I hadn't said a WORD to her about it, so it was my turn to have a moment of stunned silence (for once). I figured it must be fate that she mentioned it without me saying anything.

I went out and did some shopping and found a good value on a guitar that we both liked. Since it was a gift from her, I wanted her to like it, too. In fact, this particular guitar is not one that I would have originally looked at without her encouragement because of its color. But she really liked it, so I took a closer look at it. I tried out MANY different guitars before making a purchase and I just couldn't get into the "weird" shaped bodies this time.

This would be a good place to put in a plug for Professional Music Center on 86th Street in Des Moines. Trent is a great guy and the whole staff is very nice and easy to work with. If you are looking for a shop where they really care about the customer and the gear, check them out!

Since I got my guitar, I've gotten back into playing and have even started writing some music. I've had some pretty good feedback so far and I really enjoy it. It gives me a chance to express myself and do something creative. Don't forget to go to my music catalog and check out some of the songs!

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