Part 1, guitar history.
A lonely hunter was out searching for cave bear. Having no success after three days out, he started a fire, warmed up some squirrel tenderloins and settled in for the night. The stars were bright and the moon had waned, as the milky way glittered just above his arm reach. Though he was exhausted he felt as if something was missing. Something he couldn't explain. It was like an emptiness inside, a yearning he couldn't suppress.
Crickets chirped as the resin from ancient pines began to flood over their bodies. Fireflies flickered in the trees surrounding the improvised camp site and as if vying for attention, dire wolves howled in the background. As the hunter picked up his bow to ready it safely by his side in the event of a wolf or saber tooth attack, an odd resonating twang echoed in the clearing as he inadvertently plucked the string of his trusty bow.
The dire wolves went silent. The fireflies flickered ever closer. The hunter plucked away at the bow string, feeling rejuvenated by it's mesmerizing sound.
Lenny had led a small group of hunters from a friendly local enclave and soon joined the hunter. Lenny was taken by the sweet sound of the hunter's bow and began to pluck his own. The sound grew in intensity, so much so that three other nearby hunters heard the sound and stealthily approached before joining the hunter and Lenny. It was Abraham, Martin, and John, from the hunter's own clan out for a midnight giant sloth hunt. All five soon began to strum their bow strings, creating a miracle of pleasant sounds.
And thus was the very beginnings of the guitar as we know it today. Soon an unknown inventor from an earlier time and place strung five strings in honor of the hunter, Lenny, Abraham, Martin, and John onto a single carved wooden contraption. It may have been Lenny, but no one knows for certain. Another inventor in bygone days created what he called the violin, based on the same principles, as still another created the first banjo. In a matter of no time the first square dance was invented. From there, the industry and music we know and love today evolved.
And still today, the fireflies dance about as the strings are strummed, but those crickets are encased in amber. The dire wolves, giant sloths and cave bears dwindled and died, but the guitar lived on and on. And the hunter, Lenny, Abraham, Martin, and John ... you yourself may carry their genes. Me, not so much, I have no talent.
Lol. I knew you had many interests and a lot of knowledge about a lot of things, but I didn't know you wrote so well. Very nice yarn you spun there. I'm pretty sure that's exactly how it happened!
And you didn't think I'd leave without an obscure musical factoid, did you? “Abraham, Martin & John”, recorded by Dion, was written by Dick Holler who was also the writer of the Royal Guardsmen’s “Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron”.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed. I should've linked that song in the story. LOL
I like it! Umm...
Can I steal it, with accreditation of course?
Also, see:
https://playguitar.gq/2018/07/01/guitar-history-with-thebuddha/
https://playguitar.gq/2018/07/18/guitar-history-with-thebuddha-part-2/
Do you like the blues? If so, this was well-received in last week's guitar thread even though I wasn't there. I had someone else start the thread and share it for me.
You may enjoy that. It's just me doing improv blues to get ready to play last weekend's show at a blues club.
Anyhow, that's out of the way...
How have you been?
You can have it as is ... or plagiarize to make it even better - LOL. I've never been one who loses sleep over such things, plus it could probably use some finessing ... it was just off the top of the head. I write simply for my own amusement.
I've been well. Thanks for asking. As well as an old guy with COPD can be, I suppose - LOL. I hope you've been doing well, too. It sure takes a hellva long time for us more mature folks to heal and you have more than your share of owies.
I'll save and have a good look at you blues stuff later. Some I like, some not so much. It depends on my mood and the music itself. I'm basically up for anything music-wise (save for that rap crap), as long as it catches my attention.
LOL I wrote you a book!
I ain't even sorry!
It's acoustic blues. I didn't have a rhythm guitarist so I do both at the same time. My goal was to emulate something known as "Delta Blues" which is from the Mississippi Delta.
This confuses many people. The Mississippi Blues Delta is actually up in Natchez and they have a lovely museum there.
The first two links haven't got anything to do with blues. They're guitar history, or the history of the guitar, as seen through the eyes of an intoxicated TheBuddha!
And, in 9 days I will be 5 months from the wreck. I've still got 4 months before the bone is even fully fused. I've still got another year before I know how complete my recovery is going to be.
My prognosis is good and I'm ahead of schedule. I'm pretty diligent about not just doing my PT but doing my PT beyond the minimal requirements. If folks recall the very first days after my return, I said I wasn't scared of pain and work. Well, I've been doing plenty of work and have had plenty of pain.
I'm still high as balls on the opiates they give me. There's some chance that I'll always be opiate dependent. Given my history of opiate abuse, I'm not sure how to take that. It was a major traumatic injury, more so when all the other injuries are taken into account.
The ribs no longer hurt. They're pretty well fused. My heel hasn't bothered me for months, so that bone healed properly. My bruising was pretty much faded after about three months. I had a whole lot of internal bleeding but, as a statistical anomaly, I managed to avoid major organ damage.
I walk without aids, most of the time. I don't use crutches or a walker. I don't even use my cane, unless I'm going long distances. Granted, I am not actually able to go long distances, but we're being subjective here! Long distances for me.
And, I'm going to be very, very busy over the next many months. The band is being thrown into the meat grinder and they've all quit their real jobs. So, it means doing a lot of shows as they'd like to be able to eat and have a middle-class lifestyle. Those are not easy things to achieve, but those are the things I told them I would teach them. So, I have.
For example, we're booked this coming Friday, Saturday, and we even have a Sunday performance in the afternoon.
Not gonna lie, it hurts like hell to perform. I do it and will manage. We'll do three sets and I'll perform for two of them (and the encore), most likely. I'll stand for the first one and sit for the second one. On Sunday, I'll be seated for the entire time as it's a different type of show.
Sunday, and all three days, we're doing the same blues club we did last weekend. But, on Sunday we'll be doing a performance for people sitting in chairs and watching us while they eat, mostly. There's a dance floor, but we aren't expecting many people to dance.
So, I'm doing well...
I'm also going to be spending less time online. If I'm going to work this hard, I'm going to play even harder. So, I'll be spending time enjoying another passion of mine, because all work and no play pisses me the fuck off!
LOL I'm going to get more involved in my motorsport hobby. For example, I'll be taking the eldest hoodlum to a nearby rally race school. I'll be entering and actively participating in rallycross events. It's okay! Those events are just courses set up with cones and they're in a field. I'd be hard pressed to hurt myself!
I'll also be spending some time going to different auto club events and getting some seat time on track days. I've traded in my 650i and am waiting on delivery of my new car. Yup... Ol' Buddha bought a homologated race car! I did, too. I ordered the M6 Gran Coupe with a bunch of high end race features. 0 to 60 in like 3.2 seconds, carbon ceramic brakes, magnetic suspension, automatic-manual dual-clutch transmission, 640 horsepower, 500 lb feet of torque, electronically limited to 186 mph.
Best of all, it's got four doors and isn't ostentatious looking. Unless they're an automotive enthusiast, they won't realize it's a very special car. It's the second stupidest vehicle I own!
Technically, I don't have it yet. I have a loaner that's basically the same thing but missing some performance features.
And, getting back into motorsports as a hobby will let me spend more time with the hoodlums. The youngest isn't old enough to attend the rally school, but loves to turn wrenches and can drive in events that aren't on public roads. So, we'll all be able to get some seat time at rallycross. (He's too young to drive on any of the nearby tracks. The eldest hoodlum isn't. She is old enough to get her race license, actually.)
The missus wants a new car. It's a long story, but I bought her a manual Subaru Impreza. She's had it for a few years now and I got a manual because I don't own automatic transmission cars! Well, I do now and she's sick of driving a manual. She also wants a bigger car.
Rather than trade it in (we won't get much), I'm going to keep it and turn it into a rallycross car. It can eventually be turned into a stage rally car, if we do go that far. It's a Subaru and it does quite well in those type of events.
Besides, the missus has crashed it three or four times. So, we're not going to get much if we trade it in. So, it's pretty much the perfect beater for this.
And that's how I'm going to spend my spring, summer, and fall. I'll be pretty busy with that until the snow flies. I'm not going to work all these hours with the band and have no way to relieve stress. I'll need to engage in one of my hobbies, even if just for my own sanity.
Anyhow, that's an update. (And quite a novella!)
It's good that you're doing as well as you can, for an old duffer. I suppose this is the time when we're supposed to be taking care of ourselves. Funny enough, I'm now diligently exercising every day. A year ago, my doctor would have shit a brick if I said I was doing that! Of course it's just my PT, but I've even been throwing in upper body workouts as the tail end of it.
I guess, if there's anything to take from this, it's that it's not too late to still do things that you enjoy! I won't get medical clearance to race on a track with other competitors out there (I can still do gentleman racing). But, I'm still going to get out there and have some fun and enjoy not just myself but enjoy other people, including the community.
We're too old to not be doing stuff like this.
(post is archived)