Saturday, February 7, 2009

Where It All Really Began

Erin Brott. That's where it all started. Erin moved in across the street from me. I saw him a couple of times on the bus to school but we never really talked. Then one day I was walking into the apartment complex where my friends and I always used to play. I had to walk past his house to get there. I heard a huge sound coming from the house. Van Halen. It was LOUD! But there was something different. I was drawn to the house by this wall of sound. That's when I caught a glimpse of Erin in the basement of the house. He was playing alog with the album (ya, remember those?). He motioned for me to come in, so in I went. I said, "I had no idea that you played". He was a very laid back guy. He just smiled and said, "I play a little". With that he ripped into another Van Halen tune playing all of Eddie's licks not for note. I had never seen anything like it.

Over that summer, I think it was the summer of my Junior year in high school, we became friends. He introduced me to Guitar player magazine and Tabulature. I had never seen this stuff. He explained how it all worked and that that's how he had learned how to play. I asked him if he could show me some things and he introduced me to the "Blues Box". Man, that was the beginning. I'm getting a little chill just thinking about it now. Here was this simple little tool that transformed me from air guitarist to real guitarist. I think the fact that I had years of music theory helped me to gain traction pretty quickly. That year was spent woodshedding in my house and trying to get my head around this new find. I wasn't very good but at last I had a starting point; a way of actually playing the guitar.

Erin, wherever you are, I owe you thanks for getting me started.

I'm not sure why we stopped hanging out but that was so many years ago.

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