I started playing guitar in 1986. I'm a completely self-taught guitar player. I play mainly by ear, but I do read music and tabs for really difficult parts. I initially learned my barre chords and listened to my favorite songs to figure them out. I did this endlessly for about 8 years, while deciding that I'd better get a job after paying for a college education. However, I knew that I wanted to play in front of a live audience, so I would have to make some changes. That change came in the form of quitting my job, moving halfway across the country, and setting up camp in Phoenix, AZ.
I spent roughly five years in Phoenix, and played with some local musicians but we never seemed to get things off of the ground. I continued to learn more and more songs on my own, but knew that it really wasn't getting me anywhere. Five years later, after returning to Mid-Missouri, I hooked up with some guys to form a cover band called Whiskey Tango. I met these guys through a mutual friend and jammed with them a couple of times. We started out like any other rock n' roll band playing in a basement, but soon realized that things were clicking and we had a real chance of making something out of it. We worked up about 40 cover tunes and set our sights for the stage.
Fast forward to the present... we've been at it for almost 10 years now. Our cover list is more in the neighborhood of 150 songs, and we play a lot of local clubs, festivals, fairs, and the occasional wedding.
I guess that puts me around 20+ years now playing the guitar. Of course I have my favorite guitar players... like the shredding sounds of John Petrucci (I'm not worthy!), Jake E. Lee, Chris Oliva (R.I.P.), George Lynch (Dokken years), and all those other long-haired bastards with flying fingers. I love 80's metal, but I have managed to pick up some other genre's of music that I like too... classical, jazz, big band, and I'm a huge 80's new wave fan (you know... Modern English, Flock of Seagulls, Men At Work). I guess I just love listening to music. I like to dissect it while I listen and pick up the subtle nuances of a song, a guitar part, or a drum fill.
Over the past year I've started putting some song together in Garageband. It's a great little tool to get ideas down and help arrange rythmns and other ideas.
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Whiskey Tango profile, last updated : July 10, 2009
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