So this was originally started on my 60th birthday back in 2016 under the title TOBY JENNER’S CAS DE LA ROUTE / ROADCASE to mark 20 years of guitar ownership.
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March 30, 2016, 09:33:00 pm »
I’ve been meaning to post a Roadcase entry for a while, so I can come back in a few years from now and see if I’ve made any progress. Probably more than the normal Roadcase inaugural entry but at my age if you don’t note things down you forget.
So put the kettle on, make a brew, open a beer or roll a big one, let see who’s here at the end.
Today seems an appropriate day as it’s my 60th birthday and I got my first guitar – a Fender Squier Strat – 20 years ago for my 40th. I should therefore be celebrating being a guitar player for 2 decades but that would be far from the truth, so today marks 20 years of guitar ownership……………….big difference, And apart from lots of consolidating I can happily say I’ve now completed the Intermediate Modules, my 60th being the target I set when starting April last year.
So where did it all go wrong? Well I was one of those beginners who thought they could learn everything from a few books and playing songs from tabs in the early days of the internet. Yes I could play bits of songs but really didn’t have a clue what I was doing. None of the books I used really covered to fundamentals of rhythm guitar, despite showing strumming patterns and all seemed to end up with an expectation of the student reading music, so I never really go it. Add to that the year before my 40th I’d just restarted martial arts, after a short break and went back to the beginning so I could train with my daughter. This consumed most of my leisure time and we ended up running our own Karate School for 6 years. Despite this I’d pick up the Strat or my Encore acoustic now and then and noodled a few songs I could remember but it was really just stagnation…
Fast forward to 2011 early retirement at 55 and a move from the UK to France………………
To kick start my guitar ‘career’ I got hold of a set of Dummies books (Guitar, Rock and Blues) and my retirement present from work was my Washburn HB30 (Tabaco sunburst ) but.2011 was a hectic year - as not only did I retire but my father passed away, the house sold quicker than we expected and by October we were renting an old French presbytery in Lower Normandie as a base for house hunting, whilst all our belongings including the guitars, were back in storage in the UK.
Mid winter and bored my wife bought me a cheap (35 euros) ‘classic’ guitar from Lidl of all places and I started learning again as I had the Dummies books as pdfs on my laptop. After a few weeks of nylon strings I bought a cheapo Rock Star Academy acoustic from Amazon for £60 but hey it sounded good. Playing wise I rushed through the books to refresh what I thought I knew but more importantly to see if I was capable of playing things, especially specific licks and thought I just might be able to finally play!! We moved into our own French home Feb 2012 and that then became the priority. Playing resumed late autumn.
Then late 2012 I found Justin’s website and got stuck into the Beginner’s Course early 2013. The rest as they say is history. I’ve learnt more in the last 3 and a bit years, than in any of the previous 17 and feel I’m on my way to finally becoming a guitarist. Still not sure what I would call myself at the moment…………not quite good enough to say Intermediate so maybe Advanced Beginner if there is such a thing. Who knows who cares as I can now play a good few songs and been known to record the odd one. Just need to get over the singing hurdle but when you’ve a voice like mine……………….
So I’m here 20 years on and moving into proper Intermediate territory. I just hope that I develop at the rate at which I’ve done in the last 3 years or more while I’ve still some time on this planet.
Strange things started happening last year, when I became sort of creative. Where that sprung from I ain’t a clue but I’ve got 4/5 projects at various stages that I can now take another look at now I’ve ‘finished’ the IM. So watch this space. I’ll list these here in the not so distant future so I can track their progress.
I would like to say that the forum has been a great help and support since I first logged on – never really did forums much before and was getting peeved with Facebook. I’d like to think I’ve made some good friends here and hope I’ve not asked too many inane questions along the way. But it’s been fantastic to have folk to share things with, people to seek assistance from and a kind of peer group/contemporises who started around the same time as me, who I can measure my progress. Some have gotten ahead of me as I stumbled through the BC and have made great progress. Rossco springs to mind as we’ve kinda been parallel for a while and you’ve always been supported and “Hey \m/ Joe” Jesper as well. Good to see them and others making great progress. And thanks to all those who’ve provided feedback on the recording I’ve posted over the last year. Oh yeah and a few fellow bikers to boot.
Apart from Justin I’ve got to add a special thanks to 4 of the people that I’ve found the most helpful and who given me inspiration to try different things.
Stitch – For showing me the world of yellow boxes and the fretjam website. My world is now full of intervals and my eyes are now open to so many things. Seeing those little yellow patterns have really help my impros and awareness of notes around fretboard and a new appreciation of Julie Andrews !! |Doe A Deer with max gain and chorus / flanger anyone ?
Shadowscott – For always being there with constructive and in depth comprehensive answers to not only my questions but others, who in turn help me learn and understand more than I ever could by following the courses alone. May your mileage always vary.
Close – My go to guy in the early days when I needed to navigate the forum and another knowledgeable member always willing to help and share what he knows. Take his harmonising scales post the other day, top stuff. Now if only I abided to his mantra. Plays songs, play songs, play songs, play songs, play songs, play songs, play songs, play songs and the play more songs!!
TB-AV – Man I used to think this guy was talking Swahili ! None of his replies made sense and then things started to slowly sink in. His suggestions to try certain things and think about why or how they work, of leaving more answers to find, made me think outside the box. Or he’d lead you out of the box – like he did with some chromatic patterns and a few other pointers – leave you there so you could find you way back in. Truly inspirational, so thanks TB. Our own musical Yoda.
So where next ?
Ambitions
Complete the following :
Consolidate the IM
Transcribing – must get my ‘stuff’ together with ear training…………pants at the moment!
CAGED
Blues Rhythm and Lead Courses
Fingerstyle Courses
Rock and Awesome Licks Modules
Find a jam buddy here in Normandie/Bretange
Ultimately to hear something, transcribe it, play it – but reincarnation may have to be a factor in this one!
Play all the songs on my bucket list and more.
My Gear (in order of acquisition - pics to follow)
Fender Squier Strat Black
Marshal Lead 12 Amp
Encore W265 acoustic
Zoom GFX707 multi effect pedal
Behringer GX110 Ultraroc Amp
Washburn HB30 TSB
RSA cutaway acoustic
Washburn HB32 DM
Fender Deluxe Roadhouse Strat TSB (MiM)
Fender Mustang III V.2 and 2 & 4 way footswitch
DAW – Reaper
Oh and an old Banjo up the loft which I must dig out one day.
Bucket List – Songs To Learn/Play – so many many more than these but guess you need to start somewhere. Ok was going to list 20 but could cut these down any further! Too many songs not enough years.
Those marked * I’ve dabbled with in a previous life, way back in Tab World
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Freebird *
Sweet Home Alabama
Born To Run
The Last Rebel plus many more
Fleetwood Mac/Pete Green
Man Of The World *
Albatros
Oh Well Parts 1 and 2
Green Manalishi
Black Magic Woman
Deep Purple
Strange Kind Of Woman (MiJ)*
Smoke On The Water (MiJ) *
Highway Star
Child In Time – replace keys/organ with guitar piece
Pink Floyd
Wish You Were Here
Shine On You Crazy Diamond
Hendrix
Red House *
All Along The Watchtower
Hey Joe (full version)
Led Zeppelin
Stairway To Heaven
Ramble On so many I just had to start somewhere.
Iron Maiden
Afraid To Shoot Strangers *
Clansman *
Fear Of The Dark *
Holy Smoke *
Seventh Son of A Seventh Son plus way too many to list here!!!
Metalica
One
Nothing Else Matters
Mama Said *
Unforgiven
ACDC
Back In Black
Thunderstruck
Whole Lotta Rosie
Highway To Hell a starter for 4.
James Taylor
Fire and Rain
You’ve Got A Friend
Robin Trower
Bridge Of Sighs *
Long Misty Days *
Gary Moore
Parisienne Walkways * oh and the changed name version
Still Got The Blues
Groundhogs
Cherry Red
Iron Butterfly
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida – yes all 17 minutes worth !
Staind
Its Been A While
Outside
Black Crowes
She Talks To Angels
Twice As Hard
I could go on and on.
Well If you still here, thanks for listening to the ramblings of an old man and see you again soon.
Cheers
Toby
March 31, 2016, 09:00:08 pm
Ok pics as promised. My Gear ! 
My trusty 20 year old Squier Strat Affinity - never been set up and always played brill.
Encore W265 which I’ve had for about 15 years. Set up last year now plays like butter - even barres !
Washburn HB30 - My retirement present from work after 38 years service. Nice ES335 clone.
Cheap and cheerful Rock Star Academy acoustic. Kept me ticking while house hunting in
France and way better than the LIDL Nylon Classic which does not grace a picture!
Washburn HB32 Dark Mahogany - a xmas pressie from my wife 2014. Its grown on me and feels great.
Fender Deluxe Roadhouse Strat (MiM). TSB finish with pearl effect guard and ‘antique’ knobs. Lusted after a proper TSB strat for an eternity and now its mine, all mine. Ha Ha Ha Ha (fiendish lafter). !
Fender Mustang III V2 - additional 4 way switch to go with the stock 2 way (still in box) !
Behringer GX110 Ultraroc Amp 30W 99 effects, owned for about 12 years I think ?
Behringer Xenyx Q802 USB AI. Nice piece of kit, two mic and jack inputs and dovetails with Reaper on the PC.
My trusty old Marshal 12 Lead practice amp that I’ve had for 20 years and it was old then. Still sounds good and gets dusted off now and then…but now sitting behind the Behringer but accessible.
Zoom GFX707 effect pedal. Loads fun with this puppy !nner/12_zpsbbevbmdh.jpg)
New ‘studio’ set up with everything accessible from my desk. Ain’t I one happy bunny ? Oh yes !
And that’s about it for the interesting stuff. Bye for now
when a few clicks later revealed a gorgeous Smokehouse Burst Studio LP and my heart melted. It did not take much persuading from my wife, for me to agree it would make a fine birthday present. So although the brown box arrived long before the big day, I waited patiently until the 30th of March before fully welcoming Smokey into my life.
as you can see I changed many of the names to protect the reputation of the original artists, Murder by the Seine will certainly have a return visit one day I think I could do better now but that fast bit ? Nooooo but never say never.
