I want to start by saying that I realize there are a lot of people in the world who donāt celebrate Christmas. But, numerous different people celebrate various holidays at this time of year - both religious & non-religious. (Legal disclaimer accomplished)
So, in the spirit of gift-giving in general & Gear Acquisition Syndrome in particular, I offer THIS:
I told my wife that not only do I like the (maybe 100 guitar) tree, I REALLY love the space!
I envision a new garage - extra deep 2 car bay on the left, extra deep 2 car bay on the right with THAT space in betweenā¦ room for ALL our toysā¦ it wouldnāt be a āman-caveā ā¦ it would be a āJAM-CAVEā with my motorcycle & Jeep close by if I wanted to set down the guitar & go get some air!
My GAS is kicking out due to Christmas and the end of Blues Immersion. I spotted that Epiphone ES-335 that look just like the more expensive Gibson of Justin in BLIM. And Iām like, yeah ā¦ I could pretend that I almost have the same guitar as him as the real one is too expensive ā¦
Then my family tell me that I already have 3 guitars and why would I need another one for almost 1000 canadian dollars ?
Hey Mathieuā¦ Thatās a pretty sweet looking 335ā¦ not sure which model youāre considering but quite a few of the Epiās out this year are basically Gibsons in disguise. They feature Gibson pickups & are basically straight-up copies of the Gibson original model, right?
So, look at it this wayā¦ yes $1000 isnāt exactly a CHEAP guitar but youāre SAVING SO MUCH by NOT buying the Gibson version!!!
Not sure about you, but my wife is pretty quick to point out how much sheās āsavingā me by getting the (fill in the blank) because itās on sale this week!!!
Besides, you buy gifts for everyone else on your listā¦ just add your name to the bottom of the list so you HAVE to buy yourself something!!!
Omgā¦ A jam caveā¦ always will be the dream around these parts, iām afraidā¦ That or i had to win the lotteryā¦ (another piece of wishfull thinkingā¦)
And besides, 3 guitars you sayā¦? I remember those daysā¦
Iāve got this strange feeling that when iām away, my guitars do all sorts of funky stuff amongst themselves, because sometimes, when iām back, thereās a new one standing thereā¦
Right now, thereās sevenā¦ (my wife gave up asking questions a long time agoā¦ )
I technically have a small one right now. Itās the 3rd bedroom in the house. But Iāve been to a couple homes recently that have jam caves that make me SUUUPER jealous.
My wife and I have occasionally been spitballing adding to our jam cave. For some reason, I keep thinking about a keyboard.
And going to a house concert on Sunday scaled up those efforts. Less so for me, and moreso for my wife. Sheās started talking about maybe hosting some sort of house concerts, too. Particularly outdoor ones on our patio. She thinks weāve got enough gear to do it now, and maybe we can make something work for solo performers, especially if theyāre 100% acoustic. But if sheās serious about it, I think we need a few things.
I remember once when I was a teenager & visiting my grandmother in Arkansas during Spring break from schoolā¦
Grandmaās next-door neighbors were a retired couple who had 5 or 6 grown kids & they were all musicalā¦ one weekend, most of them were over for a dinner & several of the neighbors were invited to come for dessert & music. After having cake, everyone started pulling out instruments - guitars, mandolins, fiddles & one upright bass. The Bluegrass music was going on & one of the granddaughters was singing (she had an amazing voice) Gospel, old Ralph Stanley & Carter family songs as I recallā¦ everyone was singing alongā¦ it was a great time & itās still one of my best musical memories!
Hope you guys can organize something similar, Nate!
Have fun!
I know the feeling! I have this recurring daydream that Iām playing & the guitars are accompanying me by themselves - except itās kind of a nightmare (daymare?) because they play WAY BETTER than I doā¦
Sevenā¦ the GAS is strong with this one - but ONLY seven - Amateur Night!!!
I honestly think that unless you truly canāt afford it, you should have electric & acoustic guitars.
It should be a REQUIREMENT before you can be a True Guitarist!!!
My 2 centsā¦
Iām not sure exactly the sort of house concert my wife has in mind.
The one we attended on Sunday was no joke. Of the people performing, one was a Grammy award-winning songwriter (her song was performed by Allison Krauss) and another was Marshall Pyle, one of Artimus Pyleās (drummer for Lynyrd Skynyrd) sons. Along with a handful of other touring musicians and locals who donāt tour at all (like my wife).
I spent some time BSing with Marshall before the show started and before I knew who he was. The concert organizer whispered in my ear during his performance who he was, and mentioned he doesnāt really like to be connected to his father, Iād assume because it diminishes his own musical career in a way.
Wow, I was thinking you just meant more of a bunch of guys & gals jamming for funā¦ not any ārealā musicians per seā¦ that sounds like it was good to attend! Whatever you guys end up organizing, try to get some video to postā¦ this Community really loves to watch stuff like that!
Both kinds of shows are super cool. I have a feeling my wife envisions more of just jamming for fun, and Iād honestly prefer something like that at home.
My wife has plugged herself into the local ukulele community and knows a bunch of people who would probably come over to jam. Sheās already had a couple friends over for more informal jamming (though one of them does a weekly Facebook livestream ukulele jam and they recorded a song that he broadcast for that). Thereās less a āguitar communityā here (at least as compared to how the uke community operates), but Iām starting to meet some folks. Some of whom might come over to jam.
We have a friend in another city who organized a series of house concerts in her backyard for some years (until she moved) and she had actual touring musicians performing there. So we certainly have some brains to pick if we want to put together a stage setup.
EDIT: Hereās a vid of the whole uke jam thing. The part at our house is about 27min into the video.