Skip to main content

Obsessions

 


I 'm not sure when the obsession began, but I think it had something to do with a bored kid who had access to a lot of Beatles records and store catalogs. I can remember sitting at the kitchen table of my parents' home listening to the old "red" and "blue" Beatles compilations and flipping through Sears and Brand Names catalogs with a few really cheap guitars, likely Silvertone and Kay stuff. I wanted one so badly, even though I had no idea what I would do with one.

We just weren't a musical family. We were more a family of musical listeners, with Beatles and Herb Alpert albums and 70's spoof 45's like "The Streak" and "In Heaven, There is No Beer." Not necessarily artsy stuff, but the hooks of those songs have remained with me to this day. I was absolutely determined that I wanted, no NEEDED a guitar. 

Eventually, my brother brought home a really cheap acoustic guitar and when his interest waned, I signed up to learn how to play at school. We played at church and made up words to the songs that we sang loudly and the nuns applauded us for our zeal. They had no idea we were really singing "Hosanna on Rye."  I could play the basic cowboy chords, but I really struggled with anything fancier than that. It was fun though, and that was all that mattered.

Later, I was loaned a Heit guitar from my uncle Larry, who was an amazing musician and played the Wurlitzer organ every Christmas that sounded like a whole orchestra. It was straight out of a 1960's Polish Cadet's Club, but he was and still remains the only relative I have ever had that could play anything, until my own kids that is. 

So, after lots of crying and begging, I got signed up for my first private guitar lessons at Paramount Music across from the Polish Cadets. And that was where I saw my first real guitar hanging on the wall for the whopping price of $179. A black lawsuit model, bolt-on Ibanez Les Paul Custom. I had to have it, and I would, and the guitar playing, buying, and collecting obsession began. And the Ibanez obsession remains as well. 







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Obsession, Part 3, My 1979 Ibanez ST-50 #J704333

T he Ibanez guitars in my collection always have had a special place in my heart, and I will show you my small collection in chronological order.  I would say that by far they are the most outstanding player grade instruments that one can buy. The market is slowly catching on to some of them, like the Les Paul copies and other direct knockoffs like the Modernist Series (Gibson Flying V, Explorer, and Moderne copies). In my quest to get more vintage Ibanez guitars into the stable, I started looking at what the had to offer a player that was not looking for a pristine and expensive wall hanger. I think the Studio models of  the late 70's and early 80's are the perfect place to start. HERE is a link to the original Reverb listing of my guitar. My Studio 50 (ST50) is one Ibanez models from the beginning of the post-lawsuit era. The serial number indicates it was built in October 1979. I would assume that it was built in the famous FjiGen Gakki factory in Japan, a place known for...
Post a Comment
Read more

Revolver

Today the Beatles released a remix of their 1966 album,  Revolver . The re-release contains new outtakes and recovered tracks that will please fans of the band and especially those who liked the recent documentary  Get Back .  The album was remixed by Giles Martin, the son of great Beatles produce George Martin, and Klaus Voormann. Voorman was also the designer of the album's distinctive cover.  I don't know about you, but this is right smack in the middle of my favorite Beatles era. Revolver and Rubber Soul are the sweet spot for me when it comes to Beatles songs. There's just so much good stuff on this album like "Eleanor Rigby", "Taxman", "She Said She Said", and "Got to Get You into My Life." There's also some of the first traces of Indian music influencing the Beatles on tracks like "Tomorrow Never Knows."  You're going to listen to one thing this weekend, I can't imagine there's anything better than t...
Post a Comment
Read more