Who made you start playing guitar?

In all honesty, probably the Glen Campbell TV show first started me down the path. I got a Silvertone acoustic when I was 10 in 1968 and I remember the first batch of songs other than 'She'll Be Coming 'Round The Mountain", "Home On The Range" etc. that I learned were "Gentle On My Mind", "Galveston", and a couple more.

But the next year in 6th Grade I joined a band, got an electric, and started playing the real stuff--Creedence, Beatles, Stones, etc.

The guitar was much "cooler" in upper school than the violin I had been taking lessons for since I was 6.
 
NiceChris said:
Around the corner from Stonehenge
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Strange to tell, I've been their today. The A303 was solid, so I detoured via Larkhill.

Back on topic, there wasn't any particular person who made me want to start playing, although there are many who have influenced me along the way: Paul Kossoff, Larry Clapton, Mick Ralphs, Larry Carlton, Geoff Whitehorn, Joe Walsh, Martin Taylor ... seems like an endless list
 
in chronological order:
1 - Slash / November Rain Solo, 2 - Idea of using it to get girls in Highschool, 3 - Friend's influence in Highschool, 3 - Mom, as she bought me my first acoustic :)
 
Swedish Chef said:
Satan...

True story.
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Short story.
AlGrenadine said:
Kirk
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Even shorter. Captain Kirk?


For me it was Mark Knopfler. Love over gold album.
And because it was cool. In my mind of course. My first guitar was made of cardboard and a 1x2 with which I formed a playback band for the farewell show of elementary school. We playbacked "Running with the devil"... 1980. Then I first learned on a spanish acoustic on which I replaced the nylon strings with steels. Then I begged and worked for an electric. An Aria Pro II that was not too cheap and actually not that bad and a Fender Vibro Champ with a black face. Still regret selling that little bugger.

Of course with teachers that weren't really into what I wanted to play and without the access to youtube my progress wasn't that fast. And my aversion to actually studying... I was just playing along trying to figure it out for myself.

Still doing that.
 
Dutch said:
Short story.

Even shorter. Captain Kirk?


For me it was Mark Knopfler. Love over gold album.
And because it was cool. In my mind of course. My first guitar was made of cardboard and a 1x2 with which I formed a playback band for the farewell show of elementary school. We playbacked "Running with the devil"... 1980. Then I first learned on a spanish acoustic on which I replaced the nylon strings with steels. Then I begged and worked for an electric. An Aria Pro II that was not too cheap and actually not that bad and a Fender Vibro Champ with a black face. Still regret selling that little bugger.

Of course with teachers that weren't really into what I wanted to play and without the access to youtube my progress wasn't that fast. And my aversion to actually studying... I was just playing along trying to figure it out for myself.

Still doing that.
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lol Kirk Hamet ;)
 
I was 12 and over at a friends house after school one day. His big brother was in another room jamming 'Rock you like a Hurricane' on his Squire Strat through a little Stereo GK amp. We went in there and I was hooked. Went home all excited and the parents got me a Kramer Striker and a little Mako amp (kind of like a Gorilla) for Christmas that year. Been jammin ever since.
 
, 6-7 years ago... My son who was 4 at the time said he wants to play like Scotty on imagination movers... Six months of insistence I bought him one tiny 100 dollars acrostic and thought at gc while buying for him.... That this might be a good father and son activity... He learned it for about 3 years and one day just quit. I may have pressured him lol... I started with him, started in my 40sI and 6 years later all my spare time is on the guitar.. Oh I have too much gear for my skills... Lol.
 
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Pink Floyd ... I was eight ... when I heard Comfortably Numb I felt like it took me out of my body ... away from myself ... I don't play in a band or with others or "perform." I never had dreams of being a rock star. I just always wanted to disconnect like that and guitar did it for me. There are no better days then when I find myself reaching for a cloth because I drooled on my guitar :)

My parents bought me this really crappy classical acoustic guitar and signed me up for lessons but my teacher was repulsive and alienating so it didn't take. When I turned 12, after much begging, my parents finally bought me a proper Epiphone acoustic and then later a BC Rich Mockingbird electric; both of which I still have and play today.

Later in high school, my mom also hooked me up with her friend's son, Rod Hohl, a music major at San Jose State. Classic metal head, drove a 71 split bumper Camaro. He could score great weed and gave me more theory than I could ever wrap my mind around.
 
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It all started in the early/mid-70s for me with Led Zeppelin and KISS. I just wanted to rock out and be as cool as those guys. Then I discovered Rush and became a fanatical guitar technique nerd, spending every moment of high school decoding Alex Lifeson's guitar parts. Rush was a gateway drug to even nerdier prog... so next it was Adrian Belew and Robert Fripp. And then I started playing fretless bass (influenced by Mick Karn) and Warr Guitar (influenced by Trey Gunn).

Looking back at my musical trajectory, it's kinda amazing that any girls ever talked to me. Luckily, I found one who thought my musical geekery was cool, so I married her. :)
 
Grew up in a somewhat musical fan. My grandfather is a travis picking Chet Atkins type player, my dad and all his brothers played guitar to some degree, none that seriously. Everyone sang a bit, etc. I started with piano very young, then moved to Tenor Sax when I was about 11 (it was bigger than me). Right after my gparents had bought me a brand new Yamaha sax for my bday I saw the Karate Kid duel Steve Vai in Crossroads and the light bulb went on. Sold my sax and bought my first guitar, distortion pedal. It came pretty quickly to me, never looked back.
 
Jimmy Page. My first Zep album was In Through the Out Door - when I heard that opening drone on In the Evening and then that explosion of electric guitar after Plant's opening vocals, I was hooked. I HAD to learn how to do that!! Saved my pennies and got a Hohner LP copy which was actually a great guitar.
 
80's metal....Mötley Crüe was alway my fav back then....never really a Mickey Mars fan, but I loved the band.
I knew I wanted to play guitar, and I knew I would be doing it my entire life.

My first guitar teacher was the same as other folks....would not teach me ANYTHING that wasn't in the classical books he made me learn. Literally 2 years into playing and I couldn't play any of the songs I wanted to. I then started taking lessons with a kid 3 years older than me in my high school......first lesson - Whole Lotta Love. Absolute turning point for me. Every Wednesday, over his house learning Zep, Ozzy, Ratt, etc. $3 an hour....best money I have ever spent.
 
Air guitar to Kiss Alive!!! I wanted to be Ace so i asked my mom for a guitar and she got me a 3/4 student acoustic guitar. Not cool mom... oh well, i fell in love with playing guitar anyway.
 
Saw "A Hard Days Night" at thirteen and thought I wanna do that. Two years after that I got serious. On to Hendrix, Cream, blues, Glam, Joni Mitchell, Prog and Fusion. Phew!
 
KISS - plain and simple. Gene and Ace completely inspired me as a young kid (10 or so)... Tried to start earlier but petered out.

Then after being a big fan of VH, AC/DC, Maiden, etc I bought a used Memphis Les Paul copy (with 2 DiMarzios!) from a friend at school I started taking lessons and never looked back.

3 years later I started my first originals band which lasted almost 6 years... My second band has been going on over 20 years now :)

Nothing like writing your own tunes!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
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