Music Banter - View Single Post

Plankton · 05-27-2015, 08:52 AM

When did you start playing? What was your first instrument?

I used to fiddle around with my Grandmothers upright piano. She was an organist for her church and would always encourage my clammerings. The earliest I can remember of this was when I was about 6 or 7. Then, in 1982 I bought an Ibanez Les Paul Black Beauty knock off, which is now worth quite a bit, but I had later given it away because of some bad mojo.

What were the first songs you learned?

Iron Man, Green Manalishi, Round About, Crazy Train, The Trooper...

Did you take lessons and for how long? What was your teacher like?

I took one lesson in 1982. The dude was a prick, so I bought a Mel Bay book and never looked back.

When was your first performance? What gear did you have?

A talent show when I was in the Army in Germany in around 1987. I had my Ibanez LP, and a small Peavey amp. Me and another guy from the 60th Ord unit did a version of the Crossroads duel. If you've ever seen it, just know that our 'version' of it was very different.

When did you start or join your first band? What did you play? How long did it last?

In the mid nineties, I was introduced to Lloyd Doogan of the Doogan Bros band, who were well known around the south side of Chicago local scene, and we started doing 2 man guitar instrumentals around some of the bars and coffee shops. We were well received, and had a weekly spot at one of the coffee shops. Lloyd would record every time we practiced and he has probably over 100 cassette tapes of us. I grabbed some of it a while back and put some percussion to it.

SoundClick artist: PRD Collaborations - page with MP3 music downloads

A side project I had going around this time too, with the former singer from Zoetrope, was Monstrosity. We recorded one full album in my living room.

SoundClick artist: PRDMonstrosity - page with MP3 music downloads

The first actual full band that I joined, or rather formed, was in 2002. My neighbor was a drummer, so we would get together at his Mom's house (in her basement since it was huge), and jam. Here's our one and only recording of just me and Keith that I captured using a condenser mic through a hole I had drilled in the floor of my rented house to the basement where we practiced at.

SoundClick artist: PRD Collaborations - page with MP3 music downloads

After a few practices, we grabbed up my brother, and his bass player friend. My bro was on rhythm, I was on lead guitar duties.

SoundClick artist: PRD Collaborations - page with MP3 music downloads

We played Jimmy Buffets Cheeseburger In Paradise lounge, which has since moved out of Illinois, and had a horrible show due to putting all the amps in front of the drummer, so basically he couldn't hear the rest of us, and turned every song into speed metal. After that we gained Tommy Treje from the local band Beggars Day. We had one practice before he died of a heart attack.

So, we disbanded, but Keith and me kept on jamming and eventually found our way into Koncrete Pillo. We were steady gigging for a few years, playing with the likes of LYNT (Brian Corbin of Convoy's first band), Chaos Theory, and Machine Gun Kelly.

SoundClick artist: Koncrete Pillo - page with MP3 music downloads

Eventually, I had had enough of our other guitar players unprofessional behavior and left to join Beyond The Z, which has since disbanded, but was probably the most fun playing in a band I've ever had. We played all over the south side of Chicago for quite a few years.

SoundClick artist: Beyond The Z - page with MP3 music downloads

I found myself in a side project playing a few shows with a singer/songwriter for a while. We just called it the K|S|P Project, and made a few recordings, and played with the likes of Eric Mantel.

SoundClick artist: PRD Collaborations - page with MP3 music downloads

One other side project that was started, and never gained any ground was Loud Mouth Dog. Something that was in essence a studio only type of thing, since it was just me and a singer:

You're Not To Blame

Now days, I'm happy to just sit at home and strum away.

How have your gear preferences changed over time? What is your favorite gear now?

Just give me a string on a plank and I'm a happy camper. I just picked up a cheap strat though. It's been my knock around guitar for a few weeks, and I'm getting accustomed to it's nuances.

How much gear do you own? How much have you sold? What are you hoping to own in the future?

I have 12 planks right now, 4 amps and a multi-effects pedal.

I really don't sell anything, but I'll give things away if it's for a good cause. I've been wanting a good Telecaster, and eventually I'll snag a good Schecter with a Floyd Rose trem system. Probably a Hellraiser.

How have your influences and playing style changed over time?

I'm constantly influenced by incredible guitar players, especially the one's you find on the DIY sites like Soundcloud. My playing style really hasn't changed much in the 30+ years I've been at it. If anything, I feel I'm getting worse.

What were your best / worst performances like?

Best: Playing for a crowd of about 300 at a secluded location in the woods. I was on fire that day, really feeling it, and milking some tone out of my PRS, and there were some people trying to get to me on stage that had to be intercepted by my huge ex-con friend was there as my roadie.

Worst: Heading out in a snowstorm to play at the Penny Road Pub, I got a call from my daughter who informed me that her grandmother died, and there was nothing I could do. We were already halfway there, and it was a blizzard. I felt helpless, and stayed on the phone with her for a few hours until it was our set.

Have you ever had any studio experience? Where at?

For my personal stuff, no. However I was there for the entire recording of Zoetropes final album at Streeterville Recording Studio, which was Johnny Winter's favorite place to record. I was basically there as a creative consultant, but really I was just the driver for Pete, since he had no wheels.

Do you still play? If you don't why did you stop?

I'll play until my fingers can't do it anymore, which is realistically not too far off if I think about it, which I try not to.

05-27-2015, 08:52 AM	#9 (permalink)
Plankton Just Keep Swimming... Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: See signature... Posts: 7,766	When did you start playing? What was your first instrument? I used to fiddle around with my Grandmothers upright piano. She was an organist for her church and would always encourage my clammerings. The earliest I can remember of this was when I was about 6 or 7. Then, in 1982 I bought an Ibanez Les Paul Black Beauty knock off, which is now worth quite a bit, but I had later given it away because of some bad mojo. What were the first songs you learned? Iron Man, Green Manalishi, Round About, Crazy Train, The Trooper... Did you take lessons and for how long? What was your teacher like? I took one lesson in 1982. The dude was a prick, so I bought a Mel Bay book and never looked back. When was your first performance? What gear did you have? A talent show when I was in the Army in Germany in around 1987. I had my Ibanez LP, and a small Peavey amp. Me and another guy from the 60th Ord unit did a version of the Crossroads duel. If you've ever seen it, just know that our 'version' of it was very different. When did you start or join your first band? What did you play? How long did it last? In the mid nineties, I was introduced to Lloyd Doogan of the Doogan Bros band, who were well known around the south side of Chicago local scene, and we started doing 2 man guitar instrumentals around some of the bars and coffee shops. We were well received, and had a weekly spot at one of the coffee shops. Lloyd would record every time we practiced and he has probably over 100 cassette tapes of us. I grabbed some of it a while back and put some percussion to it. SoundClick artist: PRD Collaborations - page with MP3 music downloads A side project I had going around this time too, with the former singer from Zoetrope, was Monstrosity. We recorded one full album in my living room. SoundClick artist: PRDMonstrosity - page with MP3 music downloads The first actual full band that I joined, or rather formed, was in 2002. My neighbor was a drummer, so we would get together at his Mom's house (in her basement since it was huge), and jam. Here's our one and only recording of just me and Keith that I captured using a condenser mic through a hole I had drilled in the floor of my rented house to the basement where we practiced at. SoundClick artist: PRD Collaborations - page with MP3 music downloads After a few practices, we grabbed up my brother, and his bass player friend. My bro was on rhythm, I was on lead guitar duties. SoundClick artist: PRD Collaborations - page with MP3 music downloads We played Jimmy Buffets Cheeseburger In Paradise lounge, which has since moved out of Illinois, and had a horrible show due to putting all the amps in front of the drummer, so basically he couldn't hear the rest of us, and turned every song into speed metal. After that we gained Tommy Treje from the local band Beggars Day. We had one practice before he died of a heart attack. So, we disbanded, but Keith and me kept on jamming and eventually found our way into Koncrete Pillo. We were steady gigging for a few years, playing with the likes of LYNT (Brian Corbin of Convoy's first band), Chaos Theory, and Machine Gun Kelly. SoundClick artist: Koncrete Pillo - page with MP3 music downloads Eventually, I had had enough of our other guitar players unprofessional behavior and left to join Beyond The Z, which has since disbanded, but was probably the most fun playing in a band I've ever had. We played all over the south side of Chicago for quite a few years. SoundClick artist: Beyond The Z - page with MP3 music downloads I found myself in a side project playing a few shows with a singer/songwriter for a while. We just called it the K\|S\|P Project, and made a few recordings, and played with the likes of Eric Mantel. SoundClick artist: PRD Collaborations - page with MP3 music downloads One other side project that was started, and never gained any ground was Loud Mouth Dog. Something that was in essence a studio only type of thing, since it was just me and a singer: You're Not To Blame Now days, I'm happy to just sit at home and strum away. How have your gear preferences changed over time? What is your favorite gear now? Just give me a string on a plank and I'm a happy camper. I just picked up a cheap strat though. It's been my knock around guitar for a few weeks, and I'm getting accustomed to it's nuances. How much gear do you own? How much have you sold? What are you hoping to own in the future? I have 12 planks right now, 4 amps and a multi-effects pedal. I really don't sell anything, but I'll give things away if it's for a good cause. I've been wanting a good Telecaster, and eventually I'll snag a good Schecter with a Floyd Rose trem system. Probably a Hellraiser. How have your influences and playing style changed over time? I'm constantly influenced by incredible guitar players, especially the one's you find on the DIY sites like Soundcloud. My playing style really hasn't changed much in the 30+ years I've been at it. If anything, I feel I'm getting worse. What were your best / worst performances like? Best: Playing for a crowd of about 300 at a secluded location in the woods. I was on fire that day, really feeling it, and milking some tone out of my PRS, and there were some people trying to get to me on stage that had to be intercepted by my huge ex-con friend was there as my roadie. Worst: Heading out in a snowstorm to play at the Penny Road Pub, I got a call from my daughter who informed me that her grandmother died, and there was nothing I could do. We were already halfway there, and it was a blizzard. I felt helpless, and stayed on the phone with her for a few hours until it was our set. Have you ever had any studio experience? Where at? For my personal stuff, no. However I was there for the entire recording of Zoetropes final album at Streeterville Recording Studio, which was Johnny Winter's favorite place to record. I was basically there as a creative consultant, but really I was just the driver for Pete, since he had no wheels. Do you still play? If you don't why did you stop? I'll play until my fingers can't do it anymore, which is realistically not too far off if I think about it, which I try not to. __________________ See location... Last edited by Plankton; 05-27-2015 at 09:06 AM.