when I was a lad
Entry posted by mark555
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What is your favorite Heritage Color? And yes you have to pick just one!
155 members have voted
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1.
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Almond Sunburst22
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Amber Translucent5
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Antique Cherry Sunburst5
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Antique Natural9
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Antique Sunburst16
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Black0
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Black Translucent3
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Blue Opaque0
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Blue Translucent12
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Burnt Amber5
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Cherry Translucent3
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Chestnut Sunburst11
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Dark Almond Sunburst7
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Emerald Green Translucent3
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Gold Top7
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Natural3
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Old Style Sunburst17
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Orange Translucent4
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Red Opaque1
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Rose Natural1
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Sunsetburst7
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Vintage Sunburst14
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White Opaque1
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I have been having a sort out lately of some stuff in the house and came across some old pictures which I had lost track of a long time ago. Among them was this picture of my first band. We were a trio, and it is a funny story how we got this band going. I met Shaun and Louis, two brothers, when they moved to Wakefield from Belfast because of the 'troubles' as they are known over there. Originally from Rochdale, Lancashire, just over the pennines from me. I hit it off well with these two friendly lads, and I said to Shaun one day, Do you fancy being in a band? His reply was that he could not play any instruments. Well, I was pretty much a lousy guitar player who only knew a few chords and I didn't even have an electric guitar, just a classical one my parents had decided I was going to have if I was to have a guitar - I never did learn the classical guitar, but wish I had. Anyway, I digress.
So I said to Shaun that I couldn't play much either, but if we got some gear we could practice and form a band.
I eventually got a really cheap and nasty Japanese copy of a Les Paul custom with the 'Sumbro' Brand on the top of the headstock. The pick ups were horrendous, but in the days of fuzz boxes etc you could get this horrendous distortion which at least gave you some sort of rock sound. The bands we were listening to at this time were British rock bands, Status Quo being our favourite along with Thin Lizzy and UFO. Anyway, One day I was in Huddersfield ;looking at a music shop when I saw a bass guitar for £20. It was a real cheap and nasty Egmond, a Dutch brand which was along the lines of the Gibson semi acoustic basses. So Shaun got that as a starter to practice on.
I had by now been playing through a Vox AC30 top boost with a Gibson Slope sided 2X12 cab with jensen speakers, and before long had traded up to a used Marshall Plexiglass 100 watt head - if only I had that am now. Back then in the 70's, the rage was for guitarists to have the new solid state transistorised amps and you could get these fantastic valve heads really cheap, especially if they looked a bit tatty. But the general opinion was that you could spill a pint of guiness down the inside of a Marshall and it wouldn't hurt it.
Louis, Shaun's brother, decided he wanted a go at playing drums, so we thought why not? He found a Premier Kit used for £125 and an older friend of ours who was the best drummer in town, took us to see if it was any good. It turned out to be ideal for a sixteen year old and it was duly bought, Louis started lessons and became quite proficient as his teacher was the above mentioned guy. So, there we were with the basis of a band but other than Louis with his premier kit, the other two of us had poor guitars. Shaun had been saving hard and eventually we went off to London for the day with his mum and dad and came back with a sunburst Fender Precision, so he was now up and running on a serious guitar. Not too long afterwards I got my first Gibson, a used SG DeLuxe for £175 from JSG in Bingley, the best guitar shop around at that time - sadly it no longer exists. So now we were away, all of us up and ready. We rehearsed as and when we could get lifts to the local church hall we used and got a few gigs. The most adventurous song we played was the Wishbone Ash number 'Blowin' Free' - quite adventurous for a bunch of young kids, but we made a passable version of it. Other numbers included 'Back in the Night' by Doctor Feelgood and 'In My Chair' by Status Quo. Our early gigs were three quarter of an hour slots at dances etc.
Today I still play in a band with Shaun, who is now bald... But then again, I am overweight... we still practice in that very same church hall we played our first gigs. Sadly, Louis gave up on the drums, he would have been excellent, he had great timing and was very solid, I wish he had carried on as he is a great friend to this day and I would love to be in a band with him. The SG Deluxe went a long time ago and was eventually replaced for a short period by a Tokai Telecaster, which I traded for an SG Standard.
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