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Post subject: Re: Prescription for emotional tragedies
Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2008 5:31 pm
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P.S. Don't mind Todd. We understand him :roll:

Doc[/quote]

I'm not sure I was understood. I just wrote "beautifully put" because I understand and I tend to be long winded. Everything else I thought of seemed self-serving.
But, just to be clear: I think music and my '77Strat saved my life.
I grew up without my father. I was a very angry teen. My nickname was Consumo. I would drink or snort more than anyone. Then I took up the guitar and it can play any emotion I'm working through.
Then my brother and uncle were murdered.
I wrote some songs.
Then the lead singer in my band died of the human form of Mad-Cow disease (and he was a vegetarian!).
I wrote some songs.
Then I had a son.
I write happier songs now.
And he plays guitar.

I understand.

Love,
Todd

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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 12:40 pm
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Speaking of "Prescription for emotional tragedies"

about 20 years ago

buying my first Harley helped get me through a rough time.

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My other guitar is a Strat.

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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 12:54 pm
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Very struck by what Todd wrote, above. What a story...

I find song writing a long slow painstaking process. Yet (a certain amount of time) after my brother died I suddenly sat down and wrote a song about him and the whole thing just poured out perfectly formed in the time it took to write it out on a sheet of paper - words, melody, chord structure, arrangement, the lot. Never happened like that before or since.

Lots of near the bone stuff on this thread.

At any rate, music is the treatment on which you can safely self-medicate! Go to it, people...

Cheers - C


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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 4:25 pm
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Ceri wrote:
At any rate, music is the treatment on which you can safely self-medicate! Go to it, people...


Playing the Blues can heal the blues!

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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 4:56 pm
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Ceri wrote:
Very struck by what Todd wrote, above. What a story...

I find song writing a long slow painstaking process. Yet (a certain amount of time) after my brother died I suddenly sat down and wrote a song about him and the whole thing just poured out perfectly formed in the time it took to write it out on a sheet of paper - words, melody, chord structure, arrangement, the lot. Never happened like that before or since.

Lots of near the bone stuff on this thread.

At any rate, music is the treatment on which you can safely self-medicate! Go to it, people...

Cheers - C


I'd like to hear that song some day.
I bet It'll mean a lot to guys like us.
Sorry to hear about your brother. Could you tell us a story about him?

Love,
Todd

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Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 10:05 am
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Welcome on forum! I know what you feels :wink:

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Post subject: Re: Prescription for emotional tragedies
Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 10:28 am
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justcallmelater wrote:
To make a long story short, my parents died long ago when I was a kid and my third wife, whom I loved very much, died after seven years of marriage. I was sinking deeper into depression when a friend on AZCentral said I had a creative block caused by the emotions. Therapists just said it would eventually pass. I explored my friend's advice and I discovered that if you have emotional trauma, it can help in the real world to play your favorite musical instrument that you have always wanted to try. So at the age of 50-years-old, I began practicing the electric guitar and it is a Fender Squier Standard Strat. Exact words and made in China. It's got a bar on it, perfect shape and found at a pawnshop for $150. When I saw it, the guitar spoke to me. I swear it did! I own two strats now, a bass, a processor, equalizer, and I want more. Oh man, if I could tell you what it felt like. Stevie Nicks once said there is magic all around us and it might be true because those strings pulled that pain, anguish and heartache out and my friends were astounded by my playing. I've never played a guitar before and all that pain just helps me to hold those notes longer and I'm learning the chords and the more I play, the more I want of that prescription. I don't think I can overdose on a Strat, but I should be careful. I watch music videos to see how Jimmy Page played or Neil Young and many other people as I can afford it. I'm a disabled veteran, not from gulf wars, and a widower. Man, guitars are like a magnet for pain and it absorbs the stuff and the agony drips on the floor like thick, black ooze and sustained notes fry it! There is nothing like the magic of an electric guitar for me. For others it might be another musical instrument, but for me it's an electric stratocaster. I've got two used ones and I'm hooked. I'm living again thanks to Fender.


Last edited by cuthbert on Mon Nov 17, 2008 2:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 12:50 pm
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Todd Montgomery wrote:
I'd like to hear that song some day.
I bet It'll mean a lot to guys like us.
Sorry to hear about your brother. Could you tell us a story about him?


Hi Todd: well that song goes back to the days of my old Tascam four track cassette recorder. It's a humble little number, nothing flashy, but I think perhaps it stands up, so maybe I'll rerecord it sometime with the better gear I have nowadays.

Yeah, might like doing that: and if it comes off all right I won't be bashful about sharing... In fact, it's such a simple little track it might bear the scrutiny of some of our talented colleagues here better than my slightly more ambitious efforts!

Far as my brother is concerned: nothing to compare to the extraordinary stories of Mr Justcallmelater and yourself. My brother was born with major and rare heart problems, underwent two gigantic open heart opertations at different times which definitely gave him an extra 20 years - and then just when we thought he had a clear road ahead he suddenly died in his early 30s.

We were very different kinds of people, but despite or because of that we were always very close. He was a Pink Floyd nut: I wasn't, but he gradually pulled me along and I eventually went to a show with him to find out what it was all about. That was on the last tour, and according to my brother the gig we saw was the one that ended up on that Pulse DVD - but I've never been able to spot us in the crowd!

My brother was an amazingly kind, decent, honest sort of person: the one wrongful thing he ever did in his life was amass a huge collection of illegal Pink Floyd bootleg CDs. I inherited near 200 of those - most of them seem to be pretty lousy recordings, frankly!

End of story.

Cheers - C


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Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 1:09 pm
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[quote="Ceri

My brother was an amazingly kind, decent, honest sort of person: End of story.

Cheers - C[/quote]

Sounds like a cool guy. And you got to know him for 30+ years. (My brother was 33.) I try to remind myself that that's acually a long time.
My son is only half that age and I feel like I know him forever.
That was pretty funny about the bootlegs.
I had a Tascam 144. Sorry, don't still have it. I'd still like to hear your song.

PS I just got mail for my brother! AARP. Irony?

Love,
Todd

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Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 2:09 pm
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Welcome to the forum justcallmelater.
I can relate to everything you said. I have played guitar for 16 years now and your remedy has never been more important to me than it is now. My wife (whom I have loved dearly) left me 7 months ago and I have been taking it very hard. I barely get to see my son as well on top of this. Music is what keeps me going right now. Currently I have taken this remedy to the next level by restringing my 5 instruments & setting up the house to where I can leave everything setup to record. When I get in for the evening all I have to do is plug in and play. I plan to soon have a homemade album of whatever comes out of my guitar from the pain and memories. (Wish me luck)!

Hang in there as will I.


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Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 2:16 pm
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I am envious of all of you guys that have the ability to write songs, particularly lyrics. I am not a very creative person, and not very poetic, although I am somewhat romantic. I have written exacly one batch of chords and a simple melody. I have been working on this for 7 or eight years and the one contant thing is that it keeps changing. Every time I attempt to write lyrics, they sound stupid. But, the whole thing is still a sort of therapy for me. Just working "at it" feels like therapy.


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:04 pm
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bluez81 wrote:
Welcome to the forum justcallmelater.
. I plan to soon have a homemade album of whatever comes out of my guitar from the pain and memories. (Wish me luck)!

Hang in there as will I.


That's a great idea. Make yourelf complete the album. Remember that, at worst, you will have a document of this time of your life. Rock on!

Love,
Todd

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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:37 pm
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The guitar is catharsis...I call it guit-tharsis.


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 7:59 pm
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Todd Montgomery wrote:
bluez81 wrote:
Welcome to the forum justcallmelater.
. I plan to soon have a homemade album of whatever comes out of my guitar from the pain and memories. (Wish me luck)!

Hang in there as will I.


That's a great idea. Make yourelf complete the album. Remember that, at worst, you will have a document of this time of your life. Rock on!

Love,
Todd


Thanks for your support. I just finished laying down 4 scratch tracks for different song ideas this evening. I just went in and played from the heart & didn't worry about any kind of structure. This inspiring idea came from reading Dec. 08 Guitar Player magazine article with Carlos Santana talking about playing from the heart - I would advise any guitarist to read this you will learn something and be reminded why you picked up the guitar to start with.


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 7:59 pm
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Todd Montgomery wrote:
bluez81 wrote:
Welcome to the forum justcallmelater.
. I plan to soon have a homemade album of whatever comes out of my guitar from the pain and memories. (Wish me luck)!

Hang in there as will I.


That's a great idea. Make yourelf complete the album. Remember that, at worst, you will have a document of this time of your life. Rock on!

Love,
Todd


Thanks for your support. I just finished laying down 4 scratch tracks for different song ideas this evening. I just went in and played from the heart & didn't worry about any kind of structure. This inspiring idea came from reading Dec. 08 Guitar Player magazine article with Carlos Santana talking about playing from the heart - I would advise any guitarist to read this you will learn something and be reminded why you picked up the guitar to start with.


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