My Story
Who I am
Where I come from
Everything You Want to Know
There’s just something special about music, right? It inspires us, gets us through the hard times, and in my case, it played a massive role in becoming the person I am today.
I was a teenager when I really started getting into music – paying more attention to notes, pitch, and scales (not that I knew what they were at the, just that they sounded good together). I begged and pleaded to my parents, and finally when I was 16 years old, they bought me my first guitar. I felt unstoppable…and then I tried to play it.
Yeah, I wasn’t very impressive, but I didn’t care. For the next four years I’d play every day, going from simple songs that you find in any beginner’s song book to covering many of my favorite hard rock and heavy metal songs.
I had no idea I was getting so much better until I joined my first band…
Where I Come From
I wasn’t always into music. Well, not as much as I am now.
I grew up in the middle of nowhere, and until I did reach those teenage years, my biggest musical influences where N’Sync and the Backstreet Boys (I’m not kidding).
In fact, I was pretty indifferent to it all – nothing struck me as really interesting on the music scene (that I knew of anyway). When I was with my mom, a boyband CD would be at the ready to insert into the dashboard CD player. And while my father did listen to the Beetles and the Doors quite often, he worked a lot and I typically wasn’t with him.
My most defining moment in those early years was with my dad however. I remember around the time I was in 4th or 5th grade, my dad played Ozzy Osborne on cassette for the first time. It was like nothing I’d ever heard before.
Not long after, I was given my first heavy metal CD – Painkiller by Judas Priest. I still have that CD, because it’s a reminder of the songs that would later inspire me to pick up the guitar and lay the foundation for my desire to become a rock star.
Band Life
If you ask me, nothing is quite like jamming with like-minded, equally talented musicians. Playing to drum and rhythm tracks is just not the same, and while being in a band means spending a lot of time with a second family you may not always get along with, here are some things I’ve learned:
- Lugging a half stack to and from practice twice a week gets old (but the sound doesn’t).
- A perk of being the only guitarist in the band gives you a LOT of creative freedom when it comes to writing music.
- Bars and small venues are great, but if you get the chance to play on stage TAKE IT!
- Finally, enjoy the ride. Many of us, myself included, don’t grow up to be world renowned musicians, so take it all in as you go.
It really was an amazing experience…but, we didn’t get far, professionally anyway. We played together for about a year, my bass player and I found another drummer and singer shortly after our first group parted ways, and then…that was it.
What had covered the span of years, from high school through playing on stage, felt like it was over in an instant.
However, my passion for music and guitar never faded.
Why This Blog?
Fast forward to today, I’m a single dad working full time, but music is still a large part of my life. It’s still there to get me through the good and the bad, and what’s more amazing now, is that I can share my passion with my kids (and seeing them rock out to songs I grew up with is a feeling words can’t describe).
But if I’m not looking to play professionally, how can I make use of my time spent writing songs, learning covers, and (sometimes painstakingly) fine-tuning solos?
Well, that’s why I’ve started this blog. It’s my way of taking the things I’ve learned over the years, along with my personal experiences, getting them out there, and hopefully help other people – whether that be with the guitar, or some other instrument.
Here’s to all you fellow musicians and music lovers.
Good luck on your journey!
Chris Hardy
