What do you consider your biggest musical accomplishment?

Just being able to play again (somewhat) after suffering what I thought was a stroke a couple of months ago. I say "thought was a stroke" because CT and MRI say otherwise, but if whatever happened wasn't a stroke, it sure missed a damn good opportunity to be one. :ROFLMAO:

Seriously though, at the time I honestly didn't know if/when I'd be able to play again but I'm able to play chords again even though I'm still having trouble with left hand/arm movement and accuracy.. Unfortunately, what little "meedly, meedly, MEEEEEEE" (Strongbad reference there) I had has left the building for the time being, but I'm working on it. Huge shout out to all those here that provided support and encouragement during that rough time. I'm thankful.
 
I’ve had a couple - I won a guitar contest in the early 90s, there were over a hundred entrys and took a couple months. Next was being top 5 in the 2020 Guitarist of the Year contest by Guitar World (which is a bit odd because there are thousands of guys on Instagram that can play me under the table). But to me my biggest accomplishment was my personal goal to be as comfortable on any stage as I am playing at home. Took a lot of gigs but now when I walk on stage, I can just focus on giving a good show, without feeling nervous or having anything negative in my thoughts.
 
First place, actually surprising my wife with an anniversary song for our 20th

Runner ups:
Designing / building an original guitar (photo in my avatar)
Recording a CD
Getting featured in vintage guitar magazine, even though the ‘interview’ came out terribly

Biggest letdown: getting hired for a touring band in 1997 only to see the Drummer have not one, but two heart attacks while we were recording a four song demo for a major label, and getting dropped on our asses promptly after the second heart attack

Glass half full: I have at least nine albums left in me. Looking for my Robert Mason and lyrical co-writers to help wrap them up.

All said and done, I’ve lost an incredible amount of money playing music. 🤷🏼‍♀️
 
dstroud said:
I’ve had a couple - I won a guitar contest in the early 90s, there were over a hundred entrys and took a couple months. Next was being top 5 in the 2020 Guitarist of the Year contest by Guitar World (which is a bit odd because there are thousands of guys on Instagram that can play me under the table). But to me my biggest accomplishment was my personal goal to be as comfortable on any stage as I am playing at home. Took a lot of gigs but now when I walk on stage, I can just focus on giving a good show, without feeling nervous or having anything negative in my thoughts.
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Didn't you jam with Vai a few years back?
 
thegame said:
I guess slugging it out in bars for 1 - 2 years in the early 90's playing thrash. Some of the bars were more like small - medium sized clubs with proportionally big PAs, so feeling the rumble from those systems was quite the rush.
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I used to play a bar called "The Double Down" in Vegas all the time and there were always fights, but no one ever stopped playing. It was pretty normal. That place was awesome. In a disgusting punk kind of way. Had dirt floors for a while and bathroom (co-ed) always had people passed out in it.
 
NowYou'rePlayingWithPower said:
I used to participate on a forum called "Rigtalk" all the time and there were always fights, but no one ever stopped posting. It was pretty normal. That place was awesome. In a disgusting troll kind of way. Had dirt floors called the OT section for a while which always had people getting banned out in it.
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In 20 years you'll be saying the above
 
JimAnsell said:
Being able to cheer myself up from, and distract myself from depression and trauma by creating something pleasing to my own senses whenever i feel the need.
Not everyone has that to turn to.
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That is actually what inspired me to write and sing on songs. Years ago, going thru a divorce, then a long term, serious relationship falling apart right after, and spending a lot of time alone in an empty house.

I hated going thru tough things, and still do, but man music inspires me and is like energy and makes me forget about the hard stuff.
 
dstroud said:
Next was being top 5 in the 2020 Guitarist of the Year contest by Guitar World
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dstroud said:
But to me my biggest accomplishment was my personal goal to be as comfortable on any stage as I am playing at home. Took a lot of gigs but now when I walk on stage, I can just focus on giving a good show, without feeling nervous or having anything negative in my thoughts.
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Man this can't be overstated. To feel like you are hanging out with friends and family at home, that's what it's all about for me to play my best too. To play freely and without worry. I've done enough gigs that I kinda don't care what happens anymore, lol. Of course I want a good show but I've done enough where there is a lot less I worry about cause It's all happened before.
 
VonBonfire said:
I've done enough gigs that I kinda don't care what happens anymore, lol. Of course I want a good show but I've done enough where there is a lot less I worry about cause It's all happened before.
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Yep, you realize that it doesn't matter. We laugh about mistakes and different issues and that is why we all join bands in the first place. It should be fun and uncontrolled.

At the end of the day you realize that all of people watching you, wish they learned guitar and had the guts to get up in front of people and just have fun.
 
I've had many fortunate opportunities in music with a bunch of great people over the years. But, my house has instruments in essentially every room, and I've never once pushed my kids in that direction because they're my stubborn, hard-headed kids and they'll do exactly the opposite.

I'll always remember the first time my daughter asked me to play a song again so she could dance. Now they'll come in while I'm playing sometimes and get on the drums or piano. The young lad likes grabbing his uke and hanging out with me. That's the stuff I live for these days.
 
I got a call from a big time major label A&R guy the day after playing a show in '91. Didn't piece together who he was until years later.

I declined sending a tape and some pictures. Said sorry sir, we can't entertain a manager because my bandmates drinking problems are so bad. DOH!

I did get some leads on a motocross video!
 
Something pretty cool happened today. I been looking for the right keys player to fill out the band for about four or five years now. Know a couple freelancers but they have no commitment and they'll last minute cancel for a more primo gig. Know a couple guys who aren't good enough. Found one guy a few years ago who was an outstanding blues player but he flaked on the first gig, lol. So today I rehearsed with a guy. Totally pro, great chops, great attitude, was a great try out. Everyone hit it off and had a good time. So, I finally put together my dream big-show five piece band after years of hustling players trying to keep the ball rolling. Feeling pretty good right now as I'm starting to wrap up a record and was hoping to get a keyboard on there so this is great timing.
 
VonBonfire said:
So, I finally put together my dream big-show five piece band after years of hustling players trying to keep the ball rolling. Feeling pretty good right now as I'm starting to wrap up a record and was hoping to get a keyboard on there so this is great timing.
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That's awesome!
 
VonBonfire said:



Man this can't be overstated. To feel like you are hanging out with friends and family at home, that's what it's all about for me to play my best too. To play freely and without worry. I've done enough gigs that I kinda don't care what happens anymore, lol. Of course I want a good show but I've done enough where there is a lot less I worry about cause It's all happened before.
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Sometimes I forget that this is a thing because i've been on stages since i was 12-13, but i have nothing but praise for someone getting over the "fear of fucking up" thing - everyone fucks up live all the time lol

Being a "pro" is just relegating your "mistakes" to things people wont notice
 
Myself and a guy on the old HC collaborated on a tune. He did the vocals, drums, and production, and I did the guitar riff and bass lines. He produced the whole thing, and it sounded pretty killer because of him. Somehow it got picked up by a Japanese radio station, and it went to number 1 on their metal countdown show for the week. They actually reached out us, but we didn't even have a real band name, lol. That wasn't really me though, he really made it a song. It's amazing what a good producer can do.

Biggest accomplishment for me, was keeping my kids interested in music. My oldest is going to school on a music scholarship next year. They have no interest in anything dad plays, but they are at least both musicians.
 
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