Friday, September 26, 2008

I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)

Okay, someone out there had to get that Sandi Thom reference. No? Alright, alright, I'll stop. Because what this post is really about is my guitar! That I bought! Today! That's right!

And what you may not know about me (which is understandable, because even though I put most of my life out here on my baby of a blog, there are shitloads of things I've kept private, which probably doesn't make me the right kind of blog owner), is that I've forayed into the world of guitaristry before. Actually, I play a multitude of instruments: piano, flute, and the drums, my real musical passion. Instruments and music and writing are the only stress relievers I have. But back when my friends and I were in our seminal girl band, Russell Betty and the Corrigans (an obscure Great Gatsby reference and the fourth and final name we decided on), I was destined to learn all the instruments.

This was long before I ever saw or knew of the Coathangers or Grand Ole Party, and learned that the drummer and lead singer of a band could actually be one and the same, and at the time I thought the only way for me to sing the songs I wrote was to be a lead guitarist. So at it I went, borrowing my bandmate's acoustic and tab book, using a pink clothes button as a pick, and strumming away while holed up in my room for hours. From those weeks of musical encampment, I mastered only two chords: C and F and constructed sappy, whining folk songs from them.

And now, two years later, I am basically starting from scratch, having forgotten everything I ever learned. I held my guitar and it was almost like meeting an old friend with whom you used to do everything but whose name you seem to have misplaced, despite the many memories.

Hopefully these nine months I have left of school will provide me more than enough fodder to start creating some really good music and hopefully this guitar will bring me some much needed peace of mind.

I'm gonna be the next Beck! I'll be Becky!

Deuces,
Erika

2 comments:

Lolita Hazed said...

I understand that sentiment. I've always wanted to be a writer and when I started to get afraid that that wouldn't work, I started to play piano and was all, hey! Maybe I could start pulling a Bat for Lashes someday! *Sigh*, dreams...

I say: GO FOR IT!

RMG! said...

Ever since I played Rock Band I wanted to learn how to play drums. Very cool that you know how.

Any tips on how to get started? I don't want to buy a whole drum set cause I'm hella broke.