Rock’n’Roll!!!
65' SG Special all original in my JTM615... What a sound!

 

Those old SG’s look so good

 

Speaking of obsessive collecting...(and hey, what’s that on Geddy’s wrist?).

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/art...-book-of-bass-and-why-rush-wont-tour-again-2/

 

My retreat, where I make fart noises and bleeps:



Modular synthesis is more dangerous to your bank balance than watches.

 

Read this in the Globe and heard him on CBC "Q". IMPRESSIVE collector!
Wrist candy: could be a Speedy Tuesday LE #1, but the pushers look too large. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a fair watch collection to go with his basses and his wine...

 

Indeed. The guy is so cool and a real mensch, as they say. Gifting his impressive collection of baseball gems to the Negro League Museum was a beautiful gesture. A collector’s collector. I‘d like to see his watch collection! And let’s not even start with Neil’s car’s...!

 

I love the dig at Kiss at the end.

I think everyone knew that 2015 was the last tour. Glad I was at the ACC in TO on that tour to see them one final time...



I recall going through various DVD's at one point looking at Geddy's watches. Pretty sure I've spotted a Breguet on his wrist at one point, so not clear what the watch is that he has on, but he clearly likes watches.

 

The KISS jab was awesome (mind you I’m a huge fan of The Who and they mounted, what....3 ‘farewell’ tours?). I was likewise fortunate to see the final Vancouver show (and their last 3 tours, actually). The wide spectrum of well known musicians massively influenced by these humble Canadians is astounding. Yet not at all surprising. As we’ve seen on those DVDs, even Gene ‘never a nice thing to say about anyone’ Simmons genuflects at the Rush alter.

Besides the reverse timeline setlist showcasing their brilliant career, here’s my other final tour highlight:

 

OK...last Geddy Lee reference. Call it an early Christmas gift for the bassists (and fellow Rush fans) in the OF family. The interview is superb - quite enjoyable. I’ve included a watch shot, screen captured from the interview.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=

 

(I HAVE MOVED THE MUSIC RELATED INFO OF THIS POST FROM OPEN DISCUSSION TO THIS THREAD. I THOUGHT IT MAY BE OF MORE INTEREST TO THE MUSICIANS AMONG US.)

How I came to own a full set of Beatles autographs:

QUOTE: ("Are they for real? Quite amazing!!! And I imagine there will be a “value bump” immediately after the last remaining original Beatle leaves us.)



Yes @shaun hk and @blufinz52 , but not so amazing really. A set of Victorian books, Beatles memorabilia and 1965 Omega Speedmaster all came to me from my Father.


I've had the 3 Beatles books (one with the centre fold photograph autographed) since the 1970's. With us living in London and my Dad involved in UK, 'Film Location transport' work in the 1960's it's no suprise that he came across this kind of stuff. Also in the early 1960's the Beatles were much more available than when they got really big, so fans could get all 4 autographs by being in the right place at the right time. It aint happening now though.



In an interview George Harrison said that John Lennon often used to pick him and Ringo up, from Weighbridge and Esher in Surrey and make their way into South West London, on the A3 trunk road, on route to Abbey Road Studios. My School was very close to the A3, so The Beatles must have driven past us hundreds of times during the 60's. I do remember having the car pointed out to me, one day, but the windows were dark so I don't know who was inside on that occasion. Anyway, we were too busy trying to learn Maths and other stuff to worry about the Beatles going past in a 'spliff' filled Rolls Royce.

A lot of British Rock stars lived in those wealthy areas, to the South and West of London in the 60's and 70's. Olympic studios, Barnes, was also in South West London, my Grandmother lived close by, so this was a good place for people to spot Rock Stars during 60's and 70's. Some of them drank in the Red Lion pub.



(Quote): "The Rolling Stones were among the first clients of the new Olympic Studios in Barnes, consecutively recording six of their albums there between 1966 and 1972.[4] The Beatles worked at the studio to record the original tracks of "All You Need Is Love",[15]having been happy with their time there recording "Baby, You're a Rich Man". Jimi Hendrix recorded for his Are You Experiencedalbum at Olympic, and of his Axis: Bold as Love and Electric Ladyland albums, all of the former and a substantial part of the latter were recorded at the studio. The Who recorded their albums Who's Next and Who Are You. It was used extensively by Led Zeppelin, who recorded tracks there for all of their studio albums up to and including Physical Graffiti in 1975. In the same yearQueen used the studio for their album A Night at the Opera while David Bowie also used the studio. The studio also saw the production of great numbers of other landmark albums and singles, including by The Small Faces, Traffic, Blind Faith,Hawkwind, The Seekers, The Moody Blues, Deep Purple, and Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale". (End of quote)

So people like Jimi Hendrix, The Yardbirds and The Rolling Stones were knocking about. Also we had Eel Pie Island close by in Twickenham, The Hammersmith Odeon, and the Craw Daddy Club in Richmond. All of these places were within a few miles of where we grew up. The Who, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, all came from West London and Surrey so geographically, over 2 decades, we were bound to spot one or two Rock Stars at some point.

In the 1970's I delivered newspapers to Marc Bolan's Dad in Putney .I was quite into T-Rex at the time but never spotted Marc. In the 1980's I worked on expensive houses in Esher, Surrey and would often see Maurice Gibb (Bee Gees), Erroll Brown (Hot Chocolate) and Rick Parfitt (Status Quo). Also, David Gilmore (Pink Floyd) had a studio close by on the River at Hampton Court.

Geographical and Chronological fluke: We just happened to live and work, close to where the rich and famous people lived and worked in the 60's 70's and 80's.

 

Great stuff nonuffinbloke! A nice personal narrative.

I grew up admiring British pop and British blues rock. Felt that American pop of the late '60s/early '70s (Three Dog Night, Grand Funk Railroad, Grassroots, etc.) was "second tier" for the most part. I still spin it all though in the CD player or on the phonograph.

We're going a few decades back and playing Glenn Miller just now (Moonlight Seranade's playing).

 

Strange yet true, or "Practical Uses For the Accordion."

Just for fun, a piece I once penned for a "hunting supplement" in the local newspaper. Meant to share it in my first post to this thread.

_______________________

I'm gonna tell y'all right now that I am a championship turkey caller. Ain't nobody better. I can call 'em in and put 'em in a trance. I just can't shoot 'em as I haven't figured out how to operate the call and the gun at the same time.

I generally don't admit to it but I do play the accordion. I have four of the things around the house. I hate playing for others though and attempt to avoid it at all costs. I play really well when I practice regularly and several years ago I won a contest put on by the Fort Worth chapter of the Texas Accordion Association. Came in first out of 30 participants. Won a $50 gift certificate to the German restaurant sponsoring the event. Leave it to my wife to take me down a notch by pointing out that I was at least 20 years younger than the other contestants. The gift certificate was used to take my parents out to eat in payment for all those accordion lessons they paid for so long ago.

Sheet music, correctly transcribed for accordion is very hard to find and I'm always on the lookout for any. I can easily make do with sheet music transcribed for the piano but the real thing is nice to find. Once I found a batch of proper accordion sheet music in an advertisement from a place in Houston. I perused the list and ordered a number of song titles. Soon it arrived in the mail and I was pleased to have the new songs to learn.

Not long after the sheet music's arrival I planned a few days afield in pursuit of deer and duck at our old family place at Lake Leon. While gathering up the decoys, guns, and gear, I thoughtfully included an accordion and some of the sheet music, figuring on giving the household a break from the squawking instrument. What better place to run through the difficult portions of the music than at our lake cabin, miles away from anyone else?

I can't now recall whether I pursued ducks or deer that morning but after the hunt I unsheathed a recently acquired 1903 Springfield. This was a real oldie with a low 5-digit serial number and a barrel date of May of 1905. Some informal shooting at the cabin was undertaken which told me that it was still an accurate rifle though the rifling was very worn. I'd had my doubts about it but was grateful it was still capable of usable accuracy. After the good performance of the '03 and a fine steak dinner grilled over a mesquite and oak fire I broke out the accordion for some afternoon entertainment. I warmed up by playing some rags and polkas then shuffled through the stack of new sheet music for some interesting titles to play. The interior of the cabin was a little dark for reading the notes. This was along about the time I first began noticing that my eyes were a bit feeble for reading. I just scooted the chair up into the cabin door using another chair sitting in front of me on the porch for holding the sheet music. There now, the light was fine so I immersed myself in learning some new music.

I 'd been deeply engrossed in the music, not paying attention to the day. The occasional single duck winged it's way back to the lake after a day of feeding in nearby peanut fields, undisturbed by my 10 gauge which always stood outside the cabin door when I was on the place. I've occasionally taken ducks right out of the cabin yard with the 10 gauge or other shotgun while grilling lunch or plinking with a .22.

After squawking through the new pieces I ripped into "Waiting on the Robert. E. Lee" and was happily sawing away on the accordion when, much to my amazement, I looked out into the yard to see a flock of 15 turkeys standing stock still with their necks stretched upward and their heads craned in my direction. They weren't 20 yards from me! They seemed absolutely mesmerized by my award-winning performance. I only recall seeing hens and jakes but hey, turkey is turkey and they were in season in November in Texas. I stopped playing and froze momentarily. How to deal with this predicament? I was strapped to a 28 lb. accordion! My hunting rifle was zipped in its case. The shotgun was just out of reach on the outside wall on the porch. My S&W Model 10 was in its holster on a dinette table inside the cabin and the '03 was leaning against the wall. I'd purposefully left it charged with five rounds of ammunition, just for general principles. I determined that my best bet was to go for the Springfield.

Stealthily I backed into the cabin while keeping an eye on the turkeys which were beginning to look around disappointingly as if to say: " Oh, is the concert is over"? I was hoping that they couldn't really discern my movements in the dark recesses of the cabin so determined that I would just take the shot from inside the cabin. Pressing the bellows shut I snapped the catch that keeps them closed with my right hand while gathering up the '03 Springfield with my left hand. My attempt to shoulder the rifle and aim it left the rifle's butt on the keyboard of the accordion and I didn't think the keyboard would stand up to the recoil of a .30-06. Nothing would do but for me to get out of the accordion so that a shot could be taken. I was chuckling to myself that it would be some stunt to take a turkey that I'd called in such a fashion. Alas, it was not to be as, by the time I set down the accordion and picked up the rifle again, the turkeys offered only a final glimpse as they silently, like stately ghosts, glided into the thick mesquite and buffalo grass. There was to be no roast wild turkey for Thanksgiving at our house.

 

@nonuffinkbloke, thanks for the great post. I was 12 when the Beatles broke onto the world station in '64. Besides the Beatles, I had all of Dave Clark 5 albums, and my brother loved Herman Hermits. Those were great times.

That autographed photo of the Beatles is outstanding.

 

I collect Guitars, mostly vintage and rocknroll autographed, but this one I thought was cool, and strangely...it seemed to strike a chord in me that it looked familiar.

You may know I'm also a bit a vintage firearm collector as well, so I love beautiful wood stocks, and therefore beautiful wood guitars.

I found this one at a flea market of all places, for the princely sum of $125 (back in 1997 it was $1400 in today's $$)

Birdseye Maple is one of the rarest woods, primarily because it cannot be intentionally grown in this pattern...it just happens. It's not known precisely how it happens, but when it does..the best look like below, which is absolutely magnificent.

What is particularly spectacular is that is all Birdseye Maple..front back and sides...AND its single sheet (ps:its a big deal..sheets of birdseye maple this size are unobtanium today).

So the mystery was solved when I was in Aruba last month and happened upon the Hard Rock restaurant, and back by the bathrooms, up on the wall, is this very same guitar. Then it hit me why I knew it...it is the very same model and wood choice used by Tom Petty when he was on tour in 1998 with Bob Dylan. I'm a big Tom Petty fan so follow most of what he does. Saw him play with this guitar.

 

@Wryfox, that is a stunning guitar. Just beautiful

 

Amazing story on an amazing find. That is quite a striking instrument. And for a song (pun intended!).

 

I don't have a great picture of my drum kit right now, but here's a recent shot in "record mode":


And here I am on stage in "play mode" at Bar XIII not long ago:

Same kit I've played since the mid 90s with a few upgrades along the way like the Gibaltar rack -- should have gotten that 10 years ago! -- and many more cymbals, all Sabian (not sponsored, lol)