Music

I have zero musical training, education or teachers. My idea of music is to pick up an instrument and bang on it until stuff comes out. I’ve never worked in a professional capacity, nor would I likely be able to due to the fact that I couldn’t name a single note I’ve ever played.

Bass guitar has always been my primary instrument, but I’ve also fiddled around on guitar (acoustic, twelve string and classical). On occasion, I will sit down at a keyboard or piano and hammer on it until something comes out. I recently got a Simmons electronic drum set that I’ve been occasionally practicing on.

I live an extremely sheltered musical life. I don’t listen to a whole lot of stuff. Of course, I have a few influences and artists that I truly admire, but for the most part, I shut myself in and play the things I hear in my head. I’ve just never had the chops to understand the mechanics of music or its theory. I just play stuff that’s either in my head or sounds pleasing to my ear.

I’m not particularly good at songwriting, and I’m horrible at gluing pieces together to form coherent songs. That’s why most of my stuff’s just one-shot jingles here and there.

As a kid, I was inspired to play music the first time I heard Metallica’s “Orion.” I wanted to know what instrument it was that was making that divine sound. A classmate, after referring to me as an “idiot,” informed me that the instrument I was enjoying was something called a “bass guitar.” I hounded my folks for months until they finally caved into getting me a Peavey Foundation. The dude at the store taught me how to play “Smoke on the water,” but as soon as I got my new bass home, I tore out the sheet music to Orion (which I’d been hoarding for months) and went to town. How I learned to play the bass, was playing Cliff Burton’s bass line to Orion over and over and over until I could play the whole thing through from memory.

So, Cliff Burton is the single reason I even play music today.

What I wanted to be

What I actually was

My jingles and stuff are here for you to listen to, but if you’d genuinely be interested in some sort of collaboration or something, I think it’s definitely possible. The problem is that I’m not very refined, nor am I experienced, which I’m sure would cause some problems. I hate to just see some of my jingles just die off into the abyss of time, so I think it might be time to “grow up” and step up my game a little bit and do something with the bits and pieces I’ve written for the bass. I know that my bass lines are far from traditional, and may even be downright offensive to some. Here is such an example. But, you never know what people will like.

If you’re ever interested in working with me in turning some of this noise into actual, real life music, just email me.

I hope you enjoy at least one thing I’ve uploaded. And as always, though nothing is stopping you from doing so, please don’t just take my stuff. Either attribute it to me, or, even better, why not see if I can directly contribute to your stuff? I promise I will try to be the least amount of a pain in the ass as possible.