Back to the Bass-ics

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I’m a rocker from way back when. I got hooked on rock music from my older brothers. My dad played the guitar and worked on them as well. 

I think I was around 14 years old when I began learning how to play the guitar. I found great pleasure playing and learning new songs of the time. 

I played with some friends, playing music from bands like Scorpions, Dokken, and Ozzy Osbourne. I had a blast jamming with them.

When I was stationed in Germany from 1988-1990, I played with some friends who needed a bass player. I didn’t have a bass, but this friend of mine let me borrow his and I immediately loved it. In 1990 I went to Ft. Polk, La., and joined a band there.

There is debate on what the most important element of a band is. While I love guitar players like Eddie Van Halen, it’s the bass that drives the song in my opinion. Play any song without the bass and it sounds empty. The bass rounds out the song. It creates the foundation. Plus, it’s a lot of fun to play!

Many years ago we fell on hard times financially. I sold my bass and amplifier to pay some bills. I didn’t regret it, as we had kids and they were more important than my hobby of playing the bass.

I bought a bass and a small amplifier a few years ago and played it a little. When our house burned down in 2018, my bass survived, while my amplifier did not. Since we’re in our new home and no kids, I decided to buy a new amplifier and get back to playing.

I’m kind of impressed with how some songs came back fairly easy. The more complicated songs by bands like Rush and Iron Maiden will take some time and effort; but, I enjoy relearning the songs I loved to play back in the day. As time goes on and get back my muscle memory, I’ll begin to tackle those more complex songs.

Do you play an instrument? Have you played one in the past and over time, gotten away from playing? Did you return to playing it? If you could play an instrument, what would it be?

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