I love this thread.

I took guitar lessons as a kid, gave it up, banged around on crappy guitars over the years wishing I could play.I started playing harmonica at 21, mostly so I could jam in a band, having been a wannabee for so long. I ended up being a pretty good harmonica player, but then gave it up for about 10 years due to lack of time and places to play. (Read as: career and kids, plus non-musical wife. Then 2 years ago got hijacked into a country band at church, when I mentioned that I used to play harmonica. There I was, 40 years old and feeling like a kid again. I also got to watch some really good guitarists up close when playing in the bands. Last year I was so inspired by the guy I was standing next to that I got a video tape out of the library, (Happy Traum's Learn to Play Guitar) slapped on new strings on my beat up old Yamaha piece of crap Eterna guitar, and spent the next year teaching myself to play. Well, as you might have guessed, more guitars followed. (The Eterna is now my go-camping-and-don't-care-what-happens-to-it guitar) The guitars I pretty much actually play are my Tacoma Parlor PR-40 (If my wife only knew how I felt about this guitar, she'd name it the Other Woman) , a Dean GCE Electric Resonator, which I play unplugged when I REALLY need to play the Blues, a Strat that I keep under my desk in my office upstairs (I work out of my house, and when the phone rings, I just turn off the amp and keep playing while I talk. It's my "practice my lessons" guitar) and a beautiful 1967 Vox Ultra-Sonic 12 string, a jumbo semi-hollow body with double cutaways, really cool effects like a Wah and Distortion built into the controls, and the sweetest action I've ever played. I walked into my favorite music store the weekend after George Harrison died, and they had this for sale, came in on a trade. They cut me a deal of $400 (complete with handmade custom leather case) and I bought it. Makes me feel young again. Very Beatle-esque.

In February I was down in Jacksonville, Florida, while the National Folk Alliance was taking place. Friends of mine are working folk singers (check out www.thewinstons.com)and I played roadie for them. In return, they let me play a little harmonica during a showcase they were giving, and I got to walk around and see what really good guitarists can do. I was so shamed by my lack of skill, that when I got back to South Carolina, I started taking lessons. So I'm finally getting to the point where I can play fairly well. I've even figured out how to play harmonica at the same time as the guitar. It still feels like trying to rub your head and pat your belly at the same time, but most times I can pull it off.

Hey, I'm only 42 years young, and acting younger all the time!

Blues