PureVolume

Guitarist/Musician/Philosopher from Geordieland U.K.

Influences include Yngwie Malmsteen, Michael Jackson, Steve Vai, Symphony X, Danny Danzi, Coldplay, Muse, J.S.Bach, Alter Bridge, Simon & Garfunkel, Chris De Burgh, Queen, Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix, Bryan Adams etc etc...

I got my first guitar, a classical nylon string acoustic, on Christmas 2 days after my 13th birthday, the journey was relatively quick to begin. I knew I wanted to get to a reasonable standard on my instrument of choice but was unsure how to do so. For a full year I messed around with it, learned a few odd chords here and there, often playing it with my thumb on the low E string, upside down. Or with 1 finger on one string.

The following Christmas I got my first Electric Guitar and small 10 watt KUSTOM amplifier. The guitar was a cheap Stratocaster rip-off, but it served me well as my initiation into an unforseen realm of hard rock with wailing solos and soulful vocals. Later that same year when summer hit, I began taking lessons from some strange goth guy called Ed Lock, introduced to me by my pal David 'Cuff' Cutherbertson (sort of). It was half an hour a week for about 2 months (for £10... my poor parents, god bless em). I learned a few scales and some Barre Chord shapes here and there etc. But soon the lessons stopped and I was on my own again, a place I have remained to this day.

I have been playing at a seriously commited level for around 9 years as of July 2009 and it's been a stimulating time mentally and physically. My mind has been expanded through the joy of playing an instrument and creating music with, through and around it. It is as fullfilling as anything I have ever done. The pro's of learning to truly play an instrument are all too apprent to me now, it is just magical and genuinely therapeutic. It opened my eyes and helped me see that the single most important message we have been taught thus far as a species is as follows...

Be Excellent to eachother... And Keep on Rocking. Thanks Bill and Ted.