If You Could Relive One Year - Which Would It Be And Why?

jfb

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If you could relive a year which would it be and why?

I would have to go with 2001. In my spring semester of college I had taken an honors class that was taught by a printmaker that I would end up studying under for some time. He was the head of 2D design department, printmaking, and the visiting artist program. He really took to me and helped get my work going in a positive direction. I also had a great summer. I rented this house that had an amazing view over a small valley. It was in the middle of nowhere basically. I still miss this pad. I was also playing quite a bit of guitar, listening to tons and tons of music and spending every weekend with the gf, now the wife.

That fall I started a senior staff student resident assistant gig on campus. I not only had to deal with the students but I also managed seventeen other team members. The job really helped me grow in a lot of ways. During this time I also got into technology as a way to solve a number of my problems. This turned into side cash and made the grass seem greener than art so it took up the majority of time pretty quickly.

In the end I opted for computer science and information system technology after wrapping up my art degree. While I miss being involved in the art scene there's no way I would be where I am at without getting into tech. I have put making art and getting some sales on my 2013 resolution list. It hasn't happened yet, but soon.

What about you?
 
In the end I opted for computer science and information system technology after wrapping up my art degree. While I miss being involved in the art scene there's no way I would be where I am at without getting into tech.
Interesting, likewise here and I'd bet with a good number of our members.

I'm pretty happy with the way I lived past years and where it brought me - enough so that I'm not sure I'd want to meddle.
However, in the spirit of the question, I would be curious if revisiting 93-94 with what I know now might bring a more expedient resolution to some medical issues I encountered.
 
1970.

It was a pivotal year for me. I'd love the opportunity to screw things up differently! ;)
 
There were certainly more fun and exciting years, but 1985 is the year that changed my life dramatically. Graduated law school, passed the bar, got a job that would result in a very satisfying career, and most importantly had my first date with the woman who would become my wife a few years later.
 
1978...some of the best music ever written..Plus I lost my innocence..to a coke machine..

The year that guitar as we knew it changed forever. Van Halen I hit the music scene like a tidal wave. I remember the first time that I heard "Runnin' with the Devil" played on WIYY 98 Rock. The radio station played the A and B sides of the 45 back-to-back (the B-side was "Eruption/You Really Got Me"). I was speechless by the time both songs had ended. It was truly a "WTF was that" moment.
 
The year that guitar as we knew it changed forever. Van Halen I hit the music scene like a tidal wave. I remember the first time that I heard "Runnin' with the Devil" played on WIYY 98 Rock. The radio station played the A and B sides of the 45 back-to-back (the B-side was "Eruption/You Really Got Me"). I was speechless by the time both songs had ended. It was truly a "WTF was that" moment.

yeah, in '79, i was going to university full time, had been playing for a few years, getting some recognition in the "local" scene and was feeling pretty cocky about it all. then i went to see van halen live at MLG. after the show, my buddies and i went for a brew and they were all jacked up, but i was thinking ... "crap, i'm only a couple years younger than that guy and he just kicked my f..in' A$$. maybe i need to rethink this professional guitarist thing". guys like hendrix, page, clapton (the usual suspects) inspired me, but EVH really devestated me for quite a while.
not the only reason, but i finished my degrees and choose a different path were i was able to have a decent career and keep on playing at a pretty high level. "best of both worlds" some people would say (particularly my mom), but i wasn't totally convinced then and i'm not totally convinced now.
if i were to list the three greatest rock guitarists imho and not necessarily my favourites, it would be ...
EVH
Hendrix
Clapton --- i don't think he gets his due, people forget about the "beano" album which really defined a classic rock sound and the fact that cream had come and gone befor hendrix hit and before LZ were formed.
 
The year that guitar as we knew it changed forever. Van Halen I hit the music scene like a tidal wave.

And all along I thought that happened in 1967 when Hendrix' first record was released...

Or was it in 1968 when Jeff Beck's "Truth" album came out...

Hmmm...coulda also been Led Zep's first record in 1969...

Still that "Kerrang" guitar chord that opened Hard Day's Night in 1964 was pretty cool...

Oh wait - what about Duane Eddy...1958...hmmmm
 
Summer of 1969. Fingers bleeding from playing guitar. Standing on mother-in-law's porch.
Oh wait...

I'm going to be stuck with that song in my head all day now!!! Could be worse I suppose! :)

78... Year I was born. Think my best 'musical' year was '94. Got into Floyd massively and it was the start of the whole Britpop scene with Oasis and Blur. I worked backwards from that though. Pretty sure that was the year I decided I wanted to get into guitar...
 
And all along I thought that happened in 1967 when Hendrix' first record was released...

Or was it in 1968 when Jeff Beck's "Truth" album came out...

Hmmm...coulda also been Led Zep's first record in 1969...

Still that "Kerrang" guitar chord that opened Hard Day's Night in 1964 was pretty cool...

Oh wait - what about Duane Eddy...1958...hmmmm

You forgot to mention the person that set the standard that Beck, Page, and Hendrix followed; namely, Eric Clapton. Clapton single-handily created the blues-rock genre and the Les Paul into a cranked Marshall format starting with the release of Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton (a.k.a. the "Beano" album) in 1966. Clapton went on to further define the blues-rock genre when Creamed recorded Disraeli Gears with the help of Felix Pappalardi. Hendrix and Page merely took the genre that Clapton created and kicked it up a notch.

Like WishICouldPlay, I was already playing guitar by the time that EVH hit the scene. EVH revolutionized guitar. I could figure out the stuff that Beck, Clapton, Hendrix, and Page recorded. Like most of the guitarists that I knew at the time, I had no clue as to how EVH did what he did with a guitar. He raised the bar so high that a lot of guitarists just gave up. He also spawned more copycats than just about any other guitarist in the history of rock. Just about every hard rock and metal six string slinger in the eighties was attempting to beat EVH at his own game (Slash was one of the few hard rock guitarists in the eighties who chose not to play the game).
 
Felix Pappalardi..Didnt he play Bass for Mountain? Flowers of Evil? I know he wore fur coats a lot..He was underrated IMO...
 
Ironically, as screwed up as this past year has been & all the stupid things I've done in my past, I wouldn't change anything. Changing something in my past would remove Kate from coming into my life & she's had a profound impact on me. I will gladly take all the hurt just to see her smile.
Now....if I could just go back & relive a year & change nothing.........1995...........Oh, the humanity............not sure I could post the things that happened that year!
 
You forgot to mention the person that set the standard that Beck, Page, and Hendrix followed; namely, Eric Clapton. Clapton single-handily created the blues-rock genre and the Les Paul into a cranked Marshall format starting with the release of Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton (a.k.a. the "Beano" album) in 1966. Clapton went on to further define the blues-rock genre when Creamed recorded Disraeli Gears with the help of Felix Pappalardi. Hendrix and Page merely took the genre that Clapton created and kicked it up a notch.

Like WishICouldPlay, I was already playing guitar by the time that EVH hit the scene. EVH revolutionized guitar. I could figure out the stuff that Beck, Clapton, Hendrix, and Page recorded. Like most of the guitarists that I knew at the time, I had no clue as to how EVH did what he did with a guitar. He raised the bar so high that a lot of guitarists just gave up. He also spawned more copycats than just about any other guitarist in the history of rock. Just about every hard rock and metal six string slinger in the eighties was attempting to beat EVH at his own game (Slash was one of the few hard rock guitarists in the eighties who chose not to play the game).

It's funny that you mention Clapton, who is my all time favorite guitarist.

I didn't include him in my list simply because I see him more as a channeler of traditional blues styles -- for example, if you listen to Freddie King, you hear an AWFUL lot of where Clappo got his licks. And there are others. The point I'm making is that Clapton learned a lot of blues licks note for note, and strung them together in interesting ways with great taste. But he wasn't an inventor. I'm sure he'd say that himself. I don't really think he found his own greatness until Layla. And that was several years after he'd listened to a lot of Hendrix.

I got interested in Clapton right around the time I started learning to play guitar, this was 1966 or so, when Fresh Cream came out. I'd already been playing keyboards in bands for a couple of years, starting when I was about 14, but listening to Clapton made me really want to take up guitar as a second instrument, which I did.

Growing up in Detroit, R&B and blues was very big when I was in my early teens. I bought older generation blues records so that I could learn the various blues styles on keys, and of course, I heard the stuff the original blues guys were playing. What Clapton did was make the blues guitar more relatable for me as he was young and hip.

Good as Cream were - and I saw them live a couple of times - when Hendrix came along, he revolutionized what people did on the guitar. Much more so than Clapton, for all of Clapton's skill and taste. Hendrix blew up everything.

Beck also was a significant stylist with the instrument. That's how I see EVH, evolutionary like Beck, not revolutionary like Hendrix. But we're all different in who we think really did the heavy lifting, and I don't begrudge anyone their preferences.

But I do see Clapton as a much more traditional blues player, not someone who revolutionized the instrument.
 
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It's funny that you mention Clapton, who is my all time favorite guitarist.

I didn't include him in my list simply because I see him more as a channeler of traditional blues styles -- for example, if you listen to Freddie King, you hear an AWFUL lot of where Clappo got his licks. And there are others. The point I'm making is that Clapton learned a lot of blues licks note for note, and strung them together in interesting ways with great taste. But he wasn't an inventor. I'm sure he'd say that himself. I don't really think he found his own greatness until Layla. And that was several years after he'd listened to a lot of Hendrix.

I got interested in Clapton right around the time I started learning to play guitar, this was 1966 or so, when Fresh Cream came out. I'd already been playing keyboards in bands for a couple of years, starting when I was about 14, but listening to Clapton made me really want to take up guitar as a second instrument, which I did.

Growing up in Detroit, R&B and blues was very big when I was in my early teens. I bought older generation blues records so that I could learn the various blues styles on keys, and of course, I heard the stuff the original blues guys were playing. What Clapton did was make the blues guitar more relatable for me as he was young and hip.

Good as Cream were - and I saw them live a couple of times - when Hendrix came along, he revolutionized what people did on the guitar. Much more so than Clapton, for all of Clapton's skill and taste. Hendrix blew up everything.

Beck also was a significant stylist with the instrument. That's how I see EVH, evolutionary like Beck, not revolutionary like Hendrix. But we're all different in who we think really did the heavy lifting, and I don't begrudge anyone their preferences.

But I do see Clapton as a much more traditional blues player, not someone who revolutionized the instrument.

Discussing/Arguing about who is the "greatest" or most "innovative/influencial" guitarist is kind of like watching a dog chase his tail, goes round and round endlessly until he gets tired with no resolution and wanders off or flops on the ground. I gave up worrying about that stuff long ago, everyone and every generation has their own feelings and opinion about it, which is the way it should be. My personal sense is summed up in my earlier post. A young guy in his twenties is likely to have a very different list than myself, probably thinking ... huh?, who are these guys.

I will make a comment about Clapton. Regardelss of your view on his influence, he was the one who took old American Black Blues and transformed it into accessible "White Boy Blues" for the masses. He received a lot of criticism from the purists for that. He created the industry of Blues/Rock that had significant commercial success, and everyone benefited. Remember "Clapton Is God". Can't think of any other guitarist or band to get that.

I've done a singles act off and on several times over the years. Just me, my acoustic and a PA. I played a lot of different styles and I remember when I would play Charly Patton or Blind Lemon Jefferson ... that was a WTF moment for the audience. Once in a while I would pick it up with Lemon's "Please See That My Grave Is Kept Clean". Man, I can be an a$$hole (lol).
IMHO, Blind Lemon Jefferson is where it all really started.

Going back to the original subject, if the defining criteria is "booze, broads and music", '81 has to be it for me. I'm still payin'.

Anyway, going to go out and see a Beatles tribute band tonite, I know they are excellent so I'm looking forward to it.

Cheers!
 
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