It was my first year of high school in New Jersey.  Friends of mine had a garage band playing cover tunes.  They played some Alice Cooper, Cream, Doors, Eagles, Outlaws, and Rolling Stones.  They practiced a lot and were good, but it was more of a hobby than anything else.  Actual gigs were rare.  I did sound and some primitive lighting.  It was fun and I eventually led me to a career as a technician.  

drumstixkev

spacey


I was 15 and remember it well. It was the year that
a local band hired me to play.
They were all over 30, married and raising families and played
at the largest most popular nightclub. I stayed with them
for seven years playing there most every weekend.

I had built a name from playing in school rock bands and
the most popular rock bands from 13 so they wanted to
"update" their sound and thought I was the one.

I made $30.00 a night. I quit the sucking business at the end
of '85 and after 15 years most bands were lucky to $50.00
per member, per night. The band I ended the trip with refused
to play for less than $100.00 per member, per night. We were
lucky and stayed busy.

I played a gold top LP that my dad bought for me in '69.
I also had other Gibsons- 347 and L5S but the LPs were my main
up to early '80s when a Japanese Strat with a single HB changed everything.

I remember much more about the '70s- which really is amazing I remember
anything at all....but I'll shut-up.


Writing this reminded me...we learned songs by listening to the Jukeboxes..lol...
IIRC it was 3 plays for a quarter so pick the three ya wanted to learn and get it
right the first time! LOL.

Do you still have the 1969 LP?  That would be SWEET!

No Kev. Right now I can't recall the year I traded it in on the L5S. It was
an alright guitar but head heavy so I went back to LP's.
I do remember the day my Dad bought it. My teacher recommended two guitars- it or
an SG. IIRC it was $450.00.
I'm having trouble with the year though...it may have been '66.
Funny I still remember the smell of it.

@Reece.

My father ran a business out of the garage at the time..he repaired TV's, Ham radio gear, Turntables...a lot of stuff. This was on top of his work as one of the first male nurses at the Oxford Regional Hospital in Woodstock ON...way back in 1959. 

We were amongst the first in our community to have a colour T..with the green faces and orange skies...

He had 3 sisters, who all were nurses...I'm in healthcare now....mmmmm..and they say careers do not run in people's blood...

bitflipper

I almost went to see the Beatles in '65

I did not go to see the Beatles, because tickets cost Five whole dollars and there was no opening act. I was accustomed to $2 shows with 10 bands. And anyway, I figured they'd be back around the following year. They weren't. And now that half of them are dead, well, that makes it pretty unlikely they ever will.

Here's your chance ;)


http://www.telegraph.co.u...eneration-of-band.html

i was my father's tv  remote control ...lol .....i walked miles for him ....

Beagle

trimph1


@Reece.

My father ran a business out of the garage at the time..he repaired TV's, Ham radio gear, Turntables...a lot of stuff. This was on top of his work as one of the first male nurses at the Oxford Regional Hospital in Woodstock ON...way back in 1959. 

We were amongst the first in our community to have a colour T..with the green faces and orange skies...

He had 3 sisters, who all were nurses...I'm in healthcare now....mmmmm..and they say careers do not run in people's blood...

Yep.  remember the first "remote control" TV's that were "clickers" and when you clicked the button it would make the knob on the TV turn for you?

Oh...those were good ones... In fact, I may still have one around here somewhere

trimph1

Beagle

trimph1


@Reece.

My father ran a business out of the garage at the time..he repaired TV's, Ham radio gear, Turntables...a lot of stuff. This was on top of his work as one of the first male nurses at the Oxford Regional Hospital in Woodstock ON...way back in 1959. 

We were amongst the first in our community to have a colour T..with the green faces and orange skies...

He had 3 sisters, who all were nurses...I'm in healthcare now....mmmmm..and they say careers do not run in people's blood...

Yep.  remember the first "remote control" TV's that were "clickers" and when you clicked the button it would make the knob on the TV turn for you?

Oh...those were good ones... In fact, I may still have one around here somewhere

The first project I actually completed on my own was a Heathkit general coverage receiver GN-54

I didn't build mine but I had over 50 countries verified by QSL cards. I used this,



 I still have it and an extra. I want to make one good one out of the two. I have the matching speaker too. I used to get up in the middle of the night trying to get some exotic stations. I still have my 1970 copy of the WRTH too!

I have a Kenwood now but rarely use it. Almost forgot, I had two antennas. One long wire for AM and what I think was called an SWL-7 multi-trap diapole, I still have it too. I had them both wired from the roof, to a cord, over a pulley, tied to a gallon jug of water. They worked well. I hope they never start doing the Broadband over powerline stuff they were talking about a few years ago because it would likely ruin shortwave radio, for what its worth. I guess since the age of the internet shortwave is really a dinosaur... but it sure was fun to this kid! I'm sure I was on the FBI watch list since I was getting mail from China, Albania, Cuba, Moscow. and a lot of other places. I got Radio Moscow to start sending me copies of Pravda, in Russian... which I could not read. They sent them to my dad's PO box, I don't think he liked that.

heh... J

I was 242. Was never called either.

I don't remember my numbers. I was in the draft the last two years. All I remember is it got to within 10 numbers of my number the first year and they postponed or stopped for some reason. The next year it got close to my number and they ended it. I was RELIEVED... the idea of going to a jungle with a gun where people wanted to kill me scared me. I was not a member of the "warrior class", not an athlete. I was a 120 pound long haired singer. Friends I had who went to Nam were messed up. My two closest Nam vet friends both drank them selves into the grave. One was mellow, the other was crazy/scary. They were Gene and Sammy... RIP.

IMHO, we should never get involved in another foreign conflict unless we intend to WIN and take over, I don't advocate for that but if we are going, we should ONLY go if we intend to win and take the spoils of war... otherwise we are too civilized to be involved in war. These days I consider Nam vets to be heroes but I am still glad I didn't have to go. I got to stay here and sample the orange sunshine etc...

1970... truly, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times if you were 18 or so. Those were wondrous days for many things. Rock music was so good, the buzz was so good... everything peaked at once... it all seemed to be so new and fresh. Everything seemed to have so much potential before it all fell apart. I got to visit the Height in summer 1968. Georgia and especially Atlanta (10th to 14th st) in 1970 was like the Haight was in 1968. Anyone remember "Lou's Swinging Den" on Haight St?

J

craigb


The only draft I care about is properly called "draught" and comes out of a Microbrew tap. 

Glad you guys were the lucky ones - I heard plenty of horror stories.

+1

14 here.  Living at the University of Alabama.  my dad went back to college.  Saw Strawberry Alarm Clock and Iron Butterfly.  Abby Hoffman was arrested trying to come into town.  Sit Ins at college, in high school.  

All in the Family debuts.  Beatles break up.  Jimi died.  Apollo 13 mess. 

quantumeffect


I was 6.

Paradiddle was part of my vocabulary.

I was over twice as old as you then.


Today I'm not. I'm only 12% older than you.


You'll catch up pretty soon then?

quantumeffect


Paradiddle was part of my vocabulary.

and you admitted that freely without coercion. 

jbow

I was a 120 pound long haired singer.

Yeah, back then I was 6 feet tall and weighed 122 pounds or so.  Someone told me later I was just maybe four pounds in excess of qualifying for a 4F rating.  Should have done more research.  A quick and not very painful diet might have spared me a lot of grief.
 
Anyway, four-plus decades and 50-plus additional pounds later ...

Bob Oister


I remember 1970 really well, it was the year that changed my life.

I was finally able to convince my parents into letting me take "real" guitar lessons from a well known local music teacher.  This was after two months of watching my friend who had taken lessons for a few years and trying to teach my self by noodling around on his guitar every chance I got to hold it.  My first lesson was late April 1970, and it's no coincidence that my first CD will be released on April 24, 2012.  Right on schedule, as usual, I'm guessing it's about time, huh, guys?

Bob

LOL  +1