Hello all you Ventures fans.
I started a somewhat longer intro on my tablet but its so cumbersome that I lost it...
I started playing guitar at 14, I'm almost 65 now. My entry into a band was my being able to easily learn Pipeline by The Ventures that the lead guitarist couldn't. I went thru all the music changes from that time, Surf music, the British Invasion, Psychedelic music, 70s rock, and settled in with Mahavishnu John McLaughlin.
I stopped playing in bands in '85' and went out on my own with MIDI gear for accompaniment. Now I was truly in heaven because, I could play all the different kinds of music that I loved, jazz, blues, rock, surf music all in one setting. I didn't plan to do this. I just started learning how to use the MIDI stuff and learned some of my favorite songs with it. Then a friend asked, "So, what are you going to do with that?" I started doing benefits for free. Then I was asked to play for an event and asked how much I charged. My 'solo' career took off. I did a few songs that people knew...like Beatles songs...but the majority of what I played was not pop music, especially contemporary pop.
The first Ventures song I performed was "Only The Young" on acoustic guitar. Then I added the Ventures arrangement of the "Pink Panther Theme." I've just finished putting up on YT, "Journey To The Stars" but will do some editing to it in the coming days. I want it to be perfect.
I owe so much to The Ventures. Not only for guitar technique, but I learned so much about music structure and bass and rhythm guitar. I also had a set of drum sticks to bang on pillows along with "The Creeper."
I guess this turned out long anyway. I've been talking to another guitarist online about The Ventures and I Googled, "The Ventures discussion board" and here I am.