In this section, I will let you
in on some of the wonderful experiences I’ve
had as a guitar player. (Remember, you can make your
own memories too, so make sure you
check out my web site.)
The date was October 28, 1995. The place was a mansion
at the northern-most tip of Ohio, near Lake Erie. The
event was a wedding for the former governor of the
State of Ohio. It was a small, private wedding. We
were asked to play for the reception because the Governor
knew my band, Phil Dirt & The Dozers very well,
as we were and still are, from Columbus, Ohio, the
former home of the Governor.
Now, there was some talk that one of the bride-to-be’s
co-workers and guest was going to attend the wedding
and she just happened to be the wife of one of the
founders of
The Beach Boys: Mr. Carl Wilson. (Remember
his brothers Dennis and Brian?)
We started our set of oldies music playing tunes by The Four Seasons,
The Diamonds, The Platters, etc... . We were playing in an outdoor, huge
tent. Unfortunately, it was a very cold night, being so close to the
lake and at the end of the summer, so most of the guests were in the
mansion. However, a man, very neatly dressed all in black entered the
rear of the tent at that time (which was not more than 30 feet away from
us on stage.) As we began to play
the Beach Boys tune "Fun, Fun,
Fun", I realized just who this man was. It was
Carl
Wilson of The Beach Boys. He sat down at a table with his wife and listened to us play.
I was melting. He was my musical idol. I had been following
The
Beach Boys’ music for decades. Their harmonies and original music had
always influenced my musical education and enjoyment. (They were and
still are my favorite group.) All I could think of was that I had to
get off of the stage to go and meet him. After a few tunes, he stood
up and walked over to our sound man. What was he saying? After a few
minutes, he walked out of the tent. Oh no!!!!! Was all lost?
We played a few more tunes and then took a break.
I darted off of the stage to my sound man and asked
him what Carl had said to him. Charlie told me that
Carl said, " I don’t know if you know who
I am, but I am Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys and I
just want to tell you what a great sound your band
has. You guys execute your vocals perfectly. This is
the way The Beach Boys should sound. I have to tell
them when I get back to our show tomorrow." I
died! I couldn’t believe that one of The founding
members of The Beach Boys would pay us such a high
compliment. I had to go find Carl... NOW!
I quickly walked towards the mansion... up the steps
and into the living room. There, with his back to me
and talking to my other band mates, was Carl Wilson.
As I got closer, Mark (my keyboard player) said "here’s
Tony now." Then he introduced me to Carl. Mark
said, "Tony do you know who this is?" I said "Yes,
I sure do!" I was in awe. It was like standing
next to Elvis or The Beatles.
Carl reached his hand out and we shook hands.
I told him that I had over 200 of The Beach Boys’ albums.
I remember him saying "that’s an awful lot." We
all talked about the Beach Boys early day’s and
the making of their song "Good Vibrations" and
that playing surf music was all Dennis’s idea.
Carl said that ..."singing with his family, in
the early days was very spiritual for them all." We
talked some more and then we said our goodbyes as it
was time for us to go back and play another set of
music.
We played our next set and I was mentally out-to-lunch
during it. I couldn’t help thinking about what
had just happened. I couldn’t wait to get off
of the stage and talk to Carl again and ask for his
autograph. When we were finished playing our set, I
rushed into the house. Carl was there watching the
last game of the Cleveland Indians World series. I
didn’t want to bother him so I waited and went
to go look for something for him to autograph. It couldn’t
have taken more than 5 minutes. When I got back to
the living room... he was gone. Carl had left the wedding
party. No autograph for me but a mind full of wonderful
memories which I will never forget on that special
evening. It is something, that as a kid, as a guitar
playing kid, I had dreamed about getting to meet one
of The Beach Boys someday. The odds of this happening
always seemed impossible to me as a kid and as adult.
But, I did dream about it. Little did I know that what
was to come a few years later was like the intensity
of winning the lottery . And in a couple of years I
would have more visits with The Beach Boys and this
time it would be something no one would believe. I’ll
save that for another newsletter.
I tell you these stories because I want you to know
that I started off playing the guitar by teaching myself
and after many years and many bands, I found the right
opportunity and was able to live out a dream.
You
can too! After what I experienced, I am living proof that
if you stick-with-it and want to be successful, you
have the same chance of living out your dreams. I did
it.
I play the guitar, today as a member of a very successful
national Rock & Roll Oldies Band. It’s a
wonderful feeling to be able to do what you love to
do to earn a living. I would suggest that if you have
not ordered my course
TIPS, TRICKS & TABLATURE yet , please do so now. Go to my web site and read
the front page, I’ll teach you how to start your
own band, how to read tablature: both chord and note
tabs. And most importantly, I will cut-out all the
mumbo jumbo out of learning to play guitar so that
you can be successful as quickly as possible. My daughter
was the first student to take this course. She has
been playing less than a year and she is already playing
at the same level it took me 3 years to get to when
I started. That’s because I had no one to take
me step by step through learning how to buy a guitar
or how to tune it up or how to adjust your guitar.
I had to teach myself. And some things I learned from
other people were incorrect. Playing the guitar can
be such an enjoyable hobby. Once you get hooked, you
won’t want to put it down!
Try my course. You
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of
LESS THAN THE COST OF ONE GUITAR LESSON then you’re
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This
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