Another rookie on the boards

[Jim Rennie]

Joined the other day. I thought I had introduced myself, but apparently I messed up. So here's ;my story. I have been playing in and out of bands since 1965. Mostly garage bands, although in '68 "Early Morning Rain" was the house band at a place in Boston called the Where it's At, near BU. We lasted a couple months before we started playing more blues and less dance stuff, and the manager pulled the plug. Then kids, school, jobs, and such put me and the guitar on the back burner. About 8 years ago and old High School buddy showed up and pulled a Blues Brother on me...Hey, Jim...I'm getting the band back together.. and we dug in, got serious, and now have a gigging band playing the local scene west of Boston. Not in if for the money, but the music sure is fun. We thought we were being clever and named ourselves Flashback, and then searched the web and found we were one of ten thousand bands named that. But we had already printed the business cards so we didn't bother to change it. Bought my first G & L, a 1985 SC3, from my nephew 6 years ago. Fell in love with it instantly. My Strat and Tele are just eye candy, rarely gig with them. The G & L is my go to guitar. I could talk forever, but probably only a few of you have made it this far, so I'll save some of my stories for later. Ask me about my one degree of seperation from SRV. Peace.

[bloodied_fingers]

Welcome to the board.

Mention SRV and I'm all ears... do tell

[TBillPSU]

Welcome!

It would be great to see a few pics of the SC3, if you get a chance to post some.

[darwinohm]

Welcome Jim, your story is much like mine. I stated gigging in 1961. Those were great days to play music. Glad you joined and hope that you enjoy your SC3.--Darwin

[Jim Rennie]

Ok..got someone to bite on the SRV story. lol.. love telling, so get comfortable and clear your calendar for the rest of the afternoon.
When I was a kid, my mother would take us to Dallas to see Gramma Harris, her mom. In '63 or '64 we went out to Irving to visit Mom's cousin, Helen Davis. She had a son Kim, my 3rd cousin I guess. Never knew how to figure it out. Mom and Helen wanted to go out for the night to some old haunts, so they left me and Kim alone at the house. I was 14 or 15, Kim 13 I think. I had my Silvertone Acoustic with me thinking I'd be a hit with the girls like the Beatles were. Helen said, let's go to Sears and buy Kim a guitar and Jim can show him how to play. (All 3 chords...at the time) Within 10 minutes, Kim had mastered the E, A, and D, and started playing some simple but good leads over them. Fast forward to the next year. Same set up. Pulled into Kim's driveway and I heard a guitar wailing from the house. It was Kim on a Gibson Les Paul Jr. thru a Marshall Double stack. He was a prodigy. Incredible player. He said to me, 'want to come to practice with my band tonight?' I said, "sure". Mom said, NO. there will be drugs, sex, and rock n roll. You aren't going" So I stayed at the house.
Hit fast forward to about '86. Mom called said Kim Davis had called and he's playing in a band in Providence RI and he's leaving you back stage passes. He's opening for "Top Hat" or Topsy Turvy" or something like that, she said. Got there, and his band Point Blank was opening for ZZ Top. I was blown away. Went back to the hotel with them after the show, sat in his room with his band and zz and jammed on acoustics till I was asked to leave by management and a nice policeman. Hit the button again...teaching, and had SRV "live at el macambo" in the VCR during a free period. Fellow teacher hears and the next day drops off SRV's bio. Caught in the Crossfire. I start reading...Ch. 3 Lost in Austin...About SRV following his bro Jimmy to Austin to live the dream. Loads up his van with his keyboard player, drummer, and fellow guitarist Kim Davis and heads out. I'm thinking...Kim.. not my cousin Kim? Keep reading...ch 8...SRV looking for a manager, can't get gigs...interviews Bill Hamm, who already has the two top texas bands in his camp... SRV and Point Blank, led by guitarist Kim Davis from SRV's first band in Dallas. OMG... it is Kim. So the bottom line is...I taught Kim 3 chords and he went on to play with SRV...I went back to Massachusetts, because my mother said no to SEX DRUGS AND ROCK N ROLL. Love ya mom, but who knows where I'd be if I had gone to that practice.
The back story...Kim ended working as a rep for Peavey, and in a Music store in Fort Worth until his tragic death a few years ago. He was known in the music scene in Texas as Kimbo, and was considered every bit the equal of SRV.
So... that's it. If you read it...I think everyone in the universe has now heard it. Love telling it.

[astutzmann]

awesome story, thanks for sharing!!!

[Elwood]

awesome story, thanks for sharing!!!

+1
good to have ya here,
elwood

[Fumble fingers]

great story !! ....

[bloodied_fingers]

That's an awesome story Jim!

[supereiv]

Great,
you should've took royalties for that three chords lesson

[Jim Rennie]

I posted a pic of my SC3 in the registry. It seems a number of members set up an account, but did not yet upload a pic, so there are pages of empty folders. Buy, if you go all the way to the end, there is a picture of my guitar. You'd think with all the photography classes I took in college, I'd be able to take a decent pic...apparently I was wasting my money. At least ya can see the beast. Leo must have been on steroids...this one is heavier than any LP on the planet. But is sure can sing!

[Fumble fingers]

put a picture up in the "porn" section

[TBillPSU]

I posted a pic of my SC3 in the registry. It seems a number of members set up an account, but did not yet upload a pic, so there are pages of empty folders. Buy, if you go all the way to the end, there is a picture of my guitar. You'd think with all the photography classes I took in college, I'd be able to take a decent pic...apparently I was wasting my money. At least ya can see the beast. Leo must have been on steroids...this one is heavier than any LP on the planet. But is sure can sing!

Thanks! Found it. Sweet!

[Jim Rennie]

starting to get the hang of things.. resized a pic and now I have an avatar...cool.

[Salmon]

Ask me about my one degree of seperation from SRV. Peace.

That was a great story. Written as though it were spoken. Well done!

[G_Worth]

Jim,

Welcome from a new member as well. Great story and you are a fine wordsmith indeed.

[Jim Rennie]

Thanks to all for reading my story. Like I said, I love telling it. A side bar to the story was that second year, Kim asked if I wanted to buy a guitar. He knew of one in a pawn shop near his house that could be bought cheap. My mom....remember her.. "no sex drugs and rock n roll"? Asked her if I could get it if it was cheap enough. She said yes this time. Went to the pawn shop and fell in love. It was a cherry red 1961 Gibson SG with the funky sideways vibrato. I had taken a fall and snapped of the neck at the body and had been carefully repaired by a luthier, but had not been refinished, so the break was very visible. It played fine, sounded better, and was cheap...hold on to something to keep from falling cheap! $50.00! I told my mom, she said ok... but that's more than I wanted to give ya...It was awesome... brought it home, cleaned it up, and slept with it that night. (No comments here...some of you will understand...lol). Anyway, back to Massachusetts, started a band in Newton and got a gig across from Boston Univ. at a place called "Where It's At"...a juice bar for under 21 students at the univ. Played Sat. night, and Sun afternoon for 3 months. But the band started playing less Rock and more Blues and finally the woman manager pulled the plug. The kids were just sitting and grooving and not dancing and drinking the pricey drinks. Band broke up, I needed cash, and sold the SG to the other guitarist for $50. I had a year with it, and stupidly thought I was making a good deal.
The story grows tragic here. It was 1967, and the guitarist was drafted and deployed to Viet Nam. His plane landed, he and his fellow grunts were walking across the tarmac and a mortar shell sent him Home. I lost a friend, and so the guitar didn't cross my mind for years, and even then it was more just "I wonder if he took it with him?" I knew he had fallen in love with it, just like I had. Hope it still is singing the blues in heaven. It was a spectacular axe and it deserves to be in the hands of someone who loves it.

[MAP70]

Ok..got someone to bite on the SRV story. lol.. love telling, so get comfortable and clear your calendar for the rest of the afternoon.

Awesome... I love SRV..

[Jim Rennie]

Ok..got someone to bite on the SRV story. lol.. love telling, so get comfortable and clear your calendar for the rest of the afternoon.

Awesome... I love SRV..

Thanks. I'd give me left.. ah.. well you know, to play like him or cousin kimbo....I still slide the "live at el macambo" into the VCR every once and a while and watch him rip it up. If you get a chance, check out some youtube vids of Point Blank. Kimbo is the better looking of the two guitarists...lol. There are a few good songs.. one is "Mean to Your Queenie". Both guitarists ..absolutely nail it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86hkpxA5s1M

[Jim Rennie]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le0qJd3fq7g

here's one of kimbo live.. he's singing the song.. to tell ya truth.. I didn't know he sang this... the kid could play.. and the other guitarist.. i can't remember his name.. i could look it up, but.. lol.. he's damn good too.

[Salmon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le0qJd3fq7g

here's one of kimbo live.. he's singing the song.. to tell ya truth.. I didn't know he sang this... the kid could play.. and the other guitarist.. i can't remember his name.. i could look it up, but.. lol.. he's damn good too.

[youtube]le0qJd3fq7g[/youtube]

[Elwood]

here's one of kimbo live..

Cool, thanks Jim, I enjoyed that. Rock solid Rock !!
Is that an Ibanez LP (maybe early 80's?) he's playing?

elwood

[Jim Rennie]

here's one of kimbo live..

Cool, thanks Jim, I enjoyed that. Rock solid Rock !!
Is that an Ibanez LP (maybe early 80's?) he's playing?

elwood

That's a good question. I never knew him to play anything other than a Gibson. When we were kids, that second year I visited Dallas, it was a Gibson LP jr. When I saw him open for ZZ Top, it was a Gibby Gold Top. If he switched to an Ibby, I would have lost track of him as far as the axe he was slingin. I'd tend to doubt it, but ya never know. He ended his life a rep for Peavy, so I guess he could have moved away from a Gibson. Going to watch the vid again and see if I can make it out.
Peace.

[Jim Rennie]

Salmon.. lol.. just realized you help with the link to the vid. Thanks. Have to figure out just how to post a live link. Apparently I need to work on my board skills. Do they have tabs for that? lol

[Elwood]

Going to watch the vid again and see if I can make it out.
Peace.

I was guessing by the diagonal inlays that look alot like the Ibanez/Aria pro ll inlays they used for the top of line axes in the early 80's.

posting vids iinline;

1. Copy the part of the youtube url that comes after the "=" sign
2. click on the youtube button above the edit box here
3. paste between the tags that appear in the edit box
4. you can hit preview to make sure it worked.

[Zippy]

Both of those stories were awesome. I love true life boy and his guitar stories.

Now, about Point Blank. Seriously?! I still have those records somewhere. "Firing on All Six" with the pistol pointed at you on the album cover. I've put a lot of their songs on the turntables in my young D.J. days.

We had a big southern rock concert at our downtown theater tonight put on by local musicians. Point Blank was played along with Molly Hatchet, 38 Special, Skynyrd, Outlaws, Blackfoot, and all the other great southern rock artists we were raised with.

Beautiful SC-3 and thanks for posting those great stories again.

Zippy