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Thread: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

  1. #1
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    A few days after my ex and I split, I looked at my dogs who hadn't been allowed on the beds. I immediately started letting them sleep in the bed with me. It was one of those moments where I realized how wonderfully free I was.

    So lately it hit me: If I want to move my amplifiers and guitars and set them up in the living room, there's no one to disagree. I spend most of my time there.

    Why didn't I do this sooner? Conditioning: amps belong in my cramped music room, not in the living room. Stupidity: it took me two years to realize that I can move my gear to the living room.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    One of the biggest problems we musicians have is called “other people”.

    Wife, relatives, neighbors... Very often they will irritate you by showing their intollerance to what they call “noise” and to how you accommodate your gear...

    I think living alone is like “musician’s heaven”.

  3. #3
    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    LOL!

    I bought my current home just shy of two years ago. Three bedrooms for one guy? Sure. One becomes my office and the other my "studio."

    I moved both my guitars and photo equipment (including backdrop drapes, etc.) into the "studio." Cramped? You bet.

    I find that my guitar gear has been slowly migrating into my living room. First, I bought my "miniature" amp, a Line6 AMPLIFi 30 that I could place on a coffee table. Then, I bought the XVive U2 wireless guitar system, so I wouldn't have cables all over the room.

    When I got my basses and Behringer amp, I had no more room in the "studio," so now my living room is beginning to look like my "true" studio. Which it has become!



  4. #4
    Forum Member Old Ranger's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    Last wife destroyed my credit. Cost me every instrument and amp I owned. Firearms dating back to 1860. GONE! Just paying for her stupidity. Women are fine to mess with, but NEVER marry them. Your life is no longer yours and you always loose.

    Congratulations on your liberation! Kinda like Patton arriving at Sicily. You're free from the Nazi in your world!
    I forgot what I was going to say...

  5. #5
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    I never want to marry again, but come on, most women are all right. My ex, I found out, was certifiably nuts. So I don't judge all women by her.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member gibsonjunkie's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    I have a list of things to do if my wife dies - one of the first is to bring guitars and amps down to the family room!
    "We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain

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    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    A divorced friend is building a Buell cafe racer in his dining room! The funny thing is that he's a neat freak bordering on OCD. This is a clean build. No messes, no tools left out.

    I like being married but would really love to be able to go into my "studio" and crank up a guitar and amp on a sleepless night!

  8. #8
    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    Quote Originally Posted by ch willie View Post
    I never want to marry again, but come on, most women are all right. My ex, I found out, was certifiably nuts. So I don't judge all women by her.


  9. #9
    Forum Member Old Ranger's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    Been through three wives. Countless ladyfriends. Had some fun. But in the end, I promise you that they're ALL NUTS!
    And I mean all of em. Don't trust 'em further than I can toss an ivory piano!
    I forgot what I was going to say...

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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    Maybe, because my beautiful bride is also a musician, I don't experience the problems you all describe. We too have a small bedroom turned into a music room, (that is too crowded), she often asked me to bring a guitar into the living room where we have a real piano.
    (50 years and counting, and I couldn't be happier!)

  11. #11
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Moore View Post
    Maybe, because my beautiful bride is also a musician, I don't experience the problems you all describe. We too have a small bedroom turned into a music room, (that is too crowded), she often asked me to bring a guitar into the living room where we have a real piano.
    (50 years and counting, and I couldn't be happier!)
    Exactly. That's why I don't join Spanky and Alfalfa's Women Hater's Club. Ha ha ha
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

  12. #12
    Forum Member gibsonjunkie's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    I can say that I'd own a lot fewer guitars if I wasn't married. Ann really encouraged me along the way.
    "We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain

  13. #13
    Forum Member Old Ranger's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    Why I'm the chapter vice president of the He-man Woman Hater Club!
    We sleep as late as we want. Buy whatever we want, when we want. Never ever get bitched at about nuthin! Freedom! Can lay around the house all day in a bathrobe and shave whenever we feel like it. And wail on my guitar at 2am if I wanna! I love it!

    This is a true story. In the afternoon, my neighbor will call me on the phone. The very instant he spots his wife's car on the approach to his house he's saying " Oh! That's my wife, I gotta go!" His wife won't even let him talk to me on the phone when she's there! He's gotta pretend he ain't talkin on the phone. And that's true. And quite sad too.

    [ this part here is BS, but funny]
    Gave him an application for the club. But she found it and beat him up and hid all his guitar cables!
    I forgot what I was going to say...

  14. #14
    Forum Member DanTheBluesMan's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    i haven't quite moved my guitar stuff to the living room yet. I did move the bookcase to the opposite wall. The guitar can stay plugged in without the cord going across the room and it can stay on a stand out of the way.

    It may not sound like a big deal but I tend to have major inertia to making changes. I mean like about pathological, almost. Leave my city and home? Go across country with nothing waiting for me? That's a pretty tall order, you're going to have to give me a few days on it.

    two years ago:



    tonight



    I've probably played more guitar in the past 72 hours than the previous 2 and a half, three months

  15. #15
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    That looks great, Dan. You've done a lot of hard work, so yeah, now you can just play!
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member Doc W's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    My wife of more than 40 years manages most of the money and as a result, we live in a very nice house in a very nice part of town. I can safely say that if were I single, I would have more gear and live in a crappy apartment near the rendering plant.

    She sets the limit at two guitars only in the living room. No amps. She has said if I can find a small one that goes with the furniture, that might be ok. She also adds that if I am willing to do the cleaning, I can have whatever I want in the living room. No thanks. I hate cleaning.

    In any case, I have pretty nice room dedicated to my various hobbies and that is where most of my gear is (4-5 guitars and 6 amps plus miscellania). I also have a full darkroom in the basement for my addiction to traditional photography.

    I consider myself lucky to have a great wife who has standards. She is supportive and has a good sense of what is bull**** and what isn't. Almost 40 years ago, I found a great deal on a 1961 ES-345. At that point, we had almost no money, but she sensed that this was perhaps a once in a lifetime thing, so she managed to scrape the dough together from here and there so I could scoop this one before it got away. It was my main instrument for most of my professional career. I still have it and it is still a monster guitar.

    Too often, but not always, when men are left to their own devices, trouble ensues. However, living with the same woman for this long cultivates a very real and acute sense of "ya gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em."
    "The beauty and profundity of God is more real than any mere calculation."

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    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    Ok, I posted a joke but now, seriously:

    I am not in the "Ye olde women haters' club and locker room". Not at all, though I had my share of crazy chicks, in relationships and as one night stands that gave me a lot of headaches later on.

    You see, there are basically two categories of men:

    The ones who were lucky enough to marry one of their first girlfriends, maybe their prom date, a classmate from high school, the girl next door, or at least married someone while still in their 20s: these are mostly happy men, even though some of them actually think that marriage sucks, that the old lady is too *place adjective here* and all that jazz.

    And the ones who didn't get it right up front and kept trying unsuccessfully (the mileage may vary here) until they reached the early 40s. These men have a hard time finding a good partner, because when people reach this age and are still single, both men and women, they have often experienced lots of bad things in their lives, collected a load of trauma, disbelief and fears. They've met many "wrong" people who did no good to them in many possible ways, they've lost family (it's the natural order of things), and in a sum they're hurt. This can be very hard to deal with in a relationship. But not impossible.

    So, are women good or bad? Neither: they're people, and a relationship can be good or bad at any age, though it'll always be subject to variations according to the two people's experiences and minds.

    In the end I dare to say that love is what matters. If the love is bigger than the individual and mutual suffering, then it's a win situation that will last forever. If there's more pain than love, it never works.

    P.S. I'm in the second category.

  18. #18
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    Quote Originally Posted by Doc W View Post
    My wife of more than 40 years manages most of the money and as a result, we live in a very nice house in a very nice part of town. I can safely say that if were I single, I would have more gear and live in a crappy apartment near the rendering plant.
    I've often joked that, if it wasn't for my wife, I'd live in a trailer full of guitars!

  19. #19
    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    Wow, Dan. That's a pure example of "sweat equity." I like that you have computer equipment in your play area. I'm in the computer business, and I think one of the reasons I spend more time in my living room is that I have a computer there with easy access, and none in my storage room... er, studio.

    When I moved into my home nearly two years ago, I had ambitions of creating practice area. It's become a repository instead.

    As for wimmin... I've been married twice. The first time for 17 years, the second time for 8. Both ended due to mental illness. Mine. I married them.

    I'm kind of fond of Charlie Sheen's reply when he was asked why he hired women for sex: "I don't pay them for sex, I pay them to leave."

  20. #20
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    My first wife of 24 years was and is a good woman. I regret that I bought gear when we really couldn't afford it.

    My second wife (1 year) was nuts. Among a multitude of other things, she came to me one day and said, "I've bought you a Les Paul."--the LP I own now. I was so excited. We kept our money separate, but I paid all of the bills. No one but my parents had ever bought me a guitar. When it came in, and I opened the case, she said, "I can't pay for a guitar like that." I loved the guitar, so I paid it. She was jealous of my jamming with anyone, didn't want me in a band, didn't want me going to clubs to see bands and wouldn't come with me. I put up with it as long as I could. The minute she walked out of the door, I felt more free than ever before.

    Serge, it does get harder to date. I've tried dating sites, but it wasn't my thing. Of course I hope I'll meet somebody compatible. For now, I just get on with the rest of my life. I never want to marry again and will never marry again.
    Last edited by ch willie; 02-15-2019 at 03:23 AM.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member gibsonjunkie's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    I was married to my first wife for 22 years. I graduated college on June 1, 1975 and got married June 21, 1975. Our relationship wan't really dysfunctional but we did grow apart over the years. Actually she got old - I didn't. The final straw was when I mentioned I'd like to get together with some other musicians and maybe play in a band and she said, "What are you - some sort of Rock and Roll wanna-be?". Understand, I graduated with a degree in music and had always written music - I just never played out. For her to say that crushed me. That started the slippery slope that led to our divorce. (It didn't help that she also gained 100 pounds the first year we were marred and never stopped growing. Maybe that's shallow, but I weighed 150 pounds and she was somewhere between 3-400... not a pretty picture.

    It wasn't until we got divorced that I realized how controlling she was and how she guilted me into controlling every aspect of my life. My kids tell me now that they saw a huge difference in me (for the better) after I got divorced. Thank God she met a guy over the internet, married him and moved to British Columbia - she would have definitely been one of the bitter divorcees that make life miserable for so many men. She and her husband have been married for over 20 years and they are both happy. It doesn't hurt that she is also around 4,000 miles away!

    Continued in next post to beat the 2000 word limit...
    "We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain

  22. #22
    Forum Member gibsonjunkie's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    Part 2

    Wife #2 arrived soon after. She was younger and a former model. I was head-over-heels in love with her the minute she walked in the room. She loves music and bought me a nice Roland workstation for a wedding present. In return I wrote our wedding song. The stories of how she bought me my first Les Paul, or the time she bought me a J-200 AND a Hummingbird for my 50th birthday are legendary! She always encouraged the purchase of gear and was always trying to convince me to play out. She is my biggest (and only) fan! When she's sober life is better than good - but therein lies the rub... She is a raging alcoholic and when drunk life sucks. She's been in rehab twice and manages to go around two weeks of sobriety at a time - followed by a month of relapse. I alternate between loving her and hating her - it is NOT a good place. So, who is bat-$hit crazier - her or me?
    "We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain

  23. #23
    Forum Member Old Ranger's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    All dem womenfolk be nuts!
    Dey look good but in'da headbone? Empty, ya know, like a bucket o' air!

    Applications for the He-man Woman Hater Club are now being accepted.
    I forgot what I was going to say...

  24. #24
    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    "What are you - some sort of Rock and Roll wanna-be?" Any woman who dares to say that to me will see me leave immediately.

  25. #25
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    Quote Originally Posted by Old Ranger View Post
    All dem womenfolk be nuts!
    Dey look good but in'da headbone? Empty, ya know, like a bucket o' air!

    Applications for the He-man Woman Hater Club are now being accepted.
    You must have met the wrong women. Most of the women I know are smart and strong.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

  26. #26
    Forum Member gibsonjunkie's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    Quote Originally Posted by Sérgio View Post
    "What are you - some sort of Rock and Roll wanna-be?" Any woman who dares to say that to me will see me leave immediately.
    That's pretty much the day I decided nothing was going to save that marriage... That conversation took place maybe in October '95 - I moved out in February '96...

    Later she said she was just joking - I sure wasn't laughing...
    "We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain

  27. #27
    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

    Quote Originally Posted by ch willie View Post
    You must have met the wrong women. Most of the women I know are smart and strong.
    That's right. Smart enough to not want to give me a second glance.

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