golfrewind.com

Just wondering if anyone here plays an instrument. Myself, before I became a mediocre golfer , I was a mediocre guitar player . (One nice thing about being mediocre: you're always at your best.) Briefly played in a struggling blues band; is there any other kind? Later played even more briefly in an all-originals group; the deal was, we play only our own stuff... but we couldn't write enough of it!

I've lost my calluses through lack of playing, but I still have my Strat. I open the case and look at it every once in a while. The pickguard is yellowing up quite nicely, I must say....

So, whaddya play? dblbassted: just a hunch but I'll bet you play something. :)

Piano, clarinet, saxophone, and drums.

I played keyboards and sang in a local rock band 35 years ago, grew my hair long to compete with the Beatles, and relished the attentions of rhythm-challenged chicks for about 15 minutes before going off to college to learn how to be an intellectual.

Oh, I also played saxophone with the Aqua Mummers in the New Year's Day Mummer's Parade in Philly in 1966--possibly the highlight of my musical career!

I'm convinced that people get old because they stop listening to and making music.

I play guitar...I have a acoustic-electric Yamaha and an acoustic amp for gigs. Me and a friend of mine used to play local coffee shops..just the two acoustics and some singing. Once we had kids the gigs stopped...lol

Indeed I am a musician. I went to college and got my B.M. and 2 M.M.s, one in Classical Performance and one in Jazz. I played in an orchestra pretty much full time for 7 years and taught part time at a few colleges. I recently decided to stop playing in orchestras and hung up the bow. These days, I'm playing a lot of straight-ahead jazz and CCM stuff. The freelance world has given me a ton of opportunities to play with some great musicians (Sandip Berman from the Flecktones, Arturo Sandoval, Kathy Mattea, Ben E. King, Marvin Stamm, Pat Flynn from Newgrass Revival, and a few others), make some good money, and play a lot of golf.

****, I never even said what I played.... Upright bass, electric bass, piano/keys, didgeridoo, guitar.

GolfRewind.com: First Internet golf forum to have its own virtual band:

Drums: valeogut
Bass: dblbassted
Guitar: sbrentt
Guitar: JimSomebody

valeogut: I promise: As soon as we locate a drummer, we'll get you out from behind the kit and put you on keys, or maybe have you head up a smokin' horn section. (You played in the Mummers Parade?! You're my new hero!)

sbrentt: I promise: I won't turn up too loud. Nope, not a bit.

ted: Um... you might be too good for us, dude. Seriously: pretty impressive resume!

Need some more players, though. Plus a front person. Anyone else?

Oh... and what about a name for our virtual band?

I'm never too good for a gig.

I kind of like "Big Bertha and the Hybrids" for a band name.

I played trombone in high school. Can hunt and peck my way around a piano.

What an idea, Jim!

Yep, I marched with the Mummers back when alcohol was still considered legitimate fuel for the trip up Broad Street and the routines weren't like Broadway musical productions. Oh, and I play fairly well in zero degree temperatures into a headwind too. I learned the hard way why mummers march like they do!

"Big Bertha and the Hybrids" puts a lot of pressure on us to find a female lead, doesn't it? I know I don't want to be Bertha! What about the Ping Tones? Or the Bunker Mates?

THE MAGIC YIPS

`nuff said

I like...... Broken Putter

OK, Keith, you're in. Band needs a frontperson, and I'm thinking you just might fill the bill. Kind of a strutting, preening, Mick-Jagger type. Think you could do it? 'Course it'd be kind of a challenge with that trombone and all, but I think you're up to the task. Remember: Think visual! Flash those teeth, open those eyes!

Valeogut: "The Ping Tones"-- tres cool, my man. (And thanks for the Mummers tidbits; I might have seen you on TV that day. Can't see the Mummers here in the Midwest, tho. :( )

sbrentt and dblbassted: Thanks for your suggested names, too. Maybe I'll toss in some others. (Other readers: You don't have to be in the band to suggest a name. So feel free to enter our "Name the Band" contest.)

Auditions still open! Any sassy chick singers out there? Maybe someone who likes to flirt with guitar players?

A few more possible band names. These were inspired by the USGA rulebook.

The Loose Impediments
The Man-Made Obstructions
The Non-Conforming Drivers

Outside Agency
Preferred Lies
Slow Play

And if we're going punk:
Unfit For Play, featuring lead screamer Spike Damage

You are good, Jim, really good!

Your request for a "sassy chick" who likes to flirt with guitar players, suggests to me that "The Loose Impediments" may be the most appropriate name for this band. After all, I'm as loose as my wife allows me to be, and the younger generation finds me an impediment to progress.

I must admit that my favorite is your punk offering with Spike Damage screaming lead. Other punk members could be Sclaf (sp?), Shank, Slice, and Hazard. I could imagine this group using their instruments to hit golf balls into the audience.

Thanks for the enthusiasm, valeogut. (Truth to tell, I'm better in 2 dimensions than in 3.)

Yeah, let's go punk! We're flouting convention by having a trombonist (Keith) front the band, so nothing else makes sense. I was thinking that, to avoid offending sensibilities, we could be a respectful, family-friendly punk band (GolfRewind being an all-ages forum). We'd keep it clean and rage only against unfairly long par 4's, greens that are stimped to >13, pot bunkers with little itty-bitty stones in them, etc. A respectful punk band fronted by trombone... definitely a high-concept act.

I especially love your ideas about stage names for the other band members. That is very cool. Besides the suggested names themselves, I like it that we would be layering another level of identity protection on top of our screen names, further removing us from reality, as is appropriate for a virtual band.

Keith, dblbassted, sbrentt: Whatcha think?

My golfing pals already gave me a nickname on the course..so I'll stick with that.....Blade

So let me get this straight...we are a Punk band with a Trombone and an acoustic guitar? .......I like it!

So when is our first gig?