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All the rest of my family on my dad's side are artists. My uncle is particularly good. Though two of my cousins is starting to do really well.
My mum's side is more into reading.
They regularly played alongside all the big Merseybeat bands especially in 'The Cavern'.
When Epstein and the other record companies started to take *some* bands into fame and fortune he left the band and joined the Army because he had no desire to go that far and their band didn't really get picked out in any significant way.
He used to drink at the bar with Priscilla White (Cilla Black) and John Lennon.
Lennon asked my Mum out on a date and she turned him down for my Dad.
When I was 8 he taught me all the chords on a 1960's 'Suzuki' dreadnought and he recorded me a C90 tape cassette with Pink Floyd on it. Wish you were here on one side and most of 'The Wall' on the other.
Then I got recorded, Van Halen, ACDC, Genesis, The Alan Parsons Project, Fairport Convention........
My whole life has been music and guitars since 1980.
I got my first electric in 1985 and a Marshall JCM800 full stack in 1987.
My Brother chose Bass guitar in 1985 and Dad taught him to play that too.
He taught us to play by ear so we both have the ability to listen to a song and tell you what the rough chords and structure of it is before we even pick the guitars up.
In later years Ben got very good at double bass and still plays one as well as his electric Bass.
My cousin in Chris Phillips.
Session drummer and spent most of the 90's touring with China Crisis among many others.
My other cousin is Jennifer Johnston.
Professional vocalist (Mezzo).
interestingly, I only met them for the first time a few years ago
until I'd met them I'd assumed that I was the only musician in the family
My Ma loves to sing, but she couldn't carry a tune in a bucket - she knows when to go up, and when to go down, but not by how much! Her thing was Johnny Mathis and Ella Fitzgerald, with a lot of 50s / 60s musicals (My Fair Lady, Camelot, West Side Story, South Pacific, Gigi, The King And I), so I learned a lot of show tunes early.
Not strictly truthful...
My stepmother played in some kind of youth orchestra as a child, but in the time I knew her she would only very occasionally sit at the piano or pull out her violin. And she sounded bloody awful. Which doesn't mean she wasn't good once, but I have my doubts as she couldn't even tune the violin.
And one of my stepsisters is a full-time singer/songwriter/poet/playwright/philosopher - which actually means she lives on benefits and does all those things for the love of it without, as far as I know, ever making a penny from it. But bless her, she's never given up.
As far as blood relatives go, I think I'm the only one who's ever really attempted to play an instrument.
I'm entirely self-taught - I discovered music by myself, and only then did he show me some of his abilities and influences. Although it still shows - I play the conventional guitarist 'pentatonic blues scale' box position in an unusual way… learned from a book of trumpet theory he gave me.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Maybe that had a subconscious effect on me picking the guitar up when I was twelve. He must have been my earliest influence - I don't remember a time when there wasn't something to do with music going on as a kid, and that was all down to him. I don't know that it's something that would have even crossed my mind if I hadn't already been exposed to it in that way - it always seemed like a possibility, and never like "something other people did".
He played bass in bands for about 30 years as his main instrument, but always played guitar in his spare time as well. He also did the PA for a covers band, and when their old guitarist (a close family friend) left, he took over on guitar and has been playing with them for about five or six years now, if I remember.
My sister dabbles in a couple of different instruments too but hasn't found anything that really sticks yet. She has some basic ability on guitar, bass, piano and saxophone though, which is more than I can boast
My mums two youngest sisters were in a punk band
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I had an uncle (Jack) on my father's side, who was apparently an exceptional saxophonist who played professionally. He died on the Thetis - a submarine that failed to resurface on its maiden voyage. He was in his early 20s, I believe.
About 20 years ago, I was in a second hand book shop in Wales and found a book about the Thetis. It had an alphabetical list of those who were lost - when I got to 'J' I was surprised not to see Jack's name.
When I got to 'R' I was chilled to see 'Richard Homer' on the page.
Approximately 12 years on from my father's death, that's how I found I was named after Richard 'Jack' Homer. My dad simply never spoke about the tradegy of losing him - so I'm not surprised he never got round to telling me. Though I'm probably not as good a player as he was - it's fitting that I've played music all my life.....
I have a natural talent at music which stops somewhere around grade 2, and I hate practice.
My sister got grade 8 in cello and 5 in piano. My mum played the guitar and piano competently, in the late 70s she fancied herself as something of a Welsh Joan Baez.
My feedback thread is here.
Skiffle for the 50's must have been so much More attainable no?
Grandad on Mum's side taught piano, and sang in the church choir.
Dad plays harmonica occasionally.
Sister used to play piano (grade 7/8) and clarinet (again grade 7/8).
Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21)
My Grandfather was a woodwind musician for the Army during the war.
After the war his second job (day job was working on the railways) he played in various dance bands.
When he retired he carried on playing and became a teacher and instrument repair guy (all woodwind instruments)
Step dad was grade 8 Violin and Piano.
Daughter is grade 8 Violin and Piano and grade 5 flute.
Son is a bloody talented drummer and is picking up the guitar well.
Dad played sax + clarinet - was pro for a short while in the early 60's - with Ray McVay band - then semi pro for a few years and only recently retired playing at 80 - At the time of national service in the 50's my dad was in the army band on clarinet for a couple of years
Granddad worked in the music business in a store as a manager before taking over the shop (Wisher Derby Ltd) and establishing the family business in the mid 60's - My dad was effectively born above the music shop my granddad had previously worked in - I started as a 14 year old as a Saturday lad
So in some form or another we've been involved for around 90 years and collectively over 150 years between us in the music industry - Think this will be the end of it as my daughter is not interested in a career in music
I'd say my two sons have a much more natural ear for music than I do, the eldest lost interest in his reed instruments but the younger one still plays some guitar, bass, drums and keyboards. He isn't very interested in 'bands' but he likes mixing and production and plays bass on projects at college.
I was determined to change that for my two lads, so learnt the ukulele first for a couple of years then bought my first guitar about 5 years ago. My older lad has a keyboard permanently set up in his room which he plays and we have a xylophone and a squeeze box around for the little one to play.
I think if you can encourage kids to give it a go and they can play something they recognise they will be hooked.
No-one in my family is interested in music very much. I always had a desire to play guitar. My dad has a picture of me aged 3 or 4 with a little green guitar and I've played on and off since then (mostly on), and I'm still no good. But I enjoy it - it calms me down at the end of each day. That's what it does for me, really - stress relief.