Your Musical Inspiration - NOT bands or famous musicians...

[Hardrock69]

Was there ever someone you knew when you were just learning to play your instrument who had a profound influence on your musical career?


In 1978 I was stationed at Ft. Lewis, WA, just south of Tacoma.

I used to jam regularly at a recreation center near my barracks...I had just bought my first nice guitar, a black 1975 Flying V, and would go check out an amp and play for hours in a rehearsal room.

Anyway, there was a band that rehearsed in the room next to me, and over a period of a few weeks of hearing them rehearse the same songs over and over I began to learn them just by hearing them.

One day, the guitarist of that group (a cool guy by the name of Ken) stuck his head in the door and commented on my playing (I had been playing one of their originals).

He then asked if I would be interested in joining his band and playing bass.

I agreed, and so a friendship was born.

It was my first real rock band, and soon we were playing gigs at many venues on and around the base.

By September of '78, I had gotten a discharge, and was trying to figure out what to do with my life.

And idiot friend of mine from Kansas called me up and began trying to convince me to move back there.

I told him Hell NO! Who in their right mind would prefer to live in Kansas vs. Seattle?

Shit....

3 days later there was a knock on my door and there he was with his girlfriend. They had driven all the way from Kansas to bring me back theres.

I was furious then, and I still am to some degree...that fucking bastard.

After 3 days of pressure I caved in, and went back to Kansas.

The band carried on as a 3-piece for a few more months, then one guy went to Korea, and the other two guys got discharges.

I lost track of them by the end of that year.


Fast forward 25 years....about 3 years ago I decided to try and track Ken down.

I got in touch with a musician in Seattle who had played with Seattle punk icons The Enemy in the late 70s, and who was a childhood friend of Ken's.

He had a friend who was a private investigator do some checking, and discovered that Ken had died in 1989.

I was totally bummed out.

I still am.

I had wanted to thank him for his inspiration and encouragement when I was just beginning my life as a musician. He taught me what it was like to be in a real band.

Last night I decided to try to find out more about his untimely end, and perhaps track down some people in Tacoma who knew him.

I thought he had died in Florida, but found he had died in Tacoma on Halloween, 1989.

I have ordered a copy of his death certificate, and have contacted the Tacoma newspaper about doing some research for me.

Perhaps it is a way of seeking some closure.

It is one thing to regret the death of a famous musician, like Jimi Hendrix or someone.

But this is personal.

Someone to whom I owe a debt of gratitude that I can no longer repay.

I sometimes think if I had stayed in Seattle, Ken might be alive today.

If only....

R.I.P. Ken Trader

[Northern Girl]

Originally posted by Hardrock69
I sometimes think if I had stayed in Seattle, Ken might be alive today.

...or you might be dead too!

[Coyote]

But would he've been happy?

[Northern Girl]

if he were dead? hmmm...I don't know...I'd have to meet his wife...:D

[Coyote]

:lol:

[Frodo]

HR69,
I feel for you. In 1980,My Inspiration was a guy that was 10 years older than me. I was 13 and he taught me how to play. I bought a Gibson SG because he had one. He turned into a crackhead that stole from everybody now he is a waste product that has had 2 heart attacks from all the coke and crack he did. It is very hard for me to see him this way but there is nothing I can do.

[Hardrock69]

I guess I should thank my parents as well....you know...all the yelling and stuff.

"TURN THAT CRAP DOWN!!!!"

It just inspired me to keep playing.

:D

[mako_kimura]

For me, it was my uncle Clint(if you live in L.A. and have seen Shot To Hell, you know who it is). He keeps pushing me every day to be better, since me and him are the only musicians in the family(he's a drummer). Also, the guys in his band, his buddy Ray(Lousier, yes, I'm friends with him), my good friend Wolfie(VH's kid, good guy), and my dad.

[ULTRAMAN VH]

I would have to say my Mom and Dad inspired me to play music. From the time I was a baby my mom would tell me how fascinated I was with the old stereo we had. It had an old Sony reel to reel player in the cabinet and watching the reels spin and all the lights on the machine was really cool. Anyway my dad had all kinds of music recorded on these tapes, that just seem to play forever and as time went by I really got some exposure to some really great music. fiftie's Doo Wop, surf music, motown, the british invasion and lets not forget the King!! My dad played keyboard and I was forced to learn it also. By this time Kiss was the hottest band in the world and the last thing I wanted to be playing was keyboards. With some heavy pleading I got my 1st guitar for Christmas and my dad gave me the old reel to reel player. I would record all my favorite tunes on the tape machine and try and cop them with my guitar. I remember growing up, most of my friends did not like their parents and I could not understand it. I had the coolest parents on the planet, and I thank them to this day for introducing me to music. I feel kids today are being robbed because the only thing that seems to get attention is Rap and that is just not music. I can't see Rap being considered as classic and being played on radio stations 20 years from now, like say Hendrix or Led Zeppelin.