The Well XI. My name is Curly.

[B Bent]

Re: The Well XI. My name is Curly.

Curly,
You are the same age as my dad and mom. I can't help but to think that yall grew up during an era where so many things were being invented musically. My favorite musical invention that you got to watch and be apart of is rock n' roll.

Can you tell us what that was like and what you thought of the new genre as it was blossoming?

 

[JumpMarine]

Re: The Well XI. My name is Curly.

never! that biotch!

jump was in town visiting, and we planned to go to House of Blues for Sunday Gospel Brunch. We got there, and they said the second show was cancelled to prepare for Ashley Simpson's evening concert. There were a bunch of teeny boppers hangin' around, just waiting to see Ashley. :firedevil

biotch!

I've been to a Gospel Brunch, and it's my kind of music, and my kind of food!

We'll get there one day, Ryan.

LOL, someday brother....someday!

 

[Curly]

Re: The Well XI. My name is Curly.

Wow, so many great questions!
It's an honor, privilege, and challenge to answer them.

Hi Curly. Can you elaborate on one single event in your lifetime, that you learned from, and which is something others could learn from as well?

Can you name one single band or artist which you think should be obliagory listening for us kids?

Tor,
great question, and tough to answer. I do feel bad that I didn't finish college. I was a good student in high school, but I struggled to find my direction afterwards, so I would advise people to really know themselves, understand what they are good at, and pursue that as much as possible, and seek out good advice wherever you can find it.
In my case, I had to learn a lot of things the hard way. I try to make up for that by challenging my niece and nephew to stay focused, and stay in college. The rest will come easier.

As far as listening, I wouldn't pick an artist, but rather I'd say listen to all kinds of music. My first year in college, I had kind of a narrow minded taste in music, but I took a music appreciation class, and got exposed to classical music. I also was going to a great little record store, and the owner turned me on to a lot of good jazz, like Coltrane, Eddy Harris, Bola Sete, and blues like Albert King. Those things really expanded my mind musically, and made me not just a better player, but a better listener, and a better musician.

Curly.

Having you do the holiday season well is well just the best way to enjoy this season....

Larry,

My favorite phrase of the season is, "Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards Men"

Hi Curly.

Well, knowing about your Israeli connection I have to ask you about your time in the Kibbutz - how was it? how was Israel in the early 80's? do you ever plan of visiting again?

My time in Israel was one of the best experiences in my life. I'll try to dig up a couple pictures from then.
I was there about seven months, on Kibbutz Yagur, near Haifa. I split my time between working in the cotton fields, and studying Hebrew. I also managed to tour most of the country, and spent about ten days in Egypt.

I felt right at home because I was from a farm town, and I got along well with the residents and volunteers. I really enjoyed meeting people from all over the world, and hearing all the different languages. Besides music, I have an interest in different cultures and languages, so that made Israel a great learning experience.

I also got in great shape, and had a beautiful girlfriend from Argentina. One of my real regrets was not staying longer.

Israel was pretty peaceful in '80-'81, but I saw a recent piece on TV that said the economy is doing well now, and Israel is flourishing. I'd like to get back sometime. My nephew is coming home from college tomorrow, then he's off to Israel for about two weeks, so it will be good to hear what he has to say.

Curly since you area a well respected man about town are you a Kinks fan?

Great choice on the PG/FM tune.

hey, Scott ...
I really was into the Beatles, but I loved all the other groups too!

in high school, we covered "All Day and All of the Night", "You Really Got Me", and "Tired Of Waiting". (I mean, who can forget the solo to "All Day and All Night"?)


-----------------
OK, to be continued later ....

 

[The Owl]

Re: The Well XI. My name is Curly.

1) Are you typically a daytime person or a nght-owl?

2) Do you think that music can motivate people or effect change individually or collectively?

3) What was your greatest moment in the art of chili cookery?

4) Favorite Batman villain?

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: The Well XI. My name is Curly.

Curly, if you were 17 years old today and thought like a teenager again, had no gear, but $2500 cash, what would you go out and buy.

Who's the one guitar player, living or dead, that you would have traded your life for?
An even swap...."my life is now yours, and your's is now mine."

 

[Mike M.]

Re: The Well XI. My name is Curly.

Curly, do you play in a band or jam with other folks?

Also, do you know where our buddy Stevo has been? Haven't heard from him in ages around here. I talked to him on the phone before and he's a great guy.

 

[Tor]

Re: The Well XI. My name is Curly.

Thanks for great answers to my questions!

I have one more: can you describe yourself with on single word?

 

[JumpMarine]

Re: The Well XI. My name is Curly.

What's your favorite movie/actor/actress?

What are you book are you reading at the moment?

What other hobbies do you have outside of music?

 

[JustWendell]

Re: The Well XI. My name is Curly.

To start off, i'd like to thank you for the wisdom you have shared back when I first started my tele project. Without the sage advice from people like you on the forum, I doubt this project would have been successful. If all goes well, early 2008 I'll have a thread with tons of pics of it.

What inspired you to start piecing together strats and teles?

Is there any color/s that you would never do?

*entering nerd round*

If you could have one super power what would it be?

Who is your favorite super hero or super villian?

Who is your favorite character?

 

[Butch Snyder]

Re: The Well XI. My name is Curly.

Curly, if you were 17 years old today and thought like a teenager again, had no gear, but $2500 cash, what would you go out and buy.

That should be a required question of anyone hosting The Well....

Nice one Joe...

 

[JOLLY]

Re: The Well XI. My name is Curly.

Tell us all about the things you never talk about...and please include some pics. You know what I'm talking about..your Gibson collection. I love your elusive Class 5's and your goldtop. talk to us brother!!

 

[JohnnyGuitar]

Re: The Well XI. My name is Curly.

My time in Israel was one of the best experiences in my life. I'll try to dig up a couple pictures from then.
I was there about seven months, on Kibbutz Yagur, near Haifa. I split my time between working in the cotton fields, and studying Hebrew. I also managed to tour most of the country, and spent about ten days in Egypt.

I felt right at home because I was from a farm town, and I got along well with the residents and volunteers. I really enjoyed meeting people from all over the world, and hearing all the different languages. Besides music, I have an interest in different cultures and languages, so that made Israel a great learning experience.

I also got in great shape, and had a beautiful girlfriend from Argentina. One of my real regrets was not staying longer.

Israel was pretty peaceful in '80-'81, but I saw a recent piece on TV that said the economy is doing well now, and Israel is flourishing. I'd like to get back sometime. My nephew is coming home from college tomorrow, then he's off to Israel for about two weeks, so it will be good to hear what he has to say.


OK, to be continued later ....

Well,
If your nephew needs something while he's here let me know. I'm in the area of Jerusalem.

I'll be expecting a call from you if you'd decide to visit....

 

[Curly]

Re: The Well XI. My name is Curly.

Great intro, Curly!

A lot of people like to hear about great live moments. Go ahead and tell us about the greatest moment you experienced playing music before an audience.

I'm more interested in this second question. Tell us about the greatest personal music moment you experienced while playing on your own. It could be one time when you were practicing by yourself in your bedroom or basement, it could be something you discovered while you were trying different gear in a music store...whatever.

- Keith

Keith,

-- when I was 19, my friends who were off to college were home for the holidays, and we all got together to jam. It went so well that we called our friend who had booked Taj Mahal at the local community college, and we ended up opening the show. That was pretty cool!

-- I've probably had quite a few moments of quiet revelation. What stands out though, is that when I started playing Blues, I worked very hard, used my ear more than ever before, probably practiced four hours a day, and improved hand over fist.

 

[Curly]

Re: The Well XI. My name is Curly.

Curly...one of my faves!!!

what's you most memorable "Forum Moment"?

if you could live anywhere besides California...where would it be?

what song has your favorite guitar tone/sound in it?

hope you have an awesome Christmas!

later,
mike

Mike,
thanks

I think anyone who was at SD User Group Day would say that was just a terrific experience! Touring the factory, giving Seymour a tele, and having a big jam were all great. Seymour & Co. were all so gracious, and treated us all like family.

Brendan made a good speech, but it was like a Spinal Tap moment with all the dogs barking in the background:

well, my friend Richard moved down to Costa Rica, and I want to go down there to visit, but I'm not sure I'd want to move down there.

favorite tone -- man, offhand I'd say Sonny Landreth. He gets such a fat smokin' tone with a strat, and he's such a good player. I have a lot of favorite players, but his tone stands out. "When You're Away" from his first CD was the first song of his I heard on a sampler, and I've bought all his solo stuff since then. "Grant Street" proved he doesn't need a studio at all.

and a Merry Christmas to you!

 

[Curly]

Re: The Well XI. My name is Curly.

Hey ya Curly,

Most of your guitars are either Strats or Teles, and most of them homemade. You do stellar work, by the way.

1. You are such a fan of the Blues, do you find that you play Blues different on your Teles versus your Strats? If so, how so?
2. Your white blonde Tele in your avatar is such a beauty, would you mind tell us a little more about it, in fact how about telling us a lot about it.

Cheers,

hey Butch,
well I have to be sure I say that most of my custom guitars were put together by Fred Marotta. Sometimes I've done as much assembly and wiring as possible, but since I don't have enough time and a good workshop, Fred has done most of the work. I just get the parts and let him put them together.

Teles are so totally different than strats! They are a big challenge for me, and that keeps pushing me to doing a better job playing them. I'm still more at home on a strat though. Most of my teles have a flatter radius and hotter vintage type pickups -- a JD is probably the lowest wound bridge pickup I have used. I have custom shop Broadcaster sets in two guitars, and the custom shopped tapped sets in two others.
However, teles will almost always have a different tone since people use the bridge pickup a lot of the time, and use the neck pickup on a strat a lot.

My friend Sam had a Lentz tele, and that was the first tele I played that had just a nice warm tone, and made me want to get a guitar like that.

My white tele was the first one I had built from USA Custom Guitar parts.

I have more pics of it here:
http://www.bluestheater.net/usatele.html

I had a set of Antiquities in there when it was built, but it now has a Broadcaster set from MJ, which is a little hotter. It sounds great and plays very easily -- like you could play it all night long. The neck isn't huge, but medium large, with an oil finish that feels nice and worn. Just a great little tele!

 

[Curly]

Re: The Well XI. My name is Curly.

Curly,
You are the same age as my dad and mom. I can't help but to think that yall grew up during an era where so many things were being invented musically. My favorite musical invention that you got to watch and be apart of is rock n' roll.

Can you tell us what that was like and what you thought of the new genre as it was blossoming?

I graduated high school in '67 and headed off to college. I stayed in a dorm, and in the halls, you could hear people playing all their albums -- The Beatles, Hendrix, Youngbloods, Moby Grape, Richie Havens, Canned Heat, Buffalo Springfield, and on and on. Great music. By then I had seen the Yarbirds and Beatles in concert. That year I saw Buffalo Springfield and Electric Flag with Mike Bloomfield. In the next couple of years, I saw Led Zep, Jethro Tull, Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix, The Animals, Credence, Sons of Champlin, Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, and quite a few others. A little later I was up the San Francisco and saw Santana and Quicksilver Messenger Service.

There is no doubt it was a very fertile time for music, and there was a creative and cultural explosion in all the arts. I won't sugar coat it, though ... those were also very turbulent times. There was a war, and there was a lot of dissention, polarity, and tension in the air. That definitely fueled a lot of creativity at the time, but in other ways it was not easy to live through either.

But still, the music was great.

 

[Curly]

Re: The Well XI. My name is Curly.

1) Are you typically a daytime person or a nght-owl?

I work a regular day job. I'm a CAD tech for a civil engineer. I try to be out the door by 7 AM so I can kind of beat the heavy traffic.
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2) Do you think that music can motivate people or effect change individually or collectively?

I absolutely believe that "music heals". Doctors treat the body, but musicians feed the soul and spirit, and that's just as important, if not more. People need some kind of balance in their lives, and it's getting harder and harder to find that balance. That makes music, and musicians, more important than ever.
--------------------------------------------

3) What was your greatest moment in the art of chili cookery?

There's a rodeo near my hometown called the Brawley Cattle Call. My friend Bad Bob called me up a few years ago, and said, ".. there's a couple of brothers down here that keep winning the chili cook off, and I think we can beat 'em."

I went down, we entered and won. We used Bob's recipe that's on my site, and I cooked a big pot of pinto beans to serve to people who walked around and tested everyone's chile.

Curly, Bad Bob, Galen Olesh, and Wayne Olesh taking first place
at the 1998 Brawley Cattle Call Chili Cook Off
--------------------------------------------

4) Favorite Batman villain?

the riddler

To be honest, I find the movies a little dark and hard to follow, but the old comic books were pretty cool. The TV series was totally over the top.
--------------------------------------------

 

[Curly]

Re: The Well XI. My name is Curly.

Curly, if you were 17 years old today and thought like a teenager again, had no gear, but $2500 cash, what would you go out and buy.

Who's the one guitar player, living or dead, that you would have traded your life for?
An even swap...."my life is now yours, and your's is now mine."

Hey, Joe ..

you know exactly what I'd buy with that money! A '65 Amps London!
just to put things in perspective though, in the early 70s, I paid less than $400 for my early '60s strat w/ tweed case that I bought at Fancy Music in Santa Barbara.

swappin lives is pretty heavy .. most of the blues players I like have probably had too much pain in their lives for me. To pick one though, maybe Ry Cooder, who's had a long, varied, stellar career.

 

[Curly]

Re: The Well XI. My name is Curly.

Curly, do you play in a band or jam with other folks?

Also, do you know where our buddy Stevo has been? Haven't heard from him in ages around here. I talked to him on the phone before and he's a great guy.

hey Mike,

I'm bummed that I don't play out. I'm just busy with work, and kind of chicken about jumping up on stage.

I go up north once a year to Monterey, take some gear, and jam with my friend Sam who has a Gospel/ Blues band, and plays in church. He's also a big gear head, so we have a good time swapping stuff.

I haven't heard from Stevo, but he crossed my mind just the other day.

 

[Curly]

Re: The Well XI. My name is Curly.

Tell us all about the things you never talk about...and please include some pics. You know what I'm talking about..your Gibson collection. I love your elusive Class 5's and your goldtop. talk to us brother!!

Jolly, Bro!

I'm saving my Class 5s for someone who really loves and appreciates Gibsons.

I walked into the local GC a couple of years ago, and right in front as I walked in, a guy was marking down a Cranberry Class 5. It looked like such a good deal, I asked to take a look at it, and bought it.

a week later, I went back and got the Sienna burst, which I loved the looked of, but doesn't sound quite as deep to me.

I got the Goldtop at Centre City a little later. I've known Saul for quite a few years, and got a good deal on that. As much as I like the Goldtop, I've wanted to put a set of Seths in there for a while. I think that would sound just killer.

and as long as we're talking humbucker guitars, let's not forget the Hamers. My Artist sounds amazing through my tweed Deluxe - sustain and a little bite.

class 5 cranberry:

class 5 Sienna burst:

R7 Goldtop:

Hamer artist:

Hamer Studio:

the fact is though, I live in an apartment, and don't play these too much, 'cause they sound best CRANKED, and I just can't do that very often.

I also have to be honest, though ... I am a gear ho. I'd love an R8!!!!!