It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 1:16 am




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 37 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next
 The First Time You Played a Stick 
Author Message
Contributor
Contributor
User avatar

Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2007 10:03 pm
Posts: 210
Location: Motown, MI
Post The First Time You Played a Stick
In spirit of Dave Brosky signing up for this grand forum (wow we're at 133 members BTW), I thought I'd start up this thread.

My story: I found a list online for the 100 greatest rock basslines of all time, and "Thela Hun Ginjeet" (KC) and "Universal Mind" (LTE) were on there. I checked out "Thela Hun Ginjeet" (bass of course) and thought it was so awesome that I bought the whole Discipline album. As I listened, I thought that there was a really weird bass in there! I did some research, learned that it was our boy Tony Levin tappin' along. I watched a bunch of videos online, and really at the time there seemed to be only a few videos on YouTube. I waited for a year or so.

I went to the 1st Annual Stickfest in Ann Arbor (<3 Michigan!) with my father, and both of jaws were on the ground. It was enough to get him to let me order it. I tried to order it right then and there on his Blackberry (I knew he'd become rational and change his mind as soon as we left, which he did.)

I approached Dave Brosky, as he was talking to me before he played. He let me play his white polycarb after his performance, and it was a beautiful thing. My dad took a couple pictures which i'll upload when I get home.

Ahhhhh, memory lane. Your turn.

_________________
Solo Sounds | Southern Panhandle - Improg Sounds | #5527 (Dark Bamboo, Deep Baritone Melody, Stickup)


Thu Feb 07, 2008 9:52 am
Profile
Contributor
Contributor

Joined: Mon Dec 24, 2007 10:20 pm
Posts: 188
Location: Central Jersey
Post Re: The First Time You Played a Stick
I picked up mine at Sam Ash in NYC in Feb.,83, And went directly to band practice in Far Hills w/ the Illiterate Diplomats. The guitarist had treatened to cut off the melody strings when I told him I was getting it. He didn't touch it. Everyone loved it-especialy the drummer. Me- it still freaks me.

Marty


Thu Feb 07, 2008 10:07 am
Profile
Elite Contributor
Elite Contributor
User avatar

Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2007 7:45 pm
Posts: 1730
Location: Leelanau County, MI
Post Re: The First Time You Played a Stick
I'll bite on this one. The first time was many many years before the second time. My buddies and I had seen Crimson on the Beat tour so this must have been 1982 (heh heh ... before Pete was born). We were music students in college. I was a saxophone major and my friend was a guitar major (although outside of school I mainly played guitar). One day we heard that one of our favorite Detroit area stores (which is now long gone) had a Stick. We raced over and there it was on a stand in a glass showcase. We asked if we could try it out and the sales guy said we could. Now ... we were both decent guitar players, pretty young and very full of ourselves. My friend was especially skilled on the guitar studying classical and flamenco. So being cocky young college musicians, we puffed our chests out as we strapped on the instrument, each took a turn laying our hands on it, and each winced as the most god awful noise came out of the amp. I remember it like it was yesterday because we looked over at the salesman and he had this huge grin on his face. We asked why and he replied "I don't know what you THOUGHT you were going to do with that."

I think that actually turned out to be kind of an epiphony moment because right then I knew this was something brand new that I'd need to learn just as if I'd picked up a trombone or something. So years later when I took the plunge, I don't believe I had any false expectations and was actually pleasantly surprised at how fast I started making music on it.

Glenn

_________________
Glenn
http://www.121normal.com


Thu Feb 07, 2008 11:29 am
Profile My Photo Gallery
Member
Member

Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2007 3:21 pm
Posts: 72
Post Re: The First Time You Played a Stick
The first time I ever played a Chapman stick was two weeks ago today when it arrived and took my brand new 10 string XG out of the box. I have had an NS for right at a year now, does that count?
Glenn, KC and TL were my first exposure too.

_________________
Scott
NS/Stick
10 String XG 5437

http://www.myspace.com/mychapmansticks
http://www.myspace.com/artistgodanddoctor


Thu Feb 07, 2008 4:10 pm
Profile
Member
Member
User avatar

Joined: Sat Dec 29, 2007 5:47 am
Posts: 89
Post Re: The First Time You Played a Stick
I still don't own one, but I've played my music teacher's Stick, this was after about a year of desperatly wanting to see one in the flesh. I first saw one in the hands of John Myung, and soon found Tony Levin by Liquid Tension Experiment, many months later I witnessed Rob (Martino) playing One Clowd on youtube, and just had to send him an email describing the effect it had on me. The learning curve of knowledge started there! End of Chapter 1 of the saga...


Thu Feb 07, 2008 4:24 pm
Profile
Elite Contributor
Elite Contributor
User avatar

Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 8:01 pm
Posts: 1537
Post Re: The First Time You Played a Stick
My 1st time was in 1980 in Boston. Saw Crimson on the Decipline tour. At that time I was a big Crimson fan but had never heard of the Stick or Tony Levin. It was a mind blowing experience.

My 1st Stick was actually around 4 years ago ... a Polycarb that needed a truss rod. I didn't keep it. (Big mistake) I got my current Stick less then a year ago and love it. I wish i would have kept the polycarb and had it reconditioned by SE but hind sight is 20 20. Still ,,, very happy with my current Stick and I can't wait for the delivery of the NS Stick I ordered in December 07.

_________________
Tap on!!
Ray
Graphite Grand MR Tuning.
http://www.rayrlmusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/raylavigne


Thu Feb 07, 2008 7:19 pm
Profile My Photo Gallery
Multiple Donor
Multiple Donor
User avatar

Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2007 4:39 am
Posts: 1339
Location: Northern Lower Peninsula, Michigan
Post Re: The First Time You Played a Stick
Outside of my NS, the first 10-String I played was one available at Oz's Music. I really like the fret rails, it was wood, possibly Rosewood. Afterwards that same Stick festival turned me on to the sound of graphites, as played by Steve Osburn and Emmett Chapman. About a month or so later I placed my order, which I just got today.

_________________
Photography website:http://www.sb.smugmug.com
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MichiganNS
Vimeo:Steven Balogh
Graphite Grand Stick MR
NS Stick Wenge body Wenge neck
Bamboo Grand Stickup


Thu Feb 07, 2008 10:17 pm
Profile
Post Re: The First Time You Played a Stick
I heard swiss Stick-player Marco Cerletti and german Stick-player Hans Hartmann playing on two different occations sometime back in -86 about and I immediately fell in love with the sound of instrument. I was a music student back then so money was not a thing that I had lots of but I managed ordered one through a norwegian company that had only two products that they sold, the Stick and a utterly expensive american sampling keyboard system similar to Synclavier and Fairlight. Think it was Waveframe if I don´t remember wrong. The instrument was delivered 3 or 4 months afterwards and that was when I played a Stick för the first time. And the norwegian company that I ordered the Stick through went out of business just weeks after my instrument was delivered. I was told that my Stick was the only thing they ever managed to sell.

There were not many people playing Stick at that time and I was one of precious few here in Sweden so it was not an easy thing to figure out how to play that thing. But good fun it was and I took it to rehersals pretty straight away after delivery. Easier to learn and to get inspiration now adays with videos and stuff on the internet. I had to eat rice noodles for a very long time after buying my Stick to be able to afford it. Hard times indeed. I´ve since then had several instruments and I´ve ordered two new ones awhile ago. Still LOVE playing the Stick and I´ve done it for over 20 years now! Fantastic indeed! :)

//Jan


Sat Feb 09, 2008 2:46 am
Multiple Donor
Multiple Donor
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2008 8:25 am
Posts: 950
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA
Post Re: The First Time You Played a Stick
I remember seeing Stick ads in Guitar Player Magazine in the 70s and thinking...what a great idea. It wasn't until 2004 that I actually picked one up. I purchased mine from Leo Gosselin who was performing at a street fair in Tucson. Feeling pretty confident (decades of professional guitar experience) I strapped it on and got a serious lesson in humility. I'm still working at it...some days it's work...some days it is play. A break through is a wonderful thing.

_________________
http://soundcloud.com/dubyasee
http://www.youtube.com/bloozintro/


Sat Feb 09, 2008 5:42 pm
Profile My Photo Gallery
Resident Contributor
Resident Contributor
User avatar

Joined: Sun Dec 30, 2007 10:11 am
Posts: 432
Location: Oslo, Norway
Post Re: The First Time You Played a Stick
I can't remember the exact day, but it was in February 1990. I came all the way from Italy to buy a Stick directly from Stick Enterprises!
The Chapmans very gracefully let me and my father into their place where I could pick a Stick between 5-6 that were ready. I chose a bubinga Stick with black hardware and black dots: a beautiful instrument that I still own and play.
Emmett demonstrated the instrument (I think my jaw is still somewhere on the floor at their place...) and then handed over the Stick to me. That's when I first "played" it ;)

_________________
Ciao, Francesco


Sun Feb 10, 2008 6:27 am
Profile My Photo Gallery
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 37 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 17 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  

board3 Portal - based on phpBB3 Portal Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group. Designed by Vjacheslav Trushkin for Free Forums/DivisionCore.
Heavily modified by Stickist.com. Stickist.com is an authorized Chapman Stick® site. The Chapman Stick® and NS/Stick™ and their marks are federally registered trademarks exclusively licensed to Stick Enterprises, Inc., and are used on Stickist.com and NSstickist.com with SEI's permission.
Click here for more information.