What was the cause of your passion for the guitar?

[alantig]

Johnny Cash was the spark for me. I wish I could say I remember the first time I heard him, or who turned me on to him, but I don't - his music has just always been there for me in my memory.

[t.shamone]

Cherryburst fake LP in the window of the local music store.

[JDBRADSHAW]

I first heard Ted Ngent "Double Live Gonzo" / "Foghat" Live / Kiss "Rock n Roll Over / and saw the reaction the girls had when they heard it! I knew I had to be musician....lol!

[soundbee]

Hearing Eruption circa 78 or 79 - but wasn't until 1984 that my mom got me my first electric guitar and amp. I think she really did it to spite my father, who I was living with at the time. But I remember seeing the Panama video and thinking "Ed looks like he's just having a blast - I wanna do that too!" My poor father and step-monster... I can't imagine what a noob trying to learn Eruption (with the cleanest solid-state amp in the world) must've sounded like :-0

[cwhenke]

Pearl Jam..."Alive"...
That song has been my favorite song since I heard it 20+ years ago. The solo still moves me, and it made me pick up guitar.

[slang05]

1983 Pyromania.... Opening riff to Photograph, and that solo. Phil Collen is incredibly underrated... And Steve Clark..The master of a riff..

[vim fuego]

Clapton. While my mates were doing their best Paul Gilbert moves I was captivated by ec..

[gush]

1982 state solo contests for high school. I had been learning guitar and my best friend Brian played drums.I had learned the intro to hells bells and couldnt stop playing it, I drove everybody nuts with it. Brian and I went to the band room during state solo contest which happened to be at our school that year. I maxed out the custom bass amp to get it to distort and Brian was beating the hell out of the drums playing that intro. We had about 50 kids in the band room diggin it when the band director burst in and gave us an ass reaming from hell! I will never forget that feeling! From that day forward the guitar was to be part of my life forever.

[captdg]

My Grandfather had a Western Auto store in Itta Bena Mississippi. My Uncle had a farm in Sidon Mississippi, and his land was leased out to a church where Robert Johnson has a Gravesite.. (where Johnson is really buried , who knows)..Any hoo when I was 12 I would be puttin together bicycles in the back of the Western Auto on Saturday night and listen to the guitars wail at the Jook Joint next to the store. I would wander in to get a coke.. There was an old man named "Roscoe the Wino" who would fix 8 track tapes for a dollar apiece and would let me bang on his old Gibson..

[Fbrandw]

Jimi Hendrix's Red House...heard that song and I knew I had to play guitar

[captdg]

Jimi Hendrix's Red House...heard that song and I knew I had to play guitar

I loove that song.....

[AaeCee]

Hearing Mike Bloomfield's amazing interpretation and sweet tones playing 'Albert's Shuffle' and others from Super Sessions. I'm not addicted to LP's anymore (but still like them), and I'm still pretty far from finding that iconic tone, but it's sure been a blast trying!

[CE-man]

My big brother came home with a copy of Led Zeppelin I and as soon as I heard Good Times, Bad Times I wanted to play guitar with John Bonham on the drums.

[bluefade]

What was the cause for your passion for the guitar, what made you HAVE to get one and play it?

my dad tried to teach me guitar when I was around four or five but I wanted no part of flamenco lessons, I wanted to play like the Beatles so I stopped shortly after.

But then when I was around nineteen I heard Eruption and the rest of the first Van Halen debut and that was all she took!

What was your WOW moment when you had to play?

When I was twelve years old, one of the neighborhood college guys played a fender jazzmaster through a fender showman amp. When I heard that I was hooked!! From that time on, I had to have an electric guitar!!! As far as music goes, It'll always be the VENTURES and WALK DON"T RUN 64!!!