Hello!
My name is Chuck Weiss,
and I first picked up the guitar when I was about 12 or 13. I took
lessons off and on for a few years, and then got myself into a rock-and-roll
garage band. Kind of a normal progression for most rock guitar players
you might say. After High School and a few years of College, my progress
as a player was beginning to stagnate. I still played with a rock
band for fun, at parties and a few bars.
I decided to go to Music School to study jazz, which I did for a year.
Although I did very well and progressed very much in that year, I
decided I wasn't a jazzer and one year was plenty. Music School is
great insofar as having any pride at all as a musician, you'll practice
your butt off so you're not embarrassed in class. It's also good for
meeting other musicians, and of course, if you want to learn jazz
or some other particular type of music, you can do it there. Learning
to sight-read is a valuable skill in some circles, and is a must if
you want to become a studio guitarist. If you can't find someone to
teach you to sight-read, Music School will do it.
After Music School I got
a bit burned out on the music scene for a while, and didn't do much
musically for a few years. A couple years later I started writing
and recording some stuff at home, and found that writing music was
the real fun for me. I had some trouble writing music until I got
a little drum machine, and started each song with a tempo. I had heard
an interview with Phil Collins where he said that he always started
writing songs with the drum machine, so I thought I'd give it a try
myself. It really works for me, and, actually makes a lot of sense.
The basic beat of a song is the framework, and really is a logical
place to begin.
So that's where I'm at
now. Life's been a little too busy lately to devote much time to the
writing and recording, but with all of the great home recording equipment
you can get these days, especially computer/midi stuff, I'm looking
forward to writing and recording some great stuff in the years to
come. The great thing about being a musician is that you can do it
till you're old and gray.
