The
LFTxBand currently consists of one person, namely me (LFT). I use a drum
machine for drums (as I have never had any idea how to play drums). Other
than that, I provide all other instruments and vocals. I also do all of the
recording and mixing. Obviously playing my stuff live isn't currently an option (but now I'm in a cover bad so that's ok).
I started playing in high school in the
'60s, the typical garage band upbringing. Played off and on thru
college. After college I was in a bar band with a good friend of mine
for a few years in the mid-70's. We played out a lot, had a great time.
Then disco came in and all of us rock & roll guys were unemployed.
I rehearsed
with some guys towards the end of the '70's, but quit playing all together with
the birth of my daughter in 1980. I sold all of my equipment during the
'80's (bad decision!). After that I buried myself in my chosen profession (software
engineering).
I got interested in playing again in the late '90's but didn't
really do much about it. The turning point for me was the 2012
election and the general political attitude of the country. When I realized the country was basically all on welfare and
nobody wanted to work any more, I became really depressed. Only one cure,
like Brad Delp said, "when you let go, nothin's gonna help you more than
rock and roll". At that point I decided to try my luck at single handed
recordings, just to see if I could do it. While I'm not real impressed,
I must say it turned out better than I thought it would. And it's fun.
And I'm old. So I need some fun.
Guitar Influences
Wow,
where do I begin....I grew up in the middle of what is now called the
"classic rock" era. I'm still floored by the fact that I can turn on
the radio and still hear the same songs I did on stage back in the '70's.
Who would have thought? I'm really not much of a guitar player. Like
most players, you realize pretty quickly where you are at on the
"guitar player scale". It
took a long time to accept my limitations as a guitarist and just go
ahead and not worry about "how good" I was. At some point you just need
to accept who and what you are and work with what you have. And if
you're lucky, maybe someone else will find your playing something they
like to listen to. After all, that's what it's really about; creating
stuff that other people like to hear. Even if it's just for a few
minutes.
Some
of my favorite guitarists when growing up were Eric
Clapton, Leslie West, Martin Barre, Ritchie Blackmore, Terry Kath, Mark
Farner, Alvin Lee, Steve Stills, Joe Walsh, BB King, Tom Scholz and others too
numerous to mention. My favorite albums of all time are the first two
Boston albums. I truly believe that these are the best records ever
made (really!). You might notice I kind of have a "thing" for multiple
guitar leads. My dual leads are a bit lame, but you get the idea (I had to at least give it a try). Also
a big
influence was my good friend Pat F., whose bar band I was a part of in
the '70's. His guitar playing style had something I like to call the
"Flanigan twang" that seems to keep creeping up in a lot of my songs. Not exactly
sure what it is, but I know I didn't start playing that way until I
started playing with him.