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The Story So Far

November 10, 2023

I’ve played music in some form or another most of my life.

• In elementary school, I took piano lessons with Mrs. Gould a couple of blocks away. I learned the basics and remember my standout recital pieces being very simplified versions of the theme from Jurassic Park and Imagine by John Lennon.
• Fast forward a few years and my oldest brother had a really shitty Ibanez electric guitar languishing in his room. I took it, learned Secret Agent Man and Smoke on the Water, and I was on my way. I consumed Guitar World magazine, had binders full of printed out tabs, and took about two lessons with the guitar player from the high school jazz band. I remember him talking about Pink Floyd a lot and showing off his custom Fender Stratocaster, but that’s about it.
• When I finally got to high school myself, I joined the jazz band to play bass guitar. My sight reading was shit, but I was a good enough self-taught player that I could fake it and make it sound good enough to keep the band director off my back. I think he liked me because I was one of the few people who actually liked jazz and blues music.
• My senior year of high school, I convinced him to let me do a year of independent studies in bass—primarily so I could get my hands on an upright bass (my school didn’t have orchestra, so string instruments were non-existent in classes). I had my own room and spent most of my time in there working through The Evolving Bassist by Rufus Reid and learning Victor Wooten songs. I remember convincing the director to let us do Birdland by Weather Report so I could play some Jaco.
• During the college I did attend, I spent most of my time playing in a band called Mason’s Case (find them on Apple Music) after getting hooked up with them through my older brothers and their bass player going MIA. When the lead guitarist did the same, I took over there. We played pretty much every Monday and Wednesday night for a few years at two local bars (good mix of covers, originals, and jamming). I also took a live sound class and a few music production classes. I tended to know just as much as the teachers and was, once again, one of the only people in the classes who actually cared. I remember actually learning on a reel-to-reel machine and splicing tape before we started in on Pro Tools.
• Outside of class, I got my hands on whatever gear I could as well as pirated copies of Ableton Live, Logic Pro, and BIAS Peak Pro. We recorded a lot of live shows and plenty of home demos.
• Post-college (which I never finished), we recorded an album and split our time between Lansing and Chicago playing gigs before parenthood took over and I had to focus on helping to support a young family.
• The birth of our first kid meant selling off the vast majority of my music gear. I still had a few guitars and an amp, but didn’t have recording gear for a long time.

About a decade ago, I finally progressed enough in my non-music career to be able to invest in instruments and recording gear again. I’ve built up a sizable collection of guitars and ukuleles (too many, according to my family), guitar pedals, mics, and various other bits. I haven’t seriously played with any other musicians since around 2011 or 2012, though. And, while I have recorded random half-finished ideas, I haven’t put a lot of my gear to good use.

Outside of music, I’ve spent my time in the startup and corporate tech world. The last few years in that world have been full of anxiety, stress, and a growing sense that I need to do something for myself outside of that world or risk losing my sanity.

I’ve decided to make music that something. It’s the one thing (outside of my wife and kids) that has consistently brought me true pleasure throughout my life.

While I’ve played in bands before, I never wrote songs. I contributed parts to songs other people wrote, but never sat down and built any of my own. I’ve recorded random ideas, riffs, chord progressions, and beats over the years, but nothing I’d consider even approaching a “real” song. I’ve always been afraid of writing and releasing my own music, for fear of it being stupid, embarrassing, a waste of time, etc.

But the last few years have taught me that I need to get over that shit if I want to find some semblance of creative happiness. The tech world hasn’t and likely won’t provide the creative satisfaction that I crave, so I need to look elsewhere.

I’ve been inspired by a bunch of people who have been writing, recording, and releasing music on their own terms without much regard to music industry trends. They do it because it means something to them and think it might resonate with other people. It’s usually not their main source of income, but they use their day jobs to support their creative lives outside of the day-to-day grind. I think that’s what I need.

I want to get over my fears of making my own music, writing songs, and releasing them into the world. I don’t have any delusions of grandeur and don’t expect any of it to make me money or support my family, but I do expect it to support my mental wellbeing and allow me to lead a happier, healthier life.

This website, BMTGV, is my place to document getting back into making music. I plan on writing about the process, sharing inspiration and resources I find useful, and, of course, sharing the music that I do end up making. It’s not really for anyone but myself but feel free to follow along if you’d like.

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