Hey guys!
My name is Joe. I just signed up today. I learned about this site by watching Kristofer Dahl's videos on Youtube. I've been subscribed to him for half a decade now. Amazing guitarist and a hilarious guy to boot. I figured that if I were to take online guitar lessons on any site, it would be this one.
I am 29 years old and have been "playing" guitar since I was 13. I never took any lessons; I started out by learning Metallica songs, but I didn't really start actually playing for real until three years later when I joined a (death) metal band. I was still awful at guitar, but that experience really pushed me to learn more techniques and start writing music of my own. After I quit the band at 19, my guitar playing was limited to writing random guitar riffs and recording them onto my computer. I pushed myself a bit and got better over the next couple years, but I feel like my progress has been extremely slow and has stagnated over the past few years.
My passion is in writing music, but I feel that it's been a double-edged sword for me over the past decade. I tend to write stuff that I can play, and I really only play stuff that I write. There is nothing pushing me forward to the next level.
My goal is to kind of start fresh, get a new perspective on my guitar playing, build a stronger base, and become better at playing leads. Ultimately, I would like to be able to shred.
I plan on buying a webcam so I can participate in the REC forum and get some advice from people much better than myself. If you're interested in hearing my current skill level, here are a few clips I've recorded over the past few years (I apologize in advance for bad eq, sloppy playing, fake sounding drums and hard cuts in the production, lol)
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/48070/riff13hq2.mp3 - maiden/inflames-y (2006)
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/48070/riff29song.mp3 - mix of influences, reminds me of Black Dahlia Murder or Vehemence (2008)
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/48070/Acid_03.mp3 - reminds me of Darkest Hour (2009)
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/48070/TIC_02.mp3 - mix of influences, but also reminds me of Darkest Hour (2011)
Anyway, sorry for the long intro. I look forward to learning with you guys! Keep on rockin'.