ehaataja Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 Hello, my name is Eric. I was a drunk for many years, but now that I've been sobered up for a couple years, I just started trying to play guitar again. I used to be pretty good. Now I suck. I am mainly here to research my 1982 Epiphone Spirit, which I recently learned might actually be quite valuable. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tx-ogre Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 Welcome aboard Eric and congrats on your sobriety. Good luck with your research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 Hi, Eric. And good evening. Here is what Fjestad's Blue Book reveals about your Epiphone Spirit. Nice guitar!! I see them on Reverb going for $1,600 to $1,900. What a cool instrument!! 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 On 2/3/2024 at 12:03 AM, ehaataja said: Hello, my name is Eric. I was a drunk for many years, but now that I've been sobered up for a couple years, I just started trying to play guitar again. I used to be pretty good. Now I suck. I am mainly here to research my 1982 Epiphone Spirit, which I recently learned might actually be quite valuable. Welcome Eric. Practice gets that playing back on track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 Clean and sober is a good thing. Keep it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Shiflet Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 (edited) On 2/3/2024 at 1:03 AM, ehaataja said: Hello, my name is Eric. I was a drunk for many years, but now that I've been sobered up for a couple years, I just started trying to play guitar again. I used to be pretty good. Now I suck. I am mainly here to research my 1982 Epiphone Spirit, which I recently learned might actually be quite valuable. Hi Eric, I lost my wife of 40 years and four months to liver disease culminating in Hepatic Encephalopathy. Encouraging to hear you saw the road hazards up ahead and took a detour. Even more encouraging that you picked up your guitar again because music truly is balm for the troubled soul. No matter what your playing level (even if it's as bad as mine) the important part is your passion for playing. As others have noted, practice really does make perfect or at least a little better. After my spouse went on to her rewards, I learned what it really meant to have the Blues or at least the emotional equivalent of the same. My almost teetotalling booze consumption (only whiskey) increased exponentially in the weeks and months afterwards, and yes, i sampled the ganga as I had obtained a Med MJ license to try to help my spouse's non-existent appetite. The booze only eased the pain but the weed made me do some intensive soul searching and thinking about where I was in my stage of life and most importantly, what I wanted to do with I had left. When I was a teenager, like so many, I had vivid Rock hero dreams. I also understood clearly that only one act in a thousand could actually make money from their gigs, no matter how much talent everybody had. I saw guitarists who could play circles around me yet still never got "discovered". Perhaps wisely, i pursued normal work and put my Gibson SG in a closet and it slept there for over 30 years. Now, I've taken it out again, restrung it, cleaned it up a little and found out it still sounds pretty darn good. (the guitar, not me) I've progressed to the point now where I've taken out a local newspaper ad seeking players but apparently, no one around here wants to waste their free time with old Rockers and I get that. No one past 70 is going to get "discovered" so I merely want to share the joy of making sounds that are considered by some to be music. Mysteriously, things lately have been lining up that are like a tail wind pushing me forward. My advice is to stay with your playing and don't sell your guitar if it means a lot to you. You'd be surprised at the places guitar playing can take you to and I don't mean the down and out souls sitting outside the bargain coffee shop playing for spare change. Take it seriously and it will make a difference. I congratulate you on your new direction and I hope this translates to better things in your life. I've wanted to comment on your post for a while but only had time today. Best of luck! Edited April 9 by John Shiflet typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 congrats on your sobriety. thats great ... just keep at it, the sobriety & guitar ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 (edited) Welcome. I too eventually found that if you're loaded on a regular basis, you can't be (as) happy on a regular basis. The hangover may seemingly last a day or two, but the effect on your neurotransmitters and what not lasts a lot longer. Like, months and months longer. At least when you get older. I'm all for it if others consider that a fair trade, though. I sure used to 🙂 Edited April 16 by Pinch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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