My first guitar was a classical Yamaha. A year or so after I started playing, I wondered what it would sound like if my strings were tuned differently. I instantly began writing twice as many songs than before when I started using alternate tunings. Everyone who plays guitar knows all the basic chords. I wanted to do something different. In my life I have written over 100 sings and about 6 are in standard tuning. When a guitar is in a different tuning, you have to re-learn how to play. I have worked in three guitar stores. All day long, the guys I worked with would jam on the store’s guitars. So every once in a while, I would tune a guitar my way and play (maybe sing) one of my songs. People would freak out. Not only was I good, they had no idea what chords I was playing because of my alternate tunings. I used to always play acoustic guitars. With electrics it always seemed like anyone could sound good with the right effects and pedals. You can’t fake your playing skills on an acoustic guitar. Because of my different tunings, I used to bring at least 5 guitars with me to play shows. When I first started working at Guitar Center about 4 or so years ago, I didn’t know the difference between a telecaster and a stratocaster. I did know a lot about acoustics though. Electric guitars, I thought, were for people who played lead guitar. I have never been interested in playing solos. Then I heard about the VG-88. It is a pedal that basically can make your guitar sound like anything. It is used with a midi pick up, that can change the tuning of your guitar through the pedal without actually changing the physical tuning. Basically you press a button, and it’s like having a differently tuned guitar. It changed my life. I had to get an electric guitar for it because it doesn’t work with acoustics. I bought a 1980 Ovation electric UK2 guitar and had the midi pick up installed. It took me a while to understand how the pedal worked but it has saved my life. Instead of having to bring 5 or more guitars with me to shows, I now only have to bring one. I now play a Roland Ready Strat because the midi pick up is built in and is way better than the one you can install on a guitar. While working at guitar stores I became interested in building and fixing guitars. I took a guitar building class at this little guitar store. Half-way through the class, I was helping others in the class. I became the teachers apprentice and then was the manager of the shop. I ran the store and did the repairs. For some reason guitar repair makes so much sense to me. Unfortunately we had to close the shop because of the economy. Since then, I have been doing repair at my little shop I made at home.