Re: Roman Red (that Fiesta Red topic again)
Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2019 2:07 pmAh, perfecting my art form.
I’m afraid, Dave, that I long ago accepted that my talents are very limited and will not permit me to achieve the levels you occupy. I watch my cousin, who plays jazz guitar professionally in California, and realize that I would never be the artist he is. (But I do keep practicing. Hope springs eternal.) In any event, my musical goals are very modest. I just want to sound like Hank Marvin in his pre-Burns days. I am 60% there.
The scholastic approach to the hobby, trying to find out as much as possible about The Shadows, their gear, the strings they used, their stories, and so on, and pursuing little facts, uninteresting to the rest of the world, probably is a matter of personality and bent (encouraged in my case by a profound lack of talent). I have many interests too, which often get in the way, but there too, I tend to enjoy history and information.
For instance, I have for many, many decades been very much into historic sports cars and have accumulated quite a library of books and so much information—“crap,” as Dave calls it—on the hobby. I used to compete in the vintage race series, principally in a 1962 Lotus 23 (I am faithful to the period). I know that, if I had spent time on the race circuit, “perfecting my art form,” as Dave rightfully suggests, instead of reading all those books, I would have been more competitive, But winning was never the point for me, as being an accomplished and successful guitarist as Dave is was never really the point for me. I loved the Lotus and wanted to know as much about it as I could; on the track, I wanted to know how the car moved, how it sounded, and to feel how Jim Clark must have felt in his 23 at the Nürburgring. Winning was not the point. Let me quote how the motorsport governing body the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (the FIA) describes vintage racing:
“Historic competition is not simply another formula in which to acquire trophies, it is a discipline apart, in which one of the essential ingredients is a devotion to the cars and to their history.”
The FIA says the races enable “the active celebration of the history of the motorcar.” It is the same way I would describe my foray into the world of The Shadows. I want to know them and their music better. That, at least to me, adds much depth and substance to the hobby.
By the way, in the vintage sports car world, British Racing Green is the equivalent of Fiesta Red. The local sports car club’s official color is French Racing Blue (chosen because no one had a French car at the time, so the choice was neutral). FRB, favored by the magnificent pre-war Bugatti Type 35s (I want one), itself is a chase. There is no agreement on the correct shade. Ultimately, the club settled on the shade of a Gitanes pack. But that is all crap, as Dave rightfully notes.
In the meantime, I’ll continue on these little pursuits. Perhaps there are others here similarly inclined.
With good wishes,
Andy
I’m afraid, Dave, that I long ago accepted that my talents are very limited and will not permit me to achieve the levels you occupy. I watch my cousin, who plays jazz guitar professionally in California, and realize that I would never be the artist he is. (But I do keep practicing. Hope springs eternal.) In any event, my musical goals are very modest. I just want to sound like Hank Marvin in his pre-Burns days. I am 60% there.
The scholastic approach to the hobby, trying to find out as much as possible about The Shadows, their gear, the strings they used, their stories, and so on, and pursuing little facts, uninteresting to the rest of the world, probably is a matter of personality and bent (encouraged in my case by a profound lack of talent). I have many interests too, which often get in the way, but there too, I tend to enjoy history and information.
For instance, I have for many, many decades been very much into historic sports cars and have accumulated quite a library of books and so much information—“crap,” as Dave calls it—on the hobby. I used to compete in the vintage race series, principally in a 1962 Lotus 23 (I am faithful to the period). I know that, if I had spent time on the race circuit, “perfecting my art form,” as Dave rightfully suggests, instead of reading all those books, I would have been more competitive, But winning was never the point for me, as being an accomplished and successful guitarist as Dave is was never really the point for me. I loved the Lotus and wanted to know as much about it as I could; on the track, I wanted to know how the car moved, how it sounded, and to feel how Jim Clark must have felt in his 23 at the Nürburgring. Winning was not the point. Let me quote how the motorsport governing body the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (the FIA) describes vintage racing:
“Historic competition is not simply another formula in which to acquire trophies, it is a discipline apart, in which one of the essential ingredients is a devotion to the cars and to their history.”
The FIA says the races enable “the active celebration of the history of the motorcar.” It is the same way I would describe my foray into the world of The Shadows. I want to know them and their music better. That, at least to me, adds much depth and substance to the hobby.
By the way, in the vintage sports car world, British Racing Green is the equivalent of Fiesta Red. The local sports car club’s official color is French Racing Blue (chosen because no one had a French car at the time, so the choice was neutral). FRB, favored by the magnificent pre-war Bugatti Type 35s (I want one), itself is a chase. There is no agreement on the correct shade. Ultimately, the club settled on the shade of a Gitanes pack. But that is all crap, as Dave rightfully notes.
In the meantime, I’ll continue on these little pursuits. Perhaps there are others here similarly inclined.
With good wishes,
Andy
