April 11th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Bonus Jam “Heartburn Highways”

Chapters
00:00 - Masters playing


Notes
Little Tommy and Cousin Bryan get into some fretboard shenanigans on company time.

Cinematography by Jimmie Lee Sloas.

April 6th, 2024

Homeskoolin' Volume 298, Tom Bukovac, "Something Borrowed Something Black"

Chapters
00:00 - Session take on the goldtop
01:45 - Playing some ZZ Top montage riffs into full rock n' roll into Joe Walsh on a black Gibson Les Paul Custom
08:58 - The 3 best guitars I've played but don't own (Dan Auerbach - '60 Tele Custom, Jim Bagget - '38 Martin D-18, Elliot Michael - '59 Gibson Les Paul Custom)
09:27 - '59 Gibson Les Paul Custom
10:23 - Acoustically played
10:50 - Bridge pickup
11:32 - Playing like Jimmy Page
11:58 - Out-of-phase bridge and middle pickup (shit sound)
12:24 - Neck pickup
13:10 - Trying to buy the guitar / Headstock repair, doesn't care


Notes
"well the bitter comes out better on a stolen guitar"...

The opening bit is one of Nicky G's soulful masterpieces...from the sessions we did this week.

March 15th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ “Hey Man Show Me A Cool Lick” (expanded edition)

Chapters
00:00 - Interview with Bryan Sutton in session
02:13 - Show me a good lick
02:50 - Acoustic bliss
03:18 - Lesson: Jerry Reed-ish change
04:08 - Lesson: Decending lick
05:30 - Lesson: Dmin decension to G7 with sweep
06:50 - Lesson: Bluegrass vs Rock open chords picking
07:38 - Picks
10:35 - Lesson: Rhythm (important deep dive)
13:48 - Joey Moi interview
16:05 - Danny Dugmore appearance


Notes
Starring
Bryan Sutton
Joey Moi
Danny Dugmore

March 13th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Bonus “Bros Before Hoedowns”

Chapters
00:00 - Playing like there is no tomorrow
03:43 - Hello, Homeskoolers'! / Sessions and scheduling (The Triple) / Gwen Stephani
05:35 - Thank you for setup videos
05:50 - Livestream
06:40 - Lesson: Mountain jam


Notes
Uncle Larry STILL tickin’ after 11 straight hours of intense sessioneering….

Why does he do it you ask?
Because he knows that one day he is gonna look back on these times as the REAL good old days and he knows that one day he is gonna really gonna miss the shit out of all this music and all these people.

End of day one of two solid days of Gwen Stefani sessions…a little tired, but absolutely thrilled to playing with such an amazing band in an amazing studio with an amazing artist.

February 28th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Session Update “Darrell Ellis Blues”

Chapters
00:00 - Hunt for Goldtop owner?


Notes
Apparently he lived in Iowa most of his life and died in 2015…if anyone out there has any info about him please tell me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfG5EG9Xm_Q

February 21st, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Volume 285, Tom Bukovac “The Top 5 Most Asked Homeskoolin’ Questions”

Chapters
00:00 - Hello, friends! / Elaborate full production
00:32 - Jacob Collier / "Greatest Night in Pop" (We Are the World)
02:13 - Martin D-45 / "Then I'd be happy" (Black hole inside us all)
03:19 - "What are the top 5 questions?"

1. "New, cheap guitar as good as old?"
2. "What New pickups as good as old?"
3. "Desert island guitar and amp?"
4. "Will you evaluate my playing?"
5. "Are new Nobels pedals as good as old?"

04:50 - Today's setup
06:20 - Duesenberg bridge
06:50 - Duesenberg neck
07:09 - Burst with PAFs bridge
07:49 - Burst with PAFs neck
08:21 - 2006 SG Special Lollar P90s bridge
09:01 - 2006 SG Special Lollar P90s neck
09:17 - '61 SG Special original P90s bridge
09:49 - '61 SG Special original P90s neck
10:30 - Fender Tele with '62 and Ellis bridge
11:26 - Esquire with original bridge
12:03 - "What New pickups as good as old?" / Don't know
12:32 - "Desert island guitar and amp?" / Goldtop and Princeton
13:00 - "Will you evaluate my playing?" / Don't always have time / Lessons
13:33 - "Are new Nobels pedals as good as old?" / Nothing as good as original


Notes
The title pretty much says it all here kids....

today's test gear...
amp: dead original 1965 Fender Princeton Reverb with original 10" Jensen
pedals: original no-balls ODR-1, strymon el cap slapback, tiny bit of reverb from the amp

full disclosure...i completely forgot to mention that the bridge pickup in the 1954 esquire is actually an original wound fender pickup taken out of a 1960 tele custom, so not original to the guitar, but still over 60 years old.


If you guys are getting something useful out of these ridiculous videos please feel free to visit the tip jar...

paypal is tombukovac@gmail.com
venmo is @Tom-Bukovac-1

Thank you for watching...and i TRULY mean that. Uncle Larry realizes that you have PLENTY of other choices when it comes to Youtube travel.

October 24th, 2023

Homeskoolin’ “The Genius Of Gordon Mote (Pt. 2)"

Chapters
00:00 - Gordon Mote in session
02:45 - Playing song
07:00 - Take 2
09:45 - Discussion
12:00 - 3 variations test / "Break" - in the piano strings


Notes
Here he is again folks.
https://www.youtube.com/@gordonmote7366/videos


A clip from a session we did today with Vince Gill at Vince’s studio in Nashville...

I thought you guys might learn a lot from seeing Gordon play some beautifully understated shit on an actual track in a large ensemble, instead of the usual effortless mind boggling feats of solo piano showbiz you guys are used to witnessing him do.

Dig the otherworldly touch…dig the ancient pocket.

This is once in a lifetime shit here friends.

There are literally only a few people left on this entire planet who can play LEGIT traditional old school country and western piano in it's purest form and successfully conjure the ghosts of Pigg Robbins and Floyd Cramer, and TWO of those people are on this very same session...Gordon and John Jarvis.

Believe me, we all clearly realize how spoiled we are....it's like having Jim Brown and Walter Payton in the same backfield....fun stuff kids

October 23rd, 2023

Homeskoolin' Bonus "Steel Your Heart Away"

Chapters
00:00 - Ole cowboy playing
02:30 - Hello, friends! / Long day Vince Gill session
03:32 - Real quick message about Plexi Soul
04:50 - Guthrie Trapp record
05:58 - Footage from session


Notes
Kids...we are SO CLOSE to having Plexi Soul on vinyl!! Stay tuned for forthcoming link friends....

The inside of the luxurious gatefold cover opens up to quite the scene....picture basically my entire life story shown in several grainy Polaroid photos laid out on a messy coffee table the morning after a boozy party strictly for grown ups.

And....if thats not enough to get your blood pumpin', you can thrill to the sound of the greatest living pedal steel guitar player on this planet...Paul Franklin.

Oh, and fuck off Teddy Boy you miserable twat...

August 29th, 2023

Homeskoolin’ Studio Update.... “Get Me On It”

Chapters
00:00 - The man at work
02:17 - In the control room
04:40 - Gordon's genius
07:00 - Mchugh's drums


Notes
Studio update
Aug 29th 2023

Peter Frampton’s studio in Berry Hill

Session personnel:
Brandon Hood: producer and mandolin
Reed Foley: artiste
Seth Morton: lead engineer
Stix Mchugh: drums
Jacob Lowery: bass
Kris Donegan: guitar
Gordon Mote: keys
Bruce Bouton: pedal steel
Tom Bukovac: guitar
Jordan: assistant engineer

August 7th, 2023

Homeskoolin’ Bonus “Bryan & Brent”

Chapters
00:00 - What it takes to be a studio musician
05:00 - Gear / Telecaster
13:55 - Lesson: "Show Us A Cool Lick"
16:00 - Tanya Tucker lick
26:45 - Best pedals?


Notes
Hello class, I am fortunate enough to hang with these two legendary cats today, who were kind enough to let me ask a few poignant questions.

July 30th, 2023

Homeskoolin’ Bonus “Boss Man & Bubba”

Chapters
00:00 - Special Duesenberg Session Man


Notes
This video shows two sweetheart dudes that have both been a MAJOR positive influence on my life.

The first part was shot back on July 11th.

Vinnie ordered a special one-off short scale version of the Duesenberg Session Man Uncle Larry model, and i couldn't resist the urge to film the "unboxing" part of the program haha.
I think he truly liked it....it's a beautiful guitar.
He says he plans to use it on the next Eagles run.
Thanks to dearest Nathan (or "Navin" as Vince calls him) Fawley for taking care of us all these years.
I'm very proud to be a part of the Duesenberg team

I've learned a lot from Mr. Gill in this life....i played behind him for years, and spent many hours in the studio with him, and I'm ALWAYS learning something from watching him operate.
A true master and a lovely guy.

The fella at the end of the vid is my "mentor" or "guru" or whatever other word you would use.

He was the best man at my wedding in 2010.....he literally taught me everything i know about old guitars and amps when i was growing up.

Greg "Bubba" Sarley

I don't know what the hell i would do without him.

Love you Bubba and Vinnie....bros to the end

Thanks for watching friends.

June 27th, 2023

Homeskoolin’ Session Update, “Division Street”

Chapters
00:00 - Session and talk with Russ Pahl
02:55 - Tour of Omni
04:30 - Little keyboard playing


Notes
THE BIRTHDAY CONCERT VID IS OFFICIALLY LIVE ....go to thesessionman.com if you wanna check it out!

Uncle Larry was busy as usual today kids….he did two sessions in two different studios that were waaaay across town from each other.

This little clip is from the morning session where I led a demo session (four songs in 3 hours) for my old buddy Dan Friszell at an old studio downtown called Omnisound on Division Street.

The band was
Russ Pahl: pedal steel
Evan Hutchings: drums
Mark Hill: bass
Jenee Fleenor: fiddle
John D Willis: acoustic
David Crutcher: keys
Uncle Larry: electronic guitar

When I say i “led” the session that means I wrote the charts and got twice as much dough as the rest of the guys for doing so. By the long-standing rules of the Nashville Musicians Union AFM branch 257, every session must have an assigned “leader”, who makes twice the dough of the other cats, in return for going through the trouble of making all the charts beforehand. Also, historically, whoever is the leader of the session gets to boss people around a little more than usual on that day, People kind of treat you like it's your birthday when you are the "session leader".

This video stars the legendary Russ Pahl, who has played pedal steel and guitar on A LOT of records…he has played with Vince Gill, Dan Auerbach and Bob Plant to name a few. Russ makes some really nice guitars under the brand name of “RP Guitars” (mostly Fender Tele and Strats with a few twists and turns) and he hand winds his own custom pickups. He is the living definition and pure embodiment of the phrase "tinkerer". Contact me for his email if you would like to investigate his work further.

And…if you can name the tune that i play on the piano at the end of this video, then I KNOW that you are a cool person

June 14th, 2023

Homeskoolin' Bonus, "Deep Album Cut Wednesday"

Chapters
00:00 - Singing and strumming some Lynyrd Skynyrd / Thanks / Kids and music
03:20 - Selling Harmony Sovereign 1260
04:12 - 3rd and Lindsley remix / Guthrie update
05:17 - Trying out some guitars at Rumbleseat


Notes
Larry sings ya' a pretty obscure old tune and gives ya a little news you can use.

oh, and if you've never seen this before, you're welcome...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNkyaFnZYuE&t=0s

June 12th, 2023

Homeskoolin’ Session Update, “Larry World”

Chapters
00:00 - A view from Tommy's world


Notes
June 8th 2023….
day one of a two day Kameron Marlowe session at Backstage studios in Nashville Tn.
I must say, after several sessions with Kam over the last couple months, it has become abundantly clear that the boy can sing his fucking ass off.

Dann Huff: producer
Drew Bollman: lead engineer
Joel: pro tools guy
Dave Cohen: keys
Ilya Tochinskiy: acoustic
Jimmie Lee Sloas: bass
Miles McPherson: drums
Tommy Bukovac: electric

May 21st, 2023

Homeskoolin’ Bonus “For Old Guitar Freaks Only” (must read video description for link)

Chapters
00:00 - Quick look in a session at the White Falcon
00:30 - Hey, friends! / George Gruhn video


Notes
I think you vintage guitar freaks out there will greatly appreciate the SERIOUS wisdom George Gruhn is laying down in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c7AQ7EY4sM

May 18th, 2023

Homeskoolin' Volume 218, Tom Bukovac, "The Bad News Vent"

Chapters
00:00 - Intro playing
04:00 - Hello, friends! / Thanks / Taking kids to school
05:30 - Contest and the myriad of players, even weirdos
06:40 - "Can't stand looking at your mouth"
07:00 - Young gal from Jersey and a TV show
07:53 - Friend's Fender Stratocaster (Black?)
08:00 - Strung Out Repairs - Andy Jellison
10:00 - What kind of fuzz is that? / Can't tell you everything!
10:30 - Favorite comments -> Melodic pickups! :)
11:27 - Ann Wilson decision
12:33 - Producing credits, stepping on toes, and lucky to be here
14:30 - Can't tell a person, "that stove is hot!" / Got to learn firsthand experience
15:30 - Producing for people / Driving or guiding the project
16:50 - Father like son, telling people how to do their part
17:45 - Collaboration lights the fire
18:18 - Involuntary guitar face
19:25 - Bring string bending back / Bending in tune
19:50 - Being in the studio under a microscope / Exploiting weakness / Special person for session work
21:30 - Checking the phone
23:20 - Music style reflects society and how newer generation is growing up


Notes
Larry gets a little deeper here than he does on most Thursdays after a busy week of sessions.

a LOT of new viewers have recently asked "where is the tip jar?" when they felt led to contribute something after 218 free guitar lessons...despite Dominic Hudson's best efforts to deter them.

You can make PayPal donations to this address:
tombukovac@gmail.com

You can make Venmo donations to this address:
@Tom-Bukovac-1

A lot of these very same new viewers don't seem to know that Uncle Larry made a couple records that they could potentially listen to...
one is an instrumental solo record called "Plexi Soul" that is available here:
https://tombukovac.bandcamp.com/album/plexi-soul

another is an instrumental collaboration with his dear friend Dean Deleo (originally from the Stone Temple Pilots organization) that is available here:
https://tripthewitch.bandcamp.com/album/trip-the-witch

and a LOT of people don't seem to know that they can go here to purchase a myriad of Homeskoolin' related merchandise..including several different T-shirts and some beautifully constructed coffee mugs for those afflicted with thin lips...
https://dvg-inc.shoplightspeed.com/merch/tom-bukovac/

April 12th, 2023

Homeskoolin’ Bonus “TV Larry”

Chapters
00:00 - Kelly Clarkson show taping (behind the scenes)
02:51 - Sound of the room


Notes
On the job site

Doing one song with Caitlyn Smith for the Kelly Clarkson show that airs May 11th

April 6th, 2023

Homeskoolin' Volume 208, Tom Bukovac, "How To Properly Match Your Shirt To Your Guitar"

Chapters
00:00 - Fingerstyle guitar
03:30 - Hi guys / Quick morning beer / Fun days
05:23 - Twitch with the Wook and Guthrie
06:30 - Back to guitar playing
07:20 - Gruhn's videos / John McBride (Blackbird Studios)
09:40 - Lesson: Genesis - Supper's Ready
12:00 - VCB (Viewer Comment Bin) / The Gear Page
13:12 - Dementia story and Homeskoolin' videos
14:40 - Favorite Song? / David Bowie & Freddie Mercury - Under Pressure
17:15 - Nice people comments / Sitting around music stores hanging out
18:28 - Music store stories (Ron Blair)
21:00 - Joe Jackson song and comments
21:43 - Corona Lesson videos
23:20 - Lesson: Tapping (Dark Side of the Moon)
25:50 - Lesson: Chord tapping / Eddie Van Halen taking off
27:40 - Muting / Learning process
30:00 - Lesson: Muting


Notes

Uncle Larry carryin' on with nary a comma today...to the point where he reaches double the time length of one of his "normal" videos....

here is the link for tonite's livestream with sweet Guthrie....which will start at roughly 8PM central.

https://www.twitch.tv/iamthewook

and if you haven't checked out some of the exciting things happening with Homeskoolin' merch in a while, you can certainly do that here....
https://dvg-inc.shoplightspeed.com/merch/tom-bukovac/

March 27th, 2023

Homeskoolin’ Bonus “Chart Boy”

Chapters
00:00 - Sessions and charting


Notes

Many years ago when I used to record with johnnie and Donnie van zant, they used to call me “chart boy”….cuz I was always making charts of the songs…well the name kinda stuck.

Here I am charting one for the Struts…of course the band already knows the song, but the additional keyboard player, the engineers and myself can certainly use one.

March 21st, 2023

Homeskoolin' Bonus Jam "Mad Dogs And Clevelanders"

Chapters
00:00 - Beatles - With A Little Help From My Friends (Joe Cocker / Tom Bukovac Rendition)
03:20 - All time favorite tunes / Howya going mate!
03:55 - "Mad Dog with Soul" (Joe Cocker documentary)
04:20 - The Struts (Session project)
05:00 - Watch Delta Lady from live performance of "Mad Dog with Soul"


Notes
Uncle Larry waxes rhapsodic about one of the greatest voices to ever step up to a microphone....and the great convergence of England and Tulsa.