February 6th, 2022

Homeskoolin Short, “Hillbilly Promenade”

Chapters
00:00 - Beautiful playing


Notes
Grab that special gal and give her a slow dance to this one friends….

February 6th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Volume 126, Tom Bukovac, “A Hillbilly’s Approach To Major Tonality�

Chapters
00:00 - Slow intro playing
02:45 - Deluxe Reverb / Covid / Thanks
04:29 - Bob Ezrin / Peter Gabriel / Tony Levin / Sting
08:40 - Sessions, voicing chords
09:54 - Chords and "bonus notes" (Tim Lauer - keyboards)
12:25 - Staying away from chords
13:29 - Piano voicings and extensions
18:46 - Gibson Les Paul setup
19:21 - Return to chords and voicings
20:20 - Internet at Bukovac house
20:45 - Expand your chords
21:10 - Guitar tuned
22:58 - Dean DeLeo signing CDs


Notes
Uncle Larry on day 4 of having Covid, gettin’ all deep and probably pissing some more people off, as usual

correction....Allan Schwartzberg played drums on the first PG solo album, not Jerry Marotta...
also, please note I named every song on that album from memory except..."Waiting For The Big One" hahaaaa

February 5th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Bonus “Ceramic Animal”

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction to Ceramic Animal


Notes

February 5th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Volume 125, Tom Bukovac, “Cabin Fever Jazz”

Chapters
00:00 - Crazy guitar playing
09:30 - '54 Esquire / Old Brain Twister lesson
11:25 - Trip The Witch CDs & t-shirts
12:05 - 4 note chromatic pattern playing
13:20 - Sound and fun playing
14:14 - Difference Rosewood vs. Maple teles / Blues pickin'
16:16 - E13 / Index finger crazy shit
17:40 - Cool sound upstroke on saddles / Clavinet imitation


Notes
“Well…maybe he HAS finally lost it….”

February 4th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Volume 124, Tom Bukovac, “If I Leave Here Tomorrow….”

Chapters
00:00 - Beautiful playing
01:51 - Covid positive
03:17 - NFL reruns
04:34 - Tele Custom / "I thought you didn't like Teles"
05:41 - Skynyrd - Freebird / Allen Collins (Isolated track)
06:51 - "Rave up" ending lesson
07:47 - Secret of inverting chords / Pull-offs and chords (Need to know)


Notes
Well, if you’re wondering what a man with Covid plays and looks like here ya go fellas.

and here's some poetry for ya'

"IF",
BY RUDYARD KIPLING

If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools: If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’ If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

January 30th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Short, “Milestones”

Chapters
00:00 - Teaching experience


Notes
As we all know, there are several important milestones in a father/son relationship…ya’ know, like that first moment when the boy walks on his own two feet…or that first time the boy rides a bicycle on his own power….or the first time the father teaches the boy about late 70’s Moog Taurus bass pedals….

January 28th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Super Bonus “Passion�

Chapters
00:00 - Guitar setup expertise
00:38 - "3/64ths"
01:01 - "Raised the action"
02:05 - Step 1...
02:49 - Mathematics of frets
03:32 - Playing the Tele
03:58 - Nut slots and action
04:43 - "Choke"
05:25 - Nut and bridge height mathematics
06:18 - Choking, relief, radius
08:11 - Width / Height of frets
09:26 - Steps from here
11:03 - Fender go to steel? '54 / Trivia
14:34 - "Bend the piss out of the high E"
15:18 - Playing it again / Explanation
16:15 - Continue setup
17:25 - Creasing and stretching the strings
19:34 - '60 Tele Custom
20:45 - Tuning with fingers and playing position
23:00 - Playing it fully set up, acoustically / Tuning with chords
25:17 - Fret end dressing
29:45 - "Worst Nightmare?"
32:50 - Back to fret softening / Fret end jewelry
38:10 - Make your own glue
39:00 - Leather stropping block and chrome polish
42:50 - File and gouging the wood
44:09 - Playing it fully polished


Notes
This one is pretty inside friends….
it could be considered long and boring for some, i totally get that.

This one is actually aimed at those of you out there who REALLY wanna know the inside shit on how that last little one percentile of top tier professional guitar set up and guitar physics REALLY works.

Did you ever notice that any time you see a person doing anything at the highest level it could ever possibly be done at, there is one common denominator you will find every time…..PASSION…..

I mean TRUE passion and a deep love of the craft. There is also deep respect for doing things the RIGHT way.

Greg Voros, head of the repair department at Gruhn Guitars in Nashville…the boy is a true artist, and a dear dear friend of your drunk old uncle….i cannot tell you how much i respect this dude…this video should give you a real good idea why.

Greg is joined about halfway through this video by Lin Crowson….another Gruhns employee who has freakish expert level knowledge of authenticating and repairing old guitars.

Hope you enjoy folks.

January 27th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Short…”Brain Twister”

Chapters
00:00 - Chicken pickin'


Notes
The first Homeskoolin’ “Short”, for what it’s worth.

So, can anyone out there actually play this clean?

I almost got it….pretty fuckin’ tough riff at the end. Ya’ know, i got some great advice years ago…it was something along the lines of “Tom, don’t ever write a riff you can’t play”

This sweet old 54 Esquire chopper in this video is a cherished gift from a dear dear friend who would be a real strong contender for “the coolest dude to ever inhabit this earth”…if that was ever a contest.

Rock on Homeskoolers!!

January 23rd, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Bonus….”Resto Mod Sunday”

Chapters
00:00 - Kick ass 2-tone Telecaster


Notes
Uncle Larry sharing some deep feelings about old guitars.

Some may argue with Larry’s reasoning here, but file it under the age old debate between “players” and “collectors”.

One of my favorite sayings regarding vintage instruments…”just cuz its old don’t mean it’s cool”

Happy sunday y’all!

January 21st, 2022

Homeskoolin Daily Double, “Sentimental Case”

Chapters
00:00 - Blues playing
00:40 - Hey, guys / 1979 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe
01:07 - Christmas story


Notes
A little stroll down memory lane aimed mostly at the real diehard Homeskoolers out there….a rare daily double. Can you tell sessions have been a little slow lately? Hahaaa

January 21st, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Quickie, “Don’t Quit Your Day Job”

Chapters
00:00 - Acoustic playing and singing


Notes
See? I told ya i can’t sing for shit…but you know me, i’m totally shameless.

My son Marshall gets soooo embarrassed when i start singing real loud in the grocery store or in the car line when i drop him and his brother off at school.

I just keep telling them, boys, anyone can be inhibited and shy, but it takes REAL guts to be an idiot.

This one goes out to you Drew.

January 20th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Quickie “Willoughby Hillbilly”

Chapters
00:00 - Old Country Western playing


Notes
Some people think hillbillies only come from the south…

January 19th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Extra Credit, “Two Chord Symphony”

Chapters
00:00 - Insane guitar playing


Notes
Hello friends….just a little clip of Larry testing the load bearing capacity of this wonderful old 58 es-225 that he is considering purchasing…..

On that note, if anyone out there in the Greater Nashville area (or somewhere reasonably close) had any interest in owning Larry’s embarrassingly clean and painfully original 65 Vibrolux Reverb (with the coveted factory Jensen 10’s praise Him) he would most assuredly use that money (3500) to buy this old plunk (slightly more than 3500)…..

Contained within tonites programming is a not so brief illustration of some harmonic and rhythmic possibilities a person could consider while going back and forth between two boring old chords over and over.

P-90’s for life….fuck off Gilbert

Thanks for watching the show guys

January 18th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Bonus Footage…”Straight In”

Chapters
00:00 - Rocking out


Notes
I have only found a few things in this life that are more exciting than the feeling of plugging a great guitar straight into a raunchy little amp that’s turned up loud enough to potentially bother the neighbors…it is simply electrifying.

Just got home from a fun session and felt like playing a little more tonite. Wish you could hear what this little combo sounded like in the room…good stuff.

This is a recently acquired 58 les paul junior into my trusty old gretsch 6161 combo amp I’ve had forever.

January 18th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ “I Always Pictured You Wearing Pants Pt. 7”

Chapters
00:00 - Amazing guitar picking


Notes
Some explorations of movable chord shapes on a snowy day from your totally insane old uncle.

The ‘38 Martin bone in this video likes to go for long walks.

Thanks for watching the show friends

Trip The Witch merch, like CD's. posters and comfy ass t-shirts:
https://shop.bandwear.com/collections...

Tom Bukovac Plexi Soul digital download:
https://tombukovac.bandcamp.com/album...

Tom Bukovac Plexi Soul CD's (yes, actual CD's that you can play in your 2005 Camry):
https://reverb.com/item/47719071-tom-...

Homeskoolin’ merch like t-shirts, kick ass coffee mugs:
www.guitarhouse.net

If you want to donate something to the guy in this video using Paypal use this address:
tombukovac@gmail.com

If you want to donate something to the guy in this video using Venmo use this address:
@Tom-Bukovac-1

January 17th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Volume 123, Tom Bukovac, “The Element Of Surprise”

Chapters
00:00 - Funky, blues mixed jamming
01:06 - Shredding it
01:56 - Hello, class!
02:23 - Snowy Nashville
03:30 - Rick Reith thanks
04:26 - Duesenberg guitar contest
05:25 - Opening tuning and figuring it out
05:56 - Duesenberg Starplayer (Limited Edition)
06:26 - Trip The Witch / shop.bandwear.com / Plexi Soul
07:45 - Viewer Comment Bin (VCB) / Least favorites form of music
09:42 - The best guitar you've ever played?
12:10 - Being a "YouTuber"
14:22 - Element of surprise / Unpredictable playing
16:00 - Paul Davids video (YouTube Link) / "Fuck-off Gilbert"
17:00 - A friend passing


Notes
A brief chat on all kinda shit…and here's all the links you need people....

Trip The Witch merch, like CD's. posters and comfy ass t-shirts: https://shop.bandwear.com/collections...

Tom Bukovac Plexi Soul digital download: https://tombukovac.bandcamp.com/album...

Tom Bukovac Plexi Soul CD's (yes, actual CD's that you can play in your 2005 Camry): https://reverb.com/item/47719071-tom-...

Homeskoolin’ merch like t-shirts, kick ass coffee mugs: www.guitarhouse.net

If you want to donate something to the guy in this video using Paypal use this address: tombukovac@gmail.com

If you want to donate something to the guy in this video using Venmo use this address: @Tom-Bukovac-1

January 15th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ “Song For The Dokta”

Chapters
00:00 - Sad day tunes


Notes
Sorry i haven’t been around much lately folks….been having a bit of a rough go.

I lost a very close friend last Tuesday night…i found him dead in his house …. suspected heart attack….and to top it all off? all this happened on his 55th birthday.

The Dokta…. known to most of the world as Richard L Reith….known to my two sweet boys as “Uncle Rick”.

I have known the kid since i was 16….

we lived together in shit hole rental houses back in our early nashville days when we were both broke desperately trying to get our careers going…..later on we co-owned 2nd Gear music store here in nashville together for 3 years.

Sarah and I finally told the boys tonite that he is gone….they took it hard.
Fuckin’ horrible.

He was an ace of a guy…very intelligent, good at fixing and building stuff…strong as an ox.

remember the vid a while back where i had a friend out in my garage helping me rebuild from the flood? That was him.

He was always there when you needed him. A front house sound man and road manager by trade….he worked with all kinds of artists….including Eric Johnson, which is a gig he particularly loved. he loved old Genesis and Zappa as much as i did. He rarely drank, but he smoked weed powerful enough to kill most normal men all goddamn day long. Dammit i’m gonna miss him. See ya down the road my man

January 2nd, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Extra Credit “Obsession Man”

Chapters
00:00 - Tennessee blues playing


Notes
Happy Sunday folks….just a brief exploration on my trusty old Doozy Multi-Bender….football bets are going reasonably well today so far…let’s hope the packers and vikings score 43 points or more tonite in the 11 degree weather they are playing in.

Appreciate those who watch/donate/say nice things….it means a lot to larry that you tune in….
I had a guy tell me that im looking haggered lately.
He gave me some “sage advice” saying i need sleep.

What’s that old saying, “walk a mile in another man’s shoes or shut the fuck up and stop trying to give life advice to a 53 year dude from cleveland who is forged in iron by deep inner pain and decades of back alley knife fights.”….i can’t quite remember but it’s something like that.

Paypal tip jar is tombukovac@gmail.com

Plexi Soul and Trip The Witch albums available at www.bandcamp.com

Homeskoolin merch available at www.guitarhouse.net

December 30th, 2021

Homeskoolin’, Tom Bukovac “I Always Pictured You Wearing Pants Pt. 6”

Chapters
00:00 - Majestic, out of this world playing


Notes
Stream of nonsenciousness late night ramblings from a guy who still believes in Santa.

Just seeing what kind of scenic routes this old Junior likes to go on.

Thank you guys for all the encouragement….try these crazy voicings whenever you take a break from watching mimi…kinda tough grabs but worth it.

790909 B min 9

320202 G Maj 7

December 29th, 2021

Homeskoolin’ Gear Talk, “The Stud Finder”

Chapters
00:00 - Altered reproduction bridge for intonation


Notes
The video title may be a bit misleading…hopefully you’re not too disappointed to find out this video is actually about a guitar bridge……but not just any bridge….the MUSIC CITY STUD FINDER!!!

https://musiccitybridge.com

A replacement bridge designed by Joe Glaser, Nick Drushel, and yours truly that corrects ALL of the many inherent problems that plagued the 1954-1960 Gibson Les Paul Junior models.

Built and designed after decades of total frustration unsuccessfully trying every other replacement bridge on the market…

Homeskoolers…i implore you, if you ever trusted Uncle Larry on ONE THING in this life, let it be this.

Way more than any teaching i have ever done, or any music that i ever made, i feel like THIS invention is my greatest contribution to mankind…and i sleep a little better at night knowing that because of this bridge, i can actually say i left the world in better condition than i originally found it in….haaaaahaaaaa

Thanks for watching the channel folks!