June 18th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Important Announcement...TRIP THE WITCH VINYL IS HERE!!

Chapters
00:00 - Beautiful playing
01:26 - Hello, friends! / Travel story and wallet
03:33 - Happy Father's Day / Trip The Witch vinyl
04:18 - Fender Telecaster
05:15 - Contest
05:35 - Father's Day
06:08 - Lesson (crazy fast lick)


Notes
Hey kids….the first rule of the road as we all know…NEVER LOSE YOUR PHONE OR WALLET…..well guess what?

If you want a nice vinyl trip the witch record go here to get it
https://shop.bandwear.com/collections...

Dont forget to send your postcard to win a free Duesenberg Session Man guitar!

mail your postcard to:
Duesenberg USA
PO Box 857
Fullerton CA 92386

good luck friends

June 18th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Bonus “The Lost Chords”

Chapters
00:00 - Some unusual chord changing


Notes
A recently unearthed chordal collage from Larry. Learn this one kids.

June 15th, 2022

Homeskoolin Bonus “Red Lights Green Lights”

Chapters
00:00 - Old melodies playing


Notes
Ya’ know, thank God we figured out a way better way to make music these days with the four chords over and over approach and simple cheerleading melodies, because these old songs with all the weird chords and unusual melodies were so cumbersome.

June 13th, 2022

Homeskoolin Class Quiz….”You Think You Got Ears Kid?”

Chapters
00:00 - Tale of the tele, strat, and paul
03:38 - Quiz


Notes
Get all 6 phases of the sequence right and old Larry and the rest of the class will be holy shit impressed

A is the 58 burst
B is the 62 strat
C is the 60 tele custom


i'll post the answer later


Collect the whole set!!
Offer won’t last long so act now!!

June 9th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Volume 149, Tom Bukovac, “Strat Fury Volume 3”

Chapters
00:00 - Flying pick playing all the way through


Notes
A brief odyssey on one of the best guitars I have personally ever owned….this old ‘62 is like the Larry Holmes of old Strats…don’t be fooled by that sexy ass burst…it’s a tough strong unforgiving tank of a guitar…
Big neck, kinda heavy, with rude ballsy pickups….you gotta man handle this one, but damn is it cool.

We have had a tumultuous relationship…i even sold it once like a fool years ago, missed it terribly, and then bought it back.

May 30th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Volume 148, Tom Bukovac, “A Queens Tale” Pt 2

Chapters
00:00 - Viewer Comments Bin...cont. / Quick fire style
04:49 - Pissing people off
06:45 - Trip The Witch / Naming songs
07:40 - Phone recording sound
08:00 - Sayings
10:00 - Reinvent yourself?
12:05 - Comfortable cliches
14:12 - Improvise
14:50 - Michael Hedges
16:00 - What's the point of your channel?
17:24 - Smoking weed


Notes
Part two of that all that shit i said in part one.

May 30th, 2022

Homeskoolin Volume 148, Tom Bukovac, “A Queens Tale” Pt 1

Chapters
00:00 - Beatles - Hard Days Night / Other playing intro.
03:47 - Hello, friends! / Camping trip
04:24 - Rough and tumble biker dudes
06:15 - 1966 Fender Duo Sonic
07:14 - Viewer Comments Bin...  -->


Notes
Part one of a long ass look into the VCB rapid fire style, and a recollection of yesterday when i hung out at a cookout in the country with some Harley ridin biker dudes from Queens NY

May 15th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Bonus “Silent Lake Placidity”

Chapters
00:00 - Again, beautiful mixture of playing


Notes
A little "live practicing" after i put my sweet sweet boys to bed on a borrowed 64 lpb jag…wow, cool guitar.

April 18th, 2022

Homeskoolin’, Tom Bukovac, “Strat Fury Volume 2”

Chapters
00:00 - Some fine tastey Blues licks and playing


Notes
A humble tribute to the Reverend Billy G….from one of my alltime favorite records….Tejas.

today's equipment choice....late '62 stratocaster/cable/'66 deluxe reverb

Paypal request line tip jar is tombukovac@gmail.com
Venmo beer fund is @Tom-Bukovac-1

April 13th, 2022

Homeskoolin Volume 138, Tom Bukovac, “Plexiholic”

Chapters
00:00 - Slow, beautiful, raunchy loop playing
03:36 - Hello, class! / Thanks / Nashville floods
04:45 - 1 year anniversary
05:19 - View Comment Bin - Trigger Hippy days
07:23 - Joan Osborne
09:03 - Favorite Twight Zone?  The Shelter
10:37 - Overcoming Red Light Fever?
12:39 - Guitar or amp you never had?
13:35 - Crazy prices of instruments
14:02 - "Uncle Larry" amp / Ebo Customs
15:00 - Recent addiction to Marshall Plexis


Notes
A brief look at the VCB and the wonders of the old MXR Stereo Chorus.

Thanks for watching people


Paypal tip jar is tombukovac@gmail.com
Venmo tip jar is @Tom-Bukovac-1

April 12th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Volume 137, Tom Bukovac, “Fever Dreams”

Chapters
00:00 - Beautiful blend of Classical, Rock, Blues playing
03:09 - Burt Bacharach - That's What Friends Are For
05:02 - Hello, fellow Homeskoolers! / Illness
06:37 - Going to the ER
07:13 - Twight Zone
07:49 - Chord lesson (Eb, Gm7, Cm7, Fm7, Dm7b5, G7sus) / That's What Friends Are For
09:24 - Biggest part (Bb/Eb, Ab/C, Abm7)
10:00 - Money shot (Bbm/C#, Csus, Abm6/B)


Notes
Larry returns after a trip to the dark side…10 pounds lighter.

March 19th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Saturday Night Blast Off

Chapters
00:00 - Country pickin' jam


Notes
Sorry guys, my kids are outta town for a week…i got too much time on my hands haha….

March 19th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Bonus “The Last One Holdin’ It”

Chapters
00:00 - Gruhn Guitars Inc.
00:37 - Sprinkler system amp wrap
02:28 - George's overrated guitar? Gibson SG
08:36 - Greg's overrated guitar? Rickenbacker
09:46 - Les Paul and the SG
10:27 - Discovery of old guitars / Michael Bloomfield influence
13:24 - Tony Iommi's weren't Gibsons / Redesigning the SG
15:15 - Bloomfield influence cont.
16:56 - Les Paul
19:10 - Unbelievable guitars
25:10 - "Store's best customer" / Collection / Inspiration
28:41 - What guitar would you love to have?
31:39 - Guitar price "bubble"? / New generation of guitar buyers
36:05 - Heavy Metal / Women buyers / Inflation
38:18 - Guitar is a physical art you can feel, hear, and is alive
41:00 - Optimist vs. pessimist truth
42:42 - "Hot tip" of what is going to be valueable?
43:49 - 70's to present guitars
44:07 - 335 vs. Bursts prices
46:33 - "If there were a guitar...would be buying." / Guitars bought
47:49 - Not vintage guitar?
50:43 - Guitar to turn to crap? / Difficulty in supply / Bolt-on copies / Luthier
53:23 - New instruments from new builders and opinions
54:30 - 2 names of builders that are good?  Hugh Hansen, Paul Newson
57:19 - What are some of the things missing from builders who are missing the point?
61:52 - Best craftsmanship in guitar making?


Notes
Maaaaaaaaaany things to think about…..
Starring:
George Gruhn
Greggy Voros
Joel Watrous
David Kreisel
and some sweet woman who’s name we don’t know (Cheryl)

Filmed on 3/19/22 on location in the infamous break room of the greatest guitar store in the world.

March 13th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Bonus Jam…ZZ Tom

Chapters
00:00 - Rehearsing with the man himself, Billy Gibbons


Notes
A super rough rehearsal sketch from the moment when our little band was joined by the coolest guy that ever walked on this earth….as you all know Uncle Larry is a huge fan of the Reverend Billy G….I have been lucky enough to work with him a couple times in my humble career.

He is the NICEST guy you will ever meet.

Ol’ Larry rarely gets starstruck by anybody but i gotta admit it’s a very cool feeling being anywhere near Billy Gibbons.

I didn’t think he would remember me from the last time we jammed together, but when he walked up on stage at this rehearsal and looked right at me and yelled out “Mr. T” i gotta admit i was instantly 13 years old again sitting in my room listening to “It’s Only Love” off the Tejas album and staring at that amazing album sleeve. Such a genius, such a sweetheart and such a class act…and soooo cool and easy to work with.

If i could ever achieve just one percent of the coolness this man exudes in my own life i would be absolutely thrilled.

Credit to my dear 9 year old son Marshall for coming up with the title for this video….he’s great at coming up with cool names for stuff quickly haha.

March 12th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Bonus Pack, “Larry’s Blues”

Chapters
00:00 - Rehearsal footage


Notes
In LA rehearsing with a great group of freakishly talented people you may recognize for a private gig…great fun

February 16th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Volume 128, Tom Bukovac, “Get Your Wings Son”

Chapters
00:00 - Slow, beautiful playing
02:26 - Thumb recovery
02:50 - Ann Wilson rehearsal
03:32 - "Dream On" discussion / Chord progression lesson
07:00 - Steven Tyler story


Notes
Two real truths of life:

1) The human body desperately WANTS to go back to the way it was before we mangled it.
2) No matter how skinny we ever get, the human body ALWAYS remembers how fat we once were

disclaimer: gross misinformation at 06:50....i meant #4 major, not #5 major

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 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!!