March 30th, 2025

Homeskoolin’ Volume 417, Tom Bukovac, “Sunday Drive”

Chapters
00:00 - Playing the PRS McCarty
03:06 - Hello, class
05:13 - Paul Reed Smith
06:13 - PRS bridge / Intonation
07:34 - Stalker Guy imploding YouTube channel / Jumping the Shark
10:08 - Dean Z bridge
12:34 - PRS McCarty
13:06 - Duesenberg Session Man bridge
14:12 - Duesenberg summary
14:41 - PRS McCarty bridge
15:23 - Dean Z bridge
16:27 - Duesenberg bridge / Bridge height / Voxey AC30 sound
17:19 - Duesenberg neck
18:01 - The lick on the Duesenberg
18:30 - Dean Z neck fantastic sustain
20:10 - PRS McCarty neck
21:57 - One more time (PRS)
22:31 - Same horseshit (Dean)
23:33 - Duesenberg


Notes
Uncle Larry puts on his driving gloves and takes a few humbuckers out on a little trip through the country….


best 20 bucks i ever spent right here...the walrus was Paul
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0WJO5iDa6Y

March 17th, 2025

Homeskoolin’ Volume 408, Tom Bukovac, “Velvet Hammers”

Chapters
00:00 - Fishing out those sounds
04:36 - Hey, friends! / Cleveland trip and neighborhood
07:40 - '52 Gibson Les Paul P90 Goldtop
08:25 - "Velvet hammers" (soft notes)
08:57 - Roland JC-120 - chorus off
10:06 - Les Paul pickups, out-of-phase sound
11:15 - "Let me play for a minute"
11:40 - Lesson: Blues in key of B and pre-bends
14:22 - Guitar Riot store / Son bought a MIM Stratocaster / Whatever you like
15:50 - Out-of-phase sound / Replacement bridge
16:45 - Lesson: Expressive pre-bends
17:27 - Gilmour and pre-bends
18:00 - "Fuck off" / "Grown-ass man making videos..." (Stalker Guy)


Notes
anyone that has given their life to the fretboard instantly knows and feels it when a certain guitar is giving you velvet hammers….and what a precious gift it is

today’s amplified signal is coming from my beloved old Roland jazz chorus 120…if you have never owned or tried one of these legendary amps you are making a serious mistake

they are, in a word, magic

March 16th, 2025

Homeskoolin’ Bonus “The Birth Of Sports Bar Blues”

Chapters
00:00 - Driving by childhood neighborhood


Notes
well friends, we made it back home late last night after a fantastic trip to the homeland of Cleveland

so great to see all of our sweetheart relatives and dear friends…three of the four Bukovac brothers were onstage together and one sister was in attendance at a fun gig we played Friday night…the place was fucking PACKED with a zillion faces, most I haven’t seen since high school...

this little video is evidence of that...of course i played a whole set of songs with my brother's band that i never played before with no rehearsal whatsoever....typical Cleveland gig

this particular clip shows me cutting heads with local Cleveland guitar slanger Timmy Facemeyer, while my dearest oldest brother Dougie (to my left) looks on....Timmy Drensky on bass, he was the bass player in my band when i played the Eastlake Battle Of The Bands circa 1983 .....

• One Way Out - Tom Bukovac and Tim Fa...

but let me tell ya' friends….the drive home…sweet jesus it was fucking BRUTAL….i literally had the windshield wipers on the highest setting for five straight hours in the blinding rain with almost zero visibility as semi trucks driven by bots who completely ignored the fact that they were in the middle of a monsoon blazed by us at 85 MPH

March 7th, 2025

Homeskoolin’ Volume 407, Tom Bukovac, “Bad Decision Soup”

Chapters
00:00 - Just playing away
10:56 - Alright, how's it going friends / Vision
12:08 - Gibson ES-335 love
12:32 - Drew and Homeskoolin' merch / New t-shirts in mind / Motortrend Magazine
14:00 - DVD movies that will cure you / Brick, Intacto, Delicatessen, Sunshine
14:46 - Muscle Shoal / Things that were great in the past
16:23 - "The cage you built is all you" / Good decision soup, or bad decision soup
17:19 - Cheesy, weak, awesome rhythm playing
18:15 - Muscle Shoals vibe
19:21 - Ty Myers mom and cut off video / Steven Tyler
21:19 - Brett Papa and video subscription project / "Never going to get this done"
23:23 - John McBride and Gruhn Baritone guitar
25:40 - 'Merican Patriot
26:32 - Lesson: Hard pull off


Notes
Uncle Larry plays some straight sports bar blooze and reflects about the recent experience of recording in one of the most soulful places in ‘Merica….

March 4th, 2025

Homeskoolin’ Bonus “The Real Inside Shit”

Chapters
00:00 - Pro Tools transfer from mixer


Notes
Don’t feel bad if you don’t understand any of the shit these guys are doing…neither do I.

My genuine love and respect for great recording engineers is well documented…you guys have heard me say many times that the most important guy in the band in the engineer….you have also heard me say that when I walk into a session, the very first question I ask is “who’s engineering?”

you have also heard me say that even if Christ Himself put The Perfecf Band together for The Ultimate Comeback Record…even That Band could not overcome a terrible engineer…..

Simply put, no matter who you are, you GOTTA have a fella around that knows how to “run the PA”

with all that being said, I will admit that I am damned glad that I figured early on what side of the glass I personally belong on

I may not get this stuff…but I’m just glad there are folks that do…

Thanks to dear Seth Morton and dear Lance ….

and thanks to Ty’s mom for the validation at the end ….

February 5th, 2025

Homeskoolin’ Volume 398, Tom Bukovac, “Banner Head Believer Fever”

Chapters
00:00 - Acoustic creamyness
03:03 - Hello, it's just Larry / Guitar phases
06:38 - Morgan Wallen / Dean Z guitar / Lana Del Rey
08:00 - Session blocks
09:43 - Country Band covers Stevie Wonder - Isn't She Lovely -> "Isn't She Country"
10:41 - Gruhn and Eric Ernest Thanks / Doubleneck
12:00 - Spanish playing
12:34 - Lesson: Cat Stevens song
14:30 - Guthrie and acoustic guitar
16:45 - Son Marshall instructional video
19:00 - Bluegrass music / Different genres of music and making money
20:04 - Acoustic buying
20:37 - Lesson: [x x 5 4 2 2] over E; Pho-Jazz
22:31 - Lesson: Millisecond mute with picking technique
23:10 - Lesson: Playing down by the bridge / Stevie Wonder sound


Notes
Uncle Larry rolls out a new twist on some familiar chords, and also reflects a bit on the many "phases” of a typical guitar player's life…

One very important phase I left out was the “fuck pedals, i’m just gonna plug straight into the amp” phase…which is then usually followed by the “I want to build a giant rack to house all my vintage pedals that I can run off a looper” phase…

it never ends my friends...
well, at some point it actually does end i suppose.

anyhoo, if you guys dig these videos please support the cause

there is a tip jar that you could potentially get involved with....the proceeds go towards the imaginary "Uncle Larry foundation" that exists only in my head...it's sole purpose is to pay for the endless supply of groceries that must be purchased to feed these growing boys.

PayPal is tombukovac@gmail.com
Venmo is @Tom-Bukovac-1

January 9th, 2025

Homeskoolin’ Bonus “The Blackbird Studio Repair Kiosk”

Chapters
00:00 - Blackbird Studios and gear showcase
01:30 - Begin showing gear


Notes
Hello friends, a special treat today

Nick Wood from Blackbird Studio shows us how to keep a major recording studio running

January 6th, 2025

Homeskoolin’ Volume 385, Tom Bukovac, “Monday Night Humbuckin'"

Chapters
00:00 - Hello, friends! / NFL Detroit / Pickups / Updates


Notes
Uncle Larry strings up his dear son’s 100 dollar project guitar that he spent two days painting,
and answers some random VCB from his trusty iPad.

Special thank you to Nick D at Glaser Instruments for helping facilitate a young man’s six string dream...i appreciate it bro

here's that cool website i mentioned for looking up who played on what and searching credits...
https://www.muso.ai/

this was the original site people used to use to search credits before AI
https://www.allmusic.com/

they are both cool

December 27th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Volume 382, Tom Bukovac, “Bob Avellini Blues”

Chapters
00:00 - Playing/Singing: Police / Learning Police
03:05 - Lesson: Police
04:00 - Iconic records
04:51 - Canary in a Coal Mine
05:33 - NFL Bears
07:08 - Biggy Small and dog "fuck off"
07:36 - MN Guitars old CS9 analog chorus pedal / Early 80s
08:48 - "Brian Honey"
08:54 - Sports Bar Blues
10:54 - Cleveland fight back attitude
12:20 - Ancient German saying / Old sayings
13:22 - Painting guitar like Van Halen
15:02 - Lesson: Tune up to pitch, not down
16:35 - Guess what Police songs
17:08 - Teisco guitar / Thank you


Notes
Uncle Larry gets heavy into the Police and some VCB.

December 19th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Volume 378, Tom Bukovac, “Sad Guitar Boogie”

Chapters
00:00 - Strumming a familiar tune
02:44 - Lesson: Saddest chords of all time (I -> I/VII)
04:40 - Investigation into the I/VII
05:14 - Lesson: John Lennon - Mind Games
07:00 - Weird guitar the whole song / Oh, Hi, guys! / Bullshit vs. planned
07:41 - The Cliffs and Jedd Hughes and Tom Bukovac at The Basement / Jedd Hughes
09:58 - '64 Gibson J-50 / Sad guitar
10:49 - The Cliffs / Tom's 12yro son playing guitar on stage (respect privacy please)
12:41 - Thanks to D'Addario
13:14 - Two special Fuck Offs / Playing from memory vs. learning / Van Halen
17:17 - Friday night friends
18:44 - Tired of live streaming an event vs. being there live / What it was really like vs cell phone
20:32 - NFL?
21:04 - Movie with special friend / Twightlight Zone / Dan Aykroyd / Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR)


Notes
So glad I went down to the Basement last night and saw my dear friends…
See y’all Friday

December 14th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Bonus “Back In Black”

Chapters
00:00 - Blackface Twin Reverb history
05:25 - NFL Cards
06:07 - Hall of Fame of blocked YouTube users


Notes
Uncle Larry provides an extremely basic primer guide for the legendary blackface Fender amps that were built between 1964-67.

To say that these amps made a “significant impact” on many types of music would be a massive understatement.

The early ones that say “Fender Electric Instruments” (1964 through mid 65) under the model name on the front panel and have no metal Fender logo on the top left of the grille cloth are particularly desired by collectors and tube amp lovers.

I also take you on a tour of the “douchebag hall of fame”….a little stroll down memory lane of the legions of teddy boys that tried to disrupt your free music education

It was heartwarming for me to see all those names again …..nice work lads

December 13th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Bonus “Mad Loop Friday”

Chapters
00:00 - Playing bass to a loop
01:04 - Switching to overdub guitar
02:14 - Another overdub


Notes
Uncle Larry gives it to ya on a Friday night old school r&b style

A little thing I made up through a luscious old 64 electric instruments twin reverb

When I was a young man, you were TRULY SOMEBODY if you had yourself a twin reverb…it was a rite of passage…still is I suppose

November 29th, 2024

Homeskoolin Volume 366, Tom Bukovac, “Leftovers”

Chapters
00:00 - Plucking a Tele on the workbench
01:42 - What's up?
02:58 - Cool lick to not steal
03:48 - Camera angle
05:00 - Start of the video
05:53 - Lesson: Vocal type quality
09:23 - NFL
10:45 - Thanksgiving
11:22 - Pinned comment
12:55 - '63 Fender Telecaster (beater)
14:21 - Jimmy Page, Alister Crowley and haunted Boleskine House
17:23 - Uncle Larry impersonation contest
17:50 - Need resurrect Homeskoolin' merch
18:22 - Good "doink" and "pllinky" sound
19:56 - Bought new Fender amp
20:42 - Reverb playing / NFL and betting


Notes
Uncle Larry covers a wide range of subjects in a Tryptophan haze

November 11th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Volume 358, Tom Bukovac, “The Death Of America’s Team”

Chapters
00:00 - Taking that Gretsch higher
05:28 - Beatles - "The Sun King" (singing and playing)
07:24 - John Lennon bashes Rolling Stones and Mick Jagger
09:04 - Roland JC-120 (Jazz Chorus 120) / Blackface Twin Reverb
10:13 - VCB (Viewer Comment Bin)
10:47 - Pontiac GTO delivery
11:29 - Sam Bettens
12:21 - Lesson: Raised 5th on minor
13:20 - Child rearing comments
14:10 - "Stupid Boy"?
15:35 - Twisters movie / Recycled stuff
16:26 - Originality / David Essex - Rock On / Herbie Flowers / John Deacon
18:51 - "You don't talk about women"? / Private life and class
19:56 - Otis Gibbs, Guthrie, Jedd
20:31 - NFL
23:05 - "Most amateurs get wrong"
24:58 - "Is tone in the hands?" / Nothing to do with gear
25:55 - Making up a Will and writing the letter


Notes
Uncle Larry covers a wide swath of VCB in one swell foop on this Veteran's Day holiday….
Everything from gettin’ laid to the Abbey Road medley.

here is that Lennon interview i mentioned
• John Lennon vs Mick Jagger

If you are indeed getting something out of these real time journal entries , please visit the tip jar

PayPal is Tombukovac@gmail.com
Venmo is @Tom-Bukovac-1

November 9th, 2024

Homeskoolin' "FINALLY, He Talks About Pedals!!!"

Chapters
00:00 - Some crazy pedal modulation and fuzz
01:30 - Collision Devices - Tars
02:14 - Reason son isn't on camera / Worst product ever
03:10 - Bare minimum pedalboard / Heavy and hard to carry
04:45 - Pedalboard look / Brigadier / Vintage pedals selloff?
07:50 - Son, Marshall playing
08:34 - Marshall's pedalboard


Notes
Uncle Larry gets into some pedal talk...because he knows you've been patiently waiting for it

November 8th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Volume 356, Tom Bukovac, “Metric Modulation”

Chapters
00:00 - Slow lullaby into pickin' madness
02:51 - Rare phone fall & restart / Hello / Guthrie & Jedd
03:53 - Jedd Hughes gig / Working together and not against
05:42 - Son's Chopped Les Paul
06:16 - John Fogerty series / Creedence Clearwater Revival - Lodi
07:26 - Groove on "Born on the Bayou"
09:23 - Airline amp
11:21 - Livestream / Big Apple vs. reclining / Big thanks to people all over
13:13 - CC Deville & Poison vs. Bob Dylan
14:01 - Lesson: 7/8 groove
15:25 - Playing the drums
15:57 - GTO
16:27 - Footage: Amazing drumming and groove / Guthrie show
18:37 - Snake man - George Gruhn


Notes
“Metric modulation” friends…the new hip phrase to replace that old fashioned “ hemiola” word we all grew up saying….(look that one up if you are not familiar)

Anyhoo, thanks for tuning in and supporting my pitiful little channel friends...sorry i'm a little out of tune today....i used to care

If anyone feels compelled to donate a little love to your socially challenged old uncle you can do so at these links

PayPal is tombukovac@gmail.com.
Venmo is @Tom-Bukovac-1


Here’s the link for the upcoming New York livestream people

https://volume.com/t/kRhYIQ/

Guess who the snake man at the end of this video is?

October 2nd, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Bonus, “Day Four”

Chapters
00:00 - In the studio gear mess
01:20 - '53 Fender Blackguard Telecaster
02:35 - Collision Devices - Black Hold Symmetry / Ebo E-Verb


Notes
You studio guys out there know what a mess can be created after 4 days of recording

If you suffer from Agearophobia you might want to skip this video

September 15th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Volume 341, Tom Bukovac, “1000 Rainy Days Since We First Met”

Chapters
00:00 - Magic arrangements (Police, Sting, Every Little Thing She Does)
03:00 - Sting / NFL Betting
03:50 - Gear setup / Princeton Reverb / Gruhn Versitar guitar
04:44 - Back to magic playing / Picking vs finger picking
06:35 - Police - Bring on the Night vs Sting
07:45 - Gruhn video thanks
08:46 - Lesson: Own version of Sting song / Saddest chord of all time Amaj7/C#
10:00 - Lesson: Tune to frets [2 4 4 2 0 4] (F#min9sus)
11:09 - Greg Voros and PAFs in Dean guitar / "Joint on the lawn of a ZZ Top concert"
12:15 - Fender Twin Reverb
13:00 - "Mint" condition / 1957 Fender Telecaster brand new / Clean guitars
16:31 - JCM 800 and fact checking commentor
17:53 - Dear old friend getting wasted / Getting drunk
19:00 - Gruhn guitars


Notes
Larry gets down with Leslie

Thank you sincerely for the ongoing support of this channel my dear boys and girls


if you wanna throw a little something in the jar so we can put gas in the go cart go ahead friends...every little bit helps

my PayPal is tombukovac@gmail.com
my venmo is @Tom-Bukovac-1

if any of you guys out there are looking for a REALLLLLLY special 335 you should just buy that clean ass '60 that was in the Gruhn's video yesterday.

I mean holy SHEEPSHIT that thing is killllllller....

Featherweight...
Perfect neck....
you heard it.
it's 70K, which is a lot of dough....but you could potentially get it if you sold all your current guitars....
that would be a lot of work and a major pain in the ass...but trust me on this friends, if you actually DID it, it would be the smartest move you could ever possibly make....
this is the only guitar you would ever need or want to play.

i would buy it myself if i could swing it....i also really like that red '63 i currently have so it's not EATING at me....but i'm just telling you guys straight up, if you have been looking for a fucking MAGIC old guitar, there it is.

September 13th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Volume 339, Tom Bukovac, “Solid Gold Party Rock Redeaux”

Chapters
00:00 - Tele-craziness with a "annoying" loop
06:35 - Try not to rush tempo
07:30 - Lesson: Loop with crazy plucking tempo
08:35 - Hello, morning beer / Favorite coffee cup
09:07 - Thanks race car connections / John Oates honor / Guthrie Trapp
09:47 - Lesson: Last minute learning songs / Playlists
10:57 - Lesson: Good ole lick (hammering and plucking claw)
12:20 - Tele love / Rattle and clank
12:39 - Lesson: Loop and Good ole lick together / Mixing Major and minor 3rds
14:48 - Lesson: Whole tone scale
15:24 - Twightlight zone and tv montage
15:38 - Steve Gorman "latchkey kid" story
18:10 - Solid Gold Party rock commercial memorization
19:54 - Lesson: Method of practice
21:43 - Lesson: Notes and feel vs. note for note all the way to too professional
24:48 - Thanks and salutations / McLaren "cuntiest" comments / Auto hate showing off (old cars, guitar players, etc.)


Notes
Thank you guys sincerely for all the ongoing support of my pitiful little channel…I really truly appreciate it.
Sometimes I feel like I don’t tell you guys that enough.

It’s not you, it’s me I swear…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1qdmKUOytA

September 11th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Volume 338, Tom Bukovac, “Menstrual In The Gallery”

Chapters
00:00 - Struming along
00:30 - Lesson: Chord (G B D G B G) on piano (Root, 3rd, 5th)
02:10 - Fairview antique stores
02:43 - Steve Gorman
03:22 - Jethro Tull / Flute - Ian Anderson / Best acoustic guitar (Ian Anderson - My God)
05:45 - Music City Bridge for Gretsch
07:31 - VCB (Viewer Comment Bin) / Worst guitar sound (Randy Rhodes - Crazy Train)
08:58 - Guitar arrangement of classic songs
10:37 - Thanks
12:00 - Antique shopping and vinyl paradise


Notes
Uncle Larry giving it to ya Homeskoolin style on a fine Wednesday

Buy one of these friends…you will not regret it
https://musiccitybridge.com/products/space-bar


Try to fathom for a second that this is a totally live performance ….no tracks, no bullshit..

Music is so much better now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq-bcFOI56E