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 22nd, 2022

Marshall shows you how to make a simple paper airplane

Chapters
00:00 - Paper airplane folding


Notes
9 year old Marshall B’s first take of showing how to make a simple paper airplane.