September 20th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Bonus, “You Had To Be There”

Chapters
00:00 - Guthrie Trapp playing


Notes
This crummy iPhone vid captures about 1 percent of what it was REALLY like tonite at the Underdog

Guthrie and the boys kickin ass in front of a packed house

Great night, lots of really sweet people and big music fans

September 19th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Volume 342, Tom Bukovac, “Play Your Ass Out”

Chapters
00:00 - '70s rockin' and singing
02:44 - Turning the knobs on your guitar / Secret treble bleed
05:05 - Lesson: Making it sound British enough / Play softer / Bag of subtleties
08:00 - Lesson: Old school '60s sound
08:46 - Thank you to Nick Drushel / Frets on guitars
09:30 - No shortage of tone on the SG Special
10:08 - "What kind of fret wire"? / "What kind of action" / Action and setup
11:38 - SG vs. Les Paul (sustain and dead spots)
12:34 - Nylon saddles
13:13 - Fret jobs
16:25 - Rebinds
17:20 - Neck sets / Gruhn knowledge
21:16 - Sting - Bring on the Night - Piano solo by Kenny Kirkland


Notes
There’s a hilarious old bit of Nashville session folklore that I have heard since I first moved here…

It’s about a Japanese record producer who didn’t quite “know the lingo” getting really excited on a session and yelling “you play your ass out!!” to all the musicians hahaaaa

September 18th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Bonus , “Silver Spoon”

Chapters
00:00 - Day job in a session/producing


Notes
Session log:
9/18/24

Nashville TN

I thought you guys might like to watch the way a song develops over several takes…
from a project your Uncle Larry is producing on a gal from St. Louis named Jaime French.

aside from being an amazing singer, Jaime is well known in YouTube land for being a comedian…she is actually about to embark on her own comedy tour, and she’s making this record to help support it.

Her and her husband Nick are here in town for a few days while we worked on 4 songs over the last two days at one of my very favorite studios in this town….the Smoakstack in Berry Hill.

Yes that’s the same place where we did all the Ann Wilson stuff back in the day…in fact we had three of the original Amazing Dawgs assembled on today’s session.

Jaime and I put together a pretty swingin little crew for these sessions…

Zack Zinck engineering (you know how Larry ALWAYS says that the engineer is the most important guy in the band…and our boy Zack is VERY VERY good at his job…)

Stix Mchugh on the drums

Tony T Bone Lucido on the electric bass

Sweet Davey Cohen on the piano and synthesizers

Paul Moak on guitar and synth

Dearest Samuel was our invaluable session assistant (also known as the SECOND)

the assistant engineer is the SECOND most important guy in the band)
A good assistant can absolutely make or break a whole session friends…this is a fact

Anyway, crack yourself a beer and take a little ride down creation road…it’s a good song and she’s a damn good singer. Hope you enjoy watching “the process”

I swear friends, even after all these years I am still mystified by how it all works…as I have said many times before , the power of collaboration is my favorite thing in all of music

September 15th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Special Treat “The Coolest Guy On Earth”

Chapters
00:00 - Dean DeLeo showing it properly


Notes
Well friends, I got clearance from corporate to show you these two EXTREMELY cool videos I have been sitting on for ages. I hope you enjoy as much as I have.

Learn how to play a couple of your favorite STP songs from the guy who actually played the parts on the record.

Dean literally is the coolest guy on the planet…such a sweet cat and so freakishly talented.

Rock on Homeskoolers

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 14th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Goes To Gruhn’s Episode 8

Chapters
00:00 - Discussing life along with instruments
01:34 - Dean Guitars / Golden years
13:00 - Dean bridge pickup
16:48 - Burst bridge pickup
19:22 - Dean neck pickup / Comparison
24:24 - Discussion
34:00 - ES-335
36:35 - Burst
37:19 - ES-335 discussion
38:00 - Burst neck pickup
38:34 - ES-335 neck pickup
39:30 - ES-335
40:00 - '64 Gibson Firebird 3
41:29 - Firebird
42:48 - Conclusion


Notes
Starring
George Gruhn
Cory Terrell
Greg Voros
Nathan Golliher
and Peter

September 14th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Volume 340, Tom Bukovac, “Camera Shy”

Chapters
00:00 - Plucking those unusual chords beautifully
01:07 - Changing it up to an amazing progression
01:32 - Lesson: Dm - Gm - C - F - Ab/C - Caug - F (Etta James - At Last) / Best R&B Singer
03:21 - Gibson Les Paul Special from the '50s / What friends' guitars do you like?
05:27 - Greetings first (pet peeve) / Family
06:15 - The Doors - Love Me Two Times
07:35 - VCB (Viewer Comment Bin) / "Sonically Pleasing Record?" AC/DC - Back in Black
08:50 - Rage Against the Machine - Killing in the Name Of (damn good sonic pleasing properties)
09:48 - Lesson: Rage Against the Machine - Killing in the Name Of
11:00 - Dodge Ram truck stereo with Zach Bryan music
11:43 - Forgotten how good records can sound
12:46 - Keith Urban
13:07 - V vs. Explorer
14:11 - "Has YouTube changed you?" / Ham in front of a camera now
16:30 - "Guilty pleasure album?" / CDs and multi-load CD player / Liz Phair
18:17 - Banding together in Nashville / Variety
19:48 - Bruce Springsteen concert best ever / Bad muther fucker
21:53 - "Good guitar sound live?" / Blackface Deluxe Reverb & Tweed Deluxe


Notes
Uncle Larry gets deep in the weeds early on a Saturday morning ….

What’s he building in there??

September 13th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Bonus “Uncle Larry’s Grueling Upcoming Live Gig Schedule”

Chapters
00:00 - Beatles and more montage
00:46 - Thank you care package / Calendar schedule update
04:12 - Epiphone Olympic / Excellent chopper guitar / "And then you'll be happy"
05:28 - Stone Temple Pilots - Big Bang Baby call out to Dean DeLeo how to play "Sour Girl" and "Interstate Love Song"
06:58 - Birthday gig


Notes
Lots of gigs comin up kids

Get your pencils out

9/19 at underdog for “guitar night”

10/4 at riverside revival guesting on a couple songs with Randall Bramlett

10/5 sitting in on a couple songs at underdog for “undie fest”

11/6 & 7 with Jedd Hughes at the basement

11/13 with Joe Walsh at Vets Aid

11/19-21 at bitter end in NYC with Guthrie

12/20 my intimate birthday show at 3rd and lindsley

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 12th, 2024

Homeskoolin’ Bonus “What A Weird Job”

Chapters
00:00 - Commercial - behind the music


Notes
My favorite thing about the life of a session man …you just NEVER KNOW what you are gonna be doing from one day to the next …it’s literally impossible to predict….

Working on a new commercial for some heavy hitter race car folks …guitars on loan straight from the Gibson showroom…

I bet a lot of you guys don’t even realize that I grew up playing a Floyd ….