A Rick For All Seasons

Here's a great bass guitar that I bought used but in excellent condition from the Guitar Center store in Asheville last summer that is the best, most beautiful bass I've ever owned or played. This particular Rickenbacker 4003 in Mapleglo in cherry condition is uniquely balanced, smooth playing, and with sustain up the ying/yang that makes playing the low end seem easier and more fun. With its many elegant features like stereo output, body and neck binding, solid maple body and neck, neck-thru-body construction, a vintage tone selector to boost the high-end, distinctive triangular fret inlays in the rosewood fretboard, and Schaller Deluxe machine heads, I can't compliment this bass enough - it's one hell of an instrument. I love it, love it, love it!

My Growing Family as a Seasoned Citizen

Some people aren't lucky enough to collect anything except unpaid bills. Being retired, as I have been for about 7 years now, affords me the luxury to collect fun toys like guitars, and beautiful objects that could actually accrue value in the years ahead, assuming our great country and larger world don't implode from corporate greed because our so-called leaders (the minority of humans organized as wealthy pirates who prey on the rest of us) finally manage to pull the plug on us all.

Be that as it may, suffice it to say that being born to white, educated, upwardly mobile parents a few short years after World War II didn't hurt my chances for having what I can call an easier-than-average time of it growing up in the midwest.

Even when I went to college and without a clue about what I wanted "to be", my loyal parents didn't throw me out, or demand too much from me when I didn't rise to their expectations academically. Sure, they were disappointed in my seemingly underachieving behavior and apparent lack of ambition, but they never called me lazy, and never, entirely, ever gave up on me, although sometimes I think maybe they should have.

After failing miserably numerous time at numerous schools, my parents did, however, give up on their dreams for me to become a dentist (oy) and finally let me enroll in a film school in Hollywood where I quickly found my creative groove, a woman who loved me the way I was, and the beginnings of a career as a filmmaker. After that I was, "Off to the races", as my dad used to say.

Now, after a successful 45-year career as a commercial filmmaker, I have recycled myself into a guitar player. Ta Da! Now, instead of cameras, lights, and editing software, I collect electric guitars and bass guitars. My life of creative obsessions continues. If you don't believe an old dog can learn new tricks, please check out my music offerings at my ReverbNation page.

Give a dog a bone!

After Practice

In my confident high-standing, I was raw humanity 

with no prearranged adornment. 

Reproduced in front of a microphone, 

a quiet design, multiplied by pandemonium 

with the appearance of facts in an ocean's charm, 

I performed manifested obstacles once again

and feigned acceptance.

Billy Radd

Asheville

A Demanding Answer

3 am

A new musical offering from Billy Radd

Gibson 2013 SG Deluxe Guitar

Here I am again touting a new guitar in my collection. I know, I know, you might not really care about my obsession with guitars, but at least it is legal (at the moment anyway).

This one was acquired by pure chance. My wife Anita Gayle and I were shopping for some gardening supplies and made the mistake of "just dropping by" our local Guitar Center store on our way back to the car. We made our way back through the store making jokes with the sales staff about offering them a little snack from a small veggie fertilizer bag I was carrying. As we approached their wall of used guitars, one stood out from the rest, a new-looking Gibson SG Deluxe. "Oh, that's a lot of guitar there, and the price seems a bit low considering the excellent, spiffy condition," I thought innocently.

Anita Gayle sensed my mental drooling and asked, "Would you like to have that guitar?"

"Well, sure, but I have a few really nice ones now," I said, not taking my eyes off this orange beauty.

"Why don't you try it out. Maybe you should get it," she countered. Then, she said something about me not living forever, which is actually very logical, but a little morbid and sweet at the same time.

Anyway, I called over one of the sales staff who took it off the wall and handed it to me. I looked it over very closely and remarked it looked new. He agreed and told me it had likely set in a guitar case (included in their price, BTW) and hardly ever played since it was bought three years ago by some rich guitar collector. He had brought in three of these 2013 SG Deluxe models and traded up to something (or things?) of more value two weeks ago. The other SG Deluxe models were blue, and lime. This stunning orange one was the only one left.

Anita Gayle was listening intently and asked what this guitar sold for new three years ago, got an answer from the sales guy, looked at the price tag and said to me, "If you want it, I think you should get it". And, I am a firm believer in not arguing with your partner when she is handing you what you want.

So, I did get it, along with a nice strap. I played with it for about two hours yesterday, and another two hours so far today. It is another very sweet guitar "ride" in my stable and I will be surprising my guitar teacher with it for my lesson in two days. It has more features than I had discovered at the store so I did get a pretty good deal.

As you can gather from the previous fortuitous tale, I am one lucky camper on a number of levels, right?

Rain Wave