The lit old timers thread

I have memories of the litster get togethers and some of the posts those who attended shared.

Some were lovely or hilarious... 🙂
I think the get togethers were just starting to be a thing when I left in 06 (juicylips)
I’ve only met one person from here.
 
I think the get togethers were just starting to be a thing when I left in 06 (juicylips)
I’ve only met one person from here.
I went to 2 in DC and 1 in NYC. They were before I was married, probably 2002. Sorry that I didn't make the MidWest one, I could have met Calamity Jane and Killer Muffin.
 
got here in 2009, so does 14 years make me an oldie? more of a middler, i'd guess

yes, the general board was a lot livelier with conversation back then, but even those days you had the real oldies complaining the golden age had passed.

i agree with patient1 regarding this: "American politics is more adversarial and polarized than it was at the turn of the century, and I think that was demonstrated in flame wars on the GB. I don't blame people for complaining about that" or do i blame Laurel for making a political board to ease the problem but it was a major change and now the GB has only a couple of threads i visit, and a desire to contribute new threads is very very restricted.
I haven't been here that long but just turned 70 this summer. Although I don't feel like an oldie besides the occasional back pain. LoL But I still get hard as ever. That part makes me feel young. Too bad the wife isn't interested anymore.
 
I think the get togethers were just starting to be a thing when I left in 06 (juicylips)
I’ve only met one person from here.
'02-'06 was probably the heyday. I think I had 4 or 5 in Houston and we attended 4 in Austin, one in San Antonio and several in Dallas. Blues went to one in Boston. Following UncleJ's death in early '07, with resulting drama here -- that pretty much killed off folks wanting to mix Lit with real life in a big group setting. '08 was a big Lit exodus. Facebook opened to the public, having started just for university membership. MySpace had chat rooms, as did yahoo and there were private ning groups for folks to stay connected.
 
'02-'06 was probably the heyday. I think I had 4 or 5 in Houston and we attended 4 in Austin, one in San Antonio and several in Dallas. Blues went to one in Boston. Following UncleJ's death in early '07, with resulting drama here -- that pretty much killed off folks wanting to mix Lit with real life in a big group setting. '08 was a big Lit exodus. Facebook opened to the public, having started just for university membership. MySpace had chat rooms, as did yahoo and there were private ning groups for folks to stay connected.
Thanks for the South-Central recap. Reminds me that I think we pointed Blues Boy ( when he was a new arrival) in Uncle Johnny's direction, figuring they would have stuff to talk about which we wouldn't necessarily understand. Was BB/Uncle J a mutual appreciation society?
 
Enjoy the weekend everyone wherever you are and for us in the U.S. let's enjoy tomorrow's Super Bowl!! Goo Giants oppsss NVM they're not in it ..... again 🤣
 
Thanks for the South-Central recap. Reminds me that I think we pointed Blues Boy ( when he was a new arrival) in Uncle Johnny's direction, figuring they would have stuff to talk about which we wouldn't necessarily understand. Was BB/Uncle J a mutual appreciation society?
I "just" did a series of facebook posts about their friendship. [I log into Bluesboy's fb every day to see his memories, as they're only available on the day.] Let me see if I can relate a sanitized version for you. UncleJ built a guitar and posted photos of it here. Bluesboy saw them and gave him shit about not being able to play it. UncleJ posted for him to get his ass over there and he could play it. That prompted us to take a 5 hour trip to UncleJ's shop and take him to lunch (first ever meeting). [During said lunch, a cruton fell off my fork directly into my cleveage, RIGHT in front of UncleJ -- who gave me shit about it the rest of his life.] Bluesboy had been wanting a custom-made guitar for ages, but they were just too pricey. He LOVED UncleJ's guitar, so while Bluesboy was busy playing, I asked UncleJ the price to build one for Bluesboy? It was less than 1/2 of the ones he'd been looking at commercially, so I gave him a down payment on the spot and told Bluesboy on the way home it was his birthday, christmas, easter, valentines for the next couple of years. I admit there were times I regretted it over the coming year because that guitar became an absolute OBSESSION between both men. They talked on the phone EVERY.DAY. We made MANY trips to see UncleJ and spent many weekends and vacations there in the Texas Hill Country. They played gigs and house parties together, and just became really really close friends. It was a bit frightening how similar their humor was, really 2 peas in a pod, so you can imagine what it was like being around both of them together. :) We started finding guitars to buy inexpensively and took them to UncleJ to set up and flip in his shop, where we'd split profits, or trade for him to work on Bluesboy's other guitars.

During that year Bluesboy researched pickups for this guitar. At that time both our computers were in the same room, so when he did this when I was home, there was no escape. There are literally thousands of pickup "samples" on the internet and Bluesboy listened to ALL of them. Many times. "here is the model SF127....[10-second run of notes]" "here is the model SF128....[10-second run of notes]" DROVE ME NUTS!!!!

There was this guy with his own pickup company. He is pretty famous for them and known kinda as the Godfather of guitar pickups. His name was Bill Lawrence. After months of those frickin' samples, Bluesboy decided he wanted Bill Lawrence pickups in his UncleJ guitar. But of course he had questions and called the company. MRS. Lawrence answered the phone. (that kinda freaked him out.) He asked the question and she said, "Oh honey, that's too technical for me. You'll have to talk to my husband. Hang on....BILLLLL!!!"
So Bluesboy ended up on the phone with an icon. Bill talked in scientific formula, Bluesboy tried to explain the feel of the sound he was aiming for. He shouted at me for more paper as he frantically scribbled scientific equations on scraps of paper during the call. Suddenly Bill said he had to hear Bluesboy play before deciding if he could help him. So, Bluesboy set up his rig and played for the phone so Bill could pronounce him "the real deal" and he'd make his pickups for him. So... back they went to explaining to each other. Finally, exasperated, Bluesboy explained: "You may not have heard of him, but there was a fairly obscure musician in the 50s/60s named Grant Green who had an album 'Blue & Sentimental' that has the tone I'm trying to achieve." Bill Lawrence BURST out laughing. It turned out that Bill Lawrence was roommates with Grant Green when he recorded that album AND Bill had made the pickups for the guitar used in that recording. He knew EXACTLY what Bluesboy wanted...a such & such henry output whatever.... to which Bluesboy said, "Excuse me Sir, [having memorized the catalog before then] but you don't make that output pickup." Bill Lawrence told Bluesboy he could make whatever output he wanted and he would personally handmake these pickups for him. Not only did he do that, but he included a (signed) handwritten wiring diagram for UncleJ to follow, which is sealed up in the guitar.
 

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And the REST of the story:

UncleJ had an apprentice/protege who went on to form his own successful instrument company. When UncleJ died, the apprentice gave the service, which was one of the best I'd ever heard. I posted it here somewhere. UncleJ's family gave his workshop to the apprentice. It was carved up into pickup truck sized slices and transported to his own property, where it was reassembled and put back exactly as UncleJ had it, tools and everything. It's quite a legacy, considering the apprentice went on to vastly surpass UncleJ's success and ability. In July 2014 he announced a new guitar build with a special holiday price for orders placed that day. Bluesboy called him up and we jumped in the car for the 5 hour ride over there. Bluesboy wanted the #1 guitar of the series but that had already gone to someone else, so he got #2 out of the dozen or so sold that day. Bluesboy picked out the raw wood for his guitar. That February the guitar was ready but we were to leave on a cruise and would get up there upon our return. Instead, Bluesboy had a heart attack that cancelled our cruise and kept him housebound until the doctor cleared him for travel. It was a cold icy day when he was cleared and we drove out there for him to pick up his new baby. It was probably too far and too hard a trip for him that soon. He was quite pale and the trip exhausted him, but no one could have stopped him once he was determined. That guitar is named "Winter." Bluesboy always intended for Phoenix to be gifted back to the apprentice. I've spoken to him and he's going to help me sell "Winter" as folks who are familiar with his work will be more interested in purchasing it. Winter is inlaid with crushed turquoise on the pickguard and on the headstock.

Phoenix and Winter are the only natural finish guitars he owned. In Houston, especially in the warm months, outside gigs are problematic. Human sweat can ruin the finish of regular guitars. The natural finish guitars don't mind, so they were favored by Bluesboy in those situations.
 

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Thanks for sharing all of that, Someplace. I just read it all to Cheyenne. It's meaningful to me for having known them here, but it's really cool to hear the whole story, and I think I'd still enjoy it if I didn't know anyone involved.
 
Hmm... hey old dudes and dudets! 2006 here although my first time on the boards was with an ID that is still there zeb1094 December 24, 2003. Yep joined the day before Christmas.
 
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