So long ago...

I remember it like it was yesterday. My neighbour opened up his guitar case in the middle of the street to reveal an El Degas Les Paul. My eyes glazed over and I felt a stirring in my young teenage bones. I was never the same. It would be another year before I would get my first bass. I started actually playing bass in '80 after a failed attempt at becoming a Sea Cadet. I couldn't take the uniform.
My dad took me down and signed me up for bass lessons with a guy named Paul. Worried that my dreams of rock-stardom might be fleeting, he rented me an acoustic and they took the high B and E strings off of it. I learned every Kiss song there was, determined to replace Gene Simmons should the opportunity arise. Then Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Ozzy, I was going to be a Rockstar dammit. I finally saved enough for a bass and an amp.
I practiced...a lot...
Then my older brother came home with a Squire Strat. I secretly started practicing on that and watching all my buddies work out Randy Rhoads solos. I wanted more, needed more, so after a few years as a bass player I moved onto guitar, thirsty for the big solo. Then that Swedish guitar freak Yngwie Malmsteen wandered into my album collection. Practice, practice, practice...........practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice...........

And now...

My name is Jeff Ainsworth and I love guitar. I'm a husband and a dad. I have a day job. I have a mortgage and car payments and bills and I couldn't possibly be any farther from being a Rockstar than I am right now. That dream will never die.
I'm just like you. I'm your neighbour or co-worker or the guy commuting to work next to you on the highway, BUT if you're like me, music flows through your veins and into every cell in your being. I'm genetically wired to play music. I have to do it. Hell, I can feel it in my teeth. So that's why we're here. Basement Rockstars living the dream at night after the kids go to bed. You turn on your amp and hit the big E chord and inside your headphones you're taken away to that stage in your mind where you're loved by all your adoring, albeit imaginary fans as you put on yet another "best show you'll ever play". Amazing. The next day you feed the kids and you're off to work again, basking in the glow of last nights big show. Looking forward to tonight, after you play with the kids and get them off to bed, when the show can start again.
I've played in bands on and off over the years, done some recording and even taught some students, but really haven't done much musically other than just enjoy making it. Basementrockstar.com started as a thought about 7 years ago but I was too busy to get it going. I'm even busier now. Every once in a while I get bored with my playing and try to branch out, search for inspiration. The web is a great resource but I'm all YouTubed out. There are more and more people teaching guitar and showing off their hot licks on the web than ever. It's awesome, but my biggest frustration is that the picture and sound hasn't improved, or they're not really teaching but just showing off that they can play something. That's awesome too. It gives you a goal, but not the steps to get there. BasementRockstar.com is hopefully going to help with that. I want to make really good guitar lessons for you. I hope these lessons inspire you, and help you on your path to become a better guitar player and musician.

Jeff