Guitar by Eddie Olivas

Since about 2003 or 2004 I’ve been playing guitar. My whole life before that I had nothing to do with musical instruments or playing music. I was always more of an athletic type. Never really had any focus on exactly what it was I wanted to be. Closest I ever came to a guitar was when my uncle Billy lived next door. He had a Marshall double stack and a bunch of electric guitars. He played in bands and I remember him winning tickets to go meet Ozzy once. He lived right on the other side of the wall from me. Dude would play so damn loud, but he was spot on, really really good. One time he had that huge amp all the way on 10 or who knows how loud. A cop came into our backyard to tell him “WTF are you doing you think this is the Colosseum!!” Other than that I had no real connection with making music or guitar, only in the last 3 years (almost) have I started playing with other people. But in music I’ve found my purpose. I’ve been sitting around all my life hoping to find what I was meant to do. Finally I know. I’ve been taking guitar lessons for over a year off and on. It’s strange to take music lessons because as an outsider you think of it as some kind of magic pill that makes people better players. But it’s not true at all you only learn what you really want to learn. If you’re into it you will get better and it will be awesome eventually. If you’re not, you will give it up eventually. In a way you could say music teaches you that anything that you want to create in the world is going to have to come straight from you. It will come through nothing but the power of your own thoughts and actions. The world is only going to give you what you ask for and if you give in to the pessimism and fear inside your head and don’t have the audacity to ask, nothing will come. For me guitar lessons keep me asking. It keeps me interested even on days when I just don’t feel like it. It gives me someone to be accountable to. Band practice does that too. I can’t count the number of days I’ve gone to practice even though I would’ve rather just sat comfortable at home. And more importantly I can’t count the number of days I’ve come back from band practice damn glad I got my ass off the couch. When you find what you really love most it’s pretty insane how much you can do.My advice to anyone learning to play guitar would be this. Just shut up and do it! Keep doing it! Do it again tomorrow. Do it again the next day. Don’t stop EVER! Stop thinking! Start playing!! Keep on playing. Play anything. Make stuff up. Learn songs. Just do it! And keep your ears open. That last one is most important. Really that’s it. If you really want to learn guitar you will. Simply by doing it. It will turn into it’s own journey that is unique to you. You will find your own questions and you will create your own answers. You do not need to know where it will take you or how you will get there. That’s not important, you only need to see a short ways ahead. You need only focus on keeping yourself moving along that road. Keep playing and trust me you will get there. And when you get there you will already have your eyes on higher things. Keep faith in your love of music and the guitar and just play on. Nothin to it but to do it. Goodnight

“The time I burned my guitar it was like a sacrifice. You sacrifice the things you love. I love my guitar.”
~ Jimi Hendrix ~

Written by Eddie Olivas
Please visit Eddie’s website to see more about his music and passion: http://eddieolivas.com/ or click on the guitar