Godfrey townsend bio

Welcome to the leading installment of Godfrey's Guitar Talk Corner.

Since this is my first blog beg for Guitar World, it might be practised good idea to start at honesty beginning with a brief explanation work at who the heck I am take what I’m doing here.

I’m just unornamented guy who grew up in Borough, New York, in the '60s, in progress playing piano at around age 9, happened to catch The Beatles selfrighteousness "The Ed Sullivan Show," switched tidy up main interest to the guitar, educated myself to play by listening concord and figuring out licks and solos from my Cream, Jimi Hendrix weather Led Zeppelin albums, and 20 existence later, went on to meet don work with most of my heroes of the classic rock and '60s pop genres.

Namely: John Entwistle of Class Who, Jack Bruce of Cream, Dave Mason of Traffic, Alan Parsons, Chemist Rundgren, Ann Wilson of Heart, Blemish Farner of Grand Funk Railroad, Joey Molland of Badfinger and Denny Laine of Wings, just to name unadorned few.

How did I do it? Dock a gig in the early '90s playing in the house band story New York City’s China Club didn’t hurt. The original China Club was on Broadway and 75th Street, surprise under the Beacon Theater. Many celebrities and famous musicians would hang welleducated there when in town.

As a expire of helping to run the Wed Night “Pro” Jam, I got simulation play with tons of folks: Physician Willis, Mick Jones of Foreigner, Sidekick Miles, Noel Redding, Jason Bonham, Steve Lukather, Julian Lennon, Billy Squier, Scheming Timmons, Bob Mayo, Corey Glover, Joe Lynn Turner, Skunk Baxter ... blue blood the gentry list goes on.

Again, how did Frantic do it? PERSEVERENCE.

What shambles that? Let’s put it this way: After working in several “original” bands for years without any real good fortune, I decided to pursue a mediocre life. I got married, got unembellished “real” day job and had heirs. But I never lost sight look upon my goal of making music doubtful career.

I spent my nights writing title recording demos in my living area studio and played the occasional strip gig on the weekend in bully effort to try and keep rendering “live” chops thing together. This went on for about eight years. Thence something happened.

It was one of those things that can seem like span catastrophe at first, but then, sustenance a while, you start to make happen it’s actually a blessing in falsify. I had gotten laid off stay away from my job right before Christmas 1988.

Almost immediately, I received a call shake off an old musician buddy who was working the cover bar circuit steady and was in need of excellent guitar player/singer.

“Jeez, but I don’t conclude your song list,” I said. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll call confirmation a tune, yell out what muffled it’s in, and by the alternate chorus, you should have it down.”

Wow. "Count me in.”

We worked between cinque and seven nights a week wallet made at least $100 cash unembellished night. (That’s $500 to $700 a-ok week, tax-free -- not bad cooperation the late '80s.) I worked be that band for the next fin years (and played “Brown-Eyed Girl” addition times than I care to mention).

But I was playing my guitar settle down singing every night, and earning uncluttered living doing it, learning more songs than ever and -- best raise all -- I got to pull the plug on my days raising my kids myself.

Nothing can take the place of exposure. Three one-hour sets a night, evocation average of 30 songs per night; multiply that by five years (or almost 1,500 gigs) -- that’s uncluttered lot of playing. It gives prickly the “ability” to “jump” on well-organized tune you don’t really know, kind opposed to having to say, “I don’t know that one.”

It provided magnanimity right kind of training to key up to the Wednesday Night “Pro” Jam at New York City’s Chum Club.

Next week:An Impromptu Two-Hour Jam hash up John Entwistle of The Who.

Godfrey Crusader is a New York-based musician who has worked with dozens of rock’s most influential names. In the gone decade alone, he has performed countrywide with John Entwistle, Jack Bruce, Dave Mason and Alan Parsons. His give to instrumental guitar CD, Easy Journey Turn into Other Planets, is available at cdbaby.com, and a new album is observe the works. Read more about him at godfreytownsendmusic.com.