40+ PATRONS - Story Time-Ish Post 🎉🍾

This is me and my dad circa 1996. A couple straight killas. This photo isn't relevant to the story, my mom just sent it to me today and I like it. 😂

I wanted to kind of tell you guys how I got so into music, and how it's become what it is now! Which is actually kind of fitting since I just re-made a song that was the reason I gained any internet presence  in the first place. THIS MIGHT BE LONG IDK I'M JUST GONNA KEEP TYPING.

Okay so,

My dad is actually a great musician. He hasn't played in a long time due to a chronic wrist injury BUT my young brother, Carter, and I definitely pick up the torch on the whole guitar thing. My dad left some old guitars out in our house when I was about 9 and Carter was 6. 

Didn't really get that into it until I watched Van Halen's 'Live Without A Net' DVD. If you guys have ever seen this before, they kick it off with a badass guitar duel between Eddie and Sammy and it literally just made me want to be that.  One of my best friends still, Dave, got into guitar at the same time as me and we would just to try one-up each other all the time back in elementary school. Made it a very competitive and fun learning experience for me!

I always tell people to learn the basics, and then learn songs you love. It makes the whole experience just so much more enjoyable! I got so obsessed with every Ozzy Osbourne guitarist. Randy and Zakk especially. These guys are legends to me, true rockstars that shaped a generation of young musicians.

2007, I heard DragonForce for the first time. Through the Fire and Flames, specifically. Literally broke my brain. I knew I wanted to learn that. That lead me to discover some software called Guitar Pro 5. I wrong SO many damn power metal songs on this. It's such a blast if you've never tried it. I learned TTFAF through this software, played it at a bunch of talent shows and ultimately made my first YouTube cover ever of this song.

I had NO idea that it had any views until someone at my highschool came up to me and told me that it had over 100,000 views. Blew my mind again. I started to really get into making YouTube videos in college. This is when I would cover songs we listened to at parties, Eminem, LMFAO, Rihanna, the pop hits. Every at the parties loved to hear the latest one every weekend. Became quite the addiction!

Two guitarists that were on top the game at the time: 331Erock and Charlie Parra Del Riego became 2 of my first YouTube friends. These two guys helped get me my first ever sponsorship with EMG Pickups by just being badass friends. Love those dudes. Even today, I would say that my fave part about being a musician is all the incredible I've met. Hope to meet you guys someday too :)

The first sponsorship just snowballed into the rest of them. Some (like ESP) I actually to pitch in person. I went to winter NAMM and handed out guitar picks (nerd). Had conversation with AR reps and told them I make YouTube videos. CAN'T BELIEVE THAT SHIT WORKED. If I can do that, anything is possible guys LOL 😂

Most things after this are the more exciting details but I feel like you guys know a lot of that already! 

Fun Fact: I actually almost quit YouTube last summer. My life was getting so crazy outside of music and I really started to loose sight of what's important to me. Luckily, it was a combination of things that saved me from quitting, one of them is a badass girl I know (you guys probably know her too, we did some videos together). She's a huge motivator or mine, I let you guess who it is :)

NEXT REWARD IS A MILESTONE AT 50 PATRONS BOO YAH.

If there's grammar mistakes I don't care this took so long to type 😂