hey there Marty, I've had the pleasure of discovering your music toward the beginning of the ninties when i was just a kid, and being the suseptable person i was, when guitar music did a 180 and progressively got worse over the span of the decade, i couldn't say i dug hard enough to find the music that i now would call inspirational. it must have been a differant time when you were a kid. i'm happy with the amount of progress i've made in changing from rhythm to lead playing, as id been playing the former for about 11 years - but i've only been playing lead for about five months now. vast improvements abound :) with as much joy as playing brings me, i cannot shut the otherside world out sometimes and i can never really be left alone with my guitar - which i totally blame myself for - to take up the intense practicing i wish to devote to. im turning 21 at the end of the week (woo hoo) and i've had alot of reflection time to myself - i've made the decision to pursue lead guitar because of all the things i enjoy, playing the guitar would stand out because of the level of personal and emotional involvement in it i crave - something i no longer get from being bombarded by people in the media forcefeeding me ideals of what breed of culture can best define ourselves - i wish to play and embrace it, but i have only one hang up which brings me to my question for you, if you have any insight, i'd really appreciate it:
i spent alot of wasted years halfassing myself through my playing and i barely could say i enjoyed it in hindsight, but with so much familiarity with guitar playing and this age, would you figure if I havn't already spent most of my adolescence playing lead i'll have a more difficult time learning, with the added burden of adult responsibilities (i.e. bills, jobs, responsibilities to other people..). im not trying to cop out, i just wanna play my ass off and not let my passion turn into an escapism. i don't wish to be as great a guitar player as you, i just wish i can focus as well as you can. what do you think? post back and keep playing x-cellant music. p.s. by the way, as far as practicing goes, with the exception of solos and songs, what is the most common thing you find yourself playing if nothing specific comes to mind? thanx, your friend and fan, nic

You seem to be a very well thought out individual. If you spent that energy thinking of and recording melodies on a tape deck, you would do very well. Age and distractions may slightly hinder your progress, but if you were meant to be a player, that slight hindrance shouldn`t get in your way at all. Good luck!