Ask Uncle Larry – VCB

Ask Larry something, in the VCB box below, with very little chance of a reply….just kiddin’ class!

945 thoughts on “Ask Uncle Larry – VCB

  1. Hey Tom,

    Did you see the Browns security are practicing tackling fans that run onto the field?

    The video is on Jomboy Media’s instagram – 4th or 5th most recent video

    • Hi Matt- Fellow Homskoolin student. Check out Mike Curtis ( Baltimore Linebacker) 1970 game
      This is how you handle these fools.

      Tom Menard

  2. Happy Grati-Tuesday Uncle Larry!! Stopping by to show some gratitude for all that YOU do. Your honest, no-nonsense approach, feel and expertise never come off as anything but genuine and it absolutely shows. Will be dropping some gratitude in the Tip Jar as well. Be good Brother Tom see you in class 🙂

  3. Did you come up with that way to play Ten Years
    Gone with the big thumb over F chord. Fucking sick man can’t play it any other way now and I can’t believe you found it and Jimmy didn’t

  4. Uncle Larry,

    Don’t know if you ever heard this before, but you should probably check it out. Sweet Salvation from 1972. Elektra title. My Dad was the trumpet player for them. The horn section initially went out to LA with them but left shortly before the recording of the record because of the core band drinking and drugging in that ’72 style. Piano player Wayne Devillier was a fucking legend in that NO piano style and the drummer, Big John Thomassie, played with Tom Waits and a couple others, as well as many bands alongside my Dad in New Orleans until his death in the mid 90s. He had feel like no one else and was my inspiration to play drums as a kid. This would have been even more magical with the fat horns behind them. He had cassettes of live shows once upon a time with Dr John sitting in with them but they have been lost to the whirlwind. check this out if you haven’t. I know you love piano players and this cat was spine tingling.

    https://www.funkmysoul.gr/sweet-salvation-1972-sweet-salvation/

    • of the thousands (literally) of guitars i have sold, there are a couple that i grieve selling

      a particularly special 74 Gibson eds-1275 comes to mind
      a beautifully whipped 61 SG junior in tv yellow
      i made a FORTUNE on that 38 forward shifted D28 i sold a while back, but damn i miss that sound

  5. Thomas- How weird would it be if the person who buys your house starts a YouTube channel
    from the kitchen?

  6. Hey Uncle Larry,
    I watched your show since the pandemic. I just wanted to drop a line and send you the positivity that we all need more of. Your passion for your music and the way you give to us is a real inspiration man. I wanted to tell you a little story if you would indulge. When I was 14,I wanted to play guitar(some 34 years ago). My dad took me to a music store,L&M, in Canada. It’s there when I walked up those stairs and seen my first Strat. Classic 2-Color Sunburst, I was in love first sight. He was a miner with 12 kids and were dirt poor. But he seen that I really wanted a guitar and made it happen.No Strat but instead got me an Ibanez Roadster and a practice amp. I was over the moon man. But he said one stipulation ” That’s for Christmas”. So I get home put it in my closet and at night took it out of its box and gently strummed it so no one would hear me. I slept with it and would wake up and stow it back in the case before anyone was wiser, it would be mine on Christmas Day. I didn’t mention it was February, an you didn’t fuck with that man his word was law. Man I never wanted something so bad. We never had music in the house but my friends were listening to the Crue GNR Ozzy Metallic, an man I was blown away being the music virgin that I was. So I would wait and quickly strum it no one the wiser for 11 1/2 months.So Christmas finally comes. I pull it out, an at long last, finally plug it in and he goes “Jesus thought you would never play that thing why did you wait so long”. He ment it was FOR Christmas not for Christmas.God damn! But man he just passed 94 years of age and he gave me that treasure of music that I didn’t know I needed but
    became something that I longed for and wanted more than anything else in the world. I don’t think I would have kept up with it if I didn’t go through that torture or truly desiring a thing in this world more than that old beat up second hand guitar. Thought you might get a kick out of that. He left me some cash when he passed, so again,like the great man he was, he is going to plop down his hard earned coin on his sons dreams,and I’m sure he will be smiling down when I plug it in. Thanks for your time, and all the amazing magic and years of work that comes out of those fingers.( I have know clue how you come up with it man!!!) Cheers! Clint from Kitchener Ontario

  7. Elliott Smith? Chords Galore. Gave my son his namesake. Elliott. He’s 3 years old Aug 2. I play a little but not like that. Live in Nashville. Traffic. You are inspiring in many ways. Big new fan. Cheers Brethren.

  8. Hi Tom,
    I watched the recent Rick Beato interview with you and Guthrie Trapp and you two sounded great with some clever and funny insights about music.
    Where can I find a video of you breaking down your relaxed picking technique? I have a tendency to tense up once I reach a certain tempo, especially if I’m picking every note. I have favored heavy picks (2.0) for a while now but now, hearing what you both had to say about medium picks, I may work with them to see if that can improve and help relax my picking hand.
    Thanks,
    Chris in NC

  9. Yo Tom,
    Would you be interested in a working Crown two track tape recorder???
    Btw, I’ve been watching most of your YouTube vids since 2020. You are an amazing and inspiring player (duh!)!!!

  10. Hey Uncle Larry, I don’t remember which episode it was in, but you mentioned that your least favorite sounding instrument is the trumpet, and you asked if anyone could name a song that had trumpet in it that sounded sexy. Check out Elvis Costello’s “Shipbuilding,” which features Chet Baker playing the trumpet. It’s a great song, and I think a good example of pretty sexy trumpet. My dad was a lifelong trumpet player, and he loved Chet and Miles, of course.

  11. Had a hard time playing fast solos on My Rickenbacker with 11’s. Any advice? Tone for days, tho.

  12. Uncle Larry, I’m rewatching the library and I’m on Episode 13 of the Corona lessons. You talk about how everyone is joking around but when it comes down to doing the damn thing everyone is laser focused. I work in ICUs and the Emergency Department in a large hospital in my city, and your words cross session player boundaries to everything I’ve been involved in in healthcare and my coworkers. Appreciate everything you say and your thoughts apply to life in general most of the time!

  13. Hi Thomas- Any thoughts of adding some Trip the Witch tunes to the Guthrie show?
    It would top off a great night.

  14. Hey Tom,
    What are your thoughts on the Fender Starcasters ala Jonny Greenwood?
    I don’t recall you ever sporting one on the ole Home Skoolin’ show so that probably answers my question.
    I’ve never played one but love me some Jonny G and was just curious since I’d bet you’ve owned a pile of them over the years.
    Thanks,
    Tim

    • i owned one a while back…..i couldn’t get anything usable out of it, but then again, i’m not in radiohead

  15. I would like to send a housewarming gift. Is there a proper address for me to use?I believe you will like the gift.

    Sincerely

    Doug Hawthorne

  16. Hi Uncle Larry. You’ve got me gassing for a Nobels ODR-1, but I saw your video where you compared the original with a reissue and said “the old one kicks its ass”. I had a reissue and sold it for some reason. Can you recommend a best alternative to an original Nobels? Thanks, and keep up the good work!

    • ive never heard any that can beat an old one…its like anything else in life mate…get the OG and you will never regret it

  17. Hey Bucho; You wouldn’t by chance be playing the outlaw festival at Blossom music center Cuyahoga falls Sept 12th ? Willie, Bob, and John cougar.

  18. Hey Larry,
    Your comments about being able to playing and captivate an audience unaccompanied is a serious piece of advice! In my opinion, that’s the whole game. The guitar can be the whole band, the rhythm section, the harmony instruments and the singer all at once!✌️

  19. Hey Tom, what are your thoughts on Dumble amps? Overrated compared to a tweed deluxe reverb? Have you ever owned one or played one for an extended amount of time? Curious to hear Uncle Larry’s take on them

  20. Hey! What was it like working with Taylor Swift? I read you played on Red and Speak Now. Very cool!

    • she’s a lovely gal….smells very good. she wears some VERY expensive smelling fragrances

  21. Hey Uncle Larry, you posted a recent video, homeskoolin’ volume 321. The cover photo looks strikingly like my sister, Ruthie Strzelecki. She was the daughter to Nashville bass player, the late Henry Strzelecki. I am his son. I was wondering if you could confirm whether that was her or not. I suspect not but the resemblance is remarkable. If you’re interested I could send you her picture and you can see for yourself. Thanks for your reply.

    • it might be bro…its just some random photo i pulled off the interwebs and used without consent…just like everyone does with all my riffs

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