Widen my Guitar Persona

I was holding a 100plus can walking and taking sips. My friend, was too walking but he had a bag with a bass drum pedal in it and a small bass drum made out from milk can. WE were headed to his house, it's a small room in the flats. Old flats. All this while i was staying in land houses, so i got the experiences of how people behave when they share a rooftop. The stairs was ultimately dirty and the smells or urine everywhere. I was wondering, how can anyone stand leaving here? Cost of life increased, to stay in a land house the rent is at least RM400/month that time. It was 1999.

The flat look some-kinda like this in the photo but not this one. walk climbed up to the 4th floor. He opened one of the doors and enters the house, i followed. I followed him home because he said his father wants to meet us, he told his father that we started playing music and his father happens to be a great drummer for some police band. He was a driver to some lawyer then. He was interested to meet us to offer some advise. At that time i don't think i need advise, cause i'm covering Metallica's tunes and i'm already learning to solo HEAVY METAL style, how cool was that? Ego runs through me every minute.

His father, long face with curly hair. I shake his hand and introduce myself.

Without hesitation, he ask me "How do you play over a min7 chord?" . I was first stunned because no one have ever questioned me any music related question all this time except for grade 4 music lessons in school where they would ask about crochets and semi quavers. Secondly, I don't have an idea , even a hint or clue what a min7 is. Pawned to my root i kinda mumble a bit. to save my cool cause i was wearing an Iron Maiden T and black nails. After the mumble moment he knew i know nothing about his question. He told me, by playing only power chords and looking cool you only represent a guitar player from "Kampung". The word Kampung is from a Malay word, it means rural or redneck. Meaning to be, you are not going to go anywhere with that knowledge. "Frog underneath a Coconut shell"

He then got up and went to his room, i was still feeling very bad. Because for all this time, music and the guitar have been my life achievement, now everything i did and put effort on are just worth 10 cents?

Later he came out and showed me this book.

But at that time, it was a photocopied version.

JAZZ GUITAR.

I never thought of Jazz to be a genre i would step into, it's old mans music. An excuse i made up because i really don't understand and don't take time to understand it.

Do you think only Open chords and power chords you know is enough? ok then tell me what constructed the major chord/ minor chord / what is a dominant 9th? Everything strike me as a lightning. I don't know. I really don't know. It seems that the world is so big. IT"S HUGE.

There are so many stuff than Metallica. He then told me, "Son, i proud of what you showed here to me, you didn't convinced me anything that you know. Heck you don't even make a sound. You just sit there with your brain full of question" Normally a teenager would fight back about Jazz being boring and I don't need to listen to you, I own my music." "You sit there showing me that your now realized that what you know now is enough, there's more, And i'm here to teach you how. I might not be a guitarist but i can show you how to be a musician. With your humbleness i know you will be a great one"

For some reason, i smile back at him. I now know music is a journey, an aventure in my life.

As long as i'm living, i'm learning music everyday if i kept my secret weapon on. My humbleness in knowledge. I was never a showoff.