Each Newsletter a Member of The Band will Share Something About Themselves. For This Issue I Asked Bill Tuli to Explain How He Became a Guitar Player. (Photos Include some of Bill's Favorite Axes)

I basically began playing guitar when I was in 5th grade. I remember someone in my family bought a guitar at a garage sale and, using it, I took a summer school class and learned such stimulating tunes as Blowin’ in The Wind, Season’s in The Sun and Daisy a Day (yep, that was 1975). I really didn’t progress beyond that until I began hanging out with other guitar players in high school. In those days every kid could play Smoke on The Water, Iron Man and Stairway to Heaven and I was no exception. My guitar in that era was a strat knock off, but it wasn’t sophisticated enough to even have a logo on the neck so I couldn’t tell you what it was. I was using that guitar when I started my first band with Danny H__ges (he was my best friend's younger brother). We were quite popular on Purdy Street (Garden Grove, CA) and often surrounded by local girls during our hour-long rehearsals (because that was as long as Danny’s mom would let him play the drums). That band (called Pearl because that’s what it said on Danny’s bass drum) basically ended its run when Danny went to jail.  I have no idea what crimes he committed but stealing the drums he was playing was probably one of them.

Then in 1983 I was attending Long Beach State (CSULB) and just so happened to see a poster for the 3rd Annual Long Beach Blues Festival. Before then I have no recollection of what I was playing (mainly “mod” or new wave style music) but after then all I cared about was the blues. It was almost as if God struck me in the head with a lightning bolt when Albert King and Willie Dixon were on stage. It was a genuine transformation and from that day, forward, I have played pretty much nothing but the blues or blues-based rock.   

That summer (1983) I decided to buy a real guitar. I had been eyeing the local Recycler for months for deals on used Fender Stratocasters. In that era they could be had for about $400. However, I’m not sure how or why, but when I did finally save $400 I bought a brand new G&L SC-2 instead.  I bought it at a local music store and it came with 8 free lessons, which I extended through the summer. My instructor (a guy named Aaron) basically had a tape recorder and I’d bring in a tape of the song I wanted to learn.  Even though it’s been over 23 years I still remember exactly which songs I had him teach me that summer: they were Penthouse Pauper (by CCR), Snake Drive (by Clapton on the Clapton, Beck and Page Guitar Boogie album), Red House (by Hendrix) and every song on The Ventures Golden Hits LP.     

Then my life changed forever. I decided to join the navy. I enlisted in November, 1983 but didn’t have to report to boot camp until March of 1984. Rather than waste my remaining free months in California I moved to Norwood, MA to live with my mom. All I did during that time, all day long, was play guitar.

Those three months in Norwood would have been insignificant had I not walked into the local music store and signed up for lessons. A new music teacher had arrived in town and I was assigned one of his slots.  This teacher was a man named Peter Nathanson and he basically taught me everything I’d ever learn about the blues. Rather than teach me simple ‘pentatonic scales’ he made me memorize all the 3rds and 7ths of the Major scale, and showed me how to play between them. To this day I never play solos that are anchored on the root note in that simple pentatonic scale. I always find the third or seventh and play around it. He also taught me the difference between Chicago and Texas style blues, and all the variations there-of (like jump blues and swing). I don't recall him teaching me a single song, other than one or two BB King "note for note" solos. To this day I still take those same solos and use bits and pieces of them whenever I can.

The thing I will be most grateful to Peter for was his introducing me to his telecaster. In those days Peter was playing a ’71 telecaster, which was cut up, but still had a perfect tone. I could not believe how great that guitar sounded. I was almost ashamed of how wimpy my G&L sounded compared to it. From then on I've been pretty much a telecaster man.

For the first two years of my enlistment I trained to become a ‘navy nuke.’ During that period I added two guitars to my collection: a 1982 “30th Anniversary” Gold Top Les Paul and a ’77 telecaster. To this day both of those guitars are still my all-time favorites. I  used them almost exclusively on the debut album. 

When I finally arrived in the fleet I brought my telecaster with me.  She and I sailed over 100,000 nautical miles together and collected many great memories as we sailed around the world three times. While on board my ship, the USS Enterprise, I was often seen playing that guitar in the Reactor Department lounge. One day I was spotted by a member of the ship's official jazz band and asked to play in an up coming show. They needed a new guitar player because their old one flew off with the air wing. I wound up spending a few years (on and off) with that band and we did many shows together.  I cannot say that I enjoyed playing jazz (faking jazz I should say) but I did learn a lot about music, mainly how to phrase my solos and use major and minor seventh chords. (Before that I was strictly a I-IV-V type guy).

During my navy years I had two significant guitar teachers that had a huge impact on my playing.  I found both these guys during the 6-8 month yard periods that my ship was in port (Alameda) for repairs. The former was a man named Tristan Chantey, who had an ad hanging on the board of the SF Guitar Center (Fall of 1986). Tristan taught me songs.  Not just any songs. He taught me every Cream, Hendrix and Led Zeppelin song there was. Even the 'throw away ones.' The latter was a man I saw playing in SF named Terry Cooper (Spring of 1989).  He basically taught me T-Bone Walker and Denny Freeman songs.    

When I left the navy in 1990 I was at my peak.  I was, in my opinion, as good as any blues guitar player in the Bay Area and had many connections. I seriously gave staying in town to rough-out a blues career serious thought. But I knew better. I watched my idols (Then the cream of the crop in SF with record deals and sell out shows), lugging their equipments in and out, playing in dive bars, working their butts off night after night, and barely squeaking by. I wanted to play the blues but I also wanted to get married, have a family, buy a house, ... you know, live the American Dream. I knew that my chances of doing that as a true blues musician were slim. So I made a deal with myself.  I would become an engineer (something else I was good at) and then when I was successful at that I'd start a band.  

From 1990 to 1993 I studied electrical engineering at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. There, in sleepy SLO town, I was often spotted with my telecaster on stage (mainly with The Low Rent Blues Band) and was pretty well-known. In those days I was a tone freak. The only effect between my telecaster and Black Face Super Reverb was a 1/4-inch cord. (I wanted to sound just like Anson Funderburg, Ronnie Earl and Jimmy Vaughn.)  I was also playing a lot of slide guitar and experimenting with open tunings. I loved being on stage and loved playing the blues. But I also knew that once my school days were over, so were my days as a Blues Man. How true that was.

I graduated in 1993, got married, moved to LA, went to graduate school, had my first child, got my first real job, moved to Baltimore, had three more children and pretty settled into a wonderful life as a respectable guy. During those "Joe Business Suit" days I hardly touched a guitar and forgot most of what I knew. I don't think I even bought a CD or listened to FM radio. Music was just not part of my life.

Then I moved my family to Phoenix and after a few more years of neglecting my love of blues I remembered that promise I made so long ago. Though rusty, I picked up my guitar and started playing again. Soon I was playing like it was 1993 again. I found other local musicians looking to jam and slowly a band began to form: The Psychedelic Mooj! 

Photo Notes: "Danno" is incorrectly identified as a "Super Pro." He's actually a 1965 Pro-1. "Blackie" is also misidentified as a 1961 Super Reverb. He is actually a 1967 Super Reverb (This amp once belonged to Robert Cray). These guitars are now locked away in protective enclaves and I rarely see them.  On stage I use a re-issue 1957 "Ocean Turquoise" strat and '65 re-issue Twin Reverb. It is my hope to (as soon as my wife will let me) buy and start using a re-issue '52 telecaster on stage.  

Coming Next Month: Richard Chavez Writes about How he became a Guitar Player.

Home | Official P'Mooj Site | Official Mooj Site | Last Newsletter