Thank you, one and all, for the birthday wishes. Let the drinking commence!!!

Clarky - I am your willing apprentice... lol... And, er, it's actually my 20th birthday and 400th post; not the other way round... lol... Although, I suppose I am Yoda... lmao

Oh, my god, I'm so uckgin drubk....

Crispin and Clarky - I'm meeting a whole bunch of mates outside the venue at three o'clock on Saturday, if you guys want to meet up. We're gonna go for a beer or nine before the show; it'd be cool to have even more people there...

Matt Martinez - Dean Markley Blue Steel strings, gauge 0.009 - 0.042. The trouble is, less and less places seem to be stocking those bad boys so I have to get them in bulk online. Which is cheaper, but still a pain in the ass... For picks I use the red Jim Dunlop Jazz III's exclusively. Nothing else. Which means, again, I have to buy online because my local shop doesn't sell them either. Gay...

Crispin - I got standing. There's no way in heaven, hell, or earth I'm gonna be stuck in a little seat near the back of the hall. Fuck that...

eta - Hello there. My name's Neil, and I'm 20 (just). Been playing guiar for just about five years, but I've been sturdying music since I was six.

Clarky - Are you telling me that the standing tickets aren't at the front? Meaning I can't get right to the stage? GAY!!! We might be queuing at that sort of time, but I'll definitely be at the bar in the venue at various times throughout the evening. You could buy me a belated birthday drink... lol

I did get a text from you, actually! It just said "<data>", which I thought a little odd. Unless you've gone even weirder... lmao

eta - Being self taught is not easy at all... I started off mostly self taught, but I'm at the ACM in Guiildford now. It makes such a difference having regular lessons, especially when the teachers are players of such a caliber. I totally recommend it.

eta - Sure thing. Anything you wanna know, just ask.

Hi there Nick!

eta - Do you mean pinch harmonics? Like the Zakk Wylde thing? Well, here's a link to a thread about this at guitar.com. My screen name is another_neil. Hope it helps! As for the reach of your fretting hand, try bringing your thumb down a bit behind the neck. If you have your thumb poking over the top then your hand is squshed up. By bringing your thumb down (so the tip of it is in pretty much the middle of the neck) you're sprading the tendons, allowing for a greater reach.

Crispin - Wicked. I'm more than up fo some heavy pitting, particularly if they play some of the stuff from ToT like This Dying Soul and Honor Thy Father.

Jelly - I'm getting a train there and back I'm afraid, since I don't have a car anymore... But, as I said to Crispin and Clarky, I'm meeting a whole load of mates outside the venue at three o'clock, and we are going to a pub for a drink or two beforehand. Give me a ring or something. It's turning into quite a gathering...

Here's a really cool website...

Greg - What a great website!!!!! lmao

Prez - Link don't work... :-(

michelle - I would have thought alcohol makes it easier for the Irish to have a shot at ruling the world. They sure as hell couldn't do it sober!!! lol

Dream Theater tomorrow!!!!!!!

eta - No probs, dude. Any time.

alexanrecaetano - I'll try, but I don't have all their albums and I don'twant to be one of those sad fuckers that takes notes throughout an entire show...

eta - Internet tabs are always wrong, from slightly inaccurate (fingerings, etc.) to blatantly wrong. And I'm not a huge fan of books either. I like to work things out by ear. It's a great way to develop your aural perception, and that can only be a good thing. The great thing about books, however, is that they give you a written down version with chords, standard notation (fuck tab), and rhythm; tab doesn't give you any of this. This enables you to to study the music at a depper level - they show you the harmony (implied or otherwise), the feel, etc. Then you can start to figure out how the artist approached a certain passage. You can do all this by ear too, but it's a lot more work. I like it that way though... lol

Clarky - No worries. I will surely be at the Vai gig too...

jelly - You are one weird mofo. I have never really given any thought to juggling. I do, however, find it quite impressive when done well.

Well, today's the day. The mighty DreamTheater. Rock on... \m/

mischieveous - mofo (moh-foh) abr. (!) - a coloquialism, abbreviating the insult 'mother fucker'.

OMG, Dream Theater were amazing last night. I haven't been blown away like that by a band in a very long time. Atmosphere wise it could have been better, but then I'm comparing it to a Bon Jovi gig with 92, 000 people...

Every song was awesome, but 'In The Name Of God' seemed to have some kind of other level about it. That was the highlight of the show for me.

Happy birthday, Ya Yo!!!