A true blast from the past.

A good friend of mine from high school was Walter Whitney, an avid and soon-to-be-professional photographer. He turned me on to Todd Rundgren and Yes in the same afternoon, for which I have ever been grateful. He liked to use me for his avant garde photo ideas. These eight photographs tell a story. Not to mention showing me at age 18, with darker hair and about 75 less pounds. The guitar cost $35 from the Arlans department store, and the fuzz-wah pedal was $25. Those are Ernie Ball Super Slinky Strings, just to show that I didn't skimp on everything. The skinny jeans, Adidas sneakers, and Mickey Mouse T-shirt were important elements to my shtick at the time. I can't explain the black socks, except to say this was a long time ago, folks.

This photoset and slideshow features a sculpture created by another good friend of mine from high school, my guitar mentor Joe Schaedler. Made from a large wooden cheese crate, some pipes, plaster and paint, this piece of art was dubbed "4FD" by Joe after a comment his sister made upon viewing. When the sculpture was placed in the Scribblers Art Club Show at Ritenour Senior High School, it was titled "4FD" and a comment sheet nearby invited viewers to guess what the name stood for. I now invite you to do the same. Fill in the blank: "It looks like..."