20+ years, began in 1987 in high school. I got started with some friends, but my Aunt had an actual country/top 40 band, and she needed someone on bass, so I joined even though I had never actually played. Picked it up in about a month and never looked back. Taught myself drums and guitar along the way but always been a bassist / background vocalist.

An ability to update uploaded files such as videos, and the ability to add photos to the YouTube uploads instead of that ugly gray face on mine.

Dokken and Aerosmith New Years Eve 1988. Lords of Rock n Roll.

Fender J-Basses, including a 5 string and a fretless. I really like playing fretless during Jeff Beck's 'Cause We've Ended As Lovers, and I had a fretless bass solo once or twice in a Bee Charmers song.

Steve Harris, Gene Simmons, George Lynch, Stevie Ray Vaughn. I decided to play bass after watching Gene on the Animalize tour, but Under Lock and Key and the videos of Lynch playing got me really into music. I learned to play jamming to MTV, and I distinctly remember the first song I learned was "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Maiden.

Been in several but haven't played in a while. Put some tunes below from Bee Charmers, an original pop band, and Ironhorse Exchange, a rock n roll cover band. You can pick up more at SoundCloud at http://soundcloud.com/robert-hope/sets or on my facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/robert.hope.music.poetry. I played in my aunt's cover band for a few years, a cover hard rock band in the early 90s, the original pop band Bee Charmers in the mid 90s, and a cover hard rock band in the early 00s.

Would someday like to put together a solid blues trio to play out with once the kids are little older.

George Lynch and Mick Brown. Mr Scary!

Played to several hundred at the Hatch Shell in Boston, MA, which was awesome. Played in many many clubs and bars.

Lynch Mob - Wicked Sensation. The best collection of Lynchian riffs on vinyl.