The Man Behind the Scenes

This is the man behind Vintage Guitar Nerds!
Hi guys, my name is Dimitris and I’ve been playing guitar for 15 years.

I was a teenager when I started playing the guitar. I remember when I bought my first electric guitar. It wasn’t something special, but I remember opening the case and looking at it for the first time, oh my god, it was a beauty. I quickly grabbed it and plugged the cable to the jack straight away, then plugged the other end to my little crapy amp and as I turned it on, I still remember that click sound when I was turning my amp on. I immediately put every setting at 10, I’m sure you’ve done the same, and start strumming the strings making the most amazing sound, at least in my head…

I wanted to become one of them… I was watching videos of Page, Clapton, Green, Slash and so many others and I was thinking to myself “I want to be like them, heck, I’m going to be like them”.

At the time I was struggling with my guitar skills. That meant that I was terrible and I needed to improve if I wanted to be like my guitar heroes. I didn’t know what to play or where to start and I didn’t have someone to guide me.
That made me feel like I was not good enough. That even If I try harder I will never be like these guys… It made me feel like people will judge me for not being good enough…

Then my arms started to feel sore, my fingers couldn’t even hold a chord and my motivation fell down the stairs and I felt like giving up. I couldn’t get THAT sound. The sound that these guys had. Something was missing.
Then, as if by chance, something amazing happened…
I realized that their tone wasn’t in their gear or their fingers but in their PERSONALITIES and… wow… everything changed for me.

I was able to start sound like them but in my own unique way. I finally understood why these guys made it and lots of people are still struggling. 

So I decided to start playing from my heart instead of trying to get a sound from my fingers so I could express myself 100%.
But there was still a problem…
I still had to deal with learning scales, chords, songs, and practicing. I hated that part…

BUT I started small. I started by mastering the pentatonic scale and play it with my eyes closed.
That allowed me to be 100% myself without having to force my playing. I wasn’t someone else, I was me.
Which meant I could now be like these guys and share my deepest thoughts and feelings with my music.

In the end, I was able to play with many bands, perform in amazing venues, work in Denmark Street, and grow an amazing community on Instagram, and all of that just because my passion for this instrument is greater than anything else.
So I was able to create a new chapter in my life. I was able to meet artists that I would never have the chance to meet, I was able to perform with amazing artists and most importantly I was able to write my own music.
And in the end, all of this means that I can help thousands of people learn about this magical instrument and at the end of the day create their own music and that makes me happy and proud.

I love you guys,
Dimitris.