Roots?

My first real love was every instrument other than the guitar.

The saxophone in the Dave Clark Five.
The bass on Hey Mister Bassman.
The snippet of bass to the coda on Everybody has Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey.

I still harbor a secret desire to play the drums.

What turned me so sharply?

Woodstock
Summer 1969

At summer camp that year, almost every night we were sent to sleepland to the strains of Tommy.
(It was the only album my counselors had brought)
Townsend had a magical strum going that summer.

Our overnight trip was to Woodstock.
After our return I just HAD to have a guitar. I enrolled in the camp's beginners guitar class. I learned, 'Mister Tambourine Man,' in about five minutes and played it until my fingertips bled.
(Although I was not taught to sing it at the same time - they were happy to get us to play the damn things; so my parents had no clue what song I was playing when they came up for Parents Day - I was crestfallen)

When I came home from camp my parents got me an old Gibson archtop, which would be worth a lot today; but at the time, the action was way too high, it was not electric...it took me until December of 1971 to get my parents to order a strat for me.

So here I am, a sax player on a six string, with the funky soul of a badass bass player, who wishes he could play drums...playing guitar.
It actually makes sense.