avoiding the white elephants
My Squier is fixed and back from the shop. I recorded a video about that whole experience here. I also bought a new combo guitar amplifier. I recorded a video about that here.
What I have now is what I believe to be the lowest-cost possible gigging setup that can actually get the job done. My reasons for buying a cheap guitar and a cheap combo amplifier was specifically to get ready to play out in clubs. At this point I have to try my luck and see if there's anybody local that wants to play, and more important play a style of music that I actually like. On the list of places where I'll say "Hey I want to join a band" will be Craigslist and BandMix. Hopefully I'll get some good results.