I was four or five when I started noodling on grandma's piano. I think I liked playing the "Jaws" shark theme on the low keys. But I got a lot of positive feedback from my parents and grandma, and kept playing. I began to pick out songs by ear and developed some skill in improvising. I took some lessons but had to unlearn too much and play what I felt were boring excercises so I quit.
I kept playing to records in my bedroom on an upright my dad bought me, and added a synthesizer in 1983. I still have it.
I didn't play with other people in high school. I just stayed home and practiced the piano and noodled about on a nylon string guitar.
In college, I got to play with other people. They liked blues piano and classic rock kind of stuff. I got into a band and became the singer because I was willing to. We were terrible, but I learned a lot about improvising and playing in an ensemble. We made a record in a studio and it cost 5k. That was a lot of money at the time.
Along the way I taught myself how to play a guitar. Mostly acoustic, but picked up a black SG special and a fender deluxe amp and started to learn the electric. I'm okay at the guitar - my leads are really simple and I try to stick to my comfort zone. I liked odd tunings and odd times.
I was the singer in a punk rock outfit for a few years. We did pretty well; the music was muscular and boring. After that, I wanted to start something of my own design. I couldn't find a drummer that played how I wanted, so I taught myself how to play the drums. Me and my longtime bass-playing buddy (who also plays great rhythm guitar) Steve formed Little Purple Circles, and we made four albums.
I got divorced and lost the studio. I'm renting a place nearby where I can rehearse, and joined an EDM outfit wherein I play an electric drum set. Weird.
I'm at an age where I'm just happy to be in a band, so I stay in my lane.
Maybe someday I'll put another band together.