Guitar Player articles from September 2006

Guitar Player archives from September 2006

Noise.
September 1, 2006... IN THIS ISSUE, COUNTRY GUITAR STAR MARTY Stuart drops a big ole' bomb by bringing up a creepy and uncomfortable subject--that the quest for hits has led many producers to eviscerate the personality of the guitarist in order to document a...

Letter of the month!(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... I have nothing against the Flaming Lips--and they make great music--but judging by the picture on page ?S of the July issue, someone from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Guitars (SPCG) should rescue Drozd and Coyne's axes, and...

The "D" is for dialogue.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... I would like to thank you for the Chuck D article. Not because I'm a fan--hey, I have a metal reputation to uphold--but because the other mainstream guitar magazines wouldn't touch that story with a 28"-scale baritone. Your hunger for the new...

GPTV!(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... I can't begin to tell you how much I look forward to your magazine each month. It's never a disappointment! I'm a novice middle-aged player who just got my first invite to join a blues/rock band. When I learned how much more I now need to...

Myspace.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... Thanks for the Myspace.com article in the July issue. I have to tip my hat to you for recognizing the masses of independent artists out there struggling to make a name for themselves. This is a huge stride, seeing how most major publications...

Bill Rieflin's slow music.
September 1, 2006... EX-MINISTRY AND CURRENT REM DRUMMER BILL Rieflin was fooling around with an old synthesizer in his home studio when the concept for Slow Music began to creep into his consciousness. He sensed the possibility of creating a new form of music that...

Myspace hordes.
September 1, 2006... GP IS EMBRACING DIY MUSICIANS BY SPOTLIGHTING THRILLING (OR, AT LEAST, INTERESTING] guitar talents in this column and at guitarplayer.com. If you think you've got something going that our readers should hear, go to myspace.com/michaelmolenda...

Dan Donegan cuts loose.(RIFFS: METALHEAD)(interview)(Interview)
September 1, 2006... AFTER GAINING ALT-METAL GLORY AS A RIFF BAND with a dark soul (allmusic.com even called them the "black knights of gaming-console rock"), Disturbed is suddenly launching guitar solos like cruise-missile fusillades. Dan Donegan--who managed to...

Peter Green.(guitarists)
September 1, 2006... WIDELY HAILED AS BRITAIN'S BEST-EVER BLUES GUITARIST, PETER GREEN INSPIRED B.B. KING TO SAY, "He has the sweetest tone I ever heard. He's the only one who gave me the cold sweats." Born Peter Greenbaum in 1946, the Londoner made his musical...

Peter Banks.(RIFFS: NO GUITARIST LEFT BEHIND)(interview)(Interview)
September 1, 2006... INSPIRED BY HANK MARVIN & THE SHADOWS, Peter Banks began his career playing with the Shadows-influenced Nighthawks in 1963. Shortly thereafter he joined the Syn, a popular R&B-turned-psychedelic group founded by bassist Chris Squire, who he...

Forastiere on absorbing and transcending influences.(RIFFS: SONGWRITING)(interview with Pino Forastiere )(Interview)
September 1, 2006... ITALIAN STEEL-STRING ACOUSTIC GUITAR virtuoso Pino Forastiere doesn't mind if people point out the stylistic similarities between his work and that of late guitar innovator Michael Hedges. In fact, if it wasn't for encountering Hedges' music...

Amy Schugar.(RIFFS: ROCKER GIRL)(interview)(Interview)
September 1, 2006... AMY SCHUGAR BEGAN PLAYING HER SISTER'S Fender acoustic when she was 14, but soon switched to electric. "The electric was a better way to express myself," she says. "I could get clean, beautiful chords from it to express my softer feelings. But...

Russian Circles.(Mike Sullivan's Flameshovel)
September 1, 2006... "IF YOU CAN IMAGINE AN ALL-INSTRUMENTAL JAM between Pink Floyd and Fugazi then you'll begin to get an idea of what we sound like," says guitarist Mike Sullivan of his Chicago-based trio Russian Circles. The band's latest offering, Enter...

The Sadies: In Concert Vol. 1.(sound recording )(Sound recording review)
September 1, 2006... Recorded over two nights at Lee's Palace in Toronto by legendary knob-twiddler Steve Albini, In Concert Vol. 1 is everything a double-live album should be, capturing the energy and abandon of a band bringing its music to life in front of an...

Mike Keneally Band: Guitar Therapy Live (Deluxe Edition).(Sound recording review)
September 1, 2006... Savvy guitarists have followed Mike Keneally since his early days playing with Frank Zappa, but never before has the San Diegan six-string slinger indulged them with such a purely guitar-oriented outing. Drawing on material from throughout his...

Johnny Cash: American V: A Hundred Highways.(Sound recording review)
September 1, 2006... After June Carter passed away in May 2003, Johnny Cash spent the final months of his life recording tracks for what would ultimately become A Hundred Highways--the fifth and last in a series of solo releases he made with the architect of his...

What's spinning in the editors' heads this month?(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... DARRIN FOX UFO, Strangers in the Night Loose Fur, Born Again in the USA BeBop Deluxe, Live! in the Air Age ANDY ELLIS Kentucky Headhunters, Flying Under the Radar Sam Gush, Laps in Seven Ben Harper, Bath Sides of...

The Lee Boys: Say Yes!(sound recording )(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Is your playing feeling a tad stale? Are you having a tough time even inspiring yourself, let alone an audience? Well, try this: Put the Lee Boy's Say Yes! in the CD player, grab your guitar, and try to get close to the insanely lyrical,...

Rory Gallagher: Live at Montreux.(Video recording review)
September 1, 2006... Containing four-and-a-half hours of multi-camera concert footage, this new two-disc set paints a magnificent portrait of the late Rory Gallagher, his battered '61 Strat, and his butt-kicking blues. The music spans two decades of the Irish...

Shred! The Ultimate Guide To Warp-Speed Guitar.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... By Rich Maloof and Pete Prown Over the last 20 years, the glut of books and instructional videos devoted to playing guitar really, really fast has spawned a cottage industry. But any shredder worth his or her weight in metronomes will tell...

1. Grescotmar Publishing: advanced reading etudes for guitar by Mark White.(OUT NOW!)
September 1, 2006... Helps guitarists improve reading skills while working on challenging and stimulating material * Ten etudes that encompass fusion, rock, funk, and jazz * Each etude is presented in two forms: one in plain notation, and another with note...

2. Bergeron Guitars: Bergeron aluminum electric guitar.(OUT NOW!)
September 1, 2006... 25-1/2" scale aircraft-aluminum neck features 24 frets plus a zero fret * 14" fretboard radius * 291/2" long and weighs 8.5 lbs * Wear resistant stainless-steel frets are tri-cut for exact intonation * Headstock mounted fine-tune thumb-screws *...

3. Taylor Guitars: ES tuner mute balanced breakout.(OUT NOW!)
September 1, 2006... Stompbox-style device works with any Taylor Expression System-equipped guitar to provide a tuner output without compromising the guitar's balanced signal. XLR input and output jacks; 1/14" tuner out * Mute switch allows for silent onstage...

4. Budda Amplification: commemorative 10 year anniversary twinmaster.(OUT NOW!)
September 1, 2006... Handwired point-to-point * Two EL84 power tubes, two 12AX? preamp tubes, 5U4 rectifier * Custom mirror anodized purple chassis * Class AB power section * Custom wound transformer * Treble, Bass, and Volume controls * Effects loop with slave out...

5. Seagull Guitars: mini jumbo entourage guitar.(OUT NOW!)
September 1, 2006... Select pressure tested solid cedar top, wild cherry back and sides * Silver leaf maple neck with Indian rosewood fretboard * Rustic burst custom polished finish * Optional Godin Ouantum 1 electronics * Gig bag * $439 retail, $591 retail with...

6. Basson Sound: 480 watt, 4x12 line of guitar cabs.(OUT NOW!)
September 1, 2006... Eminence Patriot, Red White & Blues 120-watt speakers * Constructed entirely out of MDF (medium density fiberboard) * High grade, oxygen free wiring with shrink tubing used at the connection points to prevent corrosion or fraying * Inside...

Country soul: Marty Stuart strikes while his muse is white hot.(interview)(Interview)
September 1, 2006... "WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, A FRIEND OF MINE had the The Complete Ella Fitzgerald Song Books," says Marty Stuart who cut his teeth as a teenager backing Lester Flatt, and, later, Johnny Cash, before finding solo success as one of country music's new...

Going for the one: Jon Anderson muses on working with and without Yes.(interview)(Interview)
September 1, 2006... SINGER-SONGWRITER AND COMPOSER JON Anderson keeps some high-caliber company. As co-founder of progressive-rock goliath Yes, he has worked with virtuoso guitarists Steve Howe, Trevor Rabin, and Peter Banks, and keyboardists Rick Wakeman and...

Northern lights: Terje Rypdal's trans-jazz Odyssey.(interview)(Interview)
September 1, 2006... NORWEGIAN GUITARIST TERJE RYPDAL HAS been name checked by Jeff Beck, David Torn, Bill Frisell, Andy Summers, Nels Cline--and possibly even Jimi Hendrix--as one of their favorite players. He has released and appeared on dozens of recordings...

Tone to the bone: Henry Garza rocks the blues, Texas style.(interview)(Interview)
September 1, 2006... "MY GUITAR IS MY CANVAS," SAYS HENRY Garza of Los Lonely Boys. "When I play, it's like a big painting, and I have all these different colors to choose from. Like. I've got a little B.B. King color, a little Stevie Ray color, a little Jimi...

The top ten AC/DC riffs of all time.(LICK LIBRARY)
September 1, 2006... AC/DC, WHOSE LARGER-THAN-LIFE RIFFS HAVE defined the true essence of hard rock for more than 30 years, have undeniably become one of the genre's most recognizable brands. Blame it all on Angus and Malcolm Young, the uncompromising Aussie...

Mastering melodic minor: trace the evolution of western music's hippest scale through baroque, Broadway, bebop, the Beatles, and beyond.
September 1, 2006... QUESTION: WHAT DO JAZZ, METAL, AND CLASSICAL guitarists have in common? Answer: More than you might think. Sure, generally speaking, these three disparate breeds of guitar slinger perform vastly different styles of music on vastly different...

How to play like ... Trey Anastasio.(playing guitar )
September 1, 2006... TREY ANASTASIO LED PHISH UPSTREAM against a wave of commercial radio, MTV, and mainstream music journalism indifference to become Big Kahunas of the rock underworld. The band's groovy genre-blending improvisational live forays and Zappa-esque...

Jam guru Jimmy Herring: the John Coltrane ascent.
September 1, 2006... "GIANT STEPS" IS AN INCREDIBLE SONG, BUT BELIEVE ME, I'm the first guy to stand up and say, "Look, I regularly use ideas from this tune, but I'm not one of those players who can sit there and blow through it at any tempo." That's just not my...

Jazz guru Charlie Hunter: a badass B3 blues for guitar.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... FEW THINGS ARE AS FUNKY AND GREASY AS A blues played on a Hammond B3 organ. We guitarists can take inspiration from Jimmy Smith, Larry Young, and other B3 greats by playing organ-style grooves in our own way on our instrument. This lesson...

EZ street: steady-thumb blues.(LESSONS: BEGINNER)
September 1, 2006... In our previous two lessons, we've seen how a 5-6-[flat]7 line played on the bass strings can create a grooving rhythm guitar part ("Boogie Blues," July '06, and "Piano Boogie," Aug. '06). But this line has even more to offer. If we move it up...

Hardware: M-Audio ProjectMix I/O.(RECORDING)(Product/service evaluation)
September 1, 2006... USING JUST AN ALPHA-NUMERIC KEYBOARD and a mouse, a true Pro Tools ninja can execute the program's many functions with furious intensity. But no matter how impressive your quick-key kung fu becomes, if you spend a lot of time working with a DAW...

Artifacts: Jennings AC40.(VINTAGE VAULT)(Product/service evaluation)
September 1, 2006... IN 1967, VOX FOUNDER TOM JENNINGS WAS FEELING the full impact of having lost controlling interest of his company to the Royston Group--a British industrial holding company--while also being forced to watch helplessly as Vox's U.S.-based...

Hughes & Kettner Switchblade.(GEAR)(Product/service evaluation)
September 1, 2006... IT USED TO BE THAT THE TERMS "TUBE AMPLIFIER" and "programmable" were nearly mutually exclusive, and if you wanted a programmable guitar amp, you were probably talking about a modeling guitar amp. So perhaps it's no wonder that Hughes &...

Ibanez Thermion.(GEAR)(Product/service evaluation)
September 1, 2006... IBANEZ ENTERED THE PRO-AMP ARENA IN BIG WAY this year with the introduction of the Thermion, the company's first all-tube amplifier. The moniker is a take on the original term for the world's first vacuum tube, "thermionic valve," and the...

Ernie Ball/Music Man Steve Morse SM-Y2D.(GEAR)(Product/service evaluation)
September 1, 2006... ERNIE BALL/MUSIC MAN CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF having Steve Morse as a signature artist with the introduction of the Steve Morse SM-Y2D--a revamped, high-end version of the original Morse Signature, which is still in production. Legendary for his...

Agile Harm 1 Semi-Hollow FG.(GEAR)(Product/service evaluation)
September 1, 2006... AGILE GUITARS ARE AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM Rondo Music in Union, New Jersey, a family-owned business founded in 1959. There are currently about 60 models of these Korean-made instruments, ranging in price from $159 to $529 (the majority are...

Field test Tech 21 Trademark 60.(GEAR)(Product/service evaluation)
September 1, 2006... IT WAS ON TOUR IN CONNECTICUT IN 1997 THAT I first encountered the Tech 21 Trademark 60 combo ($695 retail/$519 street). Parked inconspicuously beneath a wall of guitars at some New Haven music emporium, the handsome little 1 x 12 open-back...

Dan Erlewine's Mod Squad.(GEAR)(repairing a guitar)
September 1, 2006... RECENTLY, A "MOD SQUAD" READER NAMED WIL CALLED LOOKING FOR advice on replacing the bridge saddles on his early '70s Gibson SG. The bridge screws that adjust the saddles to and fro were locked in place, and he couldn't remove the worn-out...

Planet waves Chromatic Pedal Stage Tuner.(ACCESSORY FILE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... If visual coolness counts when you're considering how best to deploy your hard-earned bucks on a new piece of gear, prepare to be sucked in by the curvy, smoked-chrome metal housing and spacey rotary readout of the Chromatic Pedal Stage Tuner...

George L's cable kit.(ACCESSORY FILE)
September 1, 2006... Anyone who has used George L's cabling system is hip to the ease it provides for making custom-length cables. To make things even more convenient for the traveling player, the company offers the Cable Kit ($63 retail/street price N/A), which...

Eric Johnson on tackling odd meters: "it's important to think about timing in a way that is co-dynamic with the other players.".(TESTIMONY)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... "I RECENTLY HAD THE HONOR OF PLAYING A solo on an intense, left-of-center song in 15/8 time called 'New Blues Old Bruise' for John McLaughlin's latest CD, Industrial Zen [Abstract Logix]. John's musicology is so diverse that he's as comfortable...