The guitar comminity has a heart

The guitar community on the web can be an interesting bunch of folks. In many forums arguing and flame wars ensue over something as trivial as the type of pickup in your guitar. This id definitely not the case here. Two contributing members of the Six String Bliss have started a fundraiser to help a small Luthier pay some hefty medical bills for heart surgery.

Clint and Alica Searcy's friend Amy Hopkins gave a lot of herself a few years ago when their house was damaged by the floods in Tennessee. Now they are giving back by helping to raise money to cover Amy's medical expenses.

As we all sit here and ponder over what the next whiz bang pedal or super duper brown sound amp will be, how we will pay for it, and what the next gear acquisition is, we can forget that there are real problems effecting real people. Not so with the Searcy's. These folks stepped up to the plate and are walking the walk.

Please visit the link below and try to help out if you can.

10 things you should never do onstage

  Never stop the song.The audience will forgive you if you got a little off track but keep going.  Once you find your way back everyone will be into the song and they will forget all about the glitch.

Never drink to the point of passing out.This should go without saying.  Having a drink or two to loosen up is OK but getting hammered during a gig is just unacceptable.

Never let the audience know you made a mistake. If by chance you hit a bad note or miss a phrase just keep moving. Smile, do a big rock and roll pick slide and pretend like you are  having the time of your life.  Only the die hard music fans will notice the mistake but the rest of the crowd is having too much fun so just let it go.

Never fall off the stage Sometimes it happens but nothing brings a gig to a halt like a member of the band disappearing into the crowd in front.  If you do fall of the stage, try to keep going with the song and just get back up there. (even if you’ve lost a limb)

Never insult the soundman (on mic) We all have to deal with soundmen.  They can be a life saver or they can make you sound like dog crap in a can.  If something isn’t quite right, respectfully talk to the soundman off mic. You should never announce through the PA that mix sound like crap.

Never argue with a drunk in the audience. There are always a few of those loud mouth drunks who will make their opinions of your band known.  Just smile and keep playing.  There is no point in arguing with someone who isn’t going to even remember you in the morning.

Never smile at the drunk chick dancing in front (she might get the wrong idea) Sure it’s tempting to flash a little smile at the drunk girl dancing down front. Unfortunately she may think that means you and her have a connection.  There is nothing worse than a sloppy drunk chick trying to get in your face while your trying to tear down and go home. 

Never smile at the drunk dude dancing in front of you( he will definitely get the wrong idea) The same as above applies.  You really don’t want the drunk guy dancing getting the wrong idea.

Never set your drink on top of your amp.  It only takes a second for you drink to spill down the back of your amp and cut your gig short.  Better yet, drink bottled water during the set and have your beer or jack and coke during your break.

Never take yourself to seriously. Music is about having fun.  Even if it is your job is to play music you need to entertain.  You should look like your having fun which in turn helps the audience to have fun. In the end, it’s just a gig, your not performing brain surgery .

Limpin on a prayer

Jon Bon Jovi injured himself during a performance in New Jersey this past weekend.  The front man injured his calf muscle shortly before the end of the band’s 2 1/2 hour set at the New Meadowlands Stadium.  The band went on to finish the show with an encore of their mega hit “Livin On a Prayer. 

This is showmanship at it’s best.  The 48 year old singer addressed the audience by stating "I got another leg. I don't need this one."   The show must go on no matter what.  The legendary rocker finished the night and vows that he will not miss any future dates.

Check out the video of Mr. Bon Jovi hobbling through the rest of the set and still looking like a pro.

Guitar Blog Roundup July 3rd

Happy 4th of July Weekend everyone. Here is this week’s roundup of my favorite posts from the guitar interwebz. 

Guitarren has some cool sketches of potential guitar designs. He’s done a few of these posts and each one has some really cool ideals.

Boutique Guitar Resource has a great post about a new guitar from builder Nado Bailo.  The Whale guitar is one awesome looking axe.

Guitar Noise has some great tips on playing live. If your goal is to perform guitar in front of people then this is a good place to read up on some of the necessary things to do to be successful

Guitar International has a review of the new documentary about famous rock photographer Robert Knight. He’s photographed all the big names for the past 40 years.

Guitar World has some behind the scenes video from their 2011 buyers guide shoot. 

Play a little guitar has some guitar nightmares for you to ponder. I think I may have lived through a few of these. 

Guitar Odds and ends: More Odds than ends

There is always a lot of strange happenings in the world of guitar. Being odd is almost a requirement to play guitar.  Here are a few stories about guitar that I found strange.

Pink’s guitar adding color to  detective auction.  Ok, I didn't’ know Pink played guitar. Hell yes she can sing but I don't think she’s the go to for a guitar to auction off. Secondly, it’s Ausie detective agency.  Not exactly what you’d expect from a rebellious American singer.

A country fan thought the artist was just giving it away.  When a over zealous guitar player handed his guitar out to the audience to strum on, one patron thought she was given the guitar as a gift.  Apparently this was not the case as the artist immediately turned to Twitter to try and find the absconded axe.

In the “Roommates are always a pain” category we have a man who was beaten by his roommate with a guitar.  What was the offence?  He chowed down on their food. 

Keith Richards, guitarist for the legendary Rolling Stones seems to take more of a liking to his six stringed friends than his real friends.  Reportedly  Richards kept his guitars on nice couches while making people sit wherever they could find a spot while in his home in France.

Another “Who Knew” story. Sandra Bullock, star of such hits as Speed, and Love Potion number 9 played guitar at a flood relief fundraiser.  What was the tune?  Smoke on the water of course.

Set it up, tear it down

In the world of rock and roll there are some great stage crews out there. These guys put up the stage, the lights, the rigs, and the sound for the big boys. These top notch roadies know what to do and get it done right. Unfortunately for the rest of us, we are the roadies.  We have to set up and tear down our own gear. If you working a multi band stage you may have to do it in mere minutes.
Here are a few of the things that I have found to work well when setting up and tearing down at your gig.

The Set up
First, stage the stage.  What that means is, don’t drop your guitar over by the bass player and put your pedal board by the drums while you get your amp.  Put things in their logical place on the stage as you unload them. This will make things flow much better.

Work from back to front.  Get your amp plugged in. Get the footswitch to your amp plugged in. Get anything of yours in the back line plugged in.  You can then run power and cables to the front of the stage to get your pedals up and running.  Now you have a completely wired rig. But wait, don’t open that guitar case yet.
 
If you sing, get your mic stand up and your mic plugged in.  If you’re working on the house PA the  sound guy probably wants to get everyone leveled up as soon as possible.  Give your mic a quick check and your good to go. 

Now you can pull out your guitar.  The worst thing to have happen is to have your guitar sitting on a stand on a busy stage with people moving about. It’s just asking to get knocked off.  Now that your sure everyone is relatively set up you can plug in, tune up and make sure you have your sound. 


The Tear Down
I know, you just played the set of your life. You are hyped and you want to get to the schmoozing the crowd and having a drink.  You still have to tear down your gear though.  First, put that guitar in it’s case. Remember we don’t want it sitting on the stand just waiting to get knocked down. 

I like to go from back to front again. Turn off your amp, unplug anything in the back line and start coiling up your cable runs to the front of the stage.  Now you can pack your pedal board and grab your mic.  The sound guy will have them turned off if you using the house PA. If your using your own PA, make sure the PA is off so there are no pops when you disconnect the mic. 

Make sure you un-stage the stage.  Get your gear off as soon as you can.  Stack it neatly near the door you will be unloading out of so it will not be in the way of the next band. If there is no next band you may be able to leave it for a while.

These are my tips for what works for me. If you have any great tips for the load in or load out at a gig, leave a comment.

Guitar Crime strikes again

It’s a shame to see criminals praying on unsuspecting victims.  these hoodlums have no scruples and will do anything to steal a buck. Here are the latest middle school dropouts and their criminal activities involving guitars.

This story from Saultstar.com has a man using a guitar case as a weapon.  We have seen a lot of stories about people getting hit with guitars but this is the first time I’ve seen the case used as an weapon.

From Mydesert.com in Palm Springs we have a story of a suspected gutiar thief who almost got away with it.  While he is in custody the guitars are still missing.  This story is part DB cooper, part dumb and dumber.

The Williamson Daily News has this story about two thieves who committed the worst kind of burglary.  The two men broke into a church and stole a guitar and an amplifier.  Stealing a man’s guitar is bad enough but from a church?  That’s just a whole other level of wrong.

News channel 5 in Tennessee has a story of two thieves who broke into a bar and stole a guitar as well as the safe.  I have to admit, that is a bold move but they did get caught. The guitar was returned and the safe was recovered.

Guitar Blog Roundup May 22, 2010

Let’s kick off the weekend with some of the great posts from the guitar blogosphere.

First, Musicosphere has a post on some of the coolest guitars I’ve seen in a while.

Truth in shredding has a post about making the right contacts. We all know it’s not what you know but who you know. 

Pointny Guitar has some nostalgia on hand with some flexi discs from the 80’s.

Gorehound Roots guitar tips has a great article which begs the question, do you own your gear or does your gear own you?

The Punch In has an excellent article on the history and evolution of the electric guitar.

Finally, Rock House method has some great practice tips for us.  Check them out.

Rock Star to Radio Host

The career of a Rock Star can end as quickly as it began.  The madcap world of Rock and Roll is a fickle beast and can spit you out and leave you on the curb right where it found you. Here are some Rock Stars who found a new life in Radio.  Who better to play some tunes than the guys who wrote and recorded them right?

 

Nikki Sixx

Nikki’s show Sixx Sense is a nationally syndicated show. What better that to have the man behind so many great Motley Crue hits host his own show.  Nikki is an icon in rock music and he has the pull to get big names on his show.  He also has seen and done it all so there are sure to be some great stories.

                                                                                                                                                Alice Cooper

Nights with Alice Cooper may not sound appealing to the average citizen but to Rock and Roll fans, this radio show is as cool as it gets.  From closet classics to trivia to some of Alice’s own obscure material this show is worth a listen.

 

Dee Snider

House of Hair with Dee Snider is just the latest for the Twisted Sister front man. This show has it’s sites centered on the hard rock and heavy metal of days gone by.  Who better than to host a show called House of Hair than the man with one of the most recognizable curly manes in rock and roll.

Historic Instruments destroyed in Tennessee

Nashville is known for it’s music. There is a reason they call it music city.  The Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville housed some of the most historic instruments of our time.  These are the instruments that made all the great music generations grew up on.  The recent floods have taken their toll on these instruments. This video shows us some of the damaged instruments that were recovered after the waters receded.

 

The floods have done more than just damaged some wood and steel though.  Many are displaced, many have lost their lives, and so many have lost everything.  While these instruments are irreplaceable it should not diminish the struggle that many in Tennessee are facing.  I encourage everyone to try to help out by donating their time, money, or goods and services to get this great American city back on it’s feet.

http://www.redcross.org/

http://www.nashville.gov/oem/prog_geninfo_main.asp

Guitar Crime

Here’s a few stories which pit criminals and guitars in a struggle for survival.  Ok not really survival but they do make one wonder if there are some Darwin Award winners in this crowd.

First up from the New Haven Courant we have a local guitar shop which was robbed.  The slime ball got away with $300 cash.  Not so fast, you see the shop had $300,000 worth of instruments hanging on the wall.  I guess it’s easier to score your smack with a C-note instead.

Next we have story from the Fraser Bay Chronicle about a somewhat inebriated man and his apparent need to rock.   A Canadian tourist visiting Australia rushed the stage at the Torquay Hotel and stole a guitar.  In his staggering attempt to escape the would be thief dropped the guitar in the street damaging it beyond repair. 

guitar blog roundup

It’s time for the weekly roundup of my favorite stories from the Guitar Blog world.

First up, Fretterverse has an insightful article on how to be a better bandmate.  We’ve all had our trying moments with bandmates.  Let’s all read up on this one.

Not playing guitar has a great article on using loop pedals. These have made the one man band a reality for a lot of guitarists. This post outlines the many uses for looper pedals.

Effectsbay has a review of cordinated cables. If you haven’t seen these they are something a little different in the cable world.

Guitarless has a helpful post on how to prevent breaking strings on your guitar.  A little preparation goes a long way to help save your gig.

Red Dawg Guitar news has the scoop on the new Gator G-bone pedal board.

Rockhousemethod has a tour of Rob Balducci’s pedal board.  I always love seeing what the other guys are playing. 

Craigslist buyer's beware.

We all know there are a lot of scams out there.  Craigslist can be a minefield of potential cyber pick pockets just waiting to take your money.

This listing wasn't so ominous although it was lame.  The guy posted a Custom Shop Jackson Soloist for $500 obo.  Now my first thought was it was stolen.  Turns out Mr. Seller was just testing the market but didn't intend on selling the guitar for $500, he just wanted to see what kind of response he got.

One of the members over on the Rig Talk forum contacted him and received an email back stating that he (the seller) wanted test the market but let him know if he (potential buyer) wanted to buy it at a reasonable price.  Hell, I think $500 is reasonable. 

Elvis Presley Guitar Auctioned for Children's Charity

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of West Tennessee is auctioning off a Gibson Elvis Presley Dove guitar signed by three generations of Presleys.  Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie Presley, Lisa Marie's children signed the classic instrument earlier this year at a celbration held in honor of The King of Rock and Roll's 75th birthday.

The guitar as well as a hand painted portrait of Elvis Presley as a child will be auctioned off at the JDRF Promise Ball on April 10th,  Absentee bidding is available by contacting the JDRF West Tennessee branch at 901-861-6550.

"JDRF is the worldwide leader for research to cure type 1 diabetes.  It sets the global agenda for diabetes research, and is the largest charitable funder and advocate of diabetes science worldwide."


Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF)26 Broadway
New York, New York 10004
800-533-CURE (2873)
E-mail: info@jdrf.org
Web www.jdrf.org

Gigs and food

A rock and roll show is about energy and enthusiasm. It's loud and frenzied at times. It takes a lot out of you to play a gig. Many of us will ultimately have to eat before, during or after a gig. The key is knowing what is the best choice to keep you from encountering gastrointestinal disasters.

There are some obvious things to think about. Pounding down your food two seconds before you hit the stage is probably not a good idea. Nobody wants to see you go for the big rock and roll scream and blow chowder all over the monitors. It's probably best to eat ate least a half an hour to an hour before you go on.Obviously you may be drinking before, during, and after the gig but that's a different post.

The Internet – Trash or Treasure

I was listening to podcast during my all too lengthy commute  today. The panel was talking about the newest fad on the web,chat roulette. This discussion led to the question, is there anything redeeming on the internet?  The information super highway has all but become a giant cesspool filled with pornography and stupidity.  Hmm… I wonder where these guys are hanging out when their surfing.

It got me thinking though.  While there is more than enough silliness and filth on the Web, there is also an amazing amount of great content and information.  I think in reality, the smut and schoolyard shenanigans have always existed it’s just that The Internet gave it a way to flourish just as it has all the great sites and content out there.

I think about my own Internet usage.  I read the news via RSS feeds from reputable new sources.  I entertain myself with YouTube, Hulu, and Netflix.  I pay my bills online, pay my taxes  online, and I communicate online.  The Internet has given us the ability to do amazing things to simplify, and sometimes complicate our lives.

Guitar Center busts thief

Man this is the second story like this in a few weeks. It seems that some unsuspecting thief when he brought the stolen gear into the Covina Guitar Center. The gear was stolen from a school nearly a year ago and the local police had no leads.

This is a great story that demonstrates that if you steal gear, you can get caught. One more scumbag in lockup and more instruments back in the hands of some kids.

Read the story here

Scott

Related Posts

Can I sell you my (your) guitar

Getting your gear stolen sucks. You work hard to pay for your gear and when some scumbag street criminal swipes your axe it just plain sucks. Sure you file a police report and if your lucky it shows up in a local pawn shop.

Well here is a story of a very lucky musician and a very dumb criminal. It seems as though our six string thief decided going to the local Guitar Center to hock is newly swiped gear would be a good idea. Little did he know that the musician who's gear was stolen actually worked there.

Chalk one up for the working musician and put another gene pool challenged knucklehead in the clink.

Read the full story here.

In honor of our vets

Hey everyone, I hope everyone will be having a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend. While we celebrate those that have sacrificed to protect our freedom let's try to give a little back. To help honor our vets I wanted to put a few quick links up to some worthwhile organizations helping our veterans.



Guitars For Vets
This orginization helps vets with the donation of guitars. Music is a very powerful force for healing and putting a guitar in the hands of a soldier who has served their country seems like the least we can do.

The USO
The USO has been helping our service men and women for decades. Despite some popular beliefs this is not a government run program and donations are always needed.

Paralized Veterans of America
This organization is dedicated to helping vets with spinal cord injuries.

We all owe a debt of gratitude to the men and women who fight to protect freedom and democracy. Our constitution grants me the free speech to write what I feel and think and it wouldn't be possible if we didn't have our armed forces to protect our way of life.


Check out this earlier post on a rockin soldier


Scott

Pearl Jam Bassist assaulted

Jeff Ament, Bassist for Pearl Jam was assaulted outside a studio not long ago. Just as the vehicle he was riding in pulled into the parking lot of the studio three attackers swarmed the SUV knocking Jeff to the ground.

The first thing that came to mind was all of the assaults I've been reading about with guitars. If Jeff had is heavy duty 8 string bass with him at the time he may have been able to take out the felons before they knew what hit them.

Check out the whole story and the surveillance video here.

Scott