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Well its that time again, the smell of the crowds and the roar of a Ginsters pasty on the Motorway services at 3am.

Our first stop was the Lionheart Brothers gig at the Nottingham Bodega Social in January. Overall it was ok, but it didnt help that we had to set up on top of their backline, so I spent 30 minutes with a Marshall stack up my arse. It so close to me that I could feel it rather than hear it.

Overall things went ok, but it was shaky. We ended the set with a new song, which I’m not against, but it did seem a bit risky. The Christmas break had meant we needed to polish up a bit but the audience seemed bigger at the end of the set than at the beginning so that was something.

Next stop was Hoxton Bar & Kitchen to support Nottingham legends Six.By Seven. Unfortunately my amp had recently been faulty & allthough repaired the previos day….. a problem with noisy FX loops appeared in Soundcheck and I was thus forced to use our HoS backup rig consisting of my Sansamp TriAC preamp pedal through our singers old 1978 Marshall JMP head. The Sansamp is great, but it is reactive to the peculiarities of the amp your putting it through. Distortion was Ok, but the clean sounds just seemd too toppy and lifeless. As we’d arrived horribly late due to traffic, our soundcheck was a panic and…

Deprived of my usual tonal comforts I just played the gig as best as I could, but it wasn’t enjoyable for me. The SixbySeven audience was polite enough, but you could tell we werent really their cup of tea. We also decided to play 2 new songs, which was a risk too far. They seemed to love the first song and the last 2, the bit in the middle??

Then our next stop 2 weeks later was the Bull & Gate in Londons Kentish town. This time we were opening for Brazillian shoegazers Wry, who decided to have the longest soundcheck in the history of man. We even went out for dinner & came back and they were only just setting up the other support bands backline. As I sipped my Guinness & black I began to worry.

However my fears were unfounded, the gig went great, we’d been sensible and pulled back to playing our normal set with added discipline and aplomb. The one new song we played went down great and I even enjoyed playing the one song in the set I dont usually enjoy.

Compared to 2007, my 2008 rig remains unchanged, save for the exra delay line, A TC Electronics ND-1 Novadelay is being used for synchronous delays in “Wish It Away” and to add exta atmospherics in our new tunes.

I still havent forgotten about the £500 Stratocaster challenge, I’ll post an update soon.

Peace Out

I saw him standing in a corner of St Pancras Station, Thick brown wavy hair, long black coat

The case looked like It may be an acoustic or maybe even a semi, like a 335, maybe an Archtop

So I asked him

He replied ” God-No” in a dour pretentious Schoolmasterly voice. His tone was dismissive.

Then it dawned on me

He played one of these

Now I love the tone of a good gut or Nylon strung Classical guitar. I fell in love with Balleto by Weiss at the age of 14 and wished I could play it. I even went for Classical guitar lessons for a bit as a 15 year old.

Thats where my problem started

My teacher was well meaning, but at 14 I could play quite a lot of stuff and rather than help me adapt and build the Classical discipline into what I already knew. My teacher insisted on brushing that aside and making me learn from scratch.

He’d taunt me and say “its not a Fender Stratocaster now” as if a strat was a garden spade and his midrange Spanish a paintbrush in comparison, as if he was the artist and I the DIY enthusuiast.

Eventually I lost interest, there seemed no point to learning to play Bah Bah Blacksheep when reading music, when I could work out a Yes track by ear?

Then later I met a guy who could play Classical Guitar, at Conservatory level, he’d studied under the masters and knew his stuff. He also ran a Classical guitar society to boot.

But he’d also auditioned for Iron Maiden and played Rock, his hero was Steve Howe from Yes and he had an unhealthy obsession with Fender Amplifiers designed by Paul Rivera.

I went to a recital by his Classical guitar ensemble and I quite enjoyed it. He had people of all different levels playing together and a few duo pieces.

But while I drank Chilean wine and M & S nibbles, I talked to some of the other players and noticed an interesting correlation in their attitudes.

Some of the weaker musicians were total snobs about the electric guitar, again they saw it as a terrible crude thing. The more advanced players seemed prejudiced free, maybe they didnt like it. But they didnt seem to see it as a lower art form.

I find this funny because at the moment the Electric guitar is undergoing a massive transformation. In the past you bought a cheap guitar and taught yourself, off records or CD’s and stuff you saw. Other guitarists, relatives, siblings and friends. The Electric Guitar was a folk artform, a beginner could get a reasonable sound and result out of it.

But soon that will pass. Personally I’m scared. There have always been guitar teachers and some of these guys are good. But now the Electric guitar is becoming institutionallised.

There are now music schools in both Britain and the United States, music grades and exams, you can learn songs and solos and be graded on your competency. The pretentious music snobs who rejected me have all gone out and bought a Yamaha Pacifica 112, to teach kids with and earn money. Its funny how money will malke some people lower themselves eh.

I wonder what these Royal College of music Examiners and Academics would make of true originals like Keef, Kevin Shields, John Martyn, Will Reid, Polly Harvey etc etc. What would they make of originators of the form, Robert Johnson, Wes Montgomery, Albert Collins.

In a way its a scary thought, does an artform die as soon as you institutionallise it?

You could look at 20th Century art and a school of tradition. But to me I prefer Art made by the likes of the French Postman Ferdinand Cheval, an ordinary man, who at the age of 43 created the palace of his childhood dreams using stones he found on his daily route and discarded objects. To me he made this beautiful artwork out of some divine inner need to create. Not because he thought it was a good career or maybe a right wing advertising executive with a perchant for busty Jewish Princesses wanted to buy it.

Beautiful isnt it.

So long live Rock and Roll and the poor disenfranchised kid sitting alone in his bedroom on a borrowed unplayable guitar witha high action, making mistakes & trying to figure it out and discovering him or herself in the process. If one day that kids replaced by a calculating, careerist fame academy wannabee who cares only about their “grades” then humanity is fucked as far as I’m concerned and we will go to hell in a handcart.

After having had My Gibson Les Paul set up at Chandlers and consiquently falling back in love with it, I’ve decided not to sell it. I did actually tried gigging it on Saturday night in Blackpool and I’ve come to the conclusion that while its a fine guitar, it does not cut through the mix as well as my Telecaster and is therefore no use as a gigging axe in my current band.

So needing a good backup guitar soonish. I’ve decided my next guitar will likely be a Stratocaster or good variant, however I want one with certain specifications. My ideal Strat if I had the cash to splash at the Fender Custom Shop would feature.

A 22 Fret neck, ideally with Jumbo Fretwire (string bends are easier and it feels more expressive)

Either a humbucker in the Bridge Pickup, or an active boost of some kind, maybe those nice SCN pickups and S-1 switching of the American Deluxe Strats.

A modern Radius (ie:flatter) fingerboard profile on a traditional late 50’s, soft ‘V’ neck profile.

Locking machine heads and a modern Trem

It would be black with a black scratchplate and look all mean

A vintage tinted neck with a Brazilian Pau Ferro fingerboard (ok I’m getting really silly here)

However I don’t have £3000.00 to spend! The most I’m gonna spend on said instrument is likely to be around £500….. ish , so in order to get maximum bang per buck, I’m going for either the secondhand market or the grey import one.

So far I’ve narrowed it down to the following instruments

1: Fender J-Craft Clapton. The japanese version of Erics signature strat has a V neck, active preamp and Lace Sensors which IMHO piss all over the current Clapton models choice of Fenders own “Noiseless” single coils.

Basically its a japanese built mark 1 Clapton Strat. Now these are so cheap I can get a new one for £500. Its got the active boost to give me fat humbucker type tones and a V neck. Would change that shitty 1 ply scratchplate though.

2: Levinson Blade RH2/RH4. A japanese built classic from the late 80’s. Blades are very popular with session musicians and working pro guitarists alike, they don’t have many rockstar endorsees but chances are, if your in the pit band in Miss Saigon, you own one of these.

Featuring a 22 fret neck, Jumbo frets, a fabulous build and Blades own VSC active electronics. The Blade is the dark horse here. The biggest drawback is their residual value. The prices seem all over the place used. A quick scan of Ebay shows used prices from £500-900 depending on condition. Thats a lot of variation for a rather unfashionable guitar. But its a lot of guitar for the money.

Downsides? I’ve heard that the pickups are a bit clinical sounding and seen quite a few guitars retrofitted with EMG’s. Lookswise its a bit dated now. But its features in this price range make it a serious contender.

3: Used American Deluxe Strat. The V neck version is probably my ideal guitar but think some of the the colour schemes are rank. That gold adonised scratchplate looks nice in the dealership, but wil look like shit after 3 months of gigging.

Plus factors? Loved the SCN pickups and S-1 switching, the soft V neck was ace on the guitar I tried last year. However most guitars on the used market will have a modern C profile neck, which feels too small for my big hands. The credit crunch in Britain means I am seeing quite a few of these in the classifieds going for reasonable prices as Barry defaults on his mortgage payments and under pressure from the wife decides to use his Squier silver series instead.

Downsides? The earlier American Deluxe Strats feature the same Fender “Noiseless” pickups as the later Clapton Strats, these are best described as tight sounding and scratchy and are to be avoided, unless you factor a complete pickup retrofit into your budget, and that would be at least another £150. EEEEK!

And finally

4: Fender Lone Star/Texas Fat Strat. A late 90’s classic variation on a theme. Its also the devil I know as a mate of mine owns one of these and they are amazing tonally. The Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates HB + 2 Texas Special single coils give incredible versatility. It literally can do anything tonally, one of the few guitars made with hot pickups, where an element of thought has gone into how the pickups interact with each other.

Downsides? As with the American Deluxe, I’m not a fan of Fenders modern C shape Profile. Also the body carve looks a bit boxy and square on the examples I’ve tried. Also its getting on for a 10 year old guitar, so finding a clean one may be difficult.

I’ll update this blog as I try these beauties out and give my conclusions here.

Adios!

I caught a bit of X-Factor/ Pop Idol or Fame Academy or whatever the fuck its called the other night, I find the bit when the hapless fame hungry yet devoid of talent scumbags audition for Simon Cowell and co the most entertaining part of the whole show. If they are talentless and self dillusional, then they are usually all the more entertaining for it. If they have thick pushy and delusional parents who are going to belive Simon Cowell will pluck “our Kazza” out of her Chipshop and big earrings and into megastardom and a life of wealth then its just the icing on the cake.

Crap TV aside auditioning can be a fraught thing. There are many factors to consider and not just the X one;)

In my 20 years as a gigging guitarist, I’ve auditioned for quite a few bands. Some auditions have been more successful than others. I don’t know if these are handy tips or not…more a recollection of what went right and what went wrong.

1: Where is the Audition taking place? and what gear do I need

Usually for most bands its a rehearsal space, so you’ll need an amp or at least access to one. Most places usually let you hire/borrow one, but a quality amp is not always guaranteed. I’d also avoid taking along your full rig until you know the people a little better. This will also allow you to focus on the parts you need to learn rather than what echo or flange to use. The basics are best worked out as cleanly as possible IMHO. It will also enable the band to judge your ability more fairly rather than be distracted by your 10 channel super amp or the pedalboard you could land a Sea-Harrier on.

Also is the audition all night or just a 10 minute “Cattle Call”. If its the latter then you won’t have time to piss around.

Personally for my most recent auditions I bought along a Tech 21 Sansamp TRI AC pedal which has been a brilliant little device as it gives me an acceptable high quality tone no matter what piece of shit its plugged into. It also gets used as backup if my main amp goes down. A similar distortion/preamp device is perhaps a useful investment, Maybe even a multifx unit with just some good basic clean and dirty tones, as it will make you feel more comfortable with the tone coming out of the speakers, therefore you’ll relax more and probably play better. If you spend the first 35 minutes of your audition trying to get a good sound out of your amp then you’ll look like a twat and no one will hire you.

The two “Bedroom” (ahem) auditions I did were both for indie bands led by winsome and indie songwriters. In both cases a small practice amp was provided. Sometimes these can be entertaining just by observing someones living environment. I auditioned for a sensitive Singer Songwriter in 2000 at his Camden Flat and found my guitar playing disturbing a sleeping semi naked girl on his sofa, who then procceeded to manically clap along to the final track we tried while skinning up while forgetting to wear clothes. In the end it was a “dont call us” type scenario, but an entertaining afternoon nonetheless.

2: First Impressions

Often people will judge you quickly, on silly things like what you wear, what guitar you own and if you smell or have flies following you around. For example if you turn up at a heavy metal band audition dressed like Paul Weller or brandishing a Semi Hollow Jazz guitar then they will usually not be interested, unless its Queens of the Stone Age maybe.

Back in 2001 I had a bassist audition for the Stoner Rock band I was in, he was wearing shorts and a bemuda shirt. The rest of us were all in black….this guy looked like Timmy Mallet and despite having good gear and playing ability……we didn’t gel as people and he didn’t get the gig.

Its sad but instruments will also play their stylelistic part. After the 80’s rock band I was in folded I auditioned for several bands who all regarded me with suspicion as I was playing an Ibanez RG superstrat at the time. I soon worked out that they saw me as a “metal” guitarist and I quickly went out and bought amore traditional and less widdly 62 Strat re-issue.

3:Be prepaired

Nowadays with Myspaces and CD-R’s its easy to get a copy of a bands songs and learn up the parts. It usually helps if you’ve worked out some ideas of your own too. Some bands or songwriters get really arsy over any terretorial pissing on a guitar players parts. But most are usually happy for you to bring your own style to bear as long as its sympathetic with the material.

4:Ability & Style

I auditioned for a signed Hard Rock actin 2003, however the CD never arrived in the post from them, musically it was simple enough, but for one thing. Every song was in drop D. While I can play in drop D,its not my strongest suit as a guitar player. So on the heavier material, I felt as though I was just doubling the other guitarist and nothing more. Needless to say I didn’t get called back.

5: Personality

Bands are essentially a gang of dysfunctional people, so it helps if you can fit into that dynamic and find your own niche within it. Some bands are obsessed by image, others less so. I always think if you can feel comfortable working with people in a collaborative way then go for it. Sometimes mavericks and genius’ can be disturbed people. However I would be wary of stepping onstage with such people unless there was either a lot of glory or a big fat paycheck at the other end.

Also its worth looking at the dynamic of whats already there…….are the other members close…..are they happy…..do they look like they enjoy each others company???? Can you imagine being stuck in a van with them for 5 weeks at a time?

6: Goals

If they like what you do, then comes the tricky bit…..what are there goals? Is it just playing the local blues club once a month….or just a few covers at weddings. If its a band/solo artist playing original tunes. Then what are the goals and where is the band going…..you may be asked to commit a big chunk of your time, so its worth knowing whats expected of you before you sign on with them.