Month: April 2014

  • Clapton Records Cale Tribute Disc

    Clapton Cale The BreezeTo honor the legacy of J.J. Cale, Eric Clapton recently gathered a group of like-minded friends and musicians to record Eric Clapton & Friends: The Breeze, An Appreciation of JJ Cale, scheduled for release July 29. It features performances by Clapton, Mark Knopfler, John Mayer, Willie Nelson, Tom Petty, Derek Trucks and Don White on 16 Cale songs.

    “I would like people to tap into what J.J. Cale did – that’s the point,” said Clapton. “I’m just the messenger; I’ve always felt that that’s my job. I try to interpret things so that the public at large, or at least the people who listen to what I do, will become intrigued about where I got it from.”

    After years admiring Cale’s work and covering songs such as “After Midnight” and “Cocaine,” Clapton  collaborated with Cale for the first time on the 2006  album Road to Escondido. At the time, Clapton said, “This is the realization of what may have been my last ambition, to work with the man whose music has inspired me for as long as I can remember.”

    Learn more at www.ericclapton.com.

  • Albert Lee

    Albert Lee

    Albert LeeSome find it ironic that Albert Lee, an Englishman, ranks as one of the all-time greatest country guitarists. Which is odd, since it’s a given that the Beatles and Stones are two of the greatest-ever rock and roll bands and Eric Clapton and Peter Green are among the top blues guitarists – both American musics, the latter black American.

    While Lee is at home playing blues and rock, it’s country where he’s exerted the biggest influence (on such heralded stars as Vince Gill and Brad Paisley) and has earned a spot in the genre’s history alongside fellow legends like Don Rich, Jerry Reed, and James Burton.

    This live CD/DVD set celebrates Lee’s 70th birthday – more than 50 of those years spent as a professional musician. Best known as a sideman (to Clapton, Chris Farlowe, the Crickets, Joe Cocker, Emmylou Harris, and the Everly Brothers), he’s also served as session ace (for Jackson Browne, Jerry Lee Lewis, Rosie Flores, Herbie Mann, Rodney Crowell, Rosanne Cash, and Dave Edmunds, to name a few) and was founding member of the eclectic Heads Hands & Feet. But a recent uptick in solo albums over the past 10 years, in his adopted U.S. and as leader of Hogan’s Heroes abroad, has been equally welcome and impressive.

    Though he wrote the much-covered “Country Boy,” Lee is most comfortable interpreting other people’s material. In fact, “Country Boy” is the only original here; the remainder are culled from Fats Domino, Little Feat, Ray Charles, and others, all given Lee’s indelible stamp.

    Though he jokes about there being no Viagra for guitar, he clearly hasn’t lost a step, and seeing him center stage, leading a quartet in such an intimate setting is a rare treat. And there’s plenty of fret burning, from Carl Perkins’ “Restless” to his showcase with Harris on Gram Parson’s “Luxury Liner.”

    The CD contains four more songs than the DVD. Switching to his first instrument, piano, Lee delivers perhaps the definitive reading of Crowell’s “Til I Gain Control Again.”

    Returning to the Music Man guitar named for him, typically in middle/bridge position, he closes with fiery renditions of “Country Boy” and Johnny Burnette’s “Tear It Up,” showing that he’s not just England’s greatest country-rocker; he, like Clapton or the Beatles, belongs to the world at large – and, more specifically, the guitar world.

    This article originally appeared in VG‘s June ’14 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

  • Levy’s Leathers Adds M17BWC Strap

    Levy’s Leathers M17BWC strapLevy’s Leathers new M17BWC strap has foam padding covered with the company’s soft garment leather. Its multilayer top is a veg leather with a basketweave-tooled insert. Measuring 2½” wide, it is adjustable from 41″ to 54″, with an XL option that adds 12″. It is offered in several colors. Learn more at www.levysleathers.com.

  • Heavy Hitters Rock Crown Guitar Fest

    Heavy Hitters Rock Crown Guitar Fest

    Robben Ford onstage at Crown of the Continent Festival. Photos: BrendaAhearn.
    Robben Ford onstage at Crown of the Continent Festival.
    Photos: BrendaAhearn.

    Want a surreal experience? Try looking up from your oatmeal to see Robben Ford and Pat Metheny strolling past your table, Lee Ritenour and Daryl Stuermer grabbing waffles in the chow line, and Scott Tennant sipping orange juice while discussing repertoire with the L.A. Guitar Quartet. The sky is postcard blue and a lawn slopes gently toward a shimmering mountain-ringed lake. No, you haven’t died and gone to guitar heaven. It’s just another morning at the Crown of the Continent Guitar Workshop & Music Festival, held each August in Bigfork, Montana.

    This nonprofit event celebrates the guitar and Montana’s majesty at Flathead Lake Lodge, a dude ranch that has hosted Bing Crosby, both Presidents Bush, and Bugsy Siegel. Money raised goes to scholarships for promising players, and local music education and environmental groups.

    Students this year chose workshops taught by Andrew Leonard (classical), Doug Smith (acoustic), Jody Fisher and Mark Dziuba (jazz), Tobias Hurwitz (rock), Jeff McErlain (rock and blues), Matt Smith (performance), James Hogan and Dennis McCumber (jamming), Bret Boyer (singer/songwriter) and Susan Mazer (beginner).

    Faculty and Artists-In-Residence (AIR) mingled with 68 students, aged 14 to 60-plus, who supercharged their playing at the workshops, afternoon clinics and late-night jams at local watering holes. Artists In Residence also popped into classes to answer questions and demonstrate licks – there’s nothing quite like having Ford show you his favorite blues turnaround!

    (LEFT) Lee Ritenour. (RIGHT) Robben Ford with bassist AbeLaboriel.
    (LEFT) Lee Ritenour. (RIGHT) Robben Ford with bassist AbeLaboriel.

    Luthiers Linda Manzer and Aaron Green were on hand, too. Manzer and Metheny playfully discussed their 17-year collaboration around the lodge fireplace and showed off their zanier co-creations along with Manzer’s new Signature 6 acoustic. Classical maker Green and his rocker partner, Neal Ward, debuted their stunning Westland Music Group electrics, crafted from sustainable woods.

    As the ranch herd galloped to pasture each evening, the concert tent filled to its 1,000-person capacity. Tennant brought his Grammy-winning L.A. Guitar Quartet for opening night, delighting the crowd. Metheny wowed with Trio 99-00 (drummer Bill Stewart, bassist Larry Grenadier).

    Session legend Lee Ritenour, who has supported the Crown Guitar Fest since it was a twinkle in founder David Feffer’s eye, co-headlined with Genesis/Phil Collins rock wizard Daryl Stuermer, each burning with backing by an incredibly energetic rhythm section of bassist Abraham Laboriel, Earth, Wind & Fire drummer Sonny Emory, and keyboardist John Beasley.

    Ford played for over three hours the following night with the same rhythm section, raising the roof with one soaring, spiraling guitar solo after another. Ritenour joined him for two songs, and they delighted in edging each other higher and higher.

    “It’s great being here,” Ford said. “The vibe is so chill and all the people are so nice. You can talk to anybody and anybody can talk to you. I’m kind of a private person so I appreciate when opportunities are genuinely easy to step into like this. You want to be approachable, [and] it’s pretty easy – people like you and they’re glad you’re here. And these other great guitarists are here!”

    This article originally appeared in VG December 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

  • Fender Names New President

    Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) announced today that Bob Roback has joined the company as president and joined its board of directors.

    Roback was most recently the CEO of Dashbox, a workflow management system for music licensing, and managing director of The Media Farm, which focused on managing an IP portfolio for multi-platform exploitation. Prior to Dashbox and The Media Farm, he founded LAUNCH Media, Inc. and served as its president, leading the company through its initial public offering in 1999 and its acquisition by Yahoo! in 2001. Following the sale, he served as VP and general manager of Yahoo! Music, where he led the company’s global music operations.

    Prior to LAUNCH, Roback practiced corporate and securities law. He received his J.D.from the University of Minnesota Law School and his B.S. in Economics from The University of Pennsylvania.

  • Craig Maki with Keith Cady

    Craig Maki with Keith Cady

    Detroit Country MusicCraig Maki and Keith Cady provide a well-researched look at an overlooked part of Motor City’s rich musical history. They offer new or little-known information about the fertile Detroit scene that influenced people such as Del Shannon and Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen with Bill Kirchen.

    The Motor City nurtured many country and pre-rockabilly pioneers. Included are the York brothers and Chuck Carroll, guitarist for Casey Clark’s Lazy Ranch Boys. Clark’s band featured steel-guitar icon Buddy Emmons, who talks here about getting possibly the first pedal-steel guitar in Michigan, a Paul Bigsby custom-made model with “Bud Isaacs tuning on the outside neck” and “the other two (set up like) Speedy West’s.” Emmons began as a kinetic guitar showman who often straddled the front of his non-pedal steel and played behind his back like a rockabilly T-Bone Walker.

    Detroit Country showcases homegrown figures like rockabilly icon Jack Scott, born in Windsor, Ontario, but raised in suburban Detroit. And it chronicles the many transplants, mostly from the Deep South, who were important to the development of country and rockabilly music, variations of what was then called “hillbilly music,” and to guitar culture as well.

    This article originally appeared in VG‘s June ’14 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

  • Ed Mundell

    Ed Mundell

    ED_MUNDELL

    Since he arrived in Los Angeles in 2010, it’s been “all systems go” for former Monster Magnet guitarist Ed Mundell.

    After 19 years with the band, Mundell moved west from New Jersey to launch a new phase of his career. His latest project, the Ultra Electric Mega Galactic, is a hard-chargin’ instrumental space rock trio with bassist Collyn McCoy and drummer Rick Ferrante. Much like his previous non-Magnet project, The Atomic Bitchwax, it puts a welcome bead-like focus on Mundell’s Hendrixian fuzzed Strat “magick.” Its self-titled debut was released on the guitarist’s own Orbit Unlimited label.

    How’d you hook up with Collyn and Rick for the UEMG?
    Rick and I met a few years ago at a Nashville Pussy show. I had just gotten married and moved to L.A. when Rick and I decided to jam. He introduced me to Collyn, an absolutely amazing bass player. We didn’t intend to make a record, but songs formed from our 20-minute jams.

    Did you originally intend to keep things all-instrumental, or did the right singer just never materialize?
    I got sick of working with singers and the approach to recording with a singer and the egos that go along with it. I’ve worked with some great vocalists such as (Monster Magnet’s) Dave Wyndorf, but I’ve worked with some really limited vocalists. I had to take a break. That said, Collyn plans to sing on the next album. He has an amazing voice – picture Lemmy mixed with Phil Lynott and Ozzy Osbourne!

    Did you do anything differently in the studio compared to your work with Monster Magnet?
    I approached it totally differently. With Magnet, we would spend 12 hours a day analyzing two or three notes, and I recorded scratch tracks that were never kept. This time, we recorded live and layered parts on the live tracks, so any extra guitars you hear are added after the fact. It felt more organic and retained the spontaneous nature of a band playing together. It’s the first time I ever kept scratch guitar tracks.

    What were your main guitars, amps, and pedals on the new album?
    For guitar, mainly my Angry Angus Strat copy. It’s been my main guitar since I found it. For leads, I used the sunburst Strat Plus I’ve had since 1992. For doubling rhythm tracks, I used a ’62 reissue SG and an SG-X with a P-94 pickup.

    For amps, the 1976 Orange 120-watt Overdrive I’ve been using since ’92 through a Marshall Jubilee 1987 cabinet. For pedals, I used a KR Musical Products Mega-Vibe and my signature Creepy Fingers Infinity Fuzz pedal, plus a Geoffrey Teese Real McCoy wah, a Fuzz Face, an Analog Man ARDX20 Dual Analog Delay, and an Electro-Harmonix Stereo Memory Man Digital Delay/Looper for backwards effects.

    Were you specifically looking for an Angry Angus, or did you stumble upon it?
    My wife, Karen, was working in Montreal, and I visited for a couple weeks. I didn’t have a guitar with me, but I would visit this one shop every day to try guitars and pedals. I kept coming back to this black Angry Angus with a maple neck. They also had a sunburst version with a rosewood neck, but I liked the maple better. The guitar spoke to me.

    What’s the story on your signature Infinity Fuzz pedal?
    The Infinity Fuzz is basically my version of a Fuzz Face produced with Brad Davis, from Creepy Fingers, who came up with the circuit design. I wanted a Fuzz Face without the headroom headaches that come with a Fuzz Face. I use it all the time.

    How did you find Matt Lynch and Mysterious Mammals Studio?
    We discovered them through Eddie Glass and Nebula. Then I recorded some guest guitar tracks there with the band Abrahma, and Matt and I worked really well together. I love the fact that he works really fast. He’s like me – get in and get out! I like capturing the initial vibe, not over-working a song.

    The sitar on “The Man With A Thousand Names” is a cool psychedelic touch.
    I did the “backward” sitar and Collyn doubled his bass lines with sitar. I used DADADD tuning, which makes everything sound great!

    Sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison opens the CD with a spoken-word piece. How’d you connect with him?
    I am a huge sci-fi fan and an avid reader of ’40s, ’50s and ’60s sci fi. Collyn just happened to know Harlan Ellison, and Harlan agreed to do the spoken word only if I would do backwards guitar on it. He is a big supporter of the band.

    Your website lists a solo album release in 2013. Is that still on track?
    Yes. I’ve been working on it for years and have tons of material. I want to have friends and guests play on it. I’ll also be releasing it on my own label.

    This article originally appeared in VG September 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

  • Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin

    Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin

    Otis Redding Aretha Franklin First off, neither of these excellent four-CD sets includes personnel listings in their skimpy liner booklets. This is simply unpardonable – especially considering how stylish, how influential, how downright phenomenal the backlines are on most of these songs.

    But to back up and start from the start, these two new collections are fine, budget-priced sets that cover the highlights of Otis Redding’s full career and Aretha Franklin’s famed Atlantic years from 1967 to 1976. Included are all the classics that you’ve got to have, plus singles, interesting B-sides, rarities, and live shots. The musical selection is rock solid.
    All of which makes the lack of liner notes even more mystifying. The king and queen of soul knew good sidemen when they had them and certainly would have given credit where it was due. It’s the backlines, and especially guitarmen, on many of these tracks that are key components in making them sparkle.

    Most cuts here are prime examples of how to play tasteful rhythm riffs, accent the vocals with the perfect quick lick, step forward for a short-but-sweet solo, and then back out of the spotlight into the shadows.

    On Redding’s breakthrough early ballad, “These Arms Of Mine,” the unsung hero was Johnny Jenkins, a lefty guitarist whose flashy blues impressed a young Jimi Hendrix. Jenkins was the original bandleader, but after Redding broke out and hit big, Jenkins opted not to join Redding’s band, and in 1970 cut his own solo LP, Ton-Ton Macoute, with support from none other than Duane Allman and group.

    The pianist on “These Arms Of Mine” was a young Steve Cropper, who as a guitarist, co-songwriter, and sometime producer would play a key role in Redding’s career at Stax and Volt Records. Cropper – along with the rest of Booker T. & the MG’s, often with the Mar-Keys horn section – played on many of the singer’s best tracks. Cropper’s guitar behind Redding is always in service of the song and the singer. He’s the exemplary sideman or studio musician, depending on the venue. His playing is elegant, spare, and yet truly sublime. Cropper also picked his Tele on some of Aretha’s greatest sessions, but never played the same developmental role as he did with Redding. Aretha had many backing bands during her decade-plus with Atlantic: Cornell Dupree on “Respect,” Muscle Shoals Swamper Jimmy Johnson on the standout Lady Soul album, Kenny Burrell on Soul ’69, Joe South, Bobby Womack, bassist Tommy Cogbill who also picked a six-string, and more.

    Her most famous sidemen, though, were Eric Clapton and Duane Allman, albeit on only a cut apiece. Clapton, then part of Cream, played lead and got special billing on “Good To Me As I Am To You.” Allman’s slide work graced Aretha’s version of The Band’s “The Weight.”

    He leads off the song with gritty, lowdown bottleneck before Aretha and the Swampers come in, laying down an impossibly funky vibe.

    So get these two excellent collections to pay homage to the king and queen. But listen closely to the guitarmen and backlines: Otis and Aretha sure were.

    This article originally appeared in VG‘s May ’14 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

  • Logjam Music Adds Travelog and Prolog Acoustic Stompers

    Logarhythm Acoustic StompersLogjam Music has added the Prolog and Travelog to its line of Logarhythms percussive stompers. The devices respond to foot tapping and produce a low-end tone that can be varied by tapping on different areas of their chambered block while wearing hard- or soft-soled footwear. Hand-made, they are analog, purely passive, and made of sapele. Their sound is transmitted via a dynamic microphone to amplification such as a guitar combo, PA, or recording desk via its a standard ¼” Neutrik output jack. They have a non-slip base that isolates floor vibrations. Learn more at www.logjam.net.

  • La Bella Offers Low Tension Flexible Flats

    La Bella Strings’ Low Tension Flexible Flats are designed to deliver classic sound without the “floppy” effect associated with other light-tension flatwound strings. Hand-wound and hand-polished, they have round cores and narrower ribbon wire to achieve a smooth feeling, and are available in four- La Bella Low Tension Flexible Flatsand five-string sets in standard long-scale, as well as short, medium, and extra-long scales. See more at www.labella.com.