Guitar Licks

Guitars, tips and great music discussions




You are here: Home / Archives for 2010

Archives for 2010

John Mayer signature Martin Acoustic guitar

by

My nephew Patrick told me that he just picked up a Martin OMJM (John Mayer Signature Model Acoustic Electric Guitar) during our Christmas dinner at my parents place. Patrick says he purchased it in Buffalo a couple of months ago. I for the life of me can’t remember how much he paid for it but $1100 (US) rings a bell.

The best review I’ve read so far about this beautiful instrument is very detailed. The reviewer makes it extremely difficult for the reader NOT to run out and pick this baby up ASAP. If there is anyone out there that has more dollars then sense, then please send me a comment and I’ll forward you my home address so you can send one to me! Thanx in advance to my new best friend, where ever you are.

Just to clear some things out of the way, the OM in OMJM is a technique that guitar makers use to make an acoustic guitar more responsive. The OM guitar is a far more dynamic instrument by design that produces better bass and treble tonality simultaneously, in contrast with alternative guitar making techniques. I’m referring to dreadnoughts or classical type of guitars.

The manufacturers of the OM style acoustic guitars, are Taylor & Martin (they’re the ones who started this style in the first place). A ton of guitarists out there consider Martin, the hands down winner of the two.

I love Martin guitars. Before I even bought my Larrivee L-03, I had Martin acoustic guitars on my mind. Martin guitar had the name, the longevity of the product and let’s not forget about who actually plays them, that appealed to me at that time. When it came down to crunch time on which one I’d get, it was an easy choice.

I basically bought the L-03 to play one song on it. That song was On the Road by Max Webster and I was going to play with an old band that I was in way back in the day called Pylis.

The best sounding Martin that John Mayer used before Martin made the OMJM was his Martin OM-28v. The sound that he gets with this is just unreal and it appears to be super responsive as well.

So my nephew Patrick told be the other day that he and his new OMJM are heading up here soon for a little visit and I can’t wait. I’m more then sure I ‘ll tell you all about the visit after he leaves.

Keep on Jammin’




Merry Christmas Everyone!

by

Well it’s that time of the year again kids. We all sit around talk, eat and socialize with one another. Some may go forth to spread the good cheers with family (some may even run the other way), friends or even plain strangers! I just hope that yours is full of great memories.

Have a Merry Christmas Everyone!

Have a Merry Christmas Everyone!

Us, we’re sitting around at home cleaning up, getting some fantastic food prepared to head off to my folks home for a little X-mas dinner and just being plain thankful for what we have, especially our health.

So have a safe and Merry Christmas with all your loved ones!

Keep on Jammin’ everyone!


Debbie Harry was abducted by Ted Bundy?

by

My wife told me about this bizarre story about how the lead singer of the band Blondie, Debbie Harry (age 65), was briefly abducted by the 1970’s serial killer Ted Bundy. I thought to myself that this is weird because I’ve never heard about this story before.

My wife came across this story through a UK newspaper feed that tells us of this nasty tale. If you closely follow Debbie’s story, it may come across as a little bit confusing. If you are aware of Ted Bundy’s life as one of the worlds craziest serial killers, then you will know what I mean. Go to Snopes to see more.

“He tried to stop me by spinning the car but it sort of helped me fling myself out. Afterwards I saw him on the news. Ted Bundy.”

As the story goes, Debbie informs us that this event happened in New York city. She claims, It was in the early ’70s and I was trying to get across town at two or three o’clock in the morning. This little car kept coming around and offering me a ride. I kept saying no but finally I took the ride because I couldn’t get a cab.

I got in the car and the windows were are rolled up, except for a tiny crack. This driver had an incredibly bad smell to him. I looked down and there were no door handles. The inside of the car was stripped. The hairs on the back of my neck just stood up. I wiggled my arm out of the window and pulled the door handle from the outside. I don’t know how I did it, but I got out.

He tried to stop me by spinning the car but it sort of helped me fling myself out. Afterward, I saw him on the news. Ted Bundy.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH3Q_CZy968&feature=related

I don’t know what to think about this story, but it sure was interesting to read.

Keep on Jammin’

Does bigger drums means a better drummer?

by

Is the old saying more is better always correct or what about less is more? Sometimes it is and sometimes …

I ran into this situation a couple of minutes ago. I was watching a neat little video from a drummer name Gavin Harrison. It was a video from a concert that he performed titled Sound of Muzak, in which he and his huge drum kit are the only things on the stage. I must admit that I have never seen a video like this, so I had to watch it in it’s entirety.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzFfNk4xGTE&feature=related

The video is not about a drummer performing inhuman drum solo over and over again, in what seems like eternity!

It shows us a guy who has perfect command of his drumming technique. Gavin’s style shows us that every one of his movements (rolls) are extremely fluid, flowing seamlessly from one drum to another. His drum kit in huge and the sound is just amazing! Now here is where I run into that old saying!

A old buddy of mine, Domenic, has shown us time and time again that he too exhibits these same musical skills as Gavin, but Domenic does so on a much smaller drum kit. He makes his modest gear sound like he is playing on a much larger one. Not that I’m bashing Gavin Harrison, not at all! It’s just that I think, most non musicians out there believe that you must have a lot of drums to produce a sound big. Now listen to by buddy to see what I am getting at.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgXnYew2YRE

So my question to you is does a bigger drum kit mean that you are a better drummer?

Keep on Jammin’

Just listening to some good old Wilton Said

by

I’m sitting back and relaxing this morning with a cup of Joe and not craving a smoke! Quitting is not all that hard … it’s just fighting the cravings once or twice a day that is a killer!

When checking out Facebook to see what was up, I realized that a buddy of mine (Wilton Said) had some sort of new web site, actually it’s his newsletter, that I was unaware of so I visited it. The newsletter had been around for a while, man am I ever behind on the old computer, so I just had to search for some neat ideas from this great keyboardists!

The site is nice and sleek. Simple to navigate and of coarse full of great tunes from the band! Right now I’m listening over and over to a song that I believe, sums up the idea of the band. It’s called The Empty Sky part 1. Every time I hear it, this one song brings me back to the first time I saw Wilton and his band at the Nuance festival for the first time two years ago.

I came across this fantastic interview of Wilton on Bill’s Prog Blog that I enjoyed reading. It talks about Wilton’s humble beginnings, what he and his band are up to now and what’s to come in the future. If you’ve never heard of this band before or your just into music that will make you think, then your search is over! Enjoy everyone and your welcome!

Keep on Jammin’ Wilton Said

Keith Richards goes after journalist during interview

by

So Keith Richards is up to the things that well, only Keith Richards can get away with!

According to Spinner magazine, Keith Richards allegedly attacked a Swedish journalist during an interview in Paris.

What got Richards all “started up” was a bad rating the critic had given the Stones in 2007. A few minutes into their interview, which was part of a publicity tour for Richards’ new autobiography ‘Life’, the rocker reportedly demanded a public apology and grew increasingly aggressive.

“His eyes got black and he was absolutely furious,” Larsson said. “He stood up and asked if we would put out the lights and settle the disagreement straight away. I realized he was serious and then I began to feel uncomfortable and that I wanted to get out of there pretty fast.”
NYdaily News

The interview, which was supposed to last 30 minutes, quickly ended as Richards reportedly hit the journalist in the head and growled: “You’re lucky to get out of here alive.”

Keep on Jammin’

The Three Musical Amigos!

by

threestringedmusicians

I’m not sure who these guys are, but they look like they’d be fun to watch playing this instrument somewhere!

I think that it would be quite the challenge playing in such close proximity to each other. Little things like bad breath could be the beginning of the end real fast for the musicians in this band!

To me, the worst thing about being one of the three people performing with this instrument is tuning. I am one of those guitarists who are forever tuning! I can’t tune my guitar while everyone is jamming like crazy. Maybe it’s the ADD in me I’m not sure! How about you?

Keep on Jammin’

Damn Life is Good!

by

The other day my favorite nurse that I work with at the hospital introduced me to this really cool line of clothing called Life is Good. The clothing comes with some fantastic sayings printed on them.

Most of the items on this site are generally intriguing, but the one’s that interest me the most are the guitar or music related products on the site. If your looking for some distinctive gifts to give someone then I think this is something to take a better look at.

The Life is Good company is based in the US, but has outlets in Canada as well. My friend tells me that any time she travels to the US, she is always aware of the location nearest her destination so she can do some window shopping.

The company carries everything from hats/caps, big cotton sweaters all the way to some cute doggy accessories. A couple of years ago we picked up this great coat for our dog Midnight that reminded us of something that Edith Bunker would wear going to church with good ol’ Archie. Man did that thing turn some heads when we took her for a walk in our neighbourhood! I only wished that they had some of their doggy cloths that came with some of the guitar or music sayings on them.

My favorite one is this sweater that says “Remember the Music is not in the guitar”. It has this stick man figure on it (BTW, Stickman is my old nickname) playing an acoustic guitar while sitting down. Don’t ya get it, the music is in the musician not the guitar? They also carry some neat embroidered Caps as well. Check out the Guitar Tree and Jake Campfire, their hilarious man!

Has any one out there been to one of Life is Good outlets? Tell me what you think is the craziest saying they have!

Keep on Jammin’

Gibson Guitar Knock off’s

by

So it seems like some clown, or a bunch of clowns, in China are attempting, rather badly at that, to manufacture counterfeit Gibson guitars to flood the market. Not to say that there is absolutely no domestic reproduction issues here in North America, but this story really got my attention! After researching this for a short while, I found out that this story is actually quite old.

How to tell your Gibson guitar is fake

NOTE: To tell you the truth, I just ran upstairs to make sure my vintage Gibson RD-Artist was really what I thought I got when I bought it from Steve’s Music in Toronto way back in 1979! It’s ok … it’s the real Macoy!!!

My father and I were on the phone, we talk around 3-4 times a week, the other night and he told me to hold on because he had cut out this article in the Brantford Expositor that he wanted to tell me about. While he left the phone to find it, I got on line and found the story. The story was called Be wary of fake Gibsons, police say.

how to tell you have a fake gibson guitar

The knockoffs are being sold for $1,200, while an authentic Gibson sells for about $2,500. People purchasing the knockoffs believe they are getting a good deal when in fact, the knockoffs are worth only about $200, he added.
Police have checked and learned that LA Music of Brantford, 139 Charing Cross St., is the only registered dealer for Gibson guitars in the Brantford area. Brantford Expositor


As the story goes, this man goes to some Chinese website, orders a fake Gibson Les Paul and sells it to a kid as the real deal. Thank God that his father is a guitarist and happened to own one when he was a young inspired musician just like his son is now. After bringing both the boy and his new dream guitar home, the boy’s father felt that something was wrong with this guitar, a gut feeling he had about it. So he went online to find telltale signs for knock off Gibson and sure enough they had been taken! Those bastards!

how to tell you have a fake gibson guitar

So has anyone out there had the misfortune of purchasing one of these genuine imitation Gibsons?!

Keep on Jammin’

Here I go, I’m trying to quit smoking

by

Ok, it’s time to quit smoking once and for all!!! My wife and I have decided that this is the right time to toss these crazy things in the old can for the final time and never look back! We have been smoking ever since we met 22 years ago. So here we go!!!

I had my first smoke when I was about 14 or so and I’m 45 now (holy shit where did the time go?) so that is way too long to of had this albatross wrapped around my neck. I’m finding that quitting smoking is not all that hard, but I must admit that this time, it has had it’s moments.

Using no drugs or gum, I’m off to a great start. My wife is a heavier smoker than I am (I smoked about 5 cigarettes a day) so she’s trying to quit by using Zyban and so far that’s working very well for her so why mess with a good thing, right?

There has been no increase in the intake of junk food but I have had an increase in more calorie wise snacks to help with the cravings. I’m staying away from chips, chocolate and empty calories like they’re the plague. I don’t want one bad habit to take over another one, that’s not all that wise now is it?!

I had my first smoke up in a tree fort in my neighbour’s backyard that was directly behind my parent’s home. There was me and these 2 other guys, I cannot remember their names for the life of me right now, in this really cool tree fort that we all helped put together. I have some very fond memories of this fortress in the sky that we all built and my first smoke is definitely a part of it.

Throughout high school I smoked a fair bit. A pack lasted me in the area of 2 weeks? I took a year and a half off after high school and during that time I had quit cold turkey. Then there was college! The amount that I smoked went up to about 1 pack a week and then there was the time that I tried rolling them myself and man was that a lot cheaper. The tobacco was called Drum and it had this really neat blue bag. I also found that Drum didn’t really hurt my lungs as much as the store bought ones. I was always doing these breathing exercises that I used for my vocal exercises all the time and man do they work.

Then after college I was smoking here and there, I was basically a social smoker. If I didn’t have any cigarettes then I didn’t smoke. I could take it or leave it, I was one of the lucky ones for sure! In the past year or so I’ve been smoking about 5 (sometimes more) cigarettes a day.

So now we both have come to the conclusion that it is time to quit for life! I’ve slowed down a ton the past 2 – 3 months, I know that I have gone on crazy cigarette binges from time to time due to stupidity, but I wouldn’t discount alcohol as a prime factor.

I had a heart scare many years ago and they still don’t know exactly what was the trigger for it. Right then and there in the ER resuscitation room I quit smoking, drinking, coffee, tea, chocolate and peanuts all at once! It lasted for about 1 year and then I had them slowly trickle back into my life. I shouldn’t have started again!

As I said earlier my wife is a heavier smoker than I am and when we both decided to quit she wanted me to be sure I wouldn’t start again since I don’t smoke as heavily and have an easier time stopping smoking than she does. Believe me, now that she’s quitting, if I do start again she’s going to be extremely upset with me because it could cause her to start up again.

So here we both are right now at another cross road our life and I hope that we can run with the ball of being smoke free right into the end zone of life!!! Wish us both luck … just in case you know?!

Keep on Jammin’

Meta

Archives

Pages

Tags

Acoustic amp band bands Brantford Bruce Cockburn Canada Canadian concert Entertainment fender funny General guitar Guitar Equipment guitarist guitar player guitars Home house Humor humour instrument jammin jazz John Mayer keyboard Live Music musician Musicians play playing Progressive Rock Pylis rock RUSH Songs to play sound strings Technology Toronto tour Video YES