…and now, back to music…

…I figure this is a (mostly) music blog, so enough about baseball for the time being.

While in high school, there were few bigger influences on me than the Stones and Faces. Imagine my delight when, in late ’73, news came across the pond that the bands’ respective guitar players, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, had teamed up to work on Woody’s first solo album! It seemed almost too good to be true.

The genesis of the project, according to Keith, was that he was out on the town one night and bumped into Ronnie’s first wife, Krissie. She mentioned to Keith that Ronnie was up at their house in Richmond, working on a solo project, and why didn’t he drop by? Keith did, and wound up literally moving in until the album was finished; “I’ve Got My Own Album To Do” quietly became one of the best albums of the mid-70’s.

The title, of course, was a gentle dig at their respective bandmates; Rod Stewart, at the time, was recording his solo effort, “Smiler“, Ronnie Lane had just finished his first solo project, “Anymore for Anymore” , and even Stones’ bassist Bill Wyman had ventured into that territory with “Monkey Grip“. All this gave Keith and Ronnie the necessary time to themselves. Of course, both Rod and Mick Jagger eventually wound up contributing to Ronnie’s album.

In order to create some buzz around the album’s release, the musicians that recorded most of the album (Ronnie & Keith, with Face Ian Maclagan (keys), ex-Sly & the Family Stone Andy Newmark (drums), and veteran session bassist Willie Weeks) played a series of gigs at Kilburn Polytechnic (now part of the College of North West London). This band, though it was only together for the few weeks that the rehearsals and gigs took, is now sometimes referred to as “the First Barbarians” , in reference to Ronnie & Keith’s side project of the 80’s, the New Barbarians.

My impetus for this post is that I remember reading at the time that the gigs were filmed; I wondered if any footage had survived. Youtube, as usual, came through. To whit:

 

A few fun facts about the recording of the album and those shows:

• Keith’s decision to move into Ronnie’s house may have been motivated by considerations other than creativity; Scotland Yard was looking for any excuse to bust him (he’d walked away from some firearms charges when police badly botched the investigation) and had his own London home in Cheyne Walk under 24-hour surveillance.
• The house where the album was recorded, the Wick, is  an English Heritage Grade 1 listed building. Constructed in in 1775, one of the previous occupants was actor John Mills. While there, Keith stayed in daughter Hayley’s former bedroom.
• Before this all took place, Keith and Ronnie were nodding acquaintances. After a few weeks they were bosom buddies, then semi-permanent guest stars in each other’s projects. By 1975, Ronnie had replaced the departing Mick Taylor as the “touring” second guitarist in the Stones and, though other people were auditioned (Wayne Perkins, Ry Cooder) became the last “official” member of the Stones in 1976. Everyone who’s played with them since (Darryl Jones, Chuck Leavell, Ian Mclagan, Blondie Chaplin) has been an employee.
• Like the Pirates’ gigs at Dingwall’s, Woody’s concerts in the fall of 1974 seemed to be one of those touchstone moments for the nascent punk movement in the UK. Nick Kent relates how he was at one of  the concerts with Malcolm McLaren when Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Glen Matlock and first Sex Pistols guitarist Wally Nightingale suddenly appeared out of nowhere; not having the money for tickets, they had used their skills as second-story men and climbed in through a skylight in the roof!

Wilko Johnson

“I already had a gig when they asked me to do Game of Thrones…”

Wilko Johnson has played his last gig, according to a story in the Daily Express. He was hoping to do a series of gigs on his home turf of Canvey Island in Essex, but his failing health wouldn’t allow it.

Dan Achen 1958-2010

“Danno” – 1958-2010

Very saddened to hear of the passing of Dan Achen, guitarist for numerous Hamilton bands, Monday, from an apparent heart attack.
Danno was one of the original Hess Village mafia, as we all (the Deacons, the Trouble Boys, the Florida Razors, Guitar Mikey, John Lewis, et al)  were back in the day. Originally, he was part of the one-two punch of guitarists (Colin Cripps being the other) that fronted the Go-Devils.

His big break came in 1988 or so, when Tom Wilson tabbed him to be the guitar player in his new act, Junkhouse. They worked their asses off, got a major-label deal, and made the rest of us very proud.

Danno was also a big-time guitar collector – everyone in that world knew and respected his expertise. If you were serious about getting a rare or vintage guitar, he could use his contacts to find you one; no matter what remote corner of the globe, he’d know someone.

All the “MUST-HAVE” sounds…

I’ve never been a “pedal guy”. Fiddly bits of gear that pretty much work at their own convenience, and, despite the nickname “stomp box”, break half the time when you stomp on ’em. Now that you can buy hand-wired effects pedals that cost HUNDREDS (!) of dollars, there’s always someone ready to take the piss.

Witness RedTelectronix Custom Effects. Obviously, he feels about pedals pretty much the same as I do. And no, Rick, this isn’t about your current love affair with the wah-wah. I’ve always hated pedals.

The Left Right Hand….

Hamilton blues diva Trish O’Neill and I were having a conversation the other week about how we both happened to be naturally left-handed, but learned to play guitar right-handed.  It was, for her as well as me, a matter of the availability of instruments as much as anything else.

But it led me to wonder, “How many others are there?” Well, once you get around to asking, it would seem that almost as many natural lefties play right-handed as left-handed. LeftHandedGuitarists.com  posts the following list of players who are left-handed, but play righty:

AL ANDERSON (I assume they mean the guy from NRBQ, not the guy who played with Bob Marley)

BILLY BOB THORNTON

BILLY CORGAN

BOB BROZMAN

BRUCE COCKBURN

CALVIN NEWBORN

CARL WILSON *

CHRIS MARTIN (Coldplay)

CHRIS REA

DANNY GATTON *

DAVE HOLE *

DAVID BOWIE *

DAVID BYRNE

DUANE ALLMAN

ELVIS COSTELLO

ERIK DARLING (The Rooftop Singers)

GARY MOORE

GEORGE BARNES

GEORGE VAN EPS *

GILES HEDLEY (Giles Hedley Blues Band, The Aviators)

INORAN (a.k.a. INOUE KYIONOBU)

JANICK GERS (IRON MAIDEN)

JIMMY RAINEY

JOHN WETTON (KING CRIMSON)

JOHNNY WINTER

JULIA ROBERTS

KEANU REEVES

KEITH CARRADINE

LEFTY FRIZZELL

MARE WINNINGHAM

MARK KNOPFLER *

MICHAEL ANGELO BATIO *

MICHAEL BLOOMFIELD

MICHAEL HEDGES

NICK LOWE

NOEL GALLAGHER (Oasis)

PASCAL PERIZ

PAUL LE MAT

PAUL SIMON

PHIL HILBORNE

PRESTON REED *

RIK EMMETT (Triumph)

ROBERT FRIPP

RUVANE KURLAND

STEVE CROPPER *

STEVE MORSE

TED GREENE

I am amazed by how many of my favourites are on here – Steve Cropper, Michael Bloomfield, Al Anderson. I am also amazed by how many super-pickers there are – Danny Gatton, George Van Eps, and one that remains unconfirmed – I’ve always understood Roy Clark to be a member of the fraternity.

 

Les Paul 1915-2009

It’s Les Paul…with a Les Paul!

WOW. About a month ago I was having a conversation with Deacon buddy Alfie Smith. He was absolutely beside himself – he’d been invited to New York to play with Les Paul at his Monday night residency at Iridium. Unfortunately, I don’t believe Alfie made it in time – Les died this morning at his home in White Plains, NY, of complications relating to pneumonia.

I don’t exactly how to quantify what Les Paul did for the music that came after. Perhaps the best way is to paraphrase Ron Wood – ” I was sitting in the control room of a recording studio with Les Paul one day, and he’d point at a piece of gear and say ‘See that? I invented that.’ Then he’d point at another piece of gear and say  ‘See that? I invented that.’ Then ‘And that’. ‘And that’. ‘And those over there’.”

It is something of an exaggeration to say that Paul invented the solidbody electirc guitar, or multitrack recording. However, he standardized it, and taught musicians that there was no reason that they couldn’t be in charge of the records they made. Once recording tape came along, there was no reason to let the technicians run the show.

A lot of the musicians that influenced me were Les Paul disciples – Eddie Cochran, Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly, and entire generations from the sixties onward. You can read his CNN obit here.

Is this the new Golden Age?

Ugh…

For the electric guitar, I mean. There seems to be a real renaissance among guitar manufacturers and distributors these days. Thinking back to the decade when the Deacons were formed, there were some awful things happening. People were pulling mellow, fat-sounding pick-ups like P-90’s and HiLoTrons out of classic guitars and replacing them with gawdawful high-output noise boxes. The first generation of digital processors were drowning us in effects, making your average guitar sound like it was being played through a dishwasher. Classic manufacturers were making terrible, terrible mistakes like the Fender Katana. It just makes you shudder.

However, these days, it seems like a week doesn’t go by when I find a new (to me, anyway) company doing exciting things along more traditional lines.

Eastwood Airline

There’s Eastwood Guitars, in Georgetown, Ontario, who are endorsed by everybody from Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks), to Stan Ridgeway (Wall of Voodoo), to Robyn Hitchcock, to Chris Difford (Squeeze), to Earl Slick (David Bowie), to Deacon buddy Alfie Smith. They make repros of 60’s guitars in factories in Korea and China, specializing in oddball American and European makes like VALCO, Messenger, Mosrite, Kay, Univox, Wandre, Hopf, Hofner, Eko, and the like. They change their lineup regularly, so visting their website is always a treat.

There’s St. Blues Guitars, which started as an outgrowth of the custom shop at Strings & Things, the legendary Memphis music retailer. Their current models are designed in America and made in Korea. If your idea of an ideal guitar is a semi-acoustic cross between a Les Paul and a Telecaster with a bolt-on neck, you’ll love their stuff.

You all know how much I looove P-90’s – Reverend Guitars has a couple of models that sport three of them. They’re also manufactured in Korea, which means almost all their models are under a thousand bucks. Their lineup includes signature models for the late Ron Asheton (Stooges) and Pete Anderson, Dwight Yoakam‘s guitarist.

Top-of-the-line Japanese maker Greco is making licensed guitars based on the designs of the late Tony Zemaitis, probably best known for the custom axes he built for Ron Wood. They ain’t cheap, but they are beautiful.

Duesenberg Guitars are a comparatively new make from Germany, which are both absolutely gorgeous and appear to hold true to the tradition of German craftsmanship. Just the hardware on these babies is enough to bring tears to your eyes. They offer signature models for Ron Wood and Mike Campbell (Tom Petty). Again, they ain’t cheap.

Lastly, let’s not forget that the traditional companies have come a long way, too. Fender, who were the initial subjects of my ranting here, are now making reasonably-priced offshore models that would probably challenge any of their mid-70’s (or later) American output for quality and playability. The Baja Telecaster is a perfect example of that. The Squier Telecaster Custom II that I bought almost a year ago is a fabulous axe, especially since it was priced under 300.00. Let’s hope it continues.

Happy Birthday, Chuck!

“Can I interest you in a Cadillac? One owner, low mileage…”

Saturday was the 82nd birthday of one Charles Edward Anderson Berry. If you play guitar, and were born after World War II, his playing has affected you in some way.

In many ways, Chuck is the single most influential musician in my life. From Keith’s total obsession with him on the early Stones records, through Aerosmith, The Dolls and lesser lights like The INMaTES, The Flamin’ Groovies and The Count Bishops, every act I love has been influenced by him in some way. Now, largely because of Chuck, my current influences are his – T-Bone Walker, Charlie Christian and Carl Hogan, Louis Jordan’s phenomenal guitar player.

Anyhoo, I don’t need to tell Chuck’s story, because it’s already been told – twice. First in Hail, Hail Rock’n’Roll, the movie that Keith essentially commissioned about him in 1987. Second, in his own autobiography, published around the same time, which I still regard as one of the most honest reads about rock’n’roll, by a rock’n’roller.

In a similiar vein, I would like to take this opportunity to wish my parents a happy anniversary.

Alfie Smith Benefit

Hamilton blues guitarist and Deacon pal Alfie Smith suffered one of the ultimate misfortunes this summer – his house burned to the ground while he was out gigging. Fortunately, no-one (not even the dog) was home at the time.

Aside from the losses of all worldy goods, and all those things for which you hold sentimental attachment, Alfie also had to deal with the immediate practical problems of a person who’s self-employed; the loss of a significant number of his tools of the trade.

The other musicians in the Hammer have quickly rallied ’round in an effort to help out. There’s a benefit tonight (09/07) at the Fenian Films studio at 211 Locke Street South, featuring such Hamilton luminaries as Tom Wilson, Dave Rave and Harrison Kennedy.  Tickets $10.00 at the door.

Unfortunately, the lovely and talented Mrs. Crossley is a bit under the weather, so I’m afraid we won’t be able to make it. However, the Deacons will be well represented by Mr. & Mrs. Thorpe. Dan has, of course, offered to repair any guitar damage gratis for his old pal Alfie, but thankfully, most of Alfie’s axes were travelling with him at the time.

If you want to read the complete story, here’s the Hamilton Spectator piece. If you’re unfamiliar with Alfie’s music, here’s a piece he recorded for the Spec’s video archive.

They just keep comin’…

Finally found confirmation today that one of my dad’s faves, Jerry Reed, passed away August 31, from complications related to emphysema.  This had been in the wind for a few days, but like most things on the ‘net, you don’t believe it until you’ve seen it from a reputable source. Here’s the CBC obit.

Though he was known mostly as Burt Reynolds’ sidekick in the “Smokey and the Bandit” movies, Reed was a very accomplished guitarist and songwriter. He wrote “Guitar Man”, the centrepiece of Elvis‘ ’68 Comeback Special, and wrote “Thing Called Love” for Johnny Cash. He also had hits of his own, like “East Bound & Down” and “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot”.

But he saved his best playing for his guitar duet albums with Chet Atkins. Dad had two of these from the 70’s (I remember Chet saying in the liner notes – “Jerry’s the most dangerous kind of guitar player around. He doesn’t steal your licks – he just sits around and makes up his own!”), and apparently they recorded a third very recently – have to find a copy of that.  The playing on those records is exactly as you would expect – two guys who love to pick, doing it for the sheer joy of doing it.

Dad met Jerry in a coffee shop at the airport in Toronto in the late 70’s. He told me Jerry was completely true to character – very down-to-earth, and eager to talk to a fan – especially about his guitar records.  He also kicked the straw Stetson back on his head with an expert flip of the thumb to whistle at a pretty girl walking by! Dad got his autograph that day, and dad wasn’t much for autographs. I wonder if he still has that napkin?