The Grandmas

 The Grammy nominations are coming up.

They should do the right things and just shut them down. The politics are ridiculous, then some group will come along and claim it was too white (like they just did with the Emmys). When I was young, I remember hearing who was nominated and won, with great shock and anger. I play guitar - I feel strongly. It was all garbage.

Here's a list of Grammy winning or nominated artists from the past I like:

• Eric Johnson
• Jeff Beck

Here's some research

• Pat Metheny (20!)
• Robert Cray
• Jimmie Vaughan
• Delbert McClinton
• Buddy Guy
• Elvin Bishop
• Joe Bonamassa
• BB King
• Kenny Wayne Shepherd
• Eric Clapton
• Dr. John
• Bonnie Raitt
• Johnny Winter
• SRV and Double Trouble
• Steve Vai
• John Hiatt

It makes me hopeful for music, but this is mainly because there is a Grammy Blues category. We owe Stevie Ray Vaughan a lot for his music and his efforts on behalf of the blues.

What will win the Grammy this year?

The same thing that does every year: product

John Hiatt got in there because he's a great writer with a really good sense of humor. Wrote a lot of hits for others (Thing Called Love - Bonnie Raitt). Check out Little Head. Check out what all the guitars are doing. Probably a fun guy to hang around with.

that snare sounds like shit

Hero of the Stupid

 Every now and then someone comes along and says something so incredibly stupid that you have to wonder if they're just joking.

Today's candidate is Ryan Tedder, who has written songs for everyone up to Paul McCartney, and performs in the band OneRepublic*

Mr. Tedder says "Classic songs are strangling new music" 

by which he states that new songs are up against classic rock, like Queen, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, ABBA, and Oasis, and don't have a shot (uploading to streaming).

1. has he tuned around broadcast radio in the last 20 years? Some areas are lucky to hear rock, but have no trouble hearing HOT HITS 20! 
2. The actual complaint is that the new songs are crowding out classic songs. It's been that way since I started listening to music
3. there's also the issue of quality. A great quantity of current music is purely product, put out to sound like every other hit. Maybe some songs aren't catching on because they're garbage....
4. People want to know where the great new music is. These include classic rock fans as well as younger listeners. Give them a Led Zeppelin cd and they're blown away. Where is our new Led Zeppelin? If you put it out, we'll buy it  [minor side note: Greta Van Fleet]
5. to whatever degree, the good stuff will float to the top. Put out some good stuff.

"No one has any control over what's going to catch fire."

• Should we remove classic rock? Just stop it from streaming because new artists don't have as much of a chance? This sounds as good as racial and gender mandates for jobs.

Mr. Tedder did not really sound like he was joking - it came out as more frustrated than anything.

John Petrucci is coming out with an 8 string Music Man.

I dunno... Jeff Beck uses 6 and they're enough for him.

But seriously, knock yourself out..

Remember Music Man amps?

A solid state front end and tube power section.

Not a particularly good idea, imo, based upon playing them.

Although my buddy had one that paired well with his Marshall when distorted.

A lot has been written about Jimi Hendrix.

A lot.

A lot has also been written on Jimi's equipment, from curly cords to alleged switches on the back of a Strat.

After viewing Monterey, I realized nothing at all had been written about his gum. Jimi chewed like a madman, throughout his set, even when setting his Strat alight.

To me this is an incredible feat. Jimi could play several parts at the same time. I can't imagine, for the life of me, how he could chew anything. The man was a god.

If you think about it, Jimi had a pretty static chain: Strat, Univibe, wah, Fuzz Face, Octavia, Marhsalls. He made all those noises live with only these. I don't think it was in the equipment.... Ever play a Fuzz Face? They're difficult to get a decent tone from, unless you're looking strictly for bad late 60s fuzz or part of Eric Johnson's lead tone.  *Yes, he was always trying something out and this does not reflect his chain in the studio.

I have a Strat, a Fuzz Face, and a Univibe equivalent, going into a Marshall. Do I sound like Jimi?

Please.

Some may cite my lack of curly cord, Marshall that's not late 60s and not turned up loud enough, and rear pickup slanted the correct way for a lefty. 

Please.

I don't sound like Jimi because I can't play like Jimi. I believe that if I could play note-for-note, and got a reasonably close tone, people would say I sound like him.

Apropos of nothing, I repaired a plexi Marshall and put it up against mine. I couldn't turn them up loud, but the only significant difference was that my head was more gainy in the preamp. 

*I have not heard their songs, so I can't comment

General Specific Stuff

 I'm a huge ZZ Top fan, since high school. There's just nothing like Billy F Gibbons. I'm a bit unhappy with their decision to remain ZZ Top after the death of Dusty Hill (RIP). Covering the bottom end will be Elwood (Francis?), BFG's old guitar tech.

On most albums, there was a weird song. Squank comes to mind. The big question here is what is Snappy Kakkie? Manic Mechanic is one of my favorites, but less for the guitars than the drums. Give 'em a listen during the 'chorus' bits and at the beginning. Also, during the "That's right" vocals is a great Billy bit involving suspended bar chords with the E and B strings ringing. Heaven, Hell or Houston is another fun one. Asleep in the Desert is completely out of left field - it belongs in a movie. Ten Foot Pole has pitch-shifted vocals and cool drums. Fool for Your Stockings live is a great blues piece and goes off into an hysterical bit about stockings - "Ladies, them stockings is a real cross you must bear."

One of the things not mentioned frequently is the way Billy filled out a three piece group in the studio. Listen to the sliding piano-like bits during the riff of Cheap Sunglasses, as well as the lead. Interesting drums too. Fool for Your Stockings has an interesting almost acoustic sound for the main riff, doubled with something else. There's lots of percussion and guitars you have to listen for. Billy studied percussion with Tito Puente, although I don't know if he played it on the albums. He is also fond of playing behind the beat, which really fills things out, Francine for one. Esther be the One has some very well-mixed in Strat on the harmonized parts, panned hard left(?).

Also interesting is that Billy appears onstage with Pearly, his Les Paul, or some semblance of it, equalized to sound like Pearly. However, earlier on, there were Stratocasters. Apologies to Pearly and Chevrolet come to mind. You never see a Strat onstage. I think he wants to get on and off, with one sound. Check out Party on the Patio.

Call me a heretic, but I never liked the synth-hits that made videos and made them huge, including Legs. The videos were pretty cool, though.

But they can do pretty too: check out Rough Boy, featuring Lord of the Strings, Jeff Beck. Also 2000 Blues. Sure Got Cold After the Rain Fell sounds like his guitar went through a Leslie. Interesting chords. 

And da blooz. Blue Jean Blues. It's deliciously sparse.

ME?

the Fenders

This group is appropriately called 'the Fenders'. Guess why?

from left:

1977 Strat, sunburst finish literally started to peel off

1994 Squier ProTone Strat - grab one if you can find it - feels vintage-y, relatively cheap

1978 Strat non-trem

1977 antigua Strat (pukeburst) - my #1, ain't nothin' like it. Weighs more than my car, has more bottom end too.

2005(ish) Strat body, authorized Fender Warmoth backwards v-neck, Christian piezo bridge pickup

1994 G&L Legacy - every guitar should have this bass control

1978 Tele - the most comfortable neck I have ever played, heavy as hell

all pickups replaced, likely Duncan SSL-1L and JBjr, Tele front-Fender 52 repro, rear-Van Zandt Rock

bunches of custom wiring for when I get bored

preferred necks are 7.25" radius, somewhat v-shaped, good fscking luck finding Fenders with these specs. The late 70s Fenders necks I've played vary from a large squashed C to various Vs that are very comfortable to play.

If anything looks a little weird, they're all left handed.

Funny: the late 70s Strats were real dogs. The Micro-slip Tilt neck would wander all over the place, frequently while you were playing. The finishes were sometimes garbage. The pickups sounded horrible. They could vary wildly from day to day or even morning to afternoon. Yet they're now 'vintage'.

Yes, there are non-Fenders too, as well as amps. Stick around.

• I have a recent Seymour Duncan pickup, which has a warning about coming into contact with nickel. California, California, what are we going to do with you?
• as little as possible

I hate to mention Niki Manaj in a music blog, but she said something I agree with the other day.

Thus proving that even a broken clock is right twice a day.

First Blatherings

I have no shortage of comments for most subjects. As I've been playing guitar for a long time, I have even more to say about guitars and music.

What's the only thing worse than a drum solo?

Two drum solos.

 

Eric Johnson: All About Venus Isle | Exclusive Interview

• I have another idea.
• uh-oh
• When John Bonham died, the members of Led Zeppelin said there could be no Zep without him
• Page and Jones want to get the band back together. It's generally acknowledged that Plant is the barrier, stating he doesn't want to drag out the oldies.
• Ok, start a new band: Plant, Page, and Jones. Write new songs and put out an album.
• Tour, playing songs from the album and Zep tunes that can be performed well
• I get a cut of this because it's my idea

Jimmy Page is one of the founding fathers of blues/rock guitar. He's a legend on the strings and in the studio. Unfortunately his post-Zep output has been.... not up to his potential. I think he and Jeff Beck suffer from boxed-in syndrome, where they can't get out a lot to see who the superstar musicians are. These are the people who should be playing with them.  Page, doing what he did in Led Zeppelin, shouldn't have any problems putting together a HOT band, recording a killer album, and touring. Why hasn't this happened? We know he doesn't need the money, but he needs the music. And we do too.

Let's go back to high school, without our masks, to put together some really hot solo bands:

PAGE:

John Paul Jones: bass

Jason Bonham or Heart's first (Derosier?): drums

Paul Rodgers or Rik Emmett (Triumph): vocals, guitar, keys

JEFF BECK

Vinnie Coliauta: drums

Max Middleton: keys

special guest Jan Hammer: keys

Rhonda Smith: bass

Bob Tench/Rod Stewart: vocals

PLANT

John Paul Jones: bass

Jimmy Page: guitar

Jason Bonham: drums

see what I did there? 

Phil Collins: drums (played on first 2 solo albums)

Tony Hymas: keys  (played with Jeff Beck)

Doug Aldrich: guitar

2nd guitar/keys to replace Bob Mayo (RIP).....?

Speaking of Plant's solo albums, I re-listened to his third the other day (Shaken 'n' Stirred)

Using all my musical and descriptive abilities, I say "oof."  Plant himself said it would've sold better if he put a $10 bill in with it. Having enjoyed the first two, I was disappointed. It reeked of synth-pop. I really liked Sixes and Sevens, but that was it. If I understand correctly, Plant was at odds with his guitarist/collaborator, Robbie Blunt, and changed bands after this.

One of the most nervous guys in music had to be Robbie Blunt. Although this was Plant's solo career, the man was essentially replacing Jimmy Page. He did a decent job too, with his Strat, using the rear/middle pickup combination as his default. Technical descriptions I've read state he ran into a Boss CS-1 (first Boss chorus, large, lacking a lot of flexibility) into a pair of Princetons. Sounds good to me.

Why am I typing about 1980-something?

How the hell should I know.

I remember the first video, featuring a masked guitar player walking over tables.

The first and second solo albums contained some good songs, some that I remember note-for-note, even when I got them out, 20 years later. Phil Collins played drums in the studio and live on the tours. He played xylophone or similar on Big Log, a huge hit. Obviously not everything was great, but it's worth a re-listen.

One of the pressured people who isn't interested in rehashing the past, including solo albums, is Robert Plant. Poor guy has to come up with all sorts of new stuff for every album. There are a few semi-recent concerts on YouTube, which I recommend. He redoes a few Zep tunes, but that's not the focus. 

As a huge fan who never saw them live, I really want them back together.

The first time I saw Page's hair silver was a bit of a shock. Just like Brian May's.

Our heroes are not dying rock and roll deaths (drugs and choking on your own vomit) anymore: they're getting old. It's beyond weird. And they're suiciding, which is beyond sad.

The Who's "I hope I die before I get old" contains quite a bit of irony.

HUGE POINT: if you're feeling like this, talk to someone. As bad as it feels, you don't have to feel this way. Talk to family, religious leader, suicide hotline, psychiatrist, therapist, anybody.... we want you here... really. Have you ever seen the aftermath of suicide? Not blood - the people left behind... spouses, children, parents, family, friends.... Yes, it feels horrible. Talk to somebody.

I believe art comes from internal agita. Having played in bands and comedy, most of the ones I've met are miserable. Misery creates art. Van Gogh wasn't entirely well. Neither Scott Weiland (STP). You can produce art without taking yourself out. Look at everybody who does....

Note: it is ok to occasionally take out the audience. I kid. But opening the fire hose on them is good clean fun.

I do go on, don't I.

I do wander, don't I.

There's a Twitter account that posts pictures of classic rockers and newer.

There are a ton of Debbie Harry (Blondie), for some reason.

One pic showed her right breast. If the left looked even half as good, Chris Stein got a bargain.

I guess I missed out by not liking their music.

Another famous right breast is that of Tal Wilkenfeld. Tal is an Aussie who played for Jeff Beck. 

That's another foundation of this blog: no matter what it is, I don't like it. 

Whatever it is, I'm against it.

If it doesn't have tubes, it's not an amplifier.

If it's not musical fireworks, it's not interesting to me.

Remember "to me". My opinion.

Post a comment with yours.

It's getting more and more difficult, but buy local if you can.

We recently lost a local store.

Next installment: some of my gear

Welcome to ThermionicGuitars

 HI there and welcome.

I have so much to say on music, why not split it off from ThermionicEmissions?

Here you'll get my feelings on left handed guitars, non left handed guitars, musical instruments in general, music itself, and overflow sarcasm from ThermionicEmissions.

Stick around, while I make this blog almost as ugly as the others.

Remember: if you're not getting pissed, you're not reading my blog(s)