Thusday 27 September 2012

Thanks to those who stopped by and those who posted yesterday.

Lunch
Egg and salad roll I brought from home. I didn’t enjoy it. Nothing wrong with it …. Just wasn’t in an egg and salad frame of mind.


G&L
Q1 How did the love affair begin? What was your first G&L purchase? Did you know anything about G&L before that point?

For me it was a Legacy. I’d always had an interest in Leo’s career and projects so watched his involvement with Musicman and the transition to G&L with interest. It was a long time before G&L products made it to this part of the world and even now there are no dealers on this side of the continent. First time I saw one in the flesh was at a charity gig we played and a guy in one of the other bands had a Legacy that I got to try out. Loved it so much I did something I rarely do … bought one on line sight unseen – I usually like to try before I buy. The guy who had it was Karl O’Callahan who happens to be the Western Australian Police Commissioner and his band “The Filth” is made up of senior officers from the force. Oh, and the all the band’s earnings are directed to charity …. Police Legacy!

More Signs of Spring
Not a flower today. A lot of Australian native plant thrive on being burnt. Unfortunately we left this Grass Tree (aka “Blackboy” nit that’s no longer politically correct) a couple of years more than we should and I probably ought to have taken more of the old fronds off before igniting. But it will come good …..



Non G&L
As a forerunner to today's first peoples clips ....
Q2 are lyrics important and do they need to be intelligible?

A music show I watched a couple of years back posed these questions and concluded that while the human voice added something that helped folks "connect" with a piece of music it is more about vocal qualities, inflections etc rather than the use of actual words that matter. Agree or disagree!

Are there any singers you enjoy but really wish they came with subtitles. A few weeks back Jamie posted the awesome Shark Fin Blues by The Drones which clearly falls into this category, as does James Reyne from Australian Crawl.


First Peoples – In Their Own Words

OK, Native language performances had been well accepted for many years. It was hard to pick tracks for today … there are so many. All of the bands I mentioned yesterday had produced numerous songs in their native tongues but I didn’t want to double up.

First up … Yothu Yindi are probably best known for their worldwide dance club successes with rocking dance tracks like “Treaty” and “Djapana”. There are a lot of influences in this more obscure track for sure but it’s a fun piece
[youtube]tt4nja-ZDpA[/youtube]

Second, blind since birth and speaking very little English, Gurrumul Yunupingu has one of the most awesome voices you’ll find anywhere. His solo material is more acoustic and laid back and I’d highly recommend seeking it out. This collaboration with Blue King Brown won’t please many of Gurumal’s fans but I picked it to highlight his versatility and to showcase native language working seamlessly in contemporary music. Besides I quite like it!
[youtube]bdpoWcma4HE[/youtube]

And to finish off today, previous Deadly Award winners the Saltwater band …
[youtube]H47v07UwPj4[/youtube]

Cheers, Robbie

Robbie, we have signs of fall such as frost in Northern Minnesota at night. Going into another winter but we will be out by May.

The guitar in your Avatar is beautiful. Is it actually painted like that or is it done with lighting?

Lyrics importance depends on who you ask. I have never been a lyrics guy and always focused on instrumentation. However, I have witness the impact words have on people. Two weeks ago we played "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place", a song done by the Animals during the Vietnam era. It is not a favorite of mine but an elderly vet who had served in Vietnam walked up and thanked us for playing it. He was in tears and I am sure had a lot of memories that resurfaced after hearing it. People do relate to lyrics!

The G&L experience happened for me about 4 years ago when I traded an American Tele for Legacy. It was an eye opener for me and I had heard very little about G&L. Since then I have owned over 20 G&Ls initially have quite a number of Legacys. I am now more heavily loaded with ASATS. I have migrated to ASAT style and give me a chambered ASAT or a belly cut am I am happy. Throw in a Bigsby and it gets even better although I do like the DF.

I still haven't reviewed the videos as it takes time to download them. I will when I have time. I have a premonition of a bowl of Chicken Noddle for lunch today. Great week Robbie -- Darwin

Thats a cool story about the Legacy, Robbie. Never knew that about O'Callahan, thats a very nice gesture on his behalf. First time I played a G&L was about 2001 in Guitar World in Cannington. It was a Japanese Tribute ASAT, I don't remember if it was a Special or a Classic but do remember that it was $1200, and I tried to buy it by signing up for one of those in store finance things. In retrospect I'm very, very glad I was refused. I didn't play or even see another one until 2008 when I bought my first G&L online. I had a Gibson ES335 as my main guitar at the time and could not believe how much better made the G&L felt. I've acquired one per year sine then!

Lyrics - I don't listen to them, its more about the vocal performance for me. I was laughing about this with my girlfriend the other day. Out the roughly 200 songs I play across the bands I'm with, I don't know all of the lyrics to any of them except the ONE song that I sing. Sure I could sing most of the chorus' and hum my way through the rest, but thats about the extent of it. Probably why I like the Drones!

Darwin - I heard Eric Burdon singing "Outta This Place" a couple of years ago. I was walking by the outside the perimeter of an outdoor concert but could hear it clear as a bell. Man, he's still got it. I've never heard anyone sing with such passion in their voice, truly excellent.

Great job this week Robbie, Sorry I haven't been able to participate much.

I've told the story before about discovering G&L. Long story short, discovered them by accident in a store. Fell in love with the Rampage and walked out with it. Sold it in '92 and spent 20 years trying to replace it. Amazingly I found that guitar in a pawn shop this past July. It will never leave my side again. It's like an old friend!

Here she is back home again! It's my main guitar. Still plays great and has a sweet tone!



Thanks,
Dave

My G & L experience started in the early 90's. I had never seen anyone play one, nor had I ever even heard of them. I had just graduated from college and did it debt free. After picking up a job that gave me a little extra pocket change I decided to treat myself and go shopping for a new guitar. A music store that I frequented had just started carrying a new line of guitars after he returned from a trade show. He had one in the store. I sat down and played a Legacy. I had never played anything that felt so natural and sounded so good. I ordered one built with the #4 rosewood neck, locking sperzels, and a cherry burst that is a little more rust than cherry. Even after the all the other G & Ls that I have or still own, that is still my favorite. It's completely stock and you can just tell that someone really took time and cared about the build. I even love the tilt and three bolt neck. I've never had a problem with only three bolts, but I have seen some abused G & Ls over the years where the three bolt necks have become misaligned in the neck pocket.

Darwin - Yesterday was very wintery here – rain all day, 17C max temperature and cold winds. It should be back to around 30C by Sunday though. The guitar in the avatar doesn’t exist (YET!) … its actually is actually a Photoshop meld of a legacy HB with a Floyd and a standard Legacy with a DF. I created it while testing out some ideas for a refinishing project that hasn’t happened yet.

Lyrics – Sometimes lyrics strike a chord and other times a song or tune just associates itself with a time or event. Pretty powerful when both things happen together.

Jamie – The Filth doesn’t play out much but they’re not to shabby – they play classic rock. On the lyrics, you’re not alone – there’s no way I could cover if our vocalist was MIA. Agree with you on Eric Burdon.

Dave – Thanks for stopping by. I remember your story on the Rampage – some things are just meant to be! I haven’t had an opportunity to try a Rampage but I’ve listened to a good few AIC tracks that I’ve liked the tone on.

Nut Brown Ale –. Same experience I had when I got to try out that Legacy at the gig.

G&L
Q1 How did the love affair begin? What was your first G&L purchase? Did you know anything about G&L before that point?

I ran across a new G&L ASAT Bass in about 1991 new in a store. It sounded spectacular. I later learned that the MFD pickups were the primary reason.

I ran across a beat up first style SB-2 in a store in Boise years later. I liked the bass, but not that one (too beat up for me + expensive) so when Greg G. was selling his first style SB-2 on ebay in early 2000 or late 1999, I bought it. Since I've added an L-5000 and a El Toro fretless. The SB-2 is still my favorite, though the L-5000 seems to be the one that records the best. Here it is on the TV Cycle theme:
[youtube]AF2R_LubbnY[/youtube]

That intro bass part wasn't planned. I came in early when recording, and when I played it back, I realized the "mistake" was an improvement. The video has my Martin EB-28 on screen, but it's all lies. The L-5000 is kicking out the sound.

Here's my SB-2, as documented as Greg:
http://www.ggjaguar.com/sb-2-84.htm

-Brock