“Why nervy?” I hear you ask. Because tonight I have an audition for a lead guitar position in a gigging country band! Woohoo! These guys play a gig every week at the sorts of places and events I’d love to be playing at. For example, next weekend they are playing at the Castlemaine Truck Show. I love trucks, they’re awesome pieces of machinery, beautiful to look at and HUGE!
Give me one of them in white with a whole lot of blue pin striping on it and a red leather interior! HOT!!!!
But I digress. Along with truck shows they play at some great local bars where I’ve seen them play. They’ve even been flown to other parts of the country to perform. But perhaps best of all is that they do several shows for the ‘ute brigade’. These guys and girls love to have a good time and make a great crowd. They’re called the ute brigade because they drive utes with a lot of spotlights, mudflaps and Bundaberg rum stickers all over them, just like this one:
Oops, I’ve digressed again….I’m always nervous at auditions. The nervousness manifests itself as complete mental blanks (what does a G chord look like again?) along with a really tight grip of the neck - I probably give the guitar an entire years worth of fret wear in the course of a 15-20 minute audition!
Has anyone got any tips on auditioning? Booze is absolutely not an option (I do enjoy a drink, but never when performing). As is picturing them in their underwear – these guys are in their 50s and I don’t want to think about what they’d look like without trousers.
Lunch today will be a salami sandwich, an orange and a cup of tea. The salami was given to me by a friend whose family make it. They are of Italian descent and do a whole bunch of that sort of thing – salami, tomato paste, hunting. It’s very cool. This salami is the best stuff I’ve ever tasted. They put red wine and garlic in along with salt and pepper. They also use every cut of meat from the pig in it, whereas other people who make salami will reserve the better cuts (leg, fillet etc) for other smallgoods such as prosciutto. This has all the good stuff mixed in and man does it taste good!
That’s the non G&L topic out of the way, now for the G&L topic
Headstock shapes. Forgive me if this has come up recently but its something I’d like to address. They can make a great guitar look bad if they’re shaped wrong. I love the current G&L headstock, I find it a great, somewhat ornate interpretation of Leo’s classic design. Anyone out there dislike the G&L (or indeed any other manufacturers) headstock and if yes, then why? Is there a way you’d like to see it improved? Angled, locking tuners as standard etc.
Another manufacturer whose interpretation of the classic tele headstock I really like is Chihoe Hahns. It has a more modernistic look, almost like something you’d see in a Danish furniture shop.
That's all for now - I'll report back tonight after the audition to let you all know how it went.
Any feedback about the theme tune would be great!!!
Jamie
