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Hall Pass: From Stevie Ray Vaughan to Ozzy Osbourne, 14 Glaring Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Omissions

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How in good conscience can an institution that has admitted Gladys Knight & the Pips overlook Ozzy Osbourne?

That was the burning question that kept us awake after we learned about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s inductees for 2014.

Don’t get us wrong. We were thrilled to see Kiss and Nirvana finally listed among this year’s entrants. But after 28 years, we think it’s time that the Hall shower a little respect on some of the musicians that have thrilled and inspired Guitar World and its readers over the past 35 years.

And so to the judges who choose the Hall of Fame’s nominees, we say: Your honors, we plead insanity. We’re just crazy about the following 14 acts (in honor of 2014, of course). We think you should be too.

Stevie Ray Vaughan

The Rock Hall has always generously acknowledged blues guitarists, from Robert Johnson to T-Bone Walker to B.B., Albert and Freddie King to Buddy Guy and Eric Clapton.

So an induction for Stevie Ray Vaughan would be a logical next step. Coming up in the Eighties, SRV revitalized an interest in the blues among older fans while turning a whole new generation on to this vital American musical genre.

In a field crowded with titans, Stevie Ray brought his own unique style to the blues idiom, incorporating elements of western swing and post-Hendrix rock guitar histrionics into his dazzling six-string approach. He’s one of the major reasons why the blues is still going strong today.


Dick Dale

You’d think the King of the Surf Guitar would be a shoe-in for the Rock Hall. Dick Dale crafted one of the most distinctive and influential sounds of the early rock era, consulting with Leo Fender to develop much of the gear needed to create his tone.

He brought beguiling Middle Eastern flavors to rock’s palette with his 1962 classic “Misirlou,” and his plectrum-melting double-picking technique sent echoes down the rock history pipeline that would energize everything from shred to prog-metal in the decades that followed.

Beyond all this, Dale is a living personification of this thing we call rock and roll—an upside-down-lefty outsider who did it his way. He still is doing it, for that matter, at age 76.


Deep Purple

The Rock Hall’s prior recognition of metal originators like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin sets a clear precedent for inducting Deep Purple as well. Why leave out the band that gave the world one of the most-played heavy guitar riffs in the universe, 1972’s “Smoke on the Water”?

The nimble legato stylings of Deep Purple guitarist and founding member Ritchie Blackmore have inspired countless rock ax wielders, both famous and infamous.

While some of the post-Blackmore lineups have been a bit dubious, Deep Purple’s early Seventies impact on the sound and style of rock music is an unassailable credential.


Yes

The fact that Yes have not been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, while Rush have been, is a lapse of taste and judgment on the order of admitting Oasis to your party but telling the Beatles you can’t find their name on the guest list. Yes not only did it first, they did it better than most who followed.

The group formed in 1968, a banner year for stylistically adventurous U.K. rock bands that also saw the birth of King Crimson and Jethro Tull, two more suitable candidates for Rock Hall induction. But no group sums up all the best aspects of prog-rock more eloquently and beautifully than Yes.

Their early Seventies golden trilogy—Fragile, Close to the Edge and Tales from Topographic Oceans—set an unequaled benchmark for epic orchestral keyboard arrangements, complex time signatures and the fervently ambitious guitar agenda of Steve Howe, fearlessly fusing elements of classical, jazz, folk, flamenco and rock.

Singer Jon Anderson brought a Beatles-esque melodic sensibility to the prog arena—hummable tunes are all too rare in the genre—and was one of the few artists in the genre who could spin a mesmerizing lyric without getting bogged down in grandiose conceptual gimmicks.


Fugazi

When indie, metal, thrash and grunge guitarists give interviews, they invariably cite Fugazi as a key influence.

In certain circles, a Fugazi T-shirt is as de rigueur as a pair of Doc Martens boots and a wallet chain. With their D.I.Y. business ethics and egalitarian politics, the Washington, D.C., post-hardcore stalwarts brought the best aspects of Seventies and Eighties indie punk into a new era.

By refusing to play the music-biz game, Fugazi guitarist and leader Ian MacKaye and his colleagues have consistently produced quality records and maintained a reputation for integrity. Isn’t that the kind of thing that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is supposed to commend and recognize?


Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick have been called America’s Beatles. They’re one band that appeals to rock fans of every stripe—from punk rockers and Nuggets-loving garage-band geeks to metalheads to classic rock traditionalists. Why is this?

Because Cheap Trick embody the very essence of rock and roll music—great tunes driven home by powerhouse beats and a manic guitar attack that makes you want to jump up on your seat and pump your fist in the air. Plus, they’ve never taken themselves too seriously. How many other rock bands that have been around for almost 40 years can claim that?

With his Huntz Hall baseball caps, bow ties and multinecked “novelty” guitars, Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen makes it all look so easy. But guitarists can recognize the consummate artistry behind his seemingly nonchalant approach.

Rock critics have always loved Cheap Trick as well. So why the hell aren’t they in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame already?


Boston

Whatever one thinks of the Seventies AOR radio format, few if any had the formula more succinctly dialed in than Boston mastermind Tom Scholz.

As Boston’s guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, Scholz had his finger on every aspect of what made records sell in the multimillions back in the polyester decade. He’d studied his antecedents well: the pomp and circumstance of Yes and ELP, turbocharged by Queen’s massive guitar overdub overkill.

But Scholz brought his own consummately hooky songwriting sensibility and immaculate instrumental craftsmanship to the party. A scientist as well as an artist, he often designed and built the gear—notably the Rockman preamp—required to create the tonalities he heard in his head, a sound that came roaring over the ultra-compressed FM radio airwaves like a fighter jet.

Boston’s influence on subsequent rock music has been pervasive. What is Nirvana’s sacrosanct “Smells Like Teen Spirit” riff if not a recasting of Boston’s “More Than a Feeling”?


Spinal Tap

Induct a joke band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? It wouldn’t be the first time. Presumably, one reason why bands get inducted is that they’ve exerted a pervasive influence over rock culture in particular and popular culture at large.

By that criterion alone, Spinal Tap deserve a nod. They made exploding drummers and amps that go to 11 as much a part of rock music as backstage passes and crooked record contracts.

And if artists get inducted for exhibiting a profound understanding of what makes rock tick, Spinal Tap creator Rob Reiner certainly deserves Rock Hall enshrinement. Next time you go to an arena rock concert, consider that the band you’ve paid big money to see probably watched This Is Spinal Tap on its tour bus en route to the gig. If that isn’t rock and roll inspiration, then what is?


Johnny Winter

While the Rock Hall has done a splendid job of acknowledging significant blues guitarists, the absence of Johnny Winter among the Hall’s hallowed ranks is one glaring omission.

Along with players like Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield and Taj Mahal, Winter was a key figure in the late-Sixties explosion of blues onto the rock scene. His 1969 self-titled debut album on Columbia Records is an absolute classic that put the world hip to Winter’s remarkably fluid yet gritty take on the Texas blues guitar tradition.

Winter could segue effortlessly into rock—his Rick Derringer collaboration “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo” has become a bar-band standard—but his heart has always belonged to the blues. His late-Seventies recordings with Muddy Waters came as a testament that albinos can play the blues too.

Recent performances at high-visibility events, like the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Eric Clapton’s Crossroads, have proven that Johnny Winter has still got what it takes almost half a century into his career.


Slayer

Some might argue that since Metallica are already in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, there’s no need for Slayer (or Megadeth or Anthrax or…). But the honest-to-Satan fact is that more metal bands today sound like Slayer than anyone else from the Big Four.

Metal may be split into more subcategories than there are varieties of women’s jeans at the Gap, but whether you call it black, death, doom, extreme, grindcore, thrash or whatever, the bulk of it still sounds an awful lot like Slayer.

Of course, Metallica made it into the Hall of Fame because at some point they became safe for the masses. But Slayer have always been dangerous and frightening to the mild mannered, and they have continued to get heavier (in musical terms, not just physically) with each passing year.

Classic Slayer albums like Hell Awaits, Reign in Blood and Seasons in the Abyss still sound menacing and scary today, even though they’re almost 25 to 30 years old.


Pantera

If rock music is all about rebellion, then Pantera may have been the ultimate rebels. Coming from deep in the heart of Texas, where the local music scene was better known for blues or outlaw country, Pantera did their own thing and innovated a signature style of music that is best described by their self-created tag of groove metal.

Pantera didn’t need any local scene or movement to bolster them, and even without the support of radio or MTV, their albums debuted at Number One on the Billboard 200 and routinely went Platinum because their music resonated with alienated, disaffected youth perhaps even more than Kurt Cobain’s musings did.

But what really makes Pantera stand out from the pack, especially among the thrash metal set they commiserated with, is the fact that they were one of the few bands of that ilk with a genuine guitar hero.

Dimebag Darrell took what came before him—the sinister riffs of Tony Iommi, the flash of Eddie Van Halen, the melodic sense of Randy Rhoads and the bludgeoning force of Metallica—and turned it into his own signature sound. In a sense, Dimebag was to metal what fellow Texan Stevie Ray Vaughan was to the blues: often imitated, never equaled.


Soundgarden

Before Soundgarden, Seattle was known only for the Space Needle, and the city’s only nationally recognized musician was Jimi Hendrix…and he was dead.

While the roots of what later became known as grunge reach back to mid-Eighties bands like the Melvins and the U-Men, Soundgarden caused the world to focus its attention on the Emerald City by being its first local heroes to release an album—1988's Grammy-nominated Ultramega OK—on a major label. Soundgarden’s success blew open the doors for other Seattle bands, like Alice in Chains, Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

What Soundgarden did next is why they truly belong in the Hall of Fame. Like no other band since Led Zeppelin, they fused numerous styles, including metal, psychedelia, punk, blues and even acoustic and Middle Eastern music.

In doing so, they defied the limiting grunge tag. Not surprisingly, perhaps, Soundgarden’s music has aged very well, and songs like “Rusty Cage,” “Black Hole Sun” and “Pretty Noose” may sound even better today than when they were released. The recently reformed band still sounds vital, potent and visionary.


Iron Maiden

Bands like Motörhead and Saxon generated a few tremors during the late Seventies, but when Iron Maiden hit the scene in the early Eighties, they were the 8.0 Richter-scale earthquake that turned the New Wave of British Heavy Metal into a tsunami.

Iron Maiden’s twin- (eventually triple-) guitar attack made them like a younger and angrier version of Judas Priest, but they showed they were smarter too with sophisticated, progressive rock-inspired epics and subject matter derived from Greek mythology, Edgar Allan Poe and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

The group’s first three albums (Iron Maiden, Killers, The Number of the Beast) are essential must-haves for any metal fan’s playlist—hell, the first seven studio albums should already be in any serious metal fan’s collection. And the band continues to deliver the goods onstage and in the studio today.

Ozzy Osbourne

It’s hard to imagine a bigger comeback than Ozzy Osbourne. Kicked out of Black Sabbath in 1979 for his rampant drug and alcohol abuse, he was replaced by no less than Ronnie James Dio, which would drive the average mere mortal toward an overdose.

But Ozzy didn’t get depressed; he got even, by enlisting the incredible Randy Rhoads on guitar. Even Rhoads’ tragic death couldn’t stop Ozzy—he continued to work with and discover the best talent out there, including Bernie Tormé, Brad Gillis, Jake E. Lee and Zakk Wylde.

Ozzy deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame for his albums alone, but his role as a defender and advocate of metal music as the founder of the Ozzfest should have made him a shoo-in his first year of eligibility. The man even once put a live bat in his mouth onstage. You just can’t get any more rock and roll than that.

Additional Content

Why the Simplest Guitar Parts Are Sometimes the Most Difficult Ones to Play

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The "easiest" guitar part is sometimes the most difficult one. Sure, we all like to shred and to show off our skills, but it could be mind boggling when someone asks us to record the simplest guitar part ever.

One of the best examples from my own experience is the song in the audio player at the bottom of this story. It required repetition of only a few notes in a straightforward rhythm throughout.

Yes, WYHIWYG (What You Hear Is What You Get). Then ... what’s so difficult?

Well, playing the part is only half the equation. The other half is deciding on the type of guitar, choosing the strings, selecting the technique (fingerstyle or using a pick or "plectrum," as they like to call it here in the U.K. — maybe because it sounds more complicated that way) ... and, if fingerstyle, which finger, and which part of the finger? The flesh, the nail, a bit of both?

The list goes on and on. Every little detail affects the final outcome, no matter how small it is. Every aspect shapes the tone, color and timbre, which are as crucial as playing the notes accurately.

After trying different guitars, strings and fingers, the method I chose for the above song was to take an acoustic guitar with old (some of that golden rust) and thick strings and to play on the sixth string, near the fretboard with the flesh of my thumb using some parts of the Distal Phalange (the thumb’s upper bone, not the "left phalange" from the last episode of Friends). See the photo above.

Low A and D (not drop D) are the required notes. Since they can be played on the sixth, fifth and even fourth string, I had to decide which sounded more suitable according to the brief I got. The open A string was not an option, as it has different qualities than a stopped note. So I chose sixth string, fifth fret.

Now what about D; should it be right below A? I used the 10th fret of the sixth instead so it will sound more continuous. But then should I avoid the inevitable slide scratching noises in between or shall I use a full stretch between my fingers to avoid them? I chose the latter. After all, the song’s chorus goes "Hold it between your fingers."

So many different options — and I haven’t even started talking about stuff like miking techniques. Now, is playing a simple guitar part really an easy task?

Photo: ©Nevit Dilmen

Udi Glaser is a guitarist, guitar teacher, composer, producer and journalist. He has been playing all types of guitars and styles for more than 22 years and has been teaching them for more than 10 years. He holds a bachelor's degree in musicology and philosophy and attained a sound-engineering diploma and an Orchestrating Producing for Film and Games certificate, for which he received a scholarship in the name of Jeff Beck. Visit his website and follow his Facebook page or Twitter feed.

Bent Out of Shape: Learning Mozart's Symphony No. 25 in G Minor, Part 9

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Welcome to the final part of learning Mozart's 25th symphony in G minor!

It has taken nine lessons, but we've finally reached the end of the piece.

For everyone who has followed me throughout this series, I hope you found it rewarding and challenging. Hopefully this piece has helped you improve as a player in terms of technique and theory.

When I began learning the piece, I was looking for something easier technique-wise than my previous Paganini series. I feel this piece is a lot more accessible for beginner to intermediate players and is a really good introduction to classical music for rock/metal guitarists.

After Part 8, there's a lot of repetition of previous parts before we get to the new material I will show you in this lesson. If we look at the Soundcloud guide track below, Part 8 finishes at 7:01; following this, you should play Part 6 in full, which brings you to 7:55.

At this point, you should play the following sequence: Part 1, Part 2, Part 7 and Part 8. That sequence will finish at 9:58, where Part 9 begins.

The finale starts with the same octave theme seen at the very beginning of the piece. However, this time it expands and develops the melody within the G harmonic minor scale. I decided to play every note in this section as an octave with a hybrid picking technique. I use my pick to play the low octave and the third finger on my picking hand to play the high octave. You will need to practice this technique cleanly to achieve a consistent sound throughout the whole melody section.

Following this, we now play a quick 16th-note repetitive pattern from the first three notes of the G minor scale. This pattern is repeated for three whole bars, which will require an accurate alternate-picking technique. To make it slightly more challenging, I also play the same pattern up an octave during the second bar. To change position between octaves while maintaining consistent 16th note alternate picking will be a good challenge. Practice this very slowly and gradually increase the speed.

Once you've learned this final part, all I have left to say is congratulations! This piece is over 10 minutes long and being able to play the whole thing is a tremendous achievement. Well done!

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Will Wallner is a guitarist from England who now lives in Los Angeles. He recently signed a solo deal with Polish record label Metal Mind Productions for the release of his debut album, which features influential musicians from hard rock and heavy metal. He also is the lead guitarist for White Wizzard (Earache Records) and toured Japan, the US and Canada in 2012. Follow Will on Facebook and Twitter.

Carvin Introduces Its New TL70 Seven-String Guitar

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Carvin Guitars has introduced a new seven-string model, the TL70.

The guitar, which you can check out in the photo gallery below, features 25.5-inch-scale, neck-thru construction and is available with a Hipshot-fixed bridge or Floyd Rose tremolo.

You can choose from countless Custom Shop options — including finish, woods, fretboards, radius, fretwire — to build your own dream guitar.

The TL70 is made in San Diego, California, and was designed by Jeff Kiesel.

For more information, visit carvinguitars.com.

Caparison Guitars AH8 Eight-String Guitar: Demo Video Featuring Mattias Eklundh

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Below, check out a brand-new demo video for the eight-string AH8 model by Caparison Guitars.

The guitarist in the clip is Sweden's Mattias IA Eklundh.

We hope to have more information about this guitar in the near future. In the meantime, for more about Caparison Guitars, check out caparisonguitarcompany.com. For more about Eklundh, visit freakguitar.com.

Playing For Change Premieres “What’s Going On” Video Featuring Sara Bareilles

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Check out the latest Playing For Change music video of “What’s Going On” featuring Sara Bareilles and musicians from around the world.

The video is one of many included in the upcoming Playing For Change 3 Songs Around The World CD /DVD set available June 17, 2014.

Those who pre-order the album on iTunes, will be able to immediately download the videos of “Words of Wonder/Get Up Stand Up” and “What’s Going On.”

The “Words of Wonder/Get Up Stand Up” music video features Keith Richards, Keb' Mo', Mermans Mosengo (PFC Band), Sherieta Lewis from Kingston, Jamaica and Natalie of Blue King Brown (Australia).

You can also pre-order the record now via PlayingForChange.com and receive a free download of “Get Up Stand Up” and “Clandestino” featuring Manu Chao.

Watch the “What’s Going On” video below:

The CD/DVD will be available both digitally and physically at all major retailers and via Starbucks in North America, and includes performances from Sara Bareilles, Andres Calamaro, Keith Richards, Los Lobos, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Keb Mo, Toots Hibbert from Toots & The Maytals, and Taj Mahal in addition to a song produced by Jackson Browne.

Last week, Playing For Change band performed at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts presents YouTube OnStage Live from the Kennedy Center. The live streamed event also featured John Legend and other inspiring acts who made their fame through YouTube including Lindsey Stirling, Les Twins, a "Clouds" tribute to Zach Sobiech, Scott Bradlee & Postmodern Jukebox, Mike Relm, and others.

You can see the Playing For Change Band live as they embark on their 27-city “Peace Through Music Tour” hitting major markets across the U.S. For more information on tour dates and to purchase tickets, click here.

Since the organization formed in 2005, Playing For Change has formed the PFC Band who has toured throughout 4 continents for over 150 performances as well as thePFC Foundation and their annual global day of music and action: Playing For Change Day. Through these various initiatives, the foundation has served over 700 kids in nine music schools and programs in countries including South Africa, Ghana, Mali, Rwanda, Nepal and Thailand.

Exclusive Video: Diamond Youth's “Bonfire” Acoustic

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For any working band, getting the offer to tour overseas is huge.

But when money stands in the way of you actually getting there.. well, that sucks.

This is the current situation Diamond Youth are faced with.

But rather than just give up or flat out ask for money from fans, the Baltimore-based band have chosen a different route.

The bands new, digital-only EP, UK OK, is a acoustic collection of three existing Diamond Youth songs and one new.

100% of the sales from the EP will go to cover plane tickets to the UK for the band’s tour in July.

Included in the EP is the track “Bonfire,” which band member Justin Gilman performs for us below. The song features some pretty cool chord voicings, along with Gilman’s pitch-perfect falsetto.

Gilman shares, "Here's a video of our new song "Bonfire." You can find it, along with three old songs, on our new acoustic EP called UK OK. 100% of everything covers plane tickets to the UK for our tour in July. It's only $4 and will only be up for a few days, so grab it while you can!"

Watch his performance right here:

UK OK is available for $4 for a limited time so check it out now. Pick it up here.

SongTown USA: Tips on Writing Faster

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I write very quickly. Not by design. It just generally happens that way.

When I first began trying to write professionally, I realized that I wrote slowly and methodically. In fact, sometimes I was so slow that I would have to book another day with a writer to finish the song.

It took a while to realize that this frustrated some of my co-writers and cost me some co-writing relationships.

At the time, I didn't understand why that would be frustrating. I would get a big co-write with someone farther up the ladder than I was. I wanted to make it count and for the song to be right.

Plus, I had LOTS of free days. If we didn't finish the song today, I could come finish it tomorrow, or the next day, or the next day.

What I didn't understand was that the big writer I was writing with was booked solid for the next three months. If we didn't finish our song, he would have to schedule me on an afternoon after he had already written all day. Or we would have to wait three months to finish it.

Neither was a good option. If we waited three months, the artist we were aiming at might have finished his record. Writing when you're already brain dead is not the most enjoyable experience either.

So, I realized that I was going to have to speed up my process and still maintain the quality of my work. My goal was to finish a song every day if I could. I wanted to make it easy on my co-writer and NOT have to come back another day if I could help it.

I began developing the process I use today. Here are things I do to help make sure we finish a song each day.

1) I come in with LOTS of titles and song ideas. As in over 500 at the present. I want to make sure we never sit around fumbling for an idea to write.

2) When we find an idea we like, I try to outline the way we will write the song before we start writing. I will say, "What if the first verse says 'blah, blah, blah' and then we say 'This and the other' in the 2nd verse. We hash out the outline of the whole song BEFORE we write any of it. That eliminates getting to the 2nd verse and going "Uh-oh" there's nothing left to say. We know what we are going to say in each section from the very start. Then, we just fill in the blanks to write the song. You would be amazed how much this speeds up your writing!

3) I don't get hung up on the little things during the co-write. If my co-writer keeps using a word that bothers me, I let it go. I do my editing later, by myself. Then, I will send my co-writer an e-mail and say "What do you think about these changes?" Most of the time, they go along with the changes, even if I changed the word they were DYING to use the day we wrote it. Let little things go, get the basic framework of the song done and edit later.

I'm not advocating writing quickly just to write quickly. And you should never sacrifice the quality of the song just to be fast. But, if you are prepared, doing these things can help you maximize your time with your co-writer while still writing great, well organized songs.

These three simple tips can help you be a more enjoyable co-write and will help you get invited back for another co-write later on!

Write on!

Marty Dodson

Marty Dodson is a songwriter, corporate trainer and entrepreneur. His songs have been recorded by artists such as Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Joe Cocker, Leon Russell and The Plain White T’s. He once bumped Psy out of the #1 spot on the K-Pop charts but that’s another story for another day. Marty plays Taylor and Batson guitars. Follow him here: www.facebook.com/songtownusa, at www.facebook.com/martydodsonsongwriter and at Twitter @SongTownUSA or visit martydodson.com


Born of Osiris: "Exhilarate" Guitar Play-Through Video — Exclusive

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Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive premiere of the new guitar play-through video for "Exhilarate" by Born of Osiris.

The video, which you can check out below, features Born of Osiris guitarist Lee McKinney.

"Exhilarate" is from the band's latest studio album, Tomorrow We Die Alive, which was released last year through Sumerian Records. Check out the clip and tell us what you think on Facebook or in the comments below!

For more about the band, check them out on Facebook.

White Lightning: Ode to the Original B-Bender, Clarence White of The Byrds and Kentucky Colonels

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Clarence White was a genuine double threat.

His brilliant, Doc Watson-inspired acoustic flatpicking, which incorporated lightning-fast fiddle lines played on a vintage Martin D-28, helped the bluegrass world recognize the guitar as a lead instrument.

Several masters of the genre, including Tony Rice and Norman Blake, site him as a key influence.

As an electric guitarist, White built the bridge between country and rock in the late Sixties. His work with the Parsons/White StringBender— an ingenious B-string-pulling device invented and installed in White's 1954 Fender Telecaster by fellow Byrd, multi-instrumentalist and machinist Gene Parsons — is legendary.

Whether employing a crisp, bell-like tone (the Byrds'"Tulsa County") or a touch of fuzz (the Flying Burrito Brothers'"The Train Song"), White inserted his dancing, whimsical runs into songs with confidence, knowing that a little can often go a long way.

White, a member of the Byrds, Nashville West, Muleskinner and the Kentucky Colonels (and the New Kentucky Colonels), also was an in-demand session player who recorded with Arlo Guthrie, Wynn Stewart, Wayne Moore, Gary Paxton, the Monkees, Joe Cocker and Jackson Browne, to name just a few. He was killed by a drunk driver after a gig in California on July 14, 1973, never getting to fully grasp the influence he'd have on bluegrass, country and rock.

There really aren't that many "Clarence White in action" videos to be found on YouTube, but I hope I've collected a decent sampling of clips that represent his skills.

Before we get started, if you want to know more about White — before, during and after the Byrds — check out this well-researched and well-compiled site, burritobrother.com. Enjoy!


"You Ain't Going Nowhere," The Byrds

Because the Byrds'Sweetheart of the Rodeo version of this Bob Dylan tune highlights pedal steel guitar (courtesy of the great Lloyd Green, who I'd love to interview), we suggest you check out a slightly later live rendition instead — like this one from a 1968 TV appearance.

It puts the emphasis on White, his still-Nudie-sticker-free Fender Telecaster and his Parsons/White StringBender (not to mention some fine-looking Sixties women).




"I Am a Pilgrim" / "Soldier's Joy," Clarence White, Roland White and Bob Baxter

Here's White (on the left, with the beard) on the Bob Baxter Guitar Workshop, a local LA-area TV show from 1973, performing a — what I consider — mind-blowing medley of "I Am a Pilgrim" and "Soldier's Joy" with his brother, Roland, on mandolin and the show's host, Bob Baxter, on second guitar (later joined by Byron Berline on fiddle and Alan Munde on banjo).

What I can say about this video? First of all, it's rare in that it shows White's fingering and fretwork up close. Second, there's White unusual sense of timing in the first tune ("I Am a Pilgrim"); it's as if he's throwing in chord substitutions like a jazzer, while Roland plays it straight on mandolin. It can be disconcerting and confusing, but I love it.

This performance is from a DVD called Clarence White: Guitar Workshop, which is available through Sierra Records, right here.

To hear White playing more bluegrass, check out the Flatpick album on Amazon.com and the extended Collector's Edition of Flatpick on sierrarecords.goestores.com.




"Nashville West," Nashville West

No Clarence White playlist would be complete without what some would consider his signature song.

Although White recorded the official studio version with the Byrds (plus an earlier studio version under his own name), here's a stripped-down 1968 (several sources say 1967) El Monte, California, club-date version by another of White's bands, Nashville West, which featured Gene Parsons on drums.




"Time Between," The Byrds

Feel free to argue, but if you had to choose one album that best demonstrates White's electric-guitar prowess, it would be Live at the Fillmore: February 1969 by the Byrds.

The musicians on the album are Roger McGuinn on a 12-string Rickenbacker 360, Gene Parsons on drums, John York on bass and Clarence White on the B-Bender Tele. He never puts it down, so there's no escaping it.

While the most impressive guitar track on the album is the band's cover of Buck Owens'"Buckaroo," that song isn't available on YouTube. Here, however, is a Chris Hillman composition, "Time Between," from the same live album. It's a nice coincidence that White appeared on the Byrds' original 1967 version of this song, back when he was an LA session musician.




"Dark Hollow," Muleskinner

Did I mention White could sing? He was actually a fine vocalist with a distinctive, deep voice that was just right for bluegrass and the spaced-out-Americana material the Byrds were recording from 1969 to 1972. Here's another live YouTube appearance by White, this time with Muleskinner, one of his post-Byrds bands, in 1973.




"Hummingbyrd," Marty Stuart

OK, here's a bonus for you. White's legendary B-Bender-equipped Telecaster is still in action, courtesy of country music artist Marty Stuart, who bought the guitar from White's family several years ago.

Check out this live performance of "Hummingbyrd," an instrumental B-bending piece Stuart wrote — and titled — as a tribute to White. The studio version of "Hummingbyrd" can be found on Stuart's 2010 album, Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions.

"I always felt a little guilty about not having a recital piece for that guitar," Stuart told Guitar Player in 2010. "With 'Hummingbyrd,' I feel like I finally recorded a song that honors that guitar properly."

Damian Fanelli is the online managing editor at Guitar World (and a B-bending guitarist who collects B-bender-equipped guitars; he has three at the moment). Follow him on Twitter.

Get the Story Behind Every Led Zeppelin Song

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The new book, The Stories Behind Every Led Zeppelin Song, is available now at the Guitar World Online Store.

Led Zeppelin's hard-driving mix of blues-rock and funk electrified generations of fans, providing them with an unforgettable, monumental musical experience. Superbly illustrated, this 194-page book delves into the true-life tales and people that inspired one of the greatest bands of all time.

What were “The Houses of the Holy”? Where was the “Stairway to Heaven”? This in-depth look reveals the roots and origins of the songs on all eight of the band's celebrated studio albums, together with all the stories behind material released after Zeppelin's breakup in 1980.

The book is available now at the Guitar World Online Store for $14.95.

Additional Content

The Ultra Zone: Steve Vai's Course In Ear Training, Part 1

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GuitarWorld.com is revisiting Steve Vai's classic mag column, "The Ultra Zone," for this crash course in ear training.

I could never overstate the importance of a musician’s need to develop his or her ear. Actually, I believe that developing a good “inner ear” — the art of being able to decipher musical components solely through listening — is the most important element in becoming a good musician. Possessing a healthy imagination is a necessary ingredient for creativity.

But without the ability to bring those imagined sounds into the real world, one’s creative aspirations will remain crippled. Training one’s ears to understand and recognize musical sounds and concepts is one of the most vital ways to fortify the connection between the musical ideas in one’s mind and the musical sounds created on one’s instrument.

All musicians practice ear training constantly, whether or not they are cognizant of it. If, when listening to a piece of music, a musician is envisioning how to play it or is trying to play along, that musician is using his or her “ear” — the understanding and recognition of musical elements — for guidance.

This is also true when trying to emulate a piece of music, or transcribe it, or even just finding inspiration in it. No matter what one is playing, one’s ear is the navigational device that steers the musical ship where it will go. Without a good ear at the helm, you could find yourself musically adrift at sea.

I have always been fascinated with looking at music written on paper. When I was in college, I took a class called solfege, which entailed learning how to sight-sing. Sight-singing is the art of looking at a piece of written music and singing it. First, you identify the key center, and then you sing the written pitches, using the “doe-ray-me” phonetic structure, just like that song in the movie The Sound of Music. “Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti-Do” (pronounced “Doe-ray-me-fa-so-la-tee-doe”) represents a major scale; there are other monosyllabic sounds that represent the other pitches that reside within a 12-tone octave. These solfege classes in college were difficult courses, but they were well worth the time invested. A thorough study and analysis of solfege within the confines of this column would be impractical, so I can only encourage you to investigate it on your own.

I’ve always considered transcribing to be an invaluable tool in the development of one’s musical ear and, over the years, I have spent countless glorious hours transcribing different kinds of music, either guitar-oriented or not. The most well-known example of my guitar-based transcribing labors is The Frank Zappa Guitar Book (Hal Leonard), for which I transcribed, among other things, the entire Shut Up and Play Yer Guitar series of recordings. Many musicians, however, do not have the ability to pull the sounds — guitar solos, rhythm parts, melody lines, etc.—off the records that they love. Transcribing is an art that takes a lot of practice and a study that I encourage everyone to experiment with.

But fear not: you do not need to have the ability to sight-read or transcribe in order to practice ear training exercises. If you are just sitting there with a guitar, there are still a great many ways to develop your ears, in the quest to strengthen the connection between your head and your fingers. Below, I have outlined some of the ways a guitarist can work on ear training exercises using just the guitar.

As guitarists, there are certain things that most of us do that are simply part of the program: we learn some scales, develop some exercises intended to improve our physical abilities, work on chord forms on different parts of the neck, etc. I believe it is extremely important to put aside some time dedicated solely to focusing on ear training.

One of the easiest ways to begin working on ear training is to sing what you play. For example, you can play a C major scale (C D E F G A B) in any position — preferably one that is physically comfortable for you—and sing each note of the scale as you play it, being very careful to sing on pitch as accurately as possible. Start with one note: play the note, sing it, and then play and sing the note simultaneously. Then go to two notes. Once you feel comfortable, take a little piece of that scale, say, the notes C, D, E and F, and create a very simple melody with these notes for you to sing simultaneously, à la jazz guitarist George Benson.

This is an easy way to get your ear in sync with the sounds your fingers are creating. Whether you’re soloing over a rhythmic vamp or are playing alone in free time, you have to really stick with it, and don’t allow yourself to slip up or drift into something else. The idea is to endlessly improvise and sing what you are playing, using any key.

Another good thing to do is to record a simple one-chord vamp to play over. First, only play/sing notes that fall within the key, staying within a basic note structure of a five-, six- or seven-tone scale. Don’t start wandering off into your favorite guitar licks to play; save that for another time, when you’ve developed your ear to the point where you can sing just about anything you can play. This is an exercise in discipline: do not play anything that you cannot follow perfectly with your voice. Whether you stay within one octave of the guitar, or you sing the notes an octave lower than the sounding pitches, or you use falsetto to hit the high notes, you must be able to recreate all of the notes played on the guitar with your voice.

If you work on this every day, you’ll find yourself getting better and better at it, and it will become easier to do. The cool thing that happens is that you’ll begin to hear music more clearly in your head, allowing you to formulate musical ideas—write music—within your head, without the aid of a guitar. When you finally do pick up the instrument, you will discover that you will instinctively be able to play these ideas that have taken form in your mind.

To take this a step further, try this exercise: without a guitar at your disposal, picture the guitar’s fretboard in your mind, and then envision playing something so that you will “hear” and “see” the notes as they are played. It may be helpful to sing the notes as you imagine them being played. This is an excellent exercise that will fortify your mind-fretboard relationship and actually improve your ear by strengthening the acknowledgment of “pitch relativity” (how one pitch relates to another, in terms of sound and placement) on the guitar’s fretboard. You may discover some cloudy areas in your mind’s eye/ear, but if you work through it, the picture will soon become clearer and clearer.

These techniques do not address the act of playing one thing on the guitar and singing something completely different. Someone like Jimi Hendrix had the uncanny ability to play very complex rhythm parts and single-note riffs while singing complementary parts. This technique requires a whole different set of brain muscles and is very difficult for many players. Playing one thing while singing another must be worked on as an independent field of study. If I could play the guitar and sing at the same time, hey, I might have a career! I’ll be back next time with some more effective ways to help you to develop your ear.

Additional Content

Walter Trout Offers Free Song Download, "Wastin' Away," from New Album, 'The Blues Came Callin''

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Today, GuitarWorld.com presents a free download of "Wastin' Away," a new song by venerable bluesman Walter Trout.

The song is from Trout's new album, The Blues Came Callin', which will be released June 10 by Provogue/Mascot Label Group.

Click HERE to get your free download — or use the widget at the bottom of this story.

The guitarist, who is still recovering from his long-awaited May 26 liver transplant surgery, will be honored June 10 at New York City's Iridium Jazz Club. That night, a new documentary, The Blues Came Callin': The Walter Trout Story, will be premiered. The evening also will feature performances by Joe Louis Walker, Jon Paris and Jim Weider, who will join a house band Assembled by Elmore's Arnie Goodman — featuring Rocky Athas, Scott Holt and Jeff Simon.

There are two sittings planned for 8 and 10:30 p.m., with a door charge of $25. Tickets can be bought HERE.

For the event, Athas, Holt and Simon are appearing to support Trout as he recuperates at the Nebraska Medical Center.

"I've respected and admired Walter's playing since his days with John Mayall," Holt says. "He's an incredible, fiery guitarist, a great entertainer and a tremendous talent."

Paris offers, "Walter Trout's heartfelt tribute to the late-great Luther Allison is just one example of Trout's musical virtuosity. Wishing Walter a fast and full recovery, so he can get back to doing what he does so well, play the blues!"

Athas adds, "Not just a great musician...but a man of real character." The emcee for the evening will be Brian Cadey, a veteran radio correspondent with a rich history in the blues from tenures at CBS Radio and BMP's House of Blues Radio.

Trout's new album, The Blues Came Callin', finds Trout looking back at an almost 50-year commitment to playing and singing the blues. The album was recorded throughout 2013, and the songs reflect the guitarist's thoughts about mortality and his renewed appreciation for being alive. Of the 12 new songs, 10 are originals. One is written by Mayall just for the occasion, and the other is a J.B. Lenoir cover. Trout searches his soul on this album and lays it bare, allowing the celebration of his career to be infused with new appreciation for life. The Blues Came Callin' was produced by Trout and Eric Corne.

"To play my music for people has become even more important to me," Trout says. "When I think about looking out into the crowds of people and connecting with everyone on a soul level, and sharing the experience of music with them, this is what keeps me fighting to get back: My family and my music is my lifeline. These days, it means more to me than ever before."

Session Guitar: Setting Up Your Recording Studio for Maximum Efficiency and Creativity

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Hi, gang!

I'm gonna get right to it today with two words: ergonomics and templates. My entire studio life lives and dies with these two words.

Ergonomics is how my gear is setup around me in the studio — for minimum movement. Can I reach everything from my seated position in the sweet spot of the control room? Templates are how I set my gear for maximum usage and flexibility, where sound is concerned.

I must preface this column by telling you how much I hate plugging in and unplugging cables and power chords. This was the reason behind my thought process. It's such a waste of time.

Let's dig right in with ergonomics. From my seated position during the time I spend playing my studio (Yes, playing my studio), I like everything to be an arm's length or short roll from the best listening position. We call this the sweet spot. The monitoring position. On my hard left is a mixing board used for routing and controlling my sources of sound. All my mics, modelers, keys and special effects are routed through here. I also keep my beloved Line 6 HD500 at arm's reach. I do not keep it on the floor. I rarely use the wah or volume, so I prefer it at arm's reach from where I sit. On my front side left are my mic pre-amps and compressors. SSL, UA, Neve, PreSonus, DBX and Summit. The rack also holds my converters.

On my right side is MIDI central. My MIDI router and all my keyboard modules and keys live here. I do a ton of work on keyboards so I need a large setup. I am NOT a keyboardist, per se. However, I have a decent knowledge and use these mods and keys for drum sounds, samplers, pads, doubles, etc. I like sounds.

I have these keyboards loaded with my favorite samples and settings so I can know where to go for my ultimate drum and keyboard sounds quickly.

In my front position is my monitor and computers. Speaker monitors are also here. I use Genelec and Events. It gives a nice balance to switch between. My computer not only records but houses my UAD cards, which I can't live without. The 1176, LA2A and Cambridge EQ are just a few of the powered plugins on every song I track. EVERY song.

Templates. I keep a Marshall 1960 B cab mic'd up with an SM57 and a Royer R-121. I also have a Laney 30-watt amp with Celestion Greenbacks that I keep handy if I need an open-back 2/12 sound. These are my go-to cabinets. They stay in the studio booth. In the control room, I keep several different heads handy for various sounds. A Carvin. Peavey and Line 6 are the main ones. I simply switch between heads till I'm happy. All three are quite flexible and reliable. Most are used for rhythm, but sometimes solos.

My main guitar device is my Line 6 HD500. The thing I want to stress about the HD is you need to spend serious time with it. Make it your own. I get asked weekly if I can share my settings. I always say I don't really have many settings and they change constantly from not only song to song but part to part!

I have four main templates. They are all meant to emulate a popular amp or use. My main rhythm setting is in Patch 1. I have a dual Treadplate amp setup. I'm constantly adjusting the drive/gain on both sides, depending on which guitar or which model guitar in the JTV-89 I use. It is usually either full up or almost off. I like extremes. My second patch is setup for clean to semi-dirty. Use the BF Double. It is basically a Fender Twin emulation.

Patch 3 is set for leads and has Lead Divide 9/15 in the amp position. Finally, in the fourth patch, I keep a Brit P-75. It is a Marshall emulation. As far as the rest of the settings, a noise gate is always first. Compressor second. Third is my overdrive or distortion area. It is always a tube drive or overdrive. I rarely use the Tube Screamer or others. After the amp, I keep a digital delay and a reverb.

Now you know! I find these give me 99 percent of all I need on most songs for most clients! For my own songs too. These settings are easily molded and adjusted to fit most popular styles of music, and they keep me hearing the guitar the way I want to hear it!

I hope this helps you rethink your studio setup for maximum efficiency to keep you in the creative mode for years to come.

Till next time…

Ron Zabrocki is a session guitarist from New York, now living in Connecticut. Says Ron: "I started playing at age 6, sight reading right off the bat. That’s how I was taught, so I just thought everyone started that way. I could sight read anything within a few years, and that helped me become a session guy later in life. I took lessons from anyone I could find and had some wonderful instructors, including John Scofield, Joe Pass and Alan DeMausse. I’ve played several jingle sessions (and have written a few along the way). I’ve “ghosted” for a few people who shall remain nameless, but they get the credit and I get the money! I’ve played sessions in every style, from pop to jazz.

Jazz Guitar Corner: How to Expand Your Jazz Chops with Rhythmic Displacement

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When learning how to play jazz guitar, one of the big concepts many players tackle is learning licks from famous players and classic solos.

When doing so, you can learn the lick as played on the recording, but you also can work the lick around the bar rhythmically in order to give you variations that you can apply to your soloing ideas as well as the original lick.

In this lesson, you’ll learn a fun and cool technique you can use to take one lick and make it sound like eight licks by displacing it around the bar.

Though this approach is associated with sax player Lee Konitz, who taught this to his students, it also fits well on the guitar and is worth spending time in the woodshed to bring into your playing today.

Lick 1: On the Beat

To begin, let’s take a classic-sounding jazz lick you can learn starting on beat 1 of the bar, then we’ll start to vary this lick in the next two examples.

In order to make sure you can quickly grasp those variations, make sure you memorize this lick and get it comfortable under your fingers and in your ears before moving to the next two sections of this lesson.

Phrasing Licks 1-png.jpg

Lick 2: Anticipated

The first variation we’ll look at is taking the exact same lick, but starting it on the "and" of 4 on the bar before the progression starts.

This creates a sense of anticipation in your line, and gives you a quick and relatively easy variation for the original lick that you can use in your solos without sounding repetitive or monotonous with the same lick.

Phrasing Licks 2-png.jpg

Lick 3: Delayed

As well as starting the lick an 8th-note early when playing it over a ii V I progression, you also can start it an 8th note later to add a sense of delayed resolution to your lines.

Once you have worked this lick out on the "and" of 4, 1 and the "and" of 1, you can move it around to start on any beat in the bar in order to take it further in the practice room and out on the bandstand.

Phrasing Licks 3-png.jpg

Now that you have practiced playing the lick starting on three different beats within the bar, you can try moving it around to other beats to see how it sounds when you start on beat 2, the "and" of 2, 3, etc.

By working a lick around the bar like this, you are learning eight different variations for the same lick, by starting on the eight 8th-notes in the bar, providing you a ton of improvisational material from just one classic jazz line.

Do you have a question or comment about this lick transposition technique? Share your thoughts in the COMMENTS section below.

Matt Warnock is the owner of mattwarnockguitar.com, a free website that provides hundreds of lessons and resources designed to help guitarists of all experience levels meet their practice and performance goals. Matt lives in the UK, where he is a lecturer in Popular Music Performance at the University of Chester and an examiner for the London College of Music (Registry of Guitar Tutors).


Avenged Sevenfold's Synyster Gates Plays Gypsy Jazz at Guitar Center Hollywood — Video

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As part of Guitar Center's Master Class artist program, 10 winners from around the U.S. were chosen by Avenged Sevenfold guitarist Synyster Gates to attend a private master class at Guitar Center Hollywood.

At the class, Gates discussed his technique, background and more — and, of course, he played plenty of guitar for the attendees. In fact, in the just-posted (June 5) clip below, Gates actually surprises the crowd by performing some mighty convincing gypsy jazz guitar. Check it out below — and be sure to tell us what you think in the comments or on Facebook.

“Avenged Sevenfold has always been a band that champions musicality,” said Gates about the class. “I’m passionate about the art of guitar, and this Master Class is the perfect opportunity to help further the skills and careers of like-minded musicians.”

By the way, if you'd like to check out more high-quality gypsy jazz guitar, be sure to check out Stephane Wrembel (or at least listen to "Bistro Fada," his most popular tune).

Win a Squier Affinity Series Stratocaster from Band Of Skulls!

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Teaser Content: 

Band Of Skulls and <em>Guitar World</em> have teamed up to give away a Squier Affinity Series Stratocaster in Black. For more about this exact model, visit its page on <a href="http://www.fender.com/squier/guitars/stratocaster/affinity-series-stratocaster-rosewood-fingerboard-black/">fender.com</a>.

Band Of Skulls and Guitar World have teamed up to give away a Squier Affinity Series Stratocaster in Black.

For more about this exact model, visit its page on fender.com.

Band Of Skulls are on an extensive North American tour in celebration of the U.K. trio's recently released album, Himalayan. Produced by Nick Launay (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arcade Fire, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), the album was recorded last summer in Richmond, London, at State of the Ark Studios.

For more about the band, follow them on Facebook.

Make sure to catch Band Of Skulls when they come through your city! Full tour dates below:

June 6 - Detroit, MI - St. Andrew's Hall
June 7 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
June 9 - Louisville, KY - Headliners Music Hall
June 10 - Indianapolis, IN - The Vogue
June 11 - Lawrence, KS - Granada Theatre

All entries must be submitted by June 30, 2014.<p><a href="/official_contest_rules">Official Rules and Regulations</a>
Please send me the free Guitar World newsletter, with information about our family of magazines and websites, and musical instrument manufacturers.
Please send me more information from our partners.

Gear Review: Taurus Stomp-Head 4.SL Guitar Amp

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Guitar amplifiers disguised as effect pedals are nothing new, but most are fairly limiting in one way or another. Usually, the space-related convenience leads to an inconvenience in the tone or power department.

Then there's the Taurus Stomp-Head 4.SL.

Let’s start with the power. The Stomp-Head 4.SL can be run at 40 or 70 watts. There's also a Speaker Impedance switch that allows you to choose between 4, 8 or 16 ohms.

Next let’s discuss channel-surfing. The Taurus has two independent channels: Clean and Lead. Both channels offer separate three-band EQs (Bass, Middle and Treble) and a Volume knob. The Clean channel offers a foot-switchable Crunch knob, which is great for adding just a little bit of overdrive. Over on the far right is a Master Volume knob, a foot-switchable Boost knob for solos and a foot-switchable Mute option, which comes in handy for tuning or switching guitars.

Other perks include dual 12AX7 preamp tubes, a parallel effects loop, a ¼-inch line out with speaker simulation and ¼-inch jacks for external channel switching. There’s also a Stage/Studio switch that turns the fan off while in Studio mode to avoid unwanted noise.

On to the clips! Clip 1 is a Telecaster played through the Clean channel. I kept the EQ flat and overdubbed some delayed guitar toward the end to liven things up.

On Clip 2 I’m playing a Strat, still on the Clean channel, with the Crunch mode selected.

For Clip 3, I cranked a hollowbody through the Lead channel with the gain a little more than halfway up.

Web: taurus-amp.pl
Street Price: $899.99

You can't believe everything you read on the Internet, but Billy Voight is a gear reviewer, bassist and guitarist from Pennsylvania. He has Hartke bass amps and Walden acoustic guitars to thank for supplying some of the finest gear on his musical journey. Need Billy's help in creating noise for your next project? Drop him a line at thisguyonbass@gmail.com.

Interview: Godhead's Jason C. Miller Talks New Album, 'The Shadow Realigned'

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Los Angeles-based industrial metal band Godhead recently released The Shadow Realigned, a new album consisting of 14 remixed versions of carefully selected tracks from the band's catalog, plus two cover tunes and a new, previously unreleased song called "To Heal."

The 14 remixes were created by 14 different producers. Together, they make for an interesting slab of music for fans of industrial/modern metal. GuitarWorld.com recently caught up with Godhead's Jason C. Miller to discuss the album and more.

GUITAR WORLD: How did the idea for The Shadow Realigned come about?

It was almost like a celebration of sorts. We got the rights back to our album The Shadow Line, and I thought it would be a cool idea if we got a lot of our favorite musicians and producers to remix the entire album by putting their own spin on it.

Why did you use 14 different producers?

I wanted to hear what each one would do! Call me selfish, I guess, but it was great to hear what each one did with just the raw tracks.

In hindsight, how do you compare the remixes to the original versions? Do you think they enhance the impact of the songs, or do you see the the two versions as totally different from each other?

I think most of them make the original songs much better. When you hear the opening track, you hear a perfect mix of the original — and where an outside mixer/producer/musician can take it.

In addition to the remixes, the album has three other tracks, including a Godhead original called "To Heal." How long has that one been lying around in the vault — and how did it resurface?

It's been lying around since 2006. I was glad I still found Jay Baumgardner's mix on a hard drive somewhere! It has this cool, almost Alice in Chains vibe to it. We left it off the original version of The Shadow Line because it didn't quite fit stylistically, but since this is a remix album, anything goes!

Your choice of covers for the album, including "Never Let Me Down Again" by Depeche Mode and "God of Thunder" by Kiss, is diverse. What made you decide on those two?

Godhead has always been a band of many different influences. I think those two covers kind of run the gamut of where we have come from as far as who's influenced us. For "Never Let Me Down Again," I actually started working on it with our producer, Julian Beeston, at the time of recording The Shadow Line, so finishing it for this album seemed fitting.

You've toured with plenty of great bands in the past, but if you had to pick one, what past tour or show would you consider as the highlight and pinnacle of Godhead's career?

I'd say Ozzfest. What an amazing time that was! The camaraderie of the bands, the fans ... it was a non-stop party. Also to get to see Black Sabbath play every night was pretty amazing. A chance of a lifetime, but every night!

Can fans expect a Godhead album of all original material any time soon?

You never know ...

What do you think of the industrial metal genre as a whole in the present day, and would you say it's undergone a positive evolution over the years?

I think it's certainly undergone a positive evolution. To see it combined with so many electronic elements I think was a natural progression for it to go in. EDM kind of rules the world right now, and it's good to see industrial still represented.

What's some of the new music that's caught your ear in recent times, that you would recommend to readers?

Well, I've been listening to nothing but guitar bands lately! Blackberry Smoke is a personal favorite that I can't get enough of. I love their guitar harmonies. Also the Tedeschi Trucks Band. Derek Trucks might be the best slide player alive. I've been writing songs with Jinxx from Black Veil Brides and Driver Williams from Eric Church's band, and both of those live bands use a lot of double-harmony-solo work too. I can't get enough of those Allman Brothers-esque double solos!

Andrew Bansal is a writer who has been running his own website, Metal Assault, since early 2010, and has been prolific in covering the hard rock and heavy metal scene by posting interviews, news, reviews and pictures on his website — with the help of a small group of people. He briefly moved away from the Los Angeles scene and explored metal in India, but he is now back in LA continuing from where he left off.

Robert Francis and The Night Tide Embarking on US Tour

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Robert Francis returns with his fourth album Heaven, which was released June 3 on Aeronaut Records.

Recorded with his new backing band The Night Tide, the album’s 13 songs were produced by Francis, mixed by Mark Rains (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) and mastered by Howie Weinberg (Jeff Buckley, Nirvana).

In support of the album, Francis and band are heading out on a 29-date US tour.

Following the release of the critically lauded third album Strangers In The First Place in 2012, Francis nearly abandoned his music career after a near nervous breakdown derailed his supporting tour of the album.

Immersing himself in drugs and alcohol, he shaved his head and moved to Michigan with a girl he’d met on the road, unsure of his future. That is until his passion for music came calling again, allowing to him find new inspiration in these experiences and setting the path toward a new album.

Watch the video for album cut “Love is a Chemical” here:

“I’d never known a life other than one consumed by music,” he says. “I had to lose myself in order to rediscover who I was in the beginning. I was able to do that in Michigan but eventually left to start over and pursue a series of songs that kept showing up in my dreams.” Reinvigorated and with a fresh outlook, Robert put together The Night Tide to back him and began laying down the album in a barn, then a beach house, eventually finishing it at his newly built home studio.

Heaven is Robert Francis’ most realized album to date. It is not his most polished. It is a record that utilizes every facet and flaw of his being. Through his kaleidoscopic lyrics and vivid musical landscapes, Francis paints the picture of a man on the fringes of himself and reality. “Heaven is an idea, place or feeling in which all of us are after yet cannot fully understand. Most of the songs on this album are concepts dealing with things that are much bigger than us.”

After giving the album a live warm up in Europe, Robert kicks off a 29-date U.S. tour in support of Heaven on June 11.

ROBERT FRANCIS & THE NIGHT TIDE tour dates:

6/11 – Hi Dive – Denver, CO
6/12 – Record Bar – Kansas City, MO
6/13 – 7th Street Entry – Minneapolis, MN
6/14 – Vaudeville Mews – Des Moines, IA
6/15 – The Space – Evanston, IL
6/16 – The Drake – Toronto, ON
6/17 – Middle East – Cambridge, MA
6/18 – Cafe Nine – New Haven, CT
6/19 – Rough Trade – Brooklyn, NY
6/20 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY
6/21 – Boot & Saddle – Philadelphia, PA
6/22 – DC9 – Washington, DC
6/23 – The Mothlight – Asheville, NC
6/24 – Vinyl – Atlanta, GA
6/25 – High Watt – Nashville, TN
6/27 – Fitzgerald's Downstairs – Houston, TX
6/28 – Stubbs Jr. – Austin, TX
7/1 – Urban Lounge – Salt Lake City, UT
7/2 – The Crux – Boise, ID
7/3 – Tractor Tavern – Seattle, WA
7/4 – Mississippi Studios – Portland, OR
7/5 – Cosmic Pizza – Eugene, OR
7/8 – Constellation Room – Santa Ana, CA
7/9 – SoHo – Santa Barbara, CA
7/10 – The Independent – San Francisco, CA
7/11 – Harlow’s – Sacramento, CA
7/12 – Slo Brew – San Luis Obispo, CA
7/16 – The Casbah – San Diego, CA
7/17 – The Troubadour – Los Angeles, CA

Find out more here.

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