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Post by tom18960 on May 4, 2017 11:41:04 GMT
Hi Keith, Many thanks for that and of course I am currently in rehearsal mode for HB8 : I was actually thinking on starting a thread about "guitars as therapy" Regards Tom
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Post by tom18960 on May 3, 2017 21:03:39 GMT
Hi guys, apologies for my absence from the forum for a while but I've been wrestling with black dogs (sadly of the Churchillian variety rather than a Led Zeppelin riff) but hopefully I have started on the road to recoveryđź‘Ť
Here in the backwaters of this beautiful Scottish island we are fortunate to have a committed group of people running Transclyde Music who try to put on between 10 - 12 concerts a year mostly in the above bowling club a lovely intimate venue (licensed of course!!) which holds about 100 people and acts who have played there include Stefan Grossman, Nick Harper, Steve James and a host of others. Saturday night's gig introduced a newcomer to Bute but someone with a long pedigree on the music scene. John has been playing in bands since he was 12 years old and at that time with players who were more than twice his age, he then toured as part of a Motown tribute before joining Martin Taylor in the Spirit of Django, he has also played alongside Tommy Emmanuel and George Benson!
His opening number was a spellbinding version of Night Train where a few guitarists in the audience decided there and then to convert their instruments to kindling. His song introductions were amusing and informative with just enough technical information for musicians but also delivered in a way that held everyone's attention. His description of playing Its Not Unusual with the legendary session player Big Jim Sullivan and a version of Honky Tonk Woman that was admired by both Ronnie Wood and Bill Wyman gives an insight to the standard and inventiveness of his playing. He also played some of his own material highlight of which for me was Swirl at Dawn. I can only say if you ever get the chance to see John playing live please cancel any other plans and enjoy an immensely enjoyable, informative and amusing time in his company
On the Sunday morning John held an informal workshop attended by around a dozen guitarists and spoke at length on influences, technique and different learning methods. He plays and holds workshops regularly in Europe and Asia and also a residential session in Ardgour, Scotland. I spoke to him about many good things on Acoustic Soundboard and hopefully he will be signing up soon!
More info on John can be found at johngoldie.co.uk
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Post by tom18960 on Nov 13, 2016 12:54:41 GMT
...going to gigs when off sick!? Tsk, tsk. But how fortunate! Sounds like a grand evening. Keith Sheer coincidence my dear friend!
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Post by tom18960 on Nov 13, 2016 10:46:40 GMT
Hi guys,
Any readers of Acoustic Guitar (US) magazine may be familiar with Steve's column on blues guitar techniques and he has also written books on the subject is here for a couple of gigs in the next few days in the U.K. I saw him a couple of years ago on the Isle of Bute and was delighted when 6 months ago he announced he was coming again but a quick check of work schedules told me I was working, no problem thinks I, plenty of outstanding days to take and with plenty of warning I would get some time off. No such luck but however a rather (un)fortunate bout of sickness meant I couldn't make work so I would be able to attend the gig last night.
Steve is an outstanding master of resonator guitar playing but most importantly an amazingly engaging personality. Song introductions are little vignettes of blues history where he actually traced the roots of the songs back to the mists of time and how parts of songs were taken, altered and turned into something completely different. His wry observations of how they were then plagiarised and bastardised during the 60s blues boom ring true. In addition to songs by Bumble Bee Slim, Sonny Weaver etc his own tunes reflect a long life as an itinerant musician and lover of all things musical.
Steve has a gig in Chesire tonight for Tom Doughty and then one in Hawick before heading back to Seattle, i know it's a little late notice but if you can catch him you are in for a superb night
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Post by tom18960 on Oct 4, 2016 12:25:41 GMT
Got to agree with everything Martin said about last night, Doyle is a very proficient and gifted player who I've been listening to for a few years so obvious really keen to see him live. Setting was as good as you could have wished for, a lot of very keen guitar nerds, sorry enthusiasts !, a man really glad to be there and enthusiastic about the guitars he was promoting. But after the first 2 or 3 bars Martin and I turned to one another wondering if each other was hearing the same thing. Guitar sounded really unbalanced and to me at least it had no "tone" whatsoever and didn't really improve despite frequent guitar changes. I was thinking later maybe we had just been spoiled by the sheer quality of the instruments we had a chance to play and listen to in Halifax recently Doyle is a wonderful player with a pretty good voice to so we still had a decent night out and since Martin was driving I could have a few beers 🍻!!
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Post by tom18960 on Jul 15, 2016 11:46:12 GMT
Totally agree with the comments above, the 335 is probably the most versatile of all electric guitars. Little pic of mine, it's 1980 335 Pro in antique sunburst which I play through a 1977 Marshall 50 watt combo. Can cope with everything from smooth jazz lines to blistering overdriven tones
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