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ATTENTION: BILLY ZOOM, X, AND GRETSCH FANS…..

ATTENTION: BILLY ZOOM, X, AND GRETSCH FANS…..

JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS

A once in a lifetime opportunity to own an extremely special, one of a kind guitar. If you are a fan of Billy Zoom, the band X, or great Gretsch guitars, this one’s for you!

HAD A CRAPPY YEAR ?

This icon could generate some Holiday cheer for yourself, or someone you REALLY,  REALLY like.

This instrument is not one of the usual Great Gretsch Silver Jets, but one of the three prototypes hand crafted by Gretsch Custom Shop luthier, Stephen Stern, to Billy’s exacting specifications. Mr. Stern can tell you that it was no easy task to develop an instrument that could live up to Billy’s specifications, but after several years of development (with Billy’s constant input) Billy signed off on the three shop samples, which led to the introduction of the production model.

THIS INSTRUMENT

This instrument (shown here in the photos) is the only one of the three prototypes to feature the actual serial number of Mr. Zoom’s original 1955 Jet, as well as the only one that did NOT get the aging (relicing) treatment to resemble his original touring and recording guitar. Billy so loves the new guitars that he has retired his original vintage model, and now tours with one of the three presentation guitars!

SO….HERE’S THE SCOOP

FEATURES UNIQUE TO THE BZ SILVER JET: (Billy’s mods to his ’55 over the years)

  • 1. This guitar has the same serial number as Billy’s original 1955 model.
  • 2. chrome Grover “Futura” tuners with pearloid buttons.
  • 3. Melita bridge screwed to the top with replaced saddle locking screws.
  • 4. Bigsby B-12 vibrato tailpiece.
  • 5. It’s BZ’s guitar, damn it! (could be yours, if you like).

WHAT’S INCLUDED

  • Gretsch Billy Zoom Silver Jet Prototype
  • Gretsch case w/ “Billy Zoom 5” stencil
  • Letter from Gretsch  Custom Shop Master Builder, Stephen Stern
  • Certificate of Authenticity from Gretsch
  • Billy’s leather guitar strap….
  • AND, if safety allows, lunch with Mr. Zoom, photo and autograph ops!

This package is offered at : INQUIRE

Guitar must be picked up in person, and the balance paid in cash at Orange, Ca. 92866

Any questions, or to make this your own, please contact:

STEVE SOEST

SOEST GUITAR, Orange, Ca. 92866

714 538 0272

[email protected]

PayPal tag : [email protected]

“CARDIOID ” by SELAHXTIANA Reviewed

“CARDIOID” by SELAHXTIANA

Reviewed by ED HUERTA

SPECIAL THANKS to IMAN LABABEDI –

Editor-in-Chief at ROCKNYC.LIVE

& Writer EDWARD HUERTA for allowing

us to repost & share this GREAT REVIEW!

“CARDIOID” by SELAHXTIANA

Written by Edward Huerta | May 18, 2020

Dig, I don’t usually do reviews of new artists or artists on the horizon unless something strikes me. I will gladly leave that to the professional scribes such as Iman Lababedi, Steve Crawford or Alyson Camus. But I feel inclined to throw my two cents (my new rap name?) into the writing fray.

My brother Jack sent me this music clip yesterday and told me to give it a listen. Jack had a hand in shaping my music sensibilities, turning me onto such things as, The Beatles, The Ventures, Spirit, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, to name but a few. I just would like to also point out that my current listening patterns are mostly older music and bands that I consider to be my current peers for I still play the local club scene and try to enjoy what other folks my age are creating these days. I do know who Billie Eilish is but do not follow her closely nor am I much familiar with anyone that wins Grammy awards these days. I let the current rock critics sift through the many files and new releases and then listen accordingly, often tasting and swirling the tunes around, like a fine cabernet.

Having said all of that (one would think I am getting paid by the word) I was truly knocked out by the file my brother sent of “Cardioid” by Selahxtiana. It opens with a keyboard/bass riff, working together as two hearts perhaps, then an exasperated sigh, that signals the beginning of the outpouring of grief that a relationship that didn’t work out causes, all to a grooving soulful drumbeat. Lost love, self-medicating, changing of a person in time, lies, lost trust, the glimpse of what could have been and most of all the wasting of time, with the last 20 seconds of solitary piano being struck down in mid riff, much like a relationship that doesn’t get a chance to properly see through to the end. Of course, no one really sees a relationship to a proper ending. Someone is always gonna get hurt (use Crocodile Dundee voice on that…yeah, I am old!)…clocking in at the wonderful 60’s influence of 2:30. In this day and age, it seems like time is of the essence and like any great work, time flies by, as one listens and enjoys. As a songwriter, I try to keep things in the 2 to 3 minute range because I lose interest in my own stuff!

So I asked my brother about this track he sent me. I found out that this was written and sung by an 18 year old, Selahxtiana, and recorded in a home studio owned by Vance Weiland who also engineered the track using Reaper program and produced by Fantom. He also gave me the facts that Selah has been singing since age 2 (!) and plays bass, guitar, ukulele, piano and drums and was an accomplished dancer with sights on Julliard when at 16 she had major spinal surgery that dashed any hopes of becoming a professional dancer. Upon further interest and prodding, I learned that Selah’s influences are the aforementioned Billie Eilish, Khalid, Olivia O’Brien, Audrey Mika and Madison Beer.

Okay, here’s the kicker…This Selahxtiana is actually my 18 year old niece! This is my brother Jack’s 2nd to the youngest daughter. It looks like the musical genes are continuing forward to the next generation. Yes, I am proud of all of my nieces, nephews, grand nieces and grand nephews. I think this is a very fine first offering of an artist that is going to continue to put out music because she HAS to create. I know that feeling all too well! She is only 18 and she has a lot of experience ahead of her. Love isn’t going to be any easier, I am sorry to say, maybe she will get lucky, but it’s this type of stuff that creates great art (see Taylor Swift). I wish her all the luck and success in the future…and dig, the kids are indeed alright! Respects and peace, E.H.

TAGS: Selahxtiana Pop Music

SAVED BY A FEW WONDERFUL FRIENDS!!!

JACKABOUTGUITARS.COM WILL LIVE ON!!!

And Someday I suspect we’ll have these BABIES!!!

A SPECIAL, SPECIAL THANK YOU TO PETER QUAST, LEE RENGERT, & ROBERT SIMENSEN
AS WELL AS ALL OF YOU WHO SHARED THE POST THAT WE NEEDED HELP!!!

MYSELF & MY BROTHER ED HUERTA CAN’T THANK YOU ENOUGH!!!

IF YOU HAVE A WEBSITE BE CAREFUL NOT TO GET SCAMMED LIKE WHAT WE WENT THROUGH WITH A BLUEHOST/SITELOCK SITUATION!!! IT CAN GET EXPENSIVE!!!

GUITARIST AND FRIEND PETER QUAST HAS TAKEN CARE OF TRANSFERRING JACKABOUTGUITARS.COM AND MAKING IT SECURE AND WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL TO HIM AND ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE HELPED!!!

IF YOU EVER NEED WEB HOSTING/DOMAIN HELP, I’LL GET YOU PETER’S INFORMATION.
HE’S NOT ONLY AN EXCEPTIONAL GUITAR PLAYER, HE CAN TAKE CARE OF ALL YOUR INTERNET NEEDS!!!

WE’RE UP AND RUNNING AGAIN AND WORKING HARD AT GETTING THE RANDY NAUERT ARTICLE & INTERVIEW TRANSCRIBED & PUT TOGETHER!

WE WILL SOON BE CHANGING TO A PODCAST FORMAT, SO ALL OF YOU FAMOUS & NOT SO FAMOUS FRIEND MUSICIANS & MUSIC RELATED PEOPLE BE READY TO BE INTERVIEWED OVER THE PHONE IN 2020 AS WE WILL BEGIN OUR NEW FORMAT!

THANK YOU ALL!
LOVE & PEACE TO YOU ALL…JACK

A PLEA TO HELP KEEP JACKABOUTGUITARS.COM GOING

DEAR FAMILY & FRIENDS,

PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO READ THIS THROUGH TO THE END. THANK YOU!
LOVE, JACK

I’ve got some rather sad news concerning The Jackaboutguitars.com website.
It will expire in 2 days…

SEVEN YEARS

We’re wrapping up our 7th year. Not a lot has been happening since my surgeries the past 30 plus months.

As a lot of you know the site has been dormant for quite some time.

Due to illnesses and 4 majors surgeries for myself and one major surgery for one of my daughters, the site has suffered.

When I got well, my plan was a bit ambitious to do video podcasts. 

I decided an audio podcast would be much easier and more more cost effective. People could even listen on their phones while working.

We have an abundance of interesting people my brother Ed Huerta & myself we’re going to interview and do stories on.

We were also planning on catching up with some interesting musicians we have interviewed or done articles on in the past.

Once some money was made the hope was to get jackaboutguitars.com tee shirts going. Many of our wonderful guests and friends are expecting them as well. We thought of making them available for purchase by whoever wanted them.

The time is coming up for the yearly renewal of the site and if I was going to be able to keep the site going, too many $’s are involved for me to take on.

I believe we were part of something that Bluehost and Sitelock are doing to people to get more money instesd of helping them make their sites safe. It was getting too costly to upkeep.

Now that I’m considered Disabled by Social Security due to the osteoarthritis in my spine, funds are quite limited. Since I have not worked any type of job for 21 months now,  a few low paying gigs have been my only other source of income.

If any of you have enough interest in the site and think we can raise enough money to keep it going, there is a Paypal Donation Button in the upper right hand side on the Desktop version of the site. On the mobile version one has to scroll a ways to find it.

I HATE THE IDEA OF ASKING FOR HELP HERE BUT OVER THE YEARS I HAVE SPENT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS AND ONLY ONE PERSON CAME THROUGH A FEW YEARS BACK AND DONATED $100 TO HELP.

I personally would like to get the site back going now as would my Brother Ed who has been there all along with great interviews, but he’s financially tapped also. Now that my health has finally found its way back to me and there’s an interview my brother Ed did with former Challenger’s Bass Player Randy Nauert just waiting to be finished up.

If we can keep the site going it will be migrated to another hosting company and I’ll be able to repair the problems that are plaguing the site right now…like disappearing pages and endings to articles.

So if anyone is interested in the revival of Jackaboutguitars.com, we’ll need to raise this money quickly.

Thank you for reading this and if everyone of my Facebook 500 plus friends donated just $1, we could keep the site going and see new cool stuff! I have to purchase all the services for one year at a time ahead of time.

Thank you. Love, Jack

A HARD DAY’S NIGHT… WITH JIMMY PAGE? WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT?

A HARD DAY’S NIGHT… WITH JIMMY PAGE? WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT?

“Get back, get back, get back to where you once belonged.” Jack is back and it’s been awhile…and it’s been Jack’s back keepin’ him from gettin’ back this whole time…Go figure.

Many thanks to Mr. Steve Soest, Orange County California’s #1 Guitar Guy for “Keepin’ It Real” and holdin’ down the front spot of the blog while I’ve been away and all this has been goin’ down. Actually I think of Steve as the #1 Guitar Guy period. I wish I could send all my guitars down to him for a refresh and a few for a complete overhaul!

THE STORY

Well regardless of all that, let’s get to this story. The age I was when the movie “A Hard Day’s Night” hit the scene made a pretty darn big impression on me, thus making it my favorite movie of all time (and Eddie Deezen can surely attest to that and back me up on this one…By the way,thanks Eddie).

I find this almost unbelievable…me, writing about Jimmy Page, especially since I was really miffed over the years concerning the Randy California Spirit Taurus Led Zeppelin Stairway To Heaven thing…and then the outcome of that ridiculous baited circus of a trial (what a joke!!!).

Thanks a lot Your Honor! After all, the first time ever I heard Stairway To Heaven, I thought, how can this be? That was pulled straight from Taurus by Spirit!!!

I wasn’t even going to mention anything about the Danelectro prices skyrocketing after Jimmy Page was shown on the cover of Guitar Player Magazine’s July 1977 issue, playing a Dano. That wasn’t his fault.

Don’t get me wrong about Jimmy. He’s a talented player…It’s just all the song stealin’ stuff that Led Zeppelin is so well known for that has always bothered me. C’mon guys.

And the Randy Nauert Interview…(The Challenger’s bass player) has been waiting on deck to be the next story up to bat for months and months. My sincerest apologies Randy. It’s been getting worked on for sometime and will be coming…And everyone else… You may wonder what gives?

Are you gettin’ Jacked Around? The answer is NO YOU AREN’T…The fact of the matter is that some back health issues have gotten in the way along with some work/career stuff and we’re just plain ol’ gonna get plowin’ through it all and get this hot rod back on the highway.

Okay, now it’s time for a bit of redemption for Jimmy that I never even knew about until today. Jimmy Page, you should have said something. Why didn’t any of us know this???

But “A Hard Day’s Night… with Jimmy Page”? Who would have thought?

Bobby Fury, aka Bob Mytkowicz, a man who knows more Beatles’ Stuff than even The Beatles probably ever knew, sent me this Fab Tale just the other morning…It is way cool.

Right a way I thought that I had better look into it and see if I could get permission to borrow a little of it to wet or whet your collective appetites as it’s pretty darn cool. Beatles’ fan or not – even cooler if you are so that I might send you to the cool site where the story lives, as it was just planted there the other day, on my birthday!

Victor over at Something Else (Reviews) was so very kind to let us include a bit of it. Here’s the link to Something Else (Reviews) online:  http://somethingelsereviews.com/  This site has all kinds of fun and great stuff! You’ve got to check it out!

So here’s the link to the story written by Mike Tiano. Thanks Mike…what a great story…you hit it out of the park! http://somethingelsereviews.com/2017/02/21/a-hard-days-night-with-jimmy-page/

AND NOW A SHORT BIT

Here’s a short bit here of what you’re going to get. Check out the full story, complete with video and music from “A Hard Day’s Night”, at http://somethingelsereviews.com/2017/02/21/a-hard-days-night-with-jimmy-page/. I’m hoping the video stays up for awhile as videos sometimes get yanked.

Here’s the excerpt from Mike Tiano’s story: “Page did participate on one major Beatles-related session right after the explosion that was Beatlemania.

Per an article by Tony Barrell, Jimmy Page would usually show up for a session without any knowledge of what he would be doing or the identity of the client. In early 1964, he arrived at EMI studios to find this particular job was being led by Beatles producer George Martin, and upon checking out the music he immediately realized that the project was the score for A Hard Day’s Night.

In Barrell’s article, Page revealed he ended up performing guitar on one of the key pieces written (but not performed) by the Beatles themselves: “Ringo’s Theme,” the instrumental rendition of “This Boy”.

Jimmy Page can also be heard prominently (if fleetingly) earlier in the film, in the scene that takes place in the train compartment: Ringo turns on a transistor radio and, as the Beatles start rocking out to the raucous music, it is swiftly turned off by the stodgy businessman who had just joined them.”

A much longer portion of the transistor radio part from the train compartment is included here. Enjoy the music and videos at http://somethingelsereviews.com/2017/02/21/a-hard-days-night-with-jimmy-page/ and once again, many thanks to Victor, Mike Tiano, and all the wonderful folks at Something Else (Reviews) at http://somethingelsereviews.com                  Jack

 

TIME FOR MORE “KEEPIN’ IT REAL”

Even-StevenSteve Soest and Stevie Ray Vaughan… Double(neck) Trouble? (Hah)

TIME FOR MORE “KEEPIN’ IT REAL”

It’s been a while since we’ve had a post like this..or any new post at all for that matter. Time gets away from all of us, especially me lately…

So it’s beyond time and way over due for a Steve Soest Post. Time For More “Keepin’ It Real” has been waiting in the wings.

Yes, it’s time for some sound advice from Steve Soest on how to keep that guitar in tip top shape and playin’ like it should. So be sure to write in to Steve here at: [email protected] for some great free advice – (or we’ll have to raise the price…and who wants to pay double free?)

EXPERT GUITAR MAN STEVE SOEST does this out of the goodness of his heart. There aren’t too many guys out there with this much guitar knowledge who share their love of guitars like this…for free…making the world a better place, one guitar at a time. For goodness sakes, Stevie Ray Vaughan used to come to Steve…Steve has always been THEE GUITAR GUY!

How many guitar doctors will give you this kind of guitar advice for free? All you have to do is write in with your questions and Steve will advise. You don’t even have to pay an insurance premium here, a deductible, nor even pay for an office visit. Steve prescribes just the right amount of medicine for your individual guitar situation!!!

Steve-MustangI mean really??? How many guys do you know that can drive around town with this many black guard Teles at once?  Only one I know of.

TIME FOR SOME QUESTIONS

Steve, I have a mid nineties Strat from Japan and want to put some cool looking old style Fender tuners on it with the roundish oval style part you turn. The tuners that are original on it now say Fender on the round part of the tuner on the backside and are flat on the sides of the part you turn to tune it with (locking tuners maybe?).

Do you know if the Fender vintage style replacement tuners will fit this guitar? I don’t see any screws on the back holding the tuners on it so I guess I have to drill new holes into the headstock for the vintage style tuners. I want to find out if they would fit first because I don’t wanna drill holes in it and screw it all up with extra holes there if they won’t fit this. Its 1995 or 96 Fender Japanese Strat guitar cuz the guitar is pretty nice.

Thanx, Pete Waterton

Hello Pete,

And thanks for your question! The Old Kluson-style tuners do lend a nice vintage vibe to a Fender guitar. Gotoh (Japan) makes a very nice replica as well as other Asian manufacturers. It sounds like your Strat came with a diecast-type tuner that has a hex nut and washer on the face of the headstock and a couple of locating pins on the backside that fit into some tiny holes on the back of the headstock.

Those tuners  generally require a larger mounting hole in the headstock, and you’ll need to get some reduction bushings/ferrules to fit the outside diameter of the larger hole, and also the diameter of the smaller tuner post of the new Kluson-style tuners. Allparts (Texas),  WD (Florida), and Stewart-MacDonald (Ohio) all sell the tuners and the reduction bushings online via mail order. Good luck with your project!    –  Steve Soest

 

Steve, Why do they call the finish on the old Fender, Magnatone, etc. lapsteels “Mother of Toilet Seat”?  Lon Moore – Idaho Falls

Hey Lon, – Thanks for asking! Back in the Post World War II era, thin sheets of pearloid patterned celluloid plastic were used on many bathroom accessories (toilet seats, laundry hampers, tissue boxes, etc.) The material was shrunk around a solid wood shape using heat and sometimes acetone fumes. It was easier and cheaper than prepping and applying a lacquer finish and provided an attractive ready-to-go surface that didn’t have to be sanded and polished.Fender actually had a large drum of acetone outside of  their old building on Santa Fe Street in Fullerton and the workers would apply and shrink the material there!

When the generation of Baby Boomers came of age and started to unearth these little musical gems in the early 1970’s,  the covering reminded them of the bathrooms in their childhood homes…”Mother-of-Pearl” already was in use for organic shell material, so the term “Mother-of-Toilet Seat” was lovingly coined.  –  Steve Soest

 

Steve, Is there a pedal made today for the Vincent Bell’s underwater effect?
Gail McGuckin

Hi Gail,

Great question. Thanks! The only thing I’ve seen that came close to that is the old Fender Dimension IV unit. It was a free standing box as well as part of the Fender Super Showman solid state amp.

With the thousands of pedals out there these days , someone MUST make one. Let’s put this one out to the pedal geeks out there!  – Steve Soest

Keep the questions coming! Send them to: [email protected]

A huge THANK YOU to Steve Soest for taking time out of his busy schedule for us!

HIRTH’S HEART FULL OF SOUL 1945-2015 (PART TWO)

HIRTH’S HEART FULL OF SOUL 1945-2015 (PART TWO)

 

Now for Hirth’s Heart Full of Soul 1945-2015 (PART TWO).  Hirth’s Heart Full of Soul 1945-2015 is about a very special interview with songwriter/guitarist Hirth Martinez. My brother Edward Huerta did the interview with Hirth a few months back. At the time none of us here were even aware that Hirth was ill. I have since learned that Hirth didn’t even know he was ill at the time of the interview.

This was most likely the last interview that he did. The interview was over an hour and sixteen minutes and so that’s why we have it running as two parts. As the interview was done by recording over the phone, and probably Hirth’s last interview, some nuances and exchanges were left in and not edited out.

Hirth passed away a short while ago before we could even get this story together and PART ONE of the interview transcribed and put up.

Thank you for the interview Hirth. You and your wonderful songs will always be remembered and may you rest in peace.

Hirth_PaintingHIRTH MARTINEZ         Painting by ED HUERTA

We’ll bring you up to speed with the tail end of Part One:

NORMAN’S RARE GUITARS, & ROBBIE ROBERTSON

HM: I don’t know if you are aware of a guitar store out here called Norman’s Rare Guitars. I met Norman before he had the store and I was selling a Gibson dot neck 335 that I had and I put an ad in the paper. Norman saw it and called me, came over and looked at it, and said, “Oh yeah, I want to buy it.”

My table was covered with songs and lyrics and he asked me about it. It turns out Norman doesn’t play guitar, he plays keyboards, but he likes collecting. He had a warehouse in Florida full of guitars that he had bought from people that he was looking to sell and they all happened to be antique electrics, vintage electric guitars.

So he bought my dot neck 335 which even at that time it was already old. I think I got that guitar the first year that the dot neck 335’s came out. That was about 10 years. My Dad found it. A friend had a music store and was selling it so he bought it for me for a hundred bucks. With a case.

So anyway Norman found out that I wrote songs. He said I have a band and he listened to a couple of my songs and he said, “Wow, why don’t you come over on Saturday and bring a tape of your stuff.” At that time I was writing 10 hours a day, every day.

AND NOW… PART TWO:

Continue reading HIRTH’S HEART FULL OF SOUL 1945-2015 (PART TWO)

HIRTH’S HEART FULL OF SOUL 1945-2015

HIRTH’S HEART FULL OF SOUL 1945-2015

Hirth’s Heart Full of Soul 1945-2015 is about a very special interview with songwriter/guitarist Hirth Martinez. My brother Edward Huerta did the interview with Hirth a few months back. At the time none of us here were even aware that Hirth was ill. This was most likely the last interview that he did.

Hirth passed away a few weeks ago before we could even get this story together and the interview transcribed and put up.

Thank you for the interview Hirth. You and your wonderful songs will always be remembered and may you rest in peace.

 

Hirth_Painting HIRTH MARTINEZ                 Painting by ED HUERTA

 

1970’s AND DINNER WITH THE FAMILY

I can remember many years ago as a teenager sitting at the dinner table and listening to the stories my Dad would tell us about his friend Sammy Martinez’ son, Hirth. You see, Hirth wasn’t just an ordinary guy.

Hirth was a guitar player. He was a song writer. He made records. My Dad even told us that Hirth was going to give Bob Dylan guitar lessons. Bob Dylan. Hirth knew thee Bob Dylan!

Dad even mentioned that Hirth was a friend of Robbie Robertson. Robbie Robertson of THE BAND! You see, Hirth wasn’t just an ordinary guy.

Due to the length of the interview, Jackaboutguitars.com is putting it up as a two part story. Here’s Part One beginning with Ed’s Interview with Hirth.  –  Jack

HIRTH’S HEART FULL OF SOUL 1945-2015

I had the pleasure to interview Hirth a few months back. Hirth was a soft spoken, intelligent, friendly and very spiritual person. We seemed to hit it off instantly. I had recently embraced developing my spirit and beliefs in another plane or in another power somewhere else. We both felt there’s another plane of existence that our energies go to when we are done with our work here on earth.

HIRTH MARTINEZ     Photo By VIGNETTE-NOELLE LAMMOTT

At the time of the interview, Hirth must have known he was ill but never let on. After we hung up the phone, I felt a certain peacefulness or calmness in where Hirth was at this point in time. I remarked to my brother that Hirth was a very spiritual man and it was a great thing that our paths happened to cross at this point in my life, that perhaps, there are no accidents in this life.

Some folks may consider these beliefs strange or weird but until you have seen firsthand the work of an outside force, then you will never understand. I was lucky to have been able to converse with Hirth Martinez. He was put in my path for a reason.

Imagine my sadness when I was informed that he had passed away just a couple of weeks ago. This may have been Hirth’s last interview. I know it will never be forgotten for me. I grieve for our loss here on earth….but for Hirth, his journey is just beginning…will catch up with you brother in a few…thank you for all of the music you gave us..RIP Hirth Martinez..

 

YOU ARE A STAR

Continue reading HIRTH’S HEART FULL OF SOUL 1945-2015

“GUITAR: THE INSTRUMENT THAT ROCKED THE WORLD”

 “GUITAR: THE INSTRUMENT THAT ROCKED THE WORLD”

NGM

THE NATIONAL GUITAR MUSEUM EXHIBIT IS COMING TO PORTLAND’S OMSI SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 26TH

NGMSS1

The National GUITAR Museum Exhibit is HERE in MY town and will be at OMSI beginning Saturday, September 26th and will remain in Portland through January 10th, 2016.

This is one exhibit that I had been hoping to see for the past FOUR years! The National GUITAR Museum does have the perfect tagline for the exhibit: “GUITAR: THE INSTRUMENT THAT ROCKED THE WORLD”.

As it has been making it’s way around the country, it has somehow managed to elude me and be in every city that I wasn’t in (partially true…I just couldn’t get to it and I thought this sounded pretty good.)

“The National GUITAR Museum was founded to promote and preserve the legacy of the guitar. It is the world’s first museum dedicated to the history, science, evolution, and cultural impact of the guitar.”

Over one million people have already seen this wonderful exhibit! I even had the opportunity to see what was happening four days before the opening as Executive Director of The National GUITAR Museum, H.P. Newquist invited me to come on down to OMSI to check out and even play some of these wonderful instruments.

The National GUITAR Museum’s Board of Advisors are none other than notable guitarists Ritchie Blackmore, Liona Boyd, Steve Howe, Tony Iommi, Pat Kirtley, Steve Vai, and Joe Bonamassa. Johnny Winter was also part of this prestigious group until his passing last year. He still has a hand in this from another realm.

The Curators of The National GUITAR Museum are Rich Maloof and Pete Prown.

THE EXHIBIT… “GUITAR: THE INSTRUMENT THAT ROCKED THE WORLD”

There’s all kinds of cool stringed instruments in the exhibit.

“GUITAR: The Instrument That Rocked The World” is a Touring Exhibition that offers attendees an entertaining, engaging, and hands-on experience with one of the most important cultural icons in history: the guitar. The Exhibition is comprised of three elements: the science of sound; the evolution, engineering, and design of the guitar; and its cultural impact. The Exhibition engages visitors in an experience that is visual, tactile, and aural. “GUITAR: The Instrument That Rocked The World” has it all: Music. Science. History. Pop culture. Video. Education. Interactives. Games.”

“It has an immense cool factor and is designed from the outset to attract all age groups – from individuals to families. Kids, teenagers, adults . . . every age group has its own connection to the guitar, from classic rock songs and concert memories on to film soundtracks and videogames. And the guitar has no boundaries: every form of popular music features the guitar.”

Continue reading “GUITAR: THE INSTRUMENT THAT ROCKED THE WORLD”

A POST FROM STEVE SOEST CONCERNING SOME RARE DANELECTROS

A POST FROM STEVE SOEST CONCERNING SOME RARE DANELECTROS

At Jackaboutguitars.com we are helping to get the word out to all of you Danelectro lovers about some unique Danelectro prototypes and rare instruments that are for sale only for a short period of time.

Danelectro expert Steve Soest, who is the man responsible for the reverse engineering on the Danelectros which brought the new reissue Danos to market (see https://www.jackaboutguitars.com/new-danelectro and https://www.jackaboutguitars.com/the-danelectro-story, as well as designing new models that had never even existed before, has some way cool unique stuff for sale that’ll more than ruffle the hair of any DANELECTRO GEEK!

Dano Covertible

So pay attention to what follows as a post from Steve Soest concerning some rare Danelectros might just land you with that rare and unique instrument that you’ve only been dreaming that you might own someday!

www.soestguitar

Hi FaceBook Friends (and Jackaboutguitars.com Readers),

A good number of you are probably aware of my involvement with the re-issue Danelectro Guitars starting back in 1997. I am proud to have reverse – engineered most of the re-issues of the original 1950’s – 1960’s models, as well as designing new models that didn’t previously exit.

Over the last 18 years I was able to purchase many of the hand-picked trade show display models, as well as one-off color samples and prototypes. Due to lack of storage space in my current shop location, I’m going to thin the herd a bit.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be compiling a list of what’s what. These instruments are all new-old-stock, unplayed, still in the internal packing bags and sealed inside the original Danelectro shipping cartons. If you’ve always wanted a “special” Danelectro, the wait is over. Please private message me for more details and a complete list.

Thanks,?Steve Soest

Soest Guitar     ?[email protected]

THE EVEN MORE IMPORTANT SECOND POST

Thanks for all your interest this morning! Just a bit more info regarding the original post… IF you’re looking for a run of the mill INEXPENSIVE, used Danelectro, the best place to search would be Ebay or Craigslist.

The ones I’ll be listing are very special, unique instruments, and possibly only of interest to myself and a handful of other Dano geeks. The rarity will be reflected in the price.

There was SO much interest  today, I thought I’d better get on it. I think everything is here. I don’t need to sell all of it to make the room I need, so I may halt the sale once I see some extra space.

As I mentioned, these guitars are taped up in original shipping boxes, but I will open them up only if there is interest in specific one.

Thanks,
Steve Soest 9/10/2015

1. Longhorn guitar prototype (never produced)  w/ Soest designed 1-off vibrato bridge. (2) pickup, commie red – in Dano gigbag $1499

2.  ’56 U-2 copperburst  from 1st production run. (4/98) converted to one of two electric sitar prototypes (never produced) Gotoh sitar bridge added later – in Dano gig bag. $1299

3. ’56 U-3T prototype (NFS)

4. ’59 DC (1st run) commie red (11/98) – in box – $899

5. ’59 DC (no pickups) peachy keen ( 3/99) – in box – $399

6. ’59 DC Namm show color sample pick (metal flake silver) w/ Soest bridge design – in box $1299

7. ’59 DC (1st run ) 11/20/98 pre-Namm. limo black ( J. Page style) – in box  $899

8. ’56 U-1 body only, no neck, yellow – in box 11/20/98  $399

9. ’56 U-2 black burst (1999) converted  to one of two electric sitar prototypes (never produced) Gotoh sitar bridge added later – in box  $1299

10. ’56 U-2 Namm pick color sample (1 of 1) Pink! First one w/ Soest bridge design upgrade – in box  $1299

11. ’56 U-2 “Yesteryear” (limited production relic) beat-up w/ de-gaussed pickups, nifty aqua – in box. NOTE: the box has two conflicting descriptions – this could be a prototype deep body DC w/ blue and pink formica back and top! price TBA

12. DC 12 string metal flake blue early production 1/23/99 – in box $899

13. Convertible Namm pick color sample (1 of 1) purple metal flake – in box $899

14. ’59 DC first run. Limo black (J. Page style) 11/98 – in box   $899

15.  Convertible Namm pick 1/99 blue burst – in box  $899

16. Hodad non/trem hard tail. Purple body routed for humbuckers. unfinished shop prototype 1/2000 – in box  $499

17. Long Horn Bass first run 11/98 pre- Namm introduction commie red – in box  $1299

18. Convertible deep body Soest built prototype unfinished 11/18/98 – in box $1299

19. ’56 U-1 first run aqua factory sample 10/98 – in box  $899

20. Convertible Soest built prototype. Piezo bridge, formica top and back, bridge block 2 1/2″ deep. unfinished 11/2/98 – in box $ 1299

21. ’59 DC-3 Namm pick color sample (1 of 1) never produced. Teal? – in box  $1299

22. ’56 U-2 early pre-production factory prototype. commie red w/ different  bridge posts, tuners, and truss rod access at body. pre-Namm introduction, before changes were made – in box $1499

23. 6-12 doubleneck 1st run Namm pick sample pearl white – in box $1499

24. 59-DC pre-production factory sample from Indonesia – never produced. commie red – in box $1299

25. ’56 Pro III. factory prototype from 2005 (1 of 3 made) never produced in box  $1299

26. ’56 U-2 early pre-production factory prototype. copperburst w/ different bridge posts, tuners, and truss rod access at body. pre- Namm introduction, before changes were made – in box  $1499

27. ’56 U-2 Namm pick color sample (1 of 1) dark blue metallic, never produced in box  $1299

28. U-3 turquoise metalflake. Namm pick 1999?) – in box  $1299

29. ’56 U-2 aqua burst early production 4/98 – in box $999

30. ’56 U-2 early pre-production factory prototype 1997 aqua burst w/ different bridge posts, tuners and truss rod access at body. Pre-Namm introduction, before changes were made – in box  $1499

31. ’56 U-1 commie red, 1st run Namm pick – in box  $899

32. ’56 U-2 Namm pick color sample red-cream burst 1998? – in box  $1299

33. ’59 DC Pro long scale bass. silver metal flake w/ parts upgrades ( bridge and tuners ) early prod. – in box  $999

34. New (6/2015) DC 12-string sunburst w/ f-hole double cutaway body. latest from Korean factory again – in box  $399

If you have any serious interest in any of the items, I WILL cut the tape and photograph the guitar. I prefer dealing face to face rather than shipping. Payment by cash or Paypal only.

Once again, you can contact Steve Soest by email @ [email protected]

 

THE OPENING CHORD TO THE BEATLES’ “A HARD DAY’S NIGHT”

WHILE OUR NEXT INTERVIEW IS COMING TO LIFE…

Hirth From Earth

While our next interview is coming to life and we’re waiting for the smoke to clear to get that hot interview up by Ed Huerta, I thought I’d put up a little post which is about a very cool chord that begins a song that has always been one of my favorites in its particular place in the history of music.

THE OPENING CHORD TO THE BEATLES’ “A HARD DAY’S NIGHT”

A Hard Day's Night

This audio file has been floating around the internet since before I put up my first Jackaboutguitars.com post back in January of 2012.  I was considering posting it at that time but never did.

Randy Bachman, known for his many accomplishments with The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, was invited to Abbey Road Studios a few years back and offered the opportunity while visiting London , to hear any Beatles‘ song that he wanted from the master tapes by Giles Martin, the son of George Martin, who is known by many as the man who recorded The Beatles.

Being a guitar player, Randy Bachman was most curious about hearing that famous opening chord to The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night.

The opening chord to The Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” has always been a little bit of a mystery to most, but usually guitar players can get pretty close to something that sounds fairly right. There have been so many different interpretations as to what that famous chord really might be.

Another thing, I mean really, who hasn’t, when holding an electric 12 string in their hands, not tried playing that opening chord. That chord is where most of us first heard an electric 12 string guitar.

Rickenbacker_360-12

George Harrison’s Rickenbacker 360/12

 

Here’s a little video just for fun…it should bring back a few memories to most who are my age and more.

The audio recording is fun and any Beatles’ fan who is a player will take great joy in listening to Randy Bachman’s interpretation of what appears to be the pieces put together to make up that famous ringing chord.

As many times as I have heard it, it’s always a joy to hear it again and again as I really take pleasure in hearing that song period!

It always takes me back to the excitement of that time in the history of music and the beginnings of my guitar playing life.

The Beatles

Beatles

 

 

 

 

 

By the way, any of these YouTube postings concerning The Beatles are always subject to getting pulled by YouTube without notice at any time for whatever reason as I have learned in the past. I hope that you get a chance to enjoy this one before it gets “the yank”.     –   Jack

 

THE BEATLES: RARE PHOTOS FROM THEIR FIRST U.S. CONCERT

THE BEATLES: RARE PHOTOS FROM THEIR FIRST U.S. CONCERT

 

-1Kit                                                                                                             ©Mike Mitchell

Imagine being eighteen years old, riding along in your ’55 Chevy, and some of the coolest music that you have ever heard thus far in your life, begins blaring through your car radio speaker(s).

It may have been as early as December 17, 1963 when Washington D.C. DJ, Carroll James of WWDC, was the first U.S. DJ to play “I Want To Hold Your Hand” by The Beatles on the air in America.

Mike Mitchell was that eighteen year old freelance photographer riding in that ’55 Chevy. When he heard that song, he knew these guys performing it were going to be BIG, and not just BIG, but life changing HUGE for many people. (They certainly had an effect on my brothers and I as three of us have played in bands for most of our lives and one went on to tour the U.S. and Europe. The fourth still strums his guitar…a result of The Beatles changing the face of popular music.)

For as many years as I have enjoyed anything & everything Beatles, (since February 1964 for me when The Fab Four made that first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show), the photographs that are the reason behind this story, somehow managed to elude me.

THE BEATLES AT THE WASHINGTON COLISEUM FEBRUARY 11, 1964

I had never seen any of these photos nor had heard of Mike Mitchell, the photographer who shot them, until just a few weeks ago. The photos themselves hadn’t even seen the light of day until some 47 years after the February 11th, 1964 Washington Coliseum Concert, sometime in 2011! I thought to myself, there’s quite a story here…at least for me and any other hardcore Beatles fans anyway.

the-beatles-#1969                                                                           ©Mike Mitchell

Continue reading THE BEATLES: RARE PHOTOS FROM THEIR FIRST U.S. CONCERT

BRIAN WILSON STORY “LOVE AND MERCY” REVIEW

It takes a lot to get me out of the house to see a movie. The last movie I saw was “The Wrecking Crew” three years ago with my wife. Now that she is gone, it is even tougher to even think of going to the movies by myself,  or with others. I am not the most social dude in the world nor enjoy being in crowds. If Misty were alive, I would surely have dragged her, albeit kicking and screaming to this, with the promise of buying her a nice lunch afterwards. When I first read that they were going to make a movie starring John Cusack as Brian, I told Misty and she rolled her eyes and said, ”Great, I’m sure you’ll drag me to that!” So it takes a mighty, mighty big event to get me out of the house and “Love and Mercy” was it.

“In five years no one will remember you or The Beach Boys!” “I’m a genius, you’re a genius, we’re all geniuses Brian!” No, Murry Wilson, your words should never have been spoken. No one will ever forget The Beach Boys or Brian Wilson and we are not all geniuses. Yes, Brian Wilson is a musical genius. If you don’t think so, then what were you doing at 23 years of age? Did you write a pop masterpiece, a symphony to God, that all modern music is compared to? Did you make the greatest band in recorded music, The Beatles, jealous? Did you already have several gold records and million selling albums under your belt? I didn’t think so…

This is a very emotional movie and I don’t see how Brian got through watching this movie. It is far better than I thought it was going to be. I was thinking it was going to be a lame style fake-bearded made for TV style movie that Hollywood has graced us with previously. Bill Pohlad and all of the actors totally hit this one out of the park. It was a great idea to have two different actors portraying Wilson. It was also very strange and cool to see my pal Vince Meghrouni as one of the wind players in the Pet Sounds scene. Academy Awards consideration to all the main actors, especially Paul Giamatti (as Dr. Landy), who I now totally hate! There are many key scenes in this movie. One of the toughest scenes to watch is when Murry informs Brian that he sold the rights to The Beach Boys songs…out of love. The humiliation was just heartbreaking.

Most of you reading this know the history of Brian Wilson so I will not get into this but it is pretty cool to get visuals of how the Pet Sounds sessions developed and the interplay between the band, especially the hated Mike Love, and Brian and the hangers on. I would have dug a bit more Van Dyke Parks involvement, of course. Another touching scene is a broken Brian just curled up and an emotional wreck saying, “I just want to go home.” That really hit me hard, man. I can truly relate to the emotions of just wanting to get out of a situation that life throws you in and wanting to be somewhere that was comforting in the past. The melding scene of the child Brian, the Smile era Brian and the 80’s burned out Brian, is also touching and gut wrenching. But “Love and Mercy” is also a love story. I met Melinda Wilson once and got to speak briefly with her and she is a very kind woman. I have nothing but praise for her. She is a major part of his life and story and it is nice to see a positive influence triumph over bad will.

I recommend this movie to all fans of music even if you don’t know about Brian Wilson, this is a perfect introduction to his genius. Parents should see this and learn that creativity is something special in all of us and unfortunately not all people are creatively gifted equally or artistically but try to find what a child excels in and do NOT stifle or try to mold them into something that you want them to be. I truly believe Brian was/is guided by a muse/spirit/God whatever you want to call it. Brian was used as an instrument and he brought us some angelic and otherworldly songs and sounds that maybe can be heard in a place much like heaven. He worked on a much, much higher plane than all of those people around him. They couldn’t relate to that. They wanted Brian at their level when instead they should have been celebrating the genius that is truly Brian Wilson.

And just try holding back the tears when you see the real Brian Wilson singing “Love and Mercy” at the end of this film. Misty would have liked this and she would have made fun of me over lunch for being so emotional. God bless Brian Wilson.

PORTLAND AREA FIVE STAR GUITARS HAS DONE IT AGAIN!!!

 

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HILLSBORO’S FIVE STAR GUITARS NAMED ONE OF WORLD’S TOP 100 MUSIC STORES FOR THE SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR

Portland Oregon area Five Star Guitars has done it again! It doesn’t surprise me a bit as it’s my favorite music/guitar shop to go to. These guys really know how to treat their customers. You feel welcome immediately as you pass through their door.

Their customer service is amazing as they are always willing to help you with anything that you need. Every employee in the store is very knowledgeable and has a genuine love for music and helping you, the customer!

Here’s the recent NAMM press release that Geoff Metts of Five Star Guitars fowarded to me:

NAMM

 

 

Hillsboro, Oregon (5/20/15) — Five Star Guitars in Hillsboro, OR has been named one of the world’s Top 100 musical instrument and product retailers for the second consecutive year. The global association for the music products industry, the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), will formally present Five Star Guitars with the Top 100 honor during the industry’s upcoming trade event, Summer NAMM in Nashville.

“We strive to best serve our customers and our community; it is an honor to be recognized by NAMM for our efforts,” said Geoff Metts, Owner of Five Star Guitars.

The Top 100 designation recognizes:

A demonstrated commitment to exceptional customer service
Proven community advocacy and support for for music education
An exemplary retail experience worth returning for and recommending to others
Merchandising and marketing tactics that encourage repeat sales
Sound planning for future success, employing marketing and training initiatives
Engaging and effective use of web and social media

Five Star Guitars is also under consideration to receive the Dealer of the Year award, NAMM’s highest honor for retailers, and seven other “Best of” awards including: Best Store Design, Best Marketing and Sales Promotion, Best Online Engagement, Music Makes a Difference Award, Best Emerging Dealer, Best Store Turnaround and Best Customer Service. Winners of these categories, as well as Dealer of the Year, will be announced at the July 10 award ceremony in Nashville.

Businesses vying for Top 100 status are evaluated for a sound business model, resourceful approaches, and effective implementation of best practices. A panel of independent judges scores each entry to determine the Top 100. Dubbed the ‘retail Oscars’ by Music Inc. magazine, NAMM’s Top 100 Dealer Awards spotlights the industry’s very best music product retailers.

“The music retailers honored with NAMM’s Top 100 Dealer status are those working hard to create positive musical experiences for everyone from those just learning to experienced musicians,” said Joe Lamond, president and CEO of NAMM. “Five Star Guitars is an important ambassador for making music in Oregon and exemplifies the passion for making music that unites us all.”  ###

FiveStarGuitars-3 for press release

 

5 Star Gretschs

If you live anywhere in the Portland/Vancouver area, be sure to check out Five Star Guitars.  They have two locations…one in Tanasbourne and one on Main Street in Hillsboro.

Five Star Guitars – Tanasbourne
2303 NW 185th Ave.
Hillsboro, OR 97124
(503) 439-9500

Five Star Guitars – Main St.
270 Main St.
Hillsboro, OR 97123
(503) 906-8995

You can also find them online for great service there too.

fivestarguitars.com

facebook.com/fivestarguitars

reverb.com/shop/fivestarguitars

[email protected]

###
About NAMM
The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) is the not-for-profit association with a mission to strengthen the $17 billion music products industry. NAMM is comprised of approximately 9,900 member companies located in 100 countries. NAMM events and members fund The NAMM Foundation’s efforts to promote the pleasures and benefits of music, and advance active participation in music making across the lifespan. For more information about NAMM, please visit www.namm.org, call 800.767.NAMM (6266) or follow the organization on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

MRC “RIGHT ON TRACK”

MRC “RIGHT ON TRACK”

MRCMetts, Ryan, & Collins are right on track.

 

MRC+metal+logo1The band MRC is :

Geoff Metts/Vocals, Guitar
Dain Ryan/Bass, Vocals
Mike Collins/Drums, Vocals

MRC-RevolverStudio-203MRC      Image by Paul Brown Photography

“Right On Track” is the latest release from MRC and here’s their new video which contains some footage and still shots from one of their recent shows at “The Whiskey”(A Go Go) in L.A. on the Sunset Strip.

Guitarist/vocalist Geoff Metts is one of the owners of Portland’s premier music shops, Five Star Guitars.  See Five Star Guitars and Deke Dickerson at Five Star Guitars.

I’ve been wanting to get out forever to check out MRC and also another of Geoff’s bands, Ants In The Kitchen. Seems there is always something clashing with the times that these guys are out there making music and my life.

Enjoy “RIGHT ON TRACK” and get out and support these guys. You’ll enjoy what they do because they do it well.

 RIGHT ON TRACK

 

OREGON

METTS RYAN & COLLINS RECORDING THE ALBUM

Check out their site at : http://www.mettsryancollins.com/

Be sure to give them a like on FaceBook and while you’re at it, you might as well give Jackaboutguitars.com a like on FaceBook too… and don’t forget to sign up for our free infrequent non invasive email newsletter at the Les Paul near the top of the page!  It won’t hurt you one bit…and tell all your friends because they’ll want to know too.   –  Jack

 

All media obtained through www.mettsryancollins.com/   –  including    YouTube Videos and Image by Paul Brown Photography

MY MEETING WITH BRIAN WILSON (OR HOW I GREW UP TO BE A MAN AND LOVE “THE BOMB”)

ROCKNYCLIVEANDRECORDED.COM

Here’s a piece that we are able to reprint with permission from our friend Iman Labadedi whose way cool site rocknycliveandrecorded.com is the place to go to for what’s happening in music.

The article is written by Ed “The Big Huerta”, aka “The Prince of Primative”, who has done many interviews and articles here at Jackaboutguitars.com. Many thanks to Iman and Ed for this story.      –   Jack

My Meeting with Brian Wilson(or how I grew up to be a man and love “The Bomb”)

edandbrianwilsona

My Meeting with Brian Wilson(or how I grew up to be a man and love “The Bomb”)

Folks, I was born in Los Angeles, a stone’s throw from Hawthorne, California (this is our Liverpool), and grew up in California, (and still live there and will probably die here), listening to my brother’s copy of “The Beach Boy’s Live In Concert” from 1964.

As I grew older and became increasingly uncomfortable in high school, I explored “Pet Sounds” and read as much as possible about The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson. Brian was painstakingly shy and introverted and escaped through music and seemed to wish his life away, just like myself.

We all know of Brian’s troubles so I will not bore you even further, but Pet Sounds led me to harder stuff, like Friends, 20/20, Smiley Smile, Sunflower, Wild Honey, Surf’s Up, Holland…folks, are you starting to see a pattern here?

The year 1976 brought us15 Big Ones and heralded the return of Brian to the creative fold. I bought it and wasn’t super fond of it, but it had Brian, sure he was bigger and raspier but it was still BRIAN!

Fast forward many years, life goes by, one gets married, has mortgage, bills, fall breaks back to winter etc..Brian is now older, happier, solo and doing shows again. I went to as many of his gigs as possible, often dragging my wife with me, and also in the company of my pal and ex co-worker Allen Barker and his wife.

Allen saw The Beatles play in Seattle so he was A-ok in my book from the get go. He is also a great guy that supported me throughout my wife’s illness and passing. He is a truly great dude.

Finally to our story…Allen emails me and says “I have a ticket for you to a Tribute to Brian Wilson at the Henry Fonda Theatre in March, YOU are going! Okay, sez I, well lo and behold, he breaks it to me gently that we are going to meet Brian and he is going to sign a few things for us at Capitol Records before the show.

In a bit of providence, we had dinner before meeting Brian and who walks in, but 4 members of his band, and they sat right next to us. Gracious guys they all were. We even got a picture of them and chatted a tad. So anyways, this is how I got into the famed Capitol Records building and it is so cool in there.

We were ushered into Studio A and there behind the glass was Brian and a few photographers. I felt like I was at the zoo and looking at some rare, nearly extinct wild animal. It was a strange feeling just being in that building knowing that Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Bobby Darin, Gene Vincent, The Beach Boys, Zooey Deschanel and a ton others have wandered around these hallowed halls and recorded musical history in these echo chambers.

There were about 30 or so people that got to meet Brian that evening. They all made a nice charitable contribution to Sweet Relief Musicians Fund so it was for a very worthy cause.

When I was ushered in, I showed Brian a pic on my phone of a painting I did of him that he signed in Long Beach. He said he dug it and that he remembered seeing it. Well, that was pretty bitchen’ to say the least. Again, here was my musical hero and I hardly had much to say to him. What do you say to a modern day Mozart or Beethoven? What do you say to a musical genius?

We all want to be around greatness and peeps, it doesn’t get any greater than that in my world. This man shaped my musical life and took me through some many painful years and events. What else can you say but “Thank you for all of the joy that you have given the world” and I did. The world and my life is greatly enriched with this treasure to mankind and to the naysayers that don’t get it, well, listen a little closer to what’s going on in his songs.

The instrumentation that was used in “Pet Sounds” alone was innovative, layered and complex, not to mention the symphonic, spiritual harmonies and throwing it all down on 4 tracks!

Folks, Brian was only 23 years old when he composed the greatest rock album of all-time and I am not even going to go on about the hits or tons of gems out there that are waiting for the non-believers to discover one day.

In conclusion, I just want to say “Thank you” to Allen Barker for giving me a very joyous day in a time in my life when joy was nowhere to be seen. Meeting Brian Wilson on his home turf will be a day that I will never forget and will treasure for the rest of my life.

 

 

 

No_Pier__Pressure_S

 

Brian_Fest_S

Our thanks to Iman Labadedi, rocknycliveandrecorded.com, Ed Huerta, and Brian Wilson.

 

DENNY’S GRAND SLAM OR THE WRECKING CREW INTERVIEW PART II? BY ED HUERTA

DENNY’S GRAND SLAM OR THE WRECKING CREW INTERVIEW PART II? BY ED HUERTA

 

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So much has transpired since we brought you our first interview with Denny Tedesco concerning The Wrecking Crew Film.  The Kickstarter was just underway and there was that huge hope that the $250,000 benchmark would be reached.

Many thanks to our readers and so many others who believed in this project and supported it. The Kickstarter had 4,245 backers for a total sum of $313,157 pledged, way beyond the $250,000 goal.

This allowed Denny Tedesco to cut some more special footage back into the movie allowing some great additions since the time when many saw the screening for the first time.

As you probably have heard, the distributor, Magnolia Pictures opened the movie in Canada on February 20th and will be opening it in the U.S. this coming Friday, March 13th.Hollywood_Theatre

Continue reading DENNY’S GRAND SLAM OR THE WRECKING CREW INTERVIEW PART II? BY ED HUERTA

THE WRECKING CREW FILM: ONE OF THE COOLEST MUSIC FILMS TO COME ALONG…EVER

THE WRECKING CREW FILM: ONE OF THE COOLEST MUSIC FILMS TO COME ALONG…EVER

 

IT’S ALMOST TIME FOR THE GREAT THEATRICAL RELEASE OF THE WRECKING CREW FILM

wrecking-crew-poster-billboard-500

As we’re patiently waiting for this great film’s theatrical release to the masses, Jackaboutguitars.com has decided to move the article and interview that we did with Filmmaker Denny Tedesco,  just prior to The Wrecking Crew Film Kickstarter, to the top, front & center of the site for any of those out there who may have missed this cool story and interview the first time around.

Many thanks to EVERYONE who helped make Denny Tedesco’s Dream a REALITY! And most of all, THANK YOU DENNY!

In the very near future we will be running a brand new interview with Denny Tedesco – just completed by “The Prince of Primitive”, Jackaboutguitars.com’s Ed Huerta, as the countdown to the major theatrical release of the movie is quickly approaching.

 

 

The film is opening in my neck of the woods on March 13th at The Hollywood Theater, here in Portland, Oregon, and I couldn’t be more thrilled about that.

SOME MORE DATES AND PLACES FOR THE RELEASE OF THE FILM IN THEATERS

The movie will be opening on these dates in these cities so far…

2/20/2015
Halifax, NS: Carbon Arc Cinema Co-op
Toronto, ON: Bloor Hot Docs Cinema
Vancouver, BC: VanCity

3/11/2015
Hamilton, ON: Art Gallery Of Hamilton
Saint John, NB: TIFF Film Circuit

3/13/2015
Cambridge, MA: Kendall Square Cinema 9
Dallas, TX: Magnolia Theatre
Denver, CO: Mayan Theatre
New York, NY: IFC Center 5
Portland, OR: Hollywood Theatre
Santa Ana, CA: South Coast Village 3
Tucson, AZ: The Loft Cinema
West Los Angeles, CA: Nuart Theatre

3/20/2015
Columbus, OH: Gateway Film Center 8
Jefferson City, MO: Capitol City Cinema
San Diego, CA: Ken Cinema
Santa Fe, NM: Jean Cocteau Cinema

3/27/2015
Berkeley, CA: Shattuck Cinemas 10
Gainesville, FL: Hippodrome – Gainesville
Phoenix, AZ: FilmBar
San Francisco, CA: Opera Plaza Cinemas 4
San Luis Obispo, CA: Palm Cinema
Seattle, WA: SIFF Cinema at the Uptown
Waterville, ME: Railroad Square Cinema 3

3/31/2015
Winston-Salem, NC: Aperture Cinema

4/3/2015
Bellingham, WA: PFC’s Limelight Cinema 3
Palm Desert, CA: Cinemas Palme D’Or 7
Spokane, WA: Magic Lantern Theatre

4/8/2015
Baton Rouge, LA: Manship Theatre

4/9/2015
Wichita, KS: Orpheum Theater

4/10/2015
Fort Worth, TX: Modern Art Museum of Forth Worth

4/13/2015
Bethlehem, PA: ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks

4/14/2015
Springfield, MO: Moxie Cinema 2

4/20/2015
Lafayette, LA: Acadiana Center for the Arts

4/23/2015
Memphis, TN: Memphis Brooks Museum of Art

4/24/2015
Albuquerque, NM: Guild

…AND I’M SURE there will be more dates and places to follow as this picks up momentum!

OUR  PREVIOUS  INTERVIEW WITH DENNY TEDESCO

In the meantime, here’s the first interview that Ed Huerta did with Filmmaker Denny Tedesco and the accompanying article.

Enjoy it and keep yourselves tuned in to Jackaboutguitars.com for the new interview with Denny Tedesco which will be here real soon.

MY DINNER WITH DENNY TEDESCO (WELL, NOT REALLY…JUST PICKING THE MIND OF THE MAN BEHIND ONE OF THE COOLEST MUSIC FILMS TO COME ALONG EVER…THE FILM “THE WRECKING CREW”) by ED HUERTA

WreckingCrewLogo

WELL, THE TIME IS AT HAND, AND THE WAY COOL MUCH ANTICIPATED WRECKING CREW FILM IS ALMOST HERE…

KICKSTARTER IS IN PLACE AND NOW IT’S TIME FOR EVERYONE OUT THERE TO DO WHAT EACH OF US CAN

 

That’s right. It’s finally almost here. Getting closer to the release of THE WRECKING CREW FILM. Many of you have heard the buzz. Filmmaker Denny Tedesco, son of the late, great guitarist, Tommy Tedesco, is getting very close to releasing his “labor of love“, The Wrecking Crew Film. Talk about excitement building…

This is the story that has needed to be told and it’s time for the final push for funds to get this amazing film up on the BIG SCREEN for all to see and enjoy, to be WOWED and AMAZED. And what a story it is…

Let’s all help Denny Tedesco to get this story out to the masses. Kent Hartman, thank you so much for writing “The Wrecking Crew” Book (“The Inside Story of Rock and Roll’s Best Kept Secret)! I just wish that I would have discovered it before writing this article as I would have certainly asked your permission to draw from it. What a GREAT read!

To date, many dollars have been raised as the film contains over a hundred songs of which the music rights and licensing had to be worked out and paid for. The process is almost complete which will allow the film to be released.

Read on and find out how you can become a part of all this through the Kickstarter Program. You can actually help in a very modest (or generous) way to get this fantastic film launched onto the big screen!!! There are so many ways to help out from attending screenings, giving a small or large donation, and even getting an actual dedication that will appear on the DVD. THE WRECKING CREW FILM: ONE OF THE COOLEST MUSIC FILMS TO COME ALONG…EVER!

You can even contribute to the effort by purchasing way cool Wrecking Crew merchandise like Bowling shirts, Tee-shirts and tank tops, baseball caps, coffee mugs, posters, and even special bottles of red wine, all with The Wrecking Crew Logo on them. Great memorabilia to own, wear, and display in your home or music room.

For those guitarists, musicians, and readers out there who aren’t too familiar with or don’t know much about all of this Wrecking Crew business in the air, relax. It’s okay. Really.

Continue reading THE WRECKING CREW FILM: ONE OF THE COOLEST MUSIC FILMS TO COME ALONG…EVER

BARNSTORMING WITH STEVE SOEST…AND MORE

BARNSTORMING WITH STEVE SOEST…AND MORE …OR SHOULD THAT BE STORMING THE BARN

Steve Soest, Guitar Guy Extrarordinaire, Fielder of Dream Guitar Questions for the “Keepin’ It Real” Column here on the site, really has some interesting guests who pop by and spend time at his way ultra cool shop out in Orange, California… a place where the weather is always perfect!

We’ve got a few photos here taken just outside the barn by his wife Paula that show some of the folks that frequent Steve’s Shop and trust one of the BEST guys in the business out there to work on their valued instruments.

After you check out the photos, do take a look at the list of clients that Steve has served well over the years which I have borrowed from his web site and listed just beyond the photos.  I’ve even included a link here to a story and interview that we did with Steve a few years back… just in case you missed it the first time around…pretty darn interesting stuff. Click right here –>: Steve Soest

Don’t forget to send in your guitar questions here to the site as Steve will answer them for you as he has had plenty of years of experience repairing instruments the right way for a lot of the right people and he won’t steer you wrong.

SOME WAY COOL BARN PHOTOS FROM PAULA SOEST…

Continue reading BARNSTORMING WITH STEVE SOEST…AND MORE

STRING ALONG WITH MITCH – CLASS IS NOW IN SESSION BY ED HUERTA

STRING ALONG WITH MITCH – CLASS IS NOW IN  SESSION BY ED HUERTA

The “Prince of Primitive”, Jackaboutguitars.com’s Ed Huerta, has done a remarkably cool interview with Mitch Holder, Session Man Extraordinaire, that’s full of all kinds of information about how studios once operated, a look into session work concerning movies, T.V., and records, and a glimpse into the unfolding of the future at the very beginning stages of digital…way before any of us had a clue about what any series of zeroes and ones and their arrangement meant and the huge impact it would have not just in the music business, but concerning every facet of our daily lives.

Many thanks to Mitch Holder. Enjoy STRING ALONG WITH MITCH – CLASS IS NOW IN SESSION BY ED HUERTA.        –   Jack

THIS ARTICLE IS DEDICATED TO MISTY MARIE HUERTA 1974-2014 REST IN PEACE

Misty Marie Huerta with Boris and Edie

STRING ALONG WITH MITCH (CLASS IS NOW IN  SESSION) BY ED HUERTA

What can you say about Mitch Holder that hasn’t already been said? Sure, the man can rest on his hardy laurels. Sure, he can just be sitting back on some farm tinkering around in his garden just whilin’ away the time. Dig, you think you know Mitch Holder?? Think again!

This man has played on sessions with Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Stevie Nicks, Seals and Crofts, Woody Herman, Brian Wilson, Dean Martin, Cher, just to name a few…

His soundtracks include Space Cowboys, City Slickers 2, On Golden Pond, E.T., Grease, Tootsie, Pretty in Pink, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom…

Tons of TV shows including The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy, Moonlighting, Sledge Hammer, Chips, Quincy, General Hospital, Cheers…

Is this enough? But wait, there’s more…Commercials include Pepsi Cola, Coke, Toyota, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Coors, Honda, Disneyland, Disney World, Pabst, Sea World…Can your heart stand any more???

Dig, this is THE guy, people! If it’s out there, Mitch has probably played on it. Okay, a couple notes before we get started. I just want to add that Mitch Holder is truly a genuinely great person. We did this interview in the beginning of October.

Unfortunately, my wife Misty took ill towards the end of that month and battled illness past the middle of November. I usually do a portrait of the person that I interview and Mitch’s portrait was about halfway sketched out when life took an unexpected turn for me. Needless to say, I took care of the home front before continuing on with the interview and portrait (thanks to my brother Jack for transcribing this for me and the readers).

I wanted to apologize to Mitch for the delay and I kept receiving word from my brother Jack that Mitch was sending thoughts and prayers to me and Misty all during this time. Mitch Holder, a guitar legend, whom I have never met in person, constantly sent well wishes to my family.

Continue reading STRING ALONG WITH MITCH – CLASS IS NOW IN SESSION BY ED HUERTA

ROCKFORD’S “I TRIED” REVIEWED…WRITTEN BY IMAN LABABEDI

Rockford’s “I Tried” Reviewed

Here’s a cool review from our good friend Iman Lababedi of rocknycliveandrecorded.com on the latest smash from Rockford.  Those Rockford Boys are puttin’ out the hottest files since Big Jim Rockford stepped on up to his new position 3 months ago today, managing some “huge files” in the “upper end” of town. Many thanks Iman!  YOU ROCK NYC(Live and Recorded)!   –  Jack

ROCKFORD’S “I TRIED” REVIEWED…WRITTEN BY IMAN LABABEDI

All the way from Long Beach, California, my buddy and rock nyc writer Edward Huerta plays drums for this classic rock band with a lotta lotta punch and a way with a sound that straddles somewhere between a classicists coolness and a guitarists ambitions,  and never more so than on the sterling guitar break on their latest song guitarist and lead singer  Jeff Beal’s “I Tried”.

I asked Edward to write something about the band for me and this is what he sent: “Jeff Beals guitar/vox/..Jon Melkerson lead guitar/vox..John Kelly bass..Scott Dibble keyboards/vox..Ed Huerta drums/vox…we all write songs..ex members of Eggplant/OO Soul/The Lazy Cowgirls…been together about 2 years..record in the back of a pawn shop with engineering by Martin Beal..all of us went to the same high school, Westminster(Editor’s note: My Old School), in CA..all of us surf still except me..we have

AN INTERVIEW WITH RICK VITO (THE GENTLEMAN SUPERSTAR) BY ED HUERTA

 

Rick Vito

 

Jackaboutguitars is proud to present an interview with guitarist Rick Vito. Rick  has played guitar with plenty of people that we’ve all heard, although I for one, and maybe you, may have not known it was his guitar playing that we were listening to.

 

Rick currently plays guitar in Rick Vito and The Lucky Devils, The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band and also in The Island Rumours Band with Mick Fleetwood.

By the time this story goes live, Rick Vito & The Lucky Devils will have just finished up at the Harvest Blues Festival in Monaghan, Ireland and will be headed to Bavaria, Austria, all kinds of places in Germany, of which the only one I can pronounce is Hamburg, and also to Denmark over the period of the next three weeks.

(An update from Rick):

“Sadly, bad weather in Washington D.C. on Sept. 6 grounded flights in or out and no other airline or connecting city could be found to bring me and the band to Dublin for the Harvest Time Blues Festival. We had no other choice but to go home and leave the next morning for Munich and the rest of our Euro-tour. Our deepest apologies go out to all those who worked so hard to have us there. We truly hope we can make it up to you in the future.”

That says it all about just how gracious Rick is. Back to the story…

Rick, you certainly named this band as correctly as one could have ever dreamed.  These guys are certainly a bunch of Lucky Devils!  I could only dream of being in such a band…”Lynn (my wife), I’m going to work now.  Oh, by the way, it’s Europe for the next three weeks.”…and as the story goes – then he (I) woke up. Dream on Jackson!!!

Anyway, wishing Rick and The Lucky Devils a fantastic tour in Europe and hoping that you guys make it up to Portland, Oregon some day. (Rick, dinner is on me when you get up this way).

 


Rick Vito and The Lucky Devils…’I Do Believe’

 

The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band…’Fleetwood Boogie’

 

After this interview wrapped up, Rick was going to be heading out to Shreveport, Lousiana to the James Burton International Guitar Festival, to play some tunes with his friend, the GREAT James Burton, and help celebrate James’ 75th Birthday. Happy Belated Birthday James!

 

Rick was a member of Fleetwood Mac, has played with Bob Seger, and is known for his guitar work on ‘Like A Rock’.  He has also played on every Bob Seger album since 1986.

 

Rick with Fleetwood MacFleetwood Mac…Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, Rick Vito, Christine McVie, John McVie, & Billy Burnette

 

 Fleetwood Mac…’I Loved Another Woman’ featuring Rick Vito

 

Rick Vito’s Bio

Here’s a little bit more info (from Rick’s Bio pulled with permission from Rick) to give you an idea of what Rick has been up to over the years and with whom:

“Rick also worked with such artists as LITTLE RICHARD, BOBBY WHITLOCK, JOHN PRINE, and DOBIE GRAY among many others.

Late in 1974 Rick received an invitation to join a new band being formed by British Blues pioneer, JOHN MAYALL, with whom Rick worked with subsequently on four albums.

“…a master of the instrument, at last getting the attention he deserves as bandleader/bluesman that is long overdue.” – JOHN MAYALL

 

In the following years, Rick was a member of ex-BYRD ROGER MCGUINN‘s group, THUNDERBYRD, and also a founding member of Los Angeles club favorites, the ANGEL CITY RHYTHM BAND. With the ACRB, Rick had a unique opportunity to back many of the Blues greats he had been influenced by. Performing regularly at the Topanga Canyon Corral club on Monday Blues nights, they regularly held court with ALBERT COLLINS, LOWELL FULSON, BIG JOE TURNER, and GEORGE ‘HARMONICA’ SMITH, among many others.

By 1980 Rick had recorded two albums worth of material and was starting to place more songs with other artists such as MCGUINN CLARK & HILLMAN, and DAVID SOUL. At the same time he began a long association with slide-guitar queen, BONNIE RAITT, appearing on her rocking LP, “GREEN LIGHT”, and as a member of her touring band. Rick spent most of 1982-83 working with LA- based singer/songwriter, JACKSON BROWNE. He appears on Jackson’s single’ “SOMEBODY’S BABY”, and on his albums, “LAWYERS IN LOVE”, and “LIVES IN THE BALANCE”.

In between solo recording and live shows in the LA area, Rick continued session dates with many artists including RITA COOLIDGE, MARIA MULDAUR, and DOLLY PARTON.

For more info on Rick’s great career, do check out his website Rick Vito .com  You can check out his music, artwork, CD’s, DVD’s as well as all kinds of cool photos, videos, and media about him.

 

Rick Vito and The Lucky Devils…’When The Big One Comes’

And now it’s time for the interview with Rick Vito by Jackaboutguitars’ one and only, “Prince of Primitive”, Ed Huerta.

The works of world renowned artist and writer  Ed Huerta, take up residence in the ‘ART “N” SOUL section of the Jackaboutguitars Blog.  AKA as ”The Prince of Primitive”, Ed Huerta was born in Los Angeles and currently resides in Long Beach, California.

A longtime musician, Ed has played in several L.A./O.C. bands, including Rockford, The Jack Brewer Band, The Lazy Cowgirls, The Final Tourguides, Moist and Meaty, Mind Over 4, The Silly Millions, Copper 7, & Eddie & The Trays.  He has also toured the U.S. and Europe as a drummer.

Continue reading AN INTERVIEW WITH RICK VITO (THE GENTLEMAN SUPERSTAR) BY ED HUERTA

THE BEATLES’ TROUBLESOME BUTCHER ALBUM COVER BY EDDIE DEEZEN

 

 

Beatles_0 copyWe’re still cooking along here in honor of this fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of the British Invasion.

Jackaboutguitars.com is once again quite pleased to present another Fantastic article from one of the BIGGEST BEATLES’ FANS on the planet – Facebook Pal, Actor, Voice Over Artist, and Writer, Mr. Eddie Deezen!

As time and space permit, Jackaboutguitars will continue to share some very cool articles on The Beatles during this fiftieth anniversary celebration year of The Beatles conquering America that Eddie has written for www.eddiedeezen.com – “The Official Eddie Deezen Website” and for neatorama.com where Eddie has done many way cool guest posts on The Beatles and a variety of other people and subjects.

Eddie_Deezen Eddie Deezen is a character actor who is best known for his acting roles in Grease, Grease 2, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Surf II: The End of The Trilogy, 1941, Zapped!, WarGames, Disney’s Midnight Madness, and Punky Brewster, to name a few, as well as the voice of characters Lenny The Know It All in The Polar Express, Mandark in Dexter’s Laboratory on The Cartoon Network, Ned in Kim Possible, and Snipes The Magpie in Rock-A-Doodle.

Besides all of his Hollywood credits from being a talented character and voice actor, Eddie Deezen is a HUGE BEATLES FAN! His Beatles knowledge is nothing short of amazing.

Be sure to check out more from Eddie at www.eddiedeezen.com, neatorama.com, and give him a like on Facebook.

Once again, Eddie, a BIG THANK YOU! – Jack
Here’s a Neatorama guest post from Eddie. Visit Eddie at his website.

Continue reading THE BEATLES’ TROUBLESOME BUTCHER ALBUM COVER BY EDDIE DEEZEN

RANDY CALIFORNIA HAS KEPT AN UPDATED SPIRIT ALIVE
 BY JIM WASHBURN


RANDY CALIFORNIA HAS KEPT AN UPDATED SPIRIT ALIVE
 BY JIM WASHBURN

This was one of those interesting articles I missed way back when it ran in 1986, being newly married with a 7 month old son at the time, and just trying to stay working (as a professional product) photographer, while living down in Orange County, California.  In fact, this was some 2-1/2 years before my wife, 2 kids, and I headed on to new adventures to the Pacific Northwest in Portland, Oregon, after having lived all of my life previously in Southern California.

 

Spirit had been one of my favorite bands as I was growing up. I was fortunate enough to have older brothers who knew about music (not just plain old everyday music, but good music, and that’s what they brought home – thanks Al & Ger.)  I got to see Spirit live at places like the Anaheim Convention Center, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, and even the wonderful Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, California.

 

I grew up with great music all around me to listen to: surf music from Dick Dale, as well as surf songs from The Chantays, The Surfaris, and even The Challengers. There was all the other cool music too, instrumentals from The Ventures, and all the cool stuff from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Electric Flag, Spirit, and so on and so on.

 

Guitarist Randy California of Spirit was one of my guitar idols. As a seventh and eighth grader, and then later as a high school and college age kid, I actually really tried to play in a “style” as he did. I even had a Danelectro Silvertone and a Boss Tone. He was one of the greatest players ever as far as I was concerned.  As a fifteen year old he played guitar alongside Jimi Hendrix in Jimi’s band Jimmy James and The Blue Flames.

 

His name was Randy Wolfe at the time and the name California was given to him by Hendrix to distinguish him from another Randy in the band whom Hendrix called Randy Texas.

 

It’s hard to wonder just what else Randy California might have done musically as his life was cut short when he drowned in Hawaii while in the process of saving his son from a rip current. This happened on January 2, 1997, some 10 plus years after Jim Washburn wrote this story.

There’s also the others too that I can’t help but think about that influenced the music I have liked to play who left us way too soon: Robert Johnson, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Mike Bloomfield, Stevie Ray Vaughan, George Harrison, Randy California…and I had better stop here.

 

Every time I use my Danelectro or my BossTone, I think of the great guitar sounds and solos that Randy California gave us, along with all of the cool songs that he wrote (I actually still play a lot of those solos – by myself).

 

And one more thing before getting to the story, regardless of what anyone else says, or thinks, the first time I heard Stairway To Heaven by Led Zeppelin, I thought to myself,”That was pulled right from Randy California’s “Taurus” off the first Spirit album my brother had.”  Just sayin’. I know those descending types of things are quite common in music, but as a kid who hardly knew anything about music “the first time I heard it”.

 

Spirit

Enjoy this cool story by a most knowledgeable music writer, Jim Washburn. If you like this story or are interested in Danelectros at all, check out The Danelectro Story right here on Jackaboutguitars.com by Jim Washburn and Steve Soest.

Also check out “A Bit on The New Danelectro Company” which contains a whole bunch of info including an interview with Steve Soest, the guy who seems to know more about Danelectros than just about anybody on the planet!

Special thanks to Jim Washburn for sharing this.    –  Jack

Continue reading RANDY CALIFORNIA HAS KEPT AN UPDATED SPIRIT ALIVE
 BY JIM WASHBURN


FORGOT YOUR MEDICINE? TIME FOR A DOSE OF KEEPIN’ IT REAL BY STEVE SOEST

FORGOT YOUR MEDICINE? TIME FOR A DOSE OF KEEPIN’ IT REAL BY STEVE SOEST

That’s right, the GOOD DOCTOR is in!Even-Steven

…and I thought I was busy. Steve Soest is playing gigs all over Southern Californiafixing EVERYBODY’S GUITARS, living life large, and he still has time for us here at Jackaboutguitars.com  What a great guy!

 

                                                              Woops! Two Steve’s…

I’ll have to send him out one of these new extremely way cool Jackaboutguitars.com tee shirts when they become available in the very near future!  They’ll look something like this:

Jag Shirt240-3This is only a mock up.  Of course the real shirts will look way much cooler than anyone can even begin to imagine or anticipate!!!

Prices aren’t set in stone yet but the way it’s looking I’m guessing they’ll probably be somewhere around $25 which will include shipping within the continental U.S. and for any of you other readers in the other 102 countries where we have been seen, we’ll have to calculate that extra shipping cost (sorry  Paul M., Eric C., Jeff B., Jimmy P., Peter F., and Pete T.) (Besides, if you guys mentioned here request a shirt, I may just send ’em with no extra shipping charge if you promise to give ’em plenty of exposure.)

As we get this all figured out (depending on demand and feedback –  please drop us a line at [email protected] and if there’s enough response, we’ll probably put up an order form in the right hand column to make it easy to get one of these cool tee-shirts that boast a logo design by the same artist who designed the famous AC/DC logo, my talented brother, Gerry Huerta.

Continue reading FORGOT YOUR MEDICINE? TIME FOR A DOSE OF KEEPIN’ IT REAL BY STEVE SOEST

ONE SOFT INFESTED SUMMER: BORN TO RUN REMEMBERED BY ED HUERTA

SOFT INFESTED SUMMER: BORN TO RUN REMEMBERED BY ED HUERTA

btr006-300x200         Ed Huerta’s i.d. card 1974-75 school year from Westminster High School

He’s back!  Drummer and writer Ed Huerta of Jackaboutguitars ‘Art “N” Soul column, aka “The Prince of Primitive“, has returned to share a cool, heartfelt piece he did for Iman Lababedi on Iman’s sweet site rocknycliveandrecorded.com  You have to check out Iman’s cool site!!!

SOFT INFESTED SUMMER: BORN TO RUN REMEMBERED BY ED HUERTA

A little history is in order before you decide to take this dive into this article. A post on Facebook on 4th of July by legendary writer and musical connoisseur, Iman Lababedi about the song “Born in the USA” sparked my mind to recall the feelings for Bruce Springsteen and what he means/meant to music then and now.

Some of you may have had similar journeys. Some of you may hate the man and his music, so be it. You have that choice. I thought he was the musical messiah at one point in my life. In this column, possibly the first of a few on this man, I am only going to touch on the Born to Run era Bruce and how it affected a young teenager living in an angst filled high school world.

I could easily go on and maybe with a little prodding will continue to write about the historic run of Bruce’s career and how it affected the chapters in my life and growing up and how rock and roll has taken a backseat to everyday woes and responsibilities. I hope the haters and doubters stay with me, if not, take two aspirins and go listen to early Genesis and we’ll meet ‘neath that giant Exxon sign cuz this guy don’t dance…

Continue reading ONE SOFT INFESTED SUMMER: BORN TO RUN REMEMBERED BY ED HUERTA

THE BEATLES SONG NOBODY LIKES BY EDDIE DEEZEN

In honor of this fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of the British Invasion, www.jackaboutguitars.com is pleased to present another GREAT article from one of the biggest Beatles fans on the planet!

Now, here’s another cool Beatles story from Facebook pal, actor, voice over artist, and writer, Eddie Deezen.

As time and space permit, Jackaboutguitars will continue to share some very cool articles on The Beatles during this fiftieth anniversary celebration year of The Beatles conquering America that Eddie has written for www.eddiedeezen.com – “The Official Eddie Deezen Website” and for neatorama.com where Eddie has done many way cool guest posts on The Beatles and a variety of other people and subjects.

Eddie_Deezen Eddie Deezen is a character actor who is best known for his acting roles in Grease, Grease 2, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Surf II: The End of The Trilogy, 1941, Zapped!, WarGames, Disney’s Midnight Madness, and Punky Brewster, to name a few, as well as the voice of characters Lenny The Know It All in The Polar Express, Mandark in Dexter’s Laboratory on The Cartoon Network, Ned in Kim Possible, and Snipes The Magpie in Rock-A-Doodle.

Besides all of his Hollywood credits from being a talented character and voice actor, Eddie Deezen is a HUGE BEATLES FAN! His Beatles knowledge is nothing short of amazing.

Be sure to check out more from Eddie at www.eddiedeezen.com, neatorama.com, and give him a like on Facebook.

Once again, Eddie, a BIG THANK YOU! – Jack
Here’s a Neatorama  guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website.

THE BEATLES SONG NOBODY LIKES BY EDDIE DEEZEN

1365891587-0The Beatles are the most talked about, written about, discussed, analyzed, and dissected group in the history of music. Almost all of the Beatles’ songs are liked by some segment of Beatle fans. The actual “most popular” Beatles song is up for grabs. Various polls on the subject have been conducted, with diverse results.

Some like the love songs, some like the hard rock, some like “John songs,” some prefer the “Paul songs,” some like the later, freakier stuff, and some like the simplicity of the early stuff. But always, in every poll on the subject ever taken, one song stands out, alone and undisputed, as the “least popular” Beatles song of all-time.

Continue reading THE BEATLES SONG NOBODY LIKES BY EDDIE DEEZEN

CONGRATULATIONS FIVE STAR GUITARS

CONGRATULATIONS FIVE STAR GUITARS

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FIVE STAR GUITARS NAMED IN THE TOP 100 MUSICAL INSTRUMENT RETAILERS WORLDWIDE BY NAMM

That is CORRECT.  Five Star Guitars is named in the top 100 musical retailers worldwide by NAMM.  Yep, you read it right here!  Talk about a GRAND ACHIEVEMENT.  Congratulations Five Star Guitars.

COOL NEWS FROM GEOFF METTS OF FIVE STAR GUITARS

Last week as I was packing and getting all set to head out with the family to St. Paul, Minnesota for my daughter Julia’s Graduation from Macalester College, I figured I’d check thru my 600 plus daily emails one last time before going to bed.  (By the way I just have to say how proud I am of Julia for her perseverance in getting her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology.  I better stop here though or I’d be going on about how proud I am of all my kids and their achievements for the next 20 minutes.)

When you have three web sites it’s amazing how much garbage email you attract and you really do have to sift thru all that trash on a daily basis just to find the important stuff.  Everyday I sift…otherwise if I miss a couple of days, there are literally a thousand plus emails…just for two days of not checking.

It was very cool to find the email from Geoff Metts of Five Star Guitars, my local Portland area guitar shop that makes everyone feel right at home as soon as one walks through their doorway.

I did a little piece a few months ago on Five Star Guitars.  If you missed it you can check it out here: Jackaboutguitars/Five Star Guitars.  Great shop, great people, great prices on great gear!

 

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FIVE STAR GUITARS…HANDSDOWN…A GREAT GUITAR SHOP!

FIVE STAR GUITARS is such a GREAT GUITAR SHOP that they have been recognized by NAMM (The National Association of Music Merchants) as one of the TOP 100 Music Retailers in THE WORLD.

FiveStarGuitars-3 for press release         Five Star Guitars’s Owners Jeep Simonet, Geoff Metts, & Jeremie Murfin

Continue reading CONGRATULATIONS FIVE STAR GUITARS