As the electric movement began to show some legs, established guitar manufacturers — those who naturally approached the challenge from the perspective of the traditional, wood-bodied, acoustic instrument — pursued their own means of entering the race. The most prominent of these is Gibson, which released a cast-aluminum Electric Hawaiian lap-steel guitar in 1935, the E-150 (later EH-150, a model number it shared with its accompanying amplifier). The following year, the company debuted its Electric Spanish ES-150, which is widely acknowledged as the first production electric from a major guitar manufacturer.

Around the same time, however, the lesser-known Epiphone company introduced its own Electraphone (later Electar) range of non-cutaway archtop Spanish and lap-style Hawaiian electric guitars, which were fitted with horseshoe pickups acquired from Electro String [aka Rickenbacker]. By 1939, both Gretsch and Epiphone were marketing electric guitars with their own pickups, although the former’s Electromatic Spanish model was actually manufactured by Kay (formerly Stromberg-Voisinet) in Chicago. The pickups on Zephyr, Coronet and Century models from Epiphone were large, oval-shaped units, which later in the year were adapted to take adjustable pole pieces, making them the first such pickups available. Despite the innovation, Gibson was by this time clearly pulling ahead in the game; already recognized as the preeminent manufacturer of archtop guitars, its electrics were fast becoming the professional’s choice for amped-up requirements, too.

Hehe, “pickup” is one of those words that don’t make sense when you say it too many times…

“Black Tooth Grin” author Zac Crain found himself at the center of controversy last year when members of Dimebag’s family issued a statement in which they distanced themselves from the book, claiming that Crain “wrote nothing but negative reviews about PANTERA’s music” during his tenure as music editor of the Dallas Observer.

In his Dallas Observer review of PANTERA’s 1996 album “The Great Southern Trendkill”, Crain wrote, “the Cowboys from Hell should stick to running low-class strip joints instead of trying to record albums that would be played in them. Fortunately, it looks like they’ve decided to do just that. Oh, except for that horrendous Dallas Stars theme song. But, hey, whatever keeps them from working on new material in the studio. And, yes, I’m fully aware that Vinnie Paul [PANTERA's drummer and Dimebag's brother] could kick the shit out of me.”

Dimebag was shot and killed by a psychotic fan in 2004. In case you’ve forgotten how hard Dimebag rocked, here he is doing his thing at a guitar clinic:

This January, he released another: Ultimate Hendrix: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Live Concerts & Sessions.

Guitar legend Jimi Hendrix packed so much into so few years, leaping forward musically with each innovation. This remarkable record of Hendrix’s creative process brings to light new details about each of his recording sessions and live performances. Covering the years between his discharge from the army in 1963 and his tragic early death in 1970, Ultimate Hendrix traces the evolution of his sound session by session, day by day.

Complete with all-new interviews with bandmates and studio staff, candid conversations transcribed directly from the raw tapes, and rarely seen photos of Hendrix in the studio, this book offers an intimate portrait of an artist at work. Author John McDermott, bassist Billy Cox, and sound engineer and photographer Eddie Kramer had complete, unprecedented access to Hendrix’s tape library, and they cover it all — from Hendrix’s early hand-to-mouth days traveling the South, to the freewheeling 1968 Hollywood sessions, to the celebrated recordings at his own Electric Lady Studios.

(via antimusic.com)

For the first time, a member of the world’s most famous rock ‘n’ roll band tells his—and their—story.  Raw, unsanitized, nasty and fascinating. An incredible journey.

The first of his family to be born on dry land, Ronnie Wood came from a family of water gypsies and was raised in a council flat near Heathrow Airport. Growing up only wanting to paint and play music, Wood was always talented. And in the 1960’s, he was often in the right place at precisely the right time—becoming the  guitar player for everyone from the Birds to Jeff Beck to the Faces and then to Rod Stewart . But Wood and his guitar-playing became super-charged when he joined The Rolling Stones. They were rock royalty from their earliest days, and from the first time Wood performed with the band, careening down New York City’s Fifth Avenue on a flatbed truck Wood has been at the center of the court and in the middle of the ferment.  No band has ever combined the Stones’ success–both artistically and materially—with their longevity.  No other band has ever survived the creativity and clashes of such big personalities.

But with success came excess—and as mayhem and hysteria followed Ronnie on his adventures through the extremes of rock ‘n roll, the drugs got harder and his relationships—especially with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the women in his life—became increasingly complex.

A fascinating portrait not just of the Stones, but of the greatest rockers of the 1960’s and beyond—from Eric Clapton to Rod Stewart, Jimmy Page to Keith Moon, Jimi Hendrix to Pete Townshend—RONNIE is a rich, revelatory book. Readers have never had a view of the rock world like this before.

“In search of Django Reinhardt and the soul of Gypsy swing”, as the subtitle has it, Dregni journeys across Europe, following a trail which leads him down enticingly dark alleys into Romany caravan sites, backstreet bars, flea markets and out-of-the-way guitar workshops to meet and interview Reinhardt’s musical heirs. In the closing chapter, he jams with the maestro’s nineteen-year-old grandson (“I muddle through the tune and receive a satisfied bien”), then falls asleep on the train back to Paris “exhausted by this most dangerous of all guitar lessons”.

I’ve always felt that this is the worst approach to take with regard to jazz improvisation. It brings out the worst in guitarists: play lots and lots of notes very fast with little regard for the harmony underneath. This is noodling. And I’m lazy. I like to noodle. But I wanted to learn to play through the changes, not on top of them.

Enter Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony.

Here’s what I love about it: it’s not written for guitarists. There isn’t a chord diagram or page of tablature in sight. It’s a deceptively simple analysis of 3 generic and ubiquitous ii-V-I outlines, followed by lots and lots of examples of these outlines used out in the wild.

Many people swear by this book. Just read the Amazon reviews. I’m studying it again. Just thought I’d share the wealth.