Newsletter

 

Hello,

I’m late this month. Mainly because I have watched almost every game of Euro 2020, supporting England and Wales (Welsh Grandfather – I could have played for them… if I’d been any good).

Whilst I spent last night shouting in celebration of finally getting past Germany in a tournament I do wonder why live events are still not allowed to return. Over 40,000 were in Wembley Stadium and yes I know it is outside, but TV footage of 100’s crammed in to pubs hugging each other in celebration is no different to a bouncing gig.

I miss gigs more than I ever thought I could. Let’s hope freedom day is coming soon.

Stay Safe everyone.

Jason
#wemakeevents

~ THE GUITAR SHOW MEMORIES ~

FAKE POSTERS

A few years ago one of the big boys told me that my venue wasn’t prestigious enough for their brand and therefore they wouldn’t be doing the show. After I had calmed down (I was quite sweary for a while) it got me thinking, where do they think the vast majority of their guitars are used? Now I’m sure that we would all love to be playing at the Royal Albert Hall with all of its history and plush surroundings. But I don’t know about you, I’ve played in every sh*thole in the Midlands over the years. I’ve loved (almost) every minute of it.

Are my all time favourite gigs in Symphony Hall with its comfy seats and perfect sound or are they in dark, skinky clubs with sweat dripping off the ceiling? I know where I’d rather be.

I spent a couple of days getting to know Photoshop (sweary again) and made 30 fake posters, just like the ones that cover all of my favourite venues, Gareth and Mark (the Horn Bros) stuck them up outside with wallpaper paste and some were actually pealed off and nicked, I couldn’t have been happier.

Yes, Bingley Hall may not be prestigious enough for some, but I feel far more at home there and more in touch with what my gigging life was actually like rather than a marketing dept’s idea of where their guitars should be played.





 

~ BOOK ~

TO HELL AND BACK
MY LIFE IN JOHNNY THUNDERS’ HEARTBREAKERS, IN THE WORDS OF THE LAST MAN STANDING
Walter Lure
 

I’ve been a massive New York Dolls / Johnny Thunders fan since is was a teenager, I know what people say about the “mock rock”, the sneers, the “can’t play” etc. I don’t care. The Heartbreakers’ L.A.M.F. is and will always be in my top ten albums of all time. I think its genius is in it’s raw, viceral and chaotic sound. I like the sound of a band on the edge of disintegration. Sadly all the Heartbreakers are now gone, Lure finished this book just before he died last year.

Official Blurb…

There have been many books written about Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, but only by people who weren’t there. Walter Lure was–from the band’s chaotic beginnings on New York’s Lower East Side, through a now-legendary UK tour with the Sex Pistols and the Clash, and on to a yearlong stay in London–eyewitness and midwife to the birth of UK punk. Now, he tells his story in To Hell and Back, a thrilling ride through the clubs and dives of two continents, in the company of one of the most notorious junkies in rock ‘n’ roll history. Drawing from his own contemporary journals, Lure paints a vivid portrait of life in both cities, during perhaps the most crucial musical uprising of the past forty years…the music, the characters, the clothes, the fights, the drugs, the orgies, the lot. Lure lays bare his own battle with drugs, and reflects upon his life after the band’s split–rising to become a Wall Street fixture yet still finding time to make music.

Available from HERE

 

~ PODCAST ~

~ FILM ~

THERE’S SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW
DURAN DURAN
 

My tenuous claim to fame is being in a band with Andy Wickett, the man that wrote Rio and Girls on Film before he was replaced by Simon Le Bon. The demo we did in the late 80’s actually doesn’t sound too dissimilar, it just has no keyboards. I had dismissed Duran Duran for a long time, they were the enforced soundtrack to my teenage years. All the girls at school loved them, I loved KISS.

I put this on out of idle curiosity one Sunday when I was ironing school uniforms (rock n roll eh!). It is really good and has led me to re-appraise DD, they were/are much much better than I had given them credit for. Those bass lines are amazing, and I thought they were just a tarted up boyband – sorry!
 

You can watch it on NETFLIX HERE

~ INSTAGRAM ~
 

JAMES’ HOME OF TONE
 

I think one of the magazines said James didn’t run a guitar shop, James was a curator. This is probably the best description I can think of. An online store of the very best, James must spend half his life looking for products, because just like Oscar Wilde, he has the simplest of tastes, only the best will do.

Add to that the fact that he can clearly use a DSLR and has good social media game, make JHOT a must follow on Instagram.
 

You can follow HERE

 

 

To this day I can’t remember where I found Northcote, one day I had never heard of them/him*, the next the CD was in my car for months.

Northcote sit in that genre that is Springsteen inspired Americana, alongside Brian Fallon/Gaslight Anthem, Jesse Malin, Chuck Ragan and Dave Hause. Song story telling at it’s finest. Coming in at just over 30 mins long, Hope is Made of Steel is just about perfect.

*Northcote is really just Canadian songwriter Matt Goud.

You can listen HERE

 

 

Do you have a question about
The Guitar Show or the 9 – 42 Podcast?

EMAIL: info@tornandfrayedltd.co.uk  and I’ll do my best to answer them

 

Hello,

I continue to monitor the UK’s Roadmap, my thoughts go up and down with it, today I found out my friends that run the awesome 2000Trees Festival have had to pull it again. July was always going to be a tough ask, so close to the magical June 21st, but maybe with not enough breathing room if things get delayed even by a couple of weeks.

Whilst the live music and events industry is worth billions to the UK economy it doesn’t seem to get the required support that other smaller, but more politically expedient industries get.

In good news though, so far approx 2/3 of exhibitors have said that subject to everything being ok they will be back for The Guitar Show 2022.

Stay Safe everyone.

Jason
#wemakeevents

~ THE GUITAR SHOW MEMORIES ~

A Run Down of Dan Hawkins’ Rig

You can’t call it a Rig Run Down, that belongs to Premier Guitar, but I do love watching them and what else would you call them?

Marshall came up trumps for me in 2018, I asked if they had got anyone I could do the Run Down with and they offered Dan Hawkins of The Darkness. I sent Dan an email explaining that he had done one of my shows before when he and the Stone Gods had played at Music Live, so credentials were checked and we were good to go.

I got a call on the morning of the show, Dan is outside the venue, can someone please go get him and usher him in and hide him away in a green room. I went out, said hello and walked him in, he took one look at the hall, dumped his bags and was off shopping, the next time I saw him, he had a pint in his hand and a pedal he had bought from Fredric Effects.

Dan filled the marquee and those Marshall amps were amazing (and amazingly loud too). On the Saturday night we went for a curry, because there are so many of us I have to order in advance, I was surprised Dan had gone for such a hot balti, but not as surprised as Dan and his tech were when it was delivered, blimey its a bit warmer than Brick Lane they kept saying.

Dan was great and I hope to have him back to The Guitar Show in the future.



 

~ BOOK ~

This is sat waiting for me to finish Louis Theroux’s autobiography, which suprisingly I am finding quite hard going.

The blurb says

“It was the age when heavy-footed, humorless dinosaurs roamed the hard-rock landscape. But that all changed when into these dazed and confused mid-’70s strut-ted four flamboyant bands that reveled in revved-up anthems and flaunted a novel theatricality. In They Just Seem a Little Weird, veteran entertainment journalist Doug Brod offers an eye- and ear-opening look at a crucial moment in music history, when rock became fun again and a gig became a show.

This is the story of friends and frenemies who rose, fell, and soared once more, often sharing stages, studios, producers, engineers, managers, agents, roadies, and fans-and who are still collaborating more than forty years on.”

Available from Amazon HERE

~ PODCAST ~

~ FILM ~

SUPERSONIC
 

You may not like Oasis but Noel Gallagher along with Graham Coxon practically saved the UK’s guitar market on their own in the mid-’90s.

Kurt Cobain had gone and guitar music was in a massive slump, the effect of Britpop on the guitar sales was a shot in the arm, all of a sudden it was ok to like loud guitars again, it was ok to be a rock star again and ok to have a laugh again, plus Stock, Aitken & Waterman were finally banished from the charts (at last).

Supersonic charts the band’s successes and many arguments along the way, but the footage of them headlining Knebworth in front of an estimated 250,000, shows just how important they were. It is no wonder that one of the common themes when discussing the health of the guitar market today is “Where is the next Oasis…?”

You can watch it on Netflix HERE
 

 

www.instagram.com/vintageguitarposts
 

This page – Vintage Guitar Posts has some of the most beautifullly shot and curated vintage guitars on instgram.

There isn’t much of an explanation, I don’t know if the page owner actually has any of these guitars, if they do, they are very very lucky, from Fender to Gibson to Gretsch to Martin, all are absolutely stunning

Check them out HERE

 

Sometimes a trip down memory lane is the right thing to do, I don’t dwell too much on the records I loved as a teenager, well, because I’m not that person anymore and I’ve bought (and continue to buy) records by new artists all the time.

When ‘A Graveyard of Empty Bottles” came out I bunked off school, the only time I ever did, my justification was that it was a limited edition 10″ Mini Album and I couldn’t wait for Saturday to roll around and potentially miss it. I have number 3910.

Mentioning the Dogs D’Amour last month, sent me on that trip down memory lane, I have all of their albums and most of Tyla’s post Dogs output, but this one will always be special to me, released in the late 80’s, it was so different to what every other rock band was doing at the time, it is a predominantly acoustic album, just beating MTV’s unplugged sessions.

“So Once was I” also has one of my favourite lyrics ever, only years later did I realise it was taken from a latin translation of a monks grave, not exactly typical 80’s fair and certainly not from the Glam/Hair Metal genre that Dogs were lumped in with.

You can hear Tyla’s re-recording of it here A Graveyard of Empty Bottles . Sadly the original is not listed on Spotify

Do you have a question about
The Guitar Show or the 9 – 42 Podcast?

EMAIL: info@tornandfrayedltd.co.uk  and I’ll do my best to answer them

 

Say it quietly, but I have dates for The Guitar Show 2022. As yet, the government has given the events industry no concrete plans, I’ve spoken to the venue, other venues and other event organisers, there is a sense of hope that we will return to normal soon. The NEC Group are taking bookings for events as early as July, I’m not so sure about that, you can’t just say you can hold them again, they take months and months of planning, there are too many factors to get organised in a short period of time.

But February… it looks like it may be OK, so I have Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th reserved, fingers crossed we will back open and ready to go.

Stay Safe everyone.

Jason
#wemakeevents

~ THE GUITAR SHOW MEMORIES ~

The Boy Was Back In Town

There are many things I love about my job: I love events, any of them, one of my earliest memories is going to the Ideal Homes Show at the NEC with my parents and I had years of visiting the MotorShow in the autumn half-term with my school mates. I love guitars (obviously) and I get to chat about them all day with the trade. I get to travel to California every year for NAMM (and talk about guitars in the sunshine) but I also get to meet some of the most interesting and influencial players in the history of music.

Scott Gorham – where do you start… Probably with Live and Dangerous, and just go from there.

Scott was everything you want from a pro, he turned up on time, made sure that everyone in my (packed) office was spoken to in turn, every hand was shaken, every autograph was signed and all with a smile and relaxed vibe.

I had to stop him when he tried to make a cup of tea for a visitor to my office, he is that kind of guy, just happy to chip in and help. The world needs more people like Scott Gorham.



 

~ BOOK ~

I have both of these books, I am by definition a Rolling Stones completist. I have a book case full of biographies, autobiographies, photo books even an academic look at the social impact of Mick, Keith et al. Not to mention, every album, every box set, every DVD… you get the picture, a proper Stones nerd. Who else would dress The Guitar Show’s Live Stage like The Stones’ The Rock N’ Roll Circus.

When Rolling Stones Gear was announced it was pre-ordered long before it would arrive, I poured over every picture and read every word by Andy Babiuk. I enjoyed it so much I bought it’s companion piece Beatles Gear.

One of the joys of Lockdown has been family film and pizza night, a few weeks ago we watched Yesterday, the film where the Beatles cease to exist and everyone thinks that the only guy that can remember them is a musical genius, my house has been filled with The Beatles music ever since as two teenagers discover them via Spotify.

It’s only Rock N’ Roll but I like it.

 

~ PODCAST ~

~ FILM ~
 

I AM TRYING TO BREAK YOUR HEART
 

With Wilco nearing completion of their album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, conflict arose between the band and its record label Reprise, a division of the Warner Music Group. Wilco’s prior albums hadn’t performed to Reprise’s sales expectations and Reprise were concerned with how to market the new album. They consequently rejected the work and dropped Wilco from the label.

With a completed album and no contractual obligations to Reprise, Wilco made the album available to download on their website. Awareness of the new album became apparent and Wilco’s profile was rising. In response, another record label, Nonesuch Records, offered Wilco a new record contract. Nonesuch Records is a division of Warner Music Group, like Reprise, so Wilco were essentially paid twice for the album by the same record company.

Other scenes depicted the breakdown of the relationship between members Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett, and Tweedy’s debilitating migraines.

You can watch it HERE

It seems inconceivable that you could fly 6000 miles to go to NAMM and not visit Norm’s. The store isn’t exactly by anywhere or on the way to anywhere, but come NAMM week it is a must visit for the trade. I always seem to have to pick up a t shirt for someone when I’m there. I was surprised on my first visit, I thought it would be much bigger, thats not to say it isn’t jammed with gear to die for.

Norm is always welcoming and “the new video guy” Mikey was really helpful as we stared at guitars that we hadn’t got a hope of ever owning.

Torture yourself HERE the daily videos make it all worthwhile.
 

 

If I’m coming clean about my love of the Rolling Stones, I should also mention the “other” band that own everything on. I discovered KISS one evening when I should have been doing my homework, I was watching Entertainment USA with (the disgraced and convicted) Jonathan King – I found the footage on YouTube from early 1983 HERE. And so began a life long love affair.

Lockdown has brought many surprises but probably the biggest of all for me has been the opportunity to interview 3 members of KISS in the last few months. In December Ant & I interviewed Bruce Kulick for our 9-42 Podcast (lovely chap), then in January I was asked to interview Gene Simmons (actually very funny) for Bass Player Magazine (its out now with Bootsy on the cover), from this came the biggie (for me) the chance to sit down with Paul Stanley and talk about his new Soul album for 9-42. Ant couldn’t make it, so it was just me and one of the prime reasons I play guitar. I won’t lie, I was bricking it, fortuantely he saw a framed Keith Richards poster behind me and then my Marshall SV20H and we were off.

I got sent links to the new album before the interview, I’ve bought it too because I still like CDs and records, it isn’t anything like a KISS album, it is a proper soul album and I really like it. I’m listening to it now.

 

As I sit and write this it would appear that we now have the route towards going back to normal, I truly hope so. I miss my friends and family, I miss gigs and beers, I miss playing guitar with others, I miss the joy of plugging in to an amp that isn’t at friendly home volumes.

There is no Guitar Show this year, but this gives me the chance to do NOT The Guitar Show instead. I’ve sat through endless online events in the last year and none of them are like going to an actual show, they lack the vibe, the noise, the excitement and most of all, the curry for lunch.

But I’m not going to let the last weekend of February pass without doing something positive, I emailed all of the 2020 exhibitors and said send me something and I’ll post it up on Facebook. Within hours I had so much content that my inbox was insane, I had to move everything in to dropbox to free up my desktop.

The plan is to post manufacturers content up, Fair Deal Music have tied up with several of them to offer show specials, Marshall have provided a fridge full of beer (to give away) and 5 rucksacks that I’ll put a t shirt in. Focusrite have several competitions and prizes. Blackstar will be going live and to finish it all off, my 9-42 podcast will be going live too.

To kick it off on Friday evening there is a podcast with Misha Mansoor, who was very funny.

Then NOT The Guitar Show starts at 10.00 on Saturday, just like the real thing.

I hope you will pop by  – facebook.com/theguitarshowuk

See you at NOT The Guitar Show 2021

Stay Safe everyone.

Jason
#wemakeevents

~ THE GUITAR SHOW MEMORIES ~
 

He is a man of wealth and taste.

About 15 years ago I was sat up late watching Crossroads, not the wonderful Birmingham based soap opera nor the Britney Spears 2002 film…

You are probably aware of the 1986 film starring Ralph Macchio, based loosely on the life of Bluesman Robert Johnson, for guitarists the best bit of the film is when the lead character has a guitar duel for his friend’s soul with the Devil’s own stunt guitarist Jack Butler, played by Steve Vai.

I thought it was a great bit of theatre and wanted to do it at Music Live, but couldn’t figure out where to do it and with whom. I phoned Pete at Strings and Things, the UK distributors of Ernie Ball. Ernie Ball always had the most fun stands at NAMM, one year all the reps wore full American Football kit (including helmets) for every meeting, so I knew they were up for a laugh.

Pete took my idea and ran with it, poor Paul has been wearing that mask ever since. If I look back at the photos over the years you can see the character has really evolved, the first year it was just jeans and a t shirt, now it’s a full on devil outfit.

For me the best bit is that the Devil loves it when he is bested, it doesn’t happen very often, but its so funny when someone kicks his ass, there is a video somewhere on YouTube of someone using a EB mug for a slide, quite literally mugging off the devil.

 

~ BOOK ~

Lockdown has had a profound impact on my gear, almost all of it has changed in the last 12 months. A month ago I sold 3 mid priced guitars so I could buy 1 guitar.

When I started to learn to play in the 80’s, pretty much everyone I knew wanted a superstrat (until Slash and Izzy came along), I wanted a Gretsch, not because of Billy Duffy or Brian Setzer, but because of Tyla from the Dog’s D’Amour. Damn I loved that band, I followed them all over the place.

I have finally bought the dream, a White Falcon, from a lovely chap in Southampton who understandably didn’t want to ship it, but amazingly lives just down the road from my wife’s brother. This is where it sits today awaiting me and awaiting the lifting of our restrictions. My 5’2″ sister-in-law says it’s a guitar for giants but really cool.

To ease the wait I bought Tony Bacon’s book, I didn’t realise just how much I didn’t know about Gretsch, they never seem to get the coverage that Gibson, Fender, PRS etc get. I found out that the White Falcon wasn’t even supposed to be a model, it was just created to show off what they could do for a NAMM show.

I’ve loads of Tony’s books, they are always full of good info and an easy read.

So, come on March, I want my new guitar.

~ PODCAST ~
 

~ FILM ~
 

From the cusp of stardom to the Latter Day Saints
 

SC Relics are a finishing / refinishing guitar company based in Northern Ireland.

If you don’t like relic’d (reliced?) guitars it may offend, personally I have no opinion on how anyone finishes their guitar , most of mine are black, white, cherry or a burst, but I do quite like a nice relic.

Scott is the main man, you can follow them on instagram HERE
 

2013 and (at the time) former Guns N’ Roses & Velvet Revolver bassist Duff McKagan has joined a new band – Walking Papers.

I was lucky enough to catch them at The Vault (?) in Rugby playing to about 100 people, so early in to their career that their album wasn’t available yet to buy.

I ordered it online when I got home that night, Duff was Duff, cool as a cucumber and playing to 100 as if it was 10,000, but the real star of the show was Jeff Angell, guitar and vocals. I defy anyone to find a more charismatic frontman, this guy is a born star. Over the years I’ve taken a few people to see them when they’ve played the UK, every single one of them has been blown away, the most common comment is, I hate him, he is the coolest frontman I’ve ever seen, plus he can really play and has one of the best rock voices you will ever hear.

Duff may have gone back to the day job, but I bet he wishes he was still in Walking Papers.

The new album is out on the 26th but it’s on Spotify now HERE.

 

So, here we are again, our seemingly never ending Groundhog Day, except without Phil Connors / Bill Murray to lighten the mood.

I should be at this point just arriving back from NAMM full of Californian sunshine and optimism, ready to embark on the final push towards The Guitar Show 2021. Alas the world has different plans this time around.

The 9-42 Podcast is going well, it is now sponsored by Focusrite, I’ve been lucky enough to chat to some of my favourite players including one of my teenage heroes, Bruce Kulick from KISS. Like all of these Podcasts we talk about life, the universe and everything (inc guitars). So if you fancy listening to a reluctant podcaster (me), a pro podcaster (Ant) and loads of guitarists, check it out.

Stay Safe everyone.

Jason
#wemakeevents

~ THE GUITAR SHOW MEMORIES ~
 

~ BOOK ~

About a million years ago I was in HMV in Birmingham (remember when they used to be good) and I picked up a magazine called No Depression, a mag dedicated to Alt. Country. I had heard about this new sub genre but didn’t really know anything about it, so on a whim bought the mag and read it when I got home.

I soon discovered that the mag was named after an Uncle Tupleo album, from there it was a headfirst dive in to it, Uncle Tupleo had gone by this time, but they had split into two bands, I liked Jay Farrar’s Son Volt, but I loved Jeff Tweedy’s Wilco.

If you haven’t seen, I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, A Film By Sam Jones, it is one of the great rockumentaries. Label drops Wilco, Label gives Wilco their (terrible) album back*, Wilco release their (terrible) album via their website, album becomes the biggest of their career to date, Label re-signs Wilco and has to buy the (terrible) album back.

Anyway Jeff has a book out, its good, it is here

* The album is YankeeHotelFoxtrot, it is not terrible at all, in fact it is rather good

~ PODCAST ~
 

~ FILM ~
 

The man that wrote the rule book, and then threw it out of a hotel window
 

If, and it’s a big if, Keith Richards ever dies, I think only then will the world recognise what a massive shadow Keith casts across the music world.

Under The Influence is a Netflix documentary on The Human Riff. Despite the somewhat comical version we see today, I very much doubt one person has written as many hit songs in the history of recorded music, you can go and watch the Stones play a 2 hour gig that is hit after hit and walk out and say they still didn’t play another 20+ songs you can think of.

Guitar is easy, all it takes is 5 fingers, 6 strings and 1 asshole

Watch Under The Influence Here

Shrouded in mystery, I don’t know who this is, but Player Grade Vintage on Instagram is one of my favourites. I wish I had the craftmanship and woodworking skills to be able to take battered and broken vintage guitars and turn them in to beautiful working instruments.

If you like looking at mainly Gibson type guitars (although there are some Fenders, Epiphones & Grecos) give him a follow.

https://www.instagram.com/playergradevintage

 ~ ON THE TURNTABLE ~
 

 

Firstly, please let me apologise. What kind of idiot sends out a brand new newsletter on Black Friday? This kind of idiot, thats who. On a day where we drown in endless BUY, BUY, BUY emails, I thought I’d just stick another one on top – Sorry!

So, 2020, we are nearly done, you’ve not been all bad but I wouldn’t want to see you again. I miss gigs, I miss the pub, I even miss my drunk mates over-hugging me.

But there have been some real positives, my pedalboard is sorted, I’ve launched a podcast, I’ve learned how to edit in Final Cut Pro, read a ton of books, hung out with my family & saved a fortune on petrol.

I’m taking the positives and leaving the rest behind.

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone, you’ve earned it.

Jason
#wemakeevents

~ THE GUITAR SHOW MEMORIES ~
 

I was 17 when AFD came out, the perfect age. I was a working-class kid, from a working-class city, in the middle of Thatcher’s drive to eradicate the UK’s manufacturing base. I lived in the industrial heartland, a barren and crumbling landscape with, to quote Mr Rotten “no future”. I was angry and confused in the way only teenagers can be.
 
I had been looking for Hanoi Rocks albums and found Live?!*@ Like A Suicide, because Gu and Ha were next to each other, it cost me £5.99. I only bought it because Axl looked like Mike Monroe and Izzy looked like Andy McCoy (shallow, I know).
 
I loved it and eagerly awaited the release of their proper debut album. First came It’s So Easy / Mr Brownstone, the fury and the rage spoke to me like only Never Mind The Bollocks had before.
 
I gravitated to Duff and Izzy, despite the press love-in with Axl and Slash (poor Steven), they seemed cooler, more aloof, more punk rock. I stood in front of them both when I got to see them at Nottingham’s Rock City in October 87.
 
Fast forward 25 years and I’m stood back stage at Hammersmith Odeon (or whatever name it had then) with Velvet Revolver, asking Duff to do Music Live at The NEC. He said yes.
 
I bounced in to the MD’s office the following day to tell him, in true corporate style the first question is, where are you going to take him to eat? Apparently, a curry wasn’t the correct answer, but I only ever went for a curry.
 
Simpson’s, Birmingham’s premier, Michelin starred restaurant. I called, it was fully booked, the waiting list was months. I said, but it’s Duff from GNR… certainly sir, how many was the booking for? It was so easy; it was also the most expensive meal I have ever paid for (£850).
 
If you ever wanted to know what Duff is like, these three things might show you:
 
The sommelier asked what type of water Duff wanted, Sparkling or Still? Tap was the answer.
 
After what we all agreed was the best meal we had ever eaten, Duff said, next time, let’s just go for a curry.
 
I went to NAMM after I had been made redundant from Music Live, bumped in to Duff and told him that I was trying to get a show up and running, he said do you want me to come over? And he did.
 
So, if your hero is Duff “King of Beers” McKagan, go ahead and meet him, you won’t be disappointed.

 

~ BOOK ~

All you ever wanted to know about the Bursts – The Burst Believers Vol 1 – 5 by Vic DaPra

Whilst you could say, there isn’t much to these books, I find them endlessly fascinating, how a huge part of the guitar community can fall in love with a few hundred guitars from 1958-60, these books try and document the remaining Bursts and some of their stories.

I got mine from eBay & Amazon Here.

~ PODCAST ~
 

~ FILM ~
 

Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight.
 

The film follows the behind-the-scenes experiences of backup singers and stars Darlene Love, Judith Hill, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, Tata Vega, and Jo Lawry, among many others.

On March 2, 2014, it won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 86th Academy Awards.

The very end will bring a little tear to your eye.

~ INSTAGRAM ~
 

Last summer I was lucky enough to go to Summer NAMM in Nashville. The day before the show opened I had time to visit some of the best guitar stores I had ever seen. Rumble Seat, Gruhn Guitars and Carter Vintage.

My favourite was Carter Vintage, I spent ages playing every Gibson acoustic I could, fell in love with a 1958 J45 that I couldn’t afford, in fact the only thing I could afford was a T Shirt.

Their Instagram page is full of beautifully curated photos, you should check them out.

 

https://www.instagram.com/cartervintageguitars

https://cartervintage.com

 ~ ON THE TURNTABLE ~
 

 

I had written a long intro (since deleted), talking about why The Guitar Show 2021 wouldn’t be happening, but we all know why, and whilst my event is only one of thousands of events that have been cancelled, and it’s only another company barely holding on. It’s my company, it’s my show, I created it and I bloody love it.

On good days, I know it’ll pass, on bad days, I wonder if I’ll ever get to run it again.

To ease my mind, I’ve created this newsletter. It’s not an original idea, in fact I was inspired by a clothing company called Hiut Denim, they do the most wonderfully curated newsletters (and awesome jeans). So, what follows are things that have grabbed my attention this month, as you, like me clearly love all things guitar. You might find some of it interesting. I hope so.

I’ll see you again at The Guitar Show 2022.

Jason
#wemakeevents

Phil X at The Guitar Show 2020
 

A genuine highlight of my many years of running events, I door-stepped Phil at NAMM, he had just finished a talk on the Gibson stand.

The conversation went like… “Hello, my name is Jason and I run a guitar show in the UK, it opens 3 days before your UK tour, want to come along?” Poor Phil, he didn’t stand a chance, we shook on it there and then.

A week before the show his people sent me his rider (all very sensible), I got the amps, I got the mics, I got the pedalboard, etc. Phil landed on the Saturday, I had a stressful wait for the chauffeur company to tell me he had been collected from Gatwick, 4 hours later I picked him up in a cab from his hotel and did what any Brummie would do, I took him for a curry in the Balti Triangle.

Sunday was show day, Phil arrived, I asked what Pret sandwich he would like, “eh?”, its on the rider, you require a Pret or Sainbury’s sandwich, “fuck that man, lets rock” and off in to the show he went. A total sweetheart and a total star.

 

~ BOOK ~

I collect guitar related books, so I’ve placed my order for this:

Stompbox: 100 Pedals of the World’s Greatest Guitarists, is a deluxe celebration of the unsung hero of guitar music–the effects pedal.

Stompbox showcases the actual effects pedals owned and used by Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Frank Zappa, Alex Lifeson, Andy Summers, Eric Johnson, Adrian Belew, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Ed O’Brien, J Mascis, Lita Ford, Joe Perry, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, Vernon Reid, Kaki King, Nels Cline and 82 other iconic and celebrated guitarists.

These exquisitely textured fine-art photographs are matched with fresh, insightful commentary and colorful road stories from the artists themselves, who describe how these fascinating and often devilish devices shaped their sounds and songs.

https://stompboxbook.com/shop/

~ PODCAST ~
 

~ FILM ~
 

James Brown explaining to his band that every instrument is just a drum. The Godfather of Soul’s life made in to a movie with the late Chadwick Boseman in the title role. I honestly have no idea of the accuracy of the film, but I really enjoy watching it and the music is fantastic.

Mick Jagger Produced it, so there are a few glimpses of young Mick n Keef.

You can see Get On Up on Netflix here

 

~ INSTAGRAM ~
 

Eleanor Jane Photography, you’ve seen her stunning work in Guitar Magazine   a couple of years ago we spent sometime together at the “other” show in California in January, The SoCal Guitar Show , its much more fun than NAMM, Joe Bonamassa had a stand there and was just raving about some photo’s that Eleanor had taken of his gear. You should follow her on Instagram for regular guitar porn updates and check out her new 2021 Calendar Burst & Goldtops.

 

https://www.instagram.com/eleanorjanephoto/

http://eleanorjane.co.uk/

 ~ ON THE TURNTABLE ~