Category: Uncategorized
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Eric Clapton’s solo on “Strange Brew” is one of his more concise efforts and makes an excellent study in British Blues via Chicago. EC more or less copied his solo from the first half of Albert King’s “Crosscut Saw” solo, and Slowhand nails the difficult first finger bend that is necessary to achieve the right…
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Sleepless Nights will be appearing on Saturday, March 26th at Parigot, a cozy French restaurant on the edge of SoHo and Chinatown in NYC. We go on at 8:30pm and will play two sets. I’ve eaten at Parigot a number of times and it’s a delicious and comfy place to catch up with some…
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The title of Mary Lou Sullivan’s 2010 portrait of guitar slinger Johnny Winter is a bit of a misnomer. Readers who pick up Raisin’ Cain – The Wild and Raucous Story of Johnny Winter, might expect a more lurid story of partying, groupies, and burned bridges. But what they’ll get instead is a sensitive, well-researched…
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After years of gear deprivation due to a constellation of complex financial and psychological factors, I’m finally making some welcome additions to my toolbox. I started out playing on a 70s hardtail Strat through a silver face, master volume twin, so you can imagine – I always figured you get the tone out of your…
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Freddy King or Freddie King? No matter how you spell it, this funkiest member of the three Kings is known for his smoking instrumentals. And if you’re contemplating learning one of them, my vote goes in for “The Stumble.” Here’s why: “Hideaway” has already been covered pretty definitively plus, if you learn The Stumble, you…
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born two hundred and sixty years ago today. Happy Birthday Wolfgang! On Mozart’s birthday, which is also the birthday of my good friend Yvonne (makes it easy to remember!), I always play a number of his works. Listening to Mozart is a great way to ease yourself into a hectic day.…
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“Why are you always carrying around a David Bowie album?” A drag queen at a club I was working at circa 1982 asked me this question when I was in the midst of my David Bowie phase. I guess like many kids, I thought that he was super cool. But I loved his music, which…
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Cranking it up at the Wild Horse Tavern The week leading up to New Year’s saw lots of music being made and I feel that 2016 will bring even more of the same. I always look forward to the upcoming year with great optimism. Now that it’s here, I hope everyone had a great NYE and I…
On Practicing Guitar 