This gent is one of the best of the very best guitar players ever, and has crafted a musical career to die for.
Watch his videos HERE.
Laurence & Paul
Category Archives: musicianship
Review of Phil Angotti and the Lazy Apple Orchestra-People and Places (Our House Records)
What do you get when combining a golden voice, clever songwriting, incredible musicianship, lush harmonies and a love of music? You get Phil Angotti’s new CD release “People and Places”.
Phil draws from American and British power pop influences from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s but he has crafted his own style. Phil wrote all the songs, and if you like melody, you will like this release. You also get some great grooves and all the extras. I suggest that you get the whole CD (don’t just download a song or two). None of the songs sound the same and they each help build a total work of art. And with the Lazy Apple Orchestra you get a lot of different instruments on each song that you don’t want to miss.
As song # 6 says, “What happened to the songs with the grooves?” Well, I think he answered his own question. Click HERE.
Smokin’ Joe Kubek’s RB Blog Contribution
We just received this video from Reunion Blues artist Smokin’ Joe Kubek who is no stranger to blistering guitar solos but I guess even HE was impressed by this performance.
My favorite part starts around minute marker 2:30 where she starts getting her groove on and knows she’s going to nail it all the way through. 
Special thanks to Smokin’ Joe. See his artist page HERE.
Orlando Wright, bassist to the Stars
Last Saturday night, I forfeited my usual piano gig and jumped across the Golden Gate to hook up with Reunion Blues artist Orlando Wright who is currently touring with guitar legend Buddy Guy. The concert was at the incredible Davies Symphony Hall in downtown San Francisco.
Orlando, John, Ric
In his dressing room, Buddy was in rare form sharing road warrior stories about B.B. King and John Lee Hooker and making us laugh until we cried. We sat in the green room with Orlando and had the opportunity to meet with the band. There was a Steinway grand sitting in the room and Orlando, knowing I am a big fan of stride piano, kept bugging me to play a tune. I finally sat down and ripped off a little “Honeysuckle Rose” which piqued the curiosity of Marty Sammon, Buddy’s keyboard player. As Marty sat to take a turn at the 88s, I knew I was in big trouble. He ripped into a tune where the left hand emulated Fats Waller on a good day… while his right hand echoed Dr. John. – Unbelievable.
The purpose of our visit was the recording of Orlando outside the concert hall, giving him the opportunity to tell us about his relationship with Reunion Blues. We were then invited to witness a stage show that the “74 Years Young” Buddy Guy put together for a sold-out venue. The blazing duels between Buddy and guitarist Ric “Jaz” Hall left everyone breathless while the cool, calm and collected Orlando Wright held up the bottom with the confidence of a thoroughbred. – This is a must-see concert.
Check out Orlando’s page by clicking HERE.
What Was It Really Like to See The Beatles In Concert?
The Beatles
Most fans are aware that The Beatles last concert was at Candlestick Park in San Francisco (August 29, 1966). My understanding was that they grew tired of not being able to hear themselves on stage and decided to focus on studio recording (a good idea as “Sgt. Peppers” was the first result). If Candlestick was the straw that broke the camel’s back, it was obviously not the only concert appearance where the crowd screams overwhelmed the band and the meager P.A. systems of the time. To get an insider’s view of an actual Beatles concert, I consulted my go-to guy for the 1960′s. (One day I might reveal the name of my source-for now we will call him LD for Lucky Dude). He did the things I wanted to do like attend a Beatles concert AND Woodstock. Here is his story, in his words. It really puts you there. Snap the chinstrap on your time travel helmet and here we go:
I saw The Beatles in August of 1966, Suffolk Downs Racetrack, East Boston MA. I went with a girl I grew up with…she bought tickets for herself and her girlfriend but times being what they were, her parents wouldn’t allow her to get on the bus/train and go to a “concert” without a proper chaperone…so she and her folks suggested me…and I took her…the show was life-changing. The acts were The Remains, who were the support band for The Ronettes and Bobby Hebb (Sunny), and The Cyrkle (Red Rubber Ball)…all were received warmly..but then there was this commotion behind the stage and once the shadow emerged, chaos commenced. Two Boston radio station DJ’s were jockeying for position to announce the boys…it was actually funny…but once the boys hit the stage, it was like sticking your head into a jet engine, it was that loud. Bedlam. I couldn’t hear a thing…for 25 minutes it was just screaming….the only thing I could hear was when one of them would talk between tunes to announce what was coming next…my girl friend was a mess…just sobbing the entire performance. It was all I could do to get her out of the venue to catch the bus back home…
That, is Rock and Roll history my friends.
Do you know this face?
I was lucky enough to work as his monitor engineer at the Petaluma Mystic Theatre. Can you name this man and have you ever seen him live in action?
Reunion Blues & Laurence Juber
As far as contemporary guitar players go, you’ll be hard pressed to find a player with more feathers in his cap than Laurence Juber. And those are some big, bright feathers. Laurence has done it all. He is the former lead guitarist for Paul McCartney and Wings, Alan Parsons Project, Carly Simon and too many other top stars to mention here.
Laurence Juber, now and then!
He has his own Laurence Juber signature model C.F. Martin Acoustic guitar OMC-LJ. He is a world renowned fingerpicking expert, composer, arranger and all around guitar virtuoso. He composed and performed music for Ken Burn’s follow up baseball documentary film The Tenth Inning. And he has recently completed LJ Plays The Beatles Vol. 2. These are just a few of his achievements and accomplishments in a hugely successful career.
And who does Laurence turn to for gig bags and cases for his prized guitars? Reunion Blues, of course! When I asked him about his squadron of Reunion Blues gig bags, he commented:
“I am indeed well-equipped with your bags, with my first purchased at Manny’s Music on 48th St in NYC in 1978.”
The Juber Squadron
Laurence sent us this photo of his Reunion Blues gig bags and cases titled: En Route to a Session (I bet that was one heck of a session! He added:
“As a traveling musician, I appreciate the value of a well-designed and functional gig bag. There are certainly some competitive alternative products in the marketplace, but none have the consistency of style, ‘fit’ and ‘finish’ that I associate with Reunion Blues.”
When asked about traveling with his guitars, he offered this comment which may be even more impressive than our famous drop test from the top of a 3-story building:
“I’ve been happy with the Reunion Blues Continental for my Les Paul and have checked it as baggage with no concerns.”
Laurence was one of the first people we showed our new RB prototypes to at the 2011 NAMM show. Here is what he had to say:
“The suede finish prototype bag at NAMM was cool – I particularly liked the zippered flap over the outside pocket.”
We are obviously thrilled to have Laurence as an official Reunion Blues artist endorser. To learn more about one of the most exciting guitar players of our time, just go to laurencejuber.com. Enjoy with amazement!
John 5 Endorses Reunion Blues
We are pleased to welcome John 5 as our latest Reunion Blues artist.
John 5 has had an extremely diverse career – whether that be as a solo artist or working as part of a band, or as a guest or session musician for another artist.
With a list of work that includes KD Lang, Meatloaf, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie and with artists such as Ricky Martin and Lynrd Skynrd in between, John 5 is certainly one of the more underrated artists due to his diversity and sheer technical brilliance as a guitarist.
John5
His stage name was bestowed on him in 1998 when he joined industrial metal group Marilyn Manson as their guitarist, taking over from Zim Zum. He is currently the guitarist for Rob Zombie.
See his web site HERE.
We Want Moore…
But unfortunately due to the tragic death of Irish Superstar Guitar legend Gary Moore over the weekend we wont’ be getting any. This is not going to be an obituary. You can get all the pertinents elsewhere if you wish. Rather this is a personal recollection of what the man meant to me and how much he’ll be missed. For my money Gary was the best rock guitarist that the Emerald Isle ever produced along with Rory Gallagher (solo artist, Taste) and Vivian Campbell (Dio, Def Leppard), apologies to The Edge but the whole looping, delay thing never really did it for me. Coincidentally enough all three of these world-class guitar slingers hailed from the same small six county territory of Northern Ireland! I mean what are the odds?
Gary was probably best known for his work with 70′s rock legends Thin Lizzy, in particular the Black Rose album from the late 70′s, and for his more recent blues endeavors, particularly the blockbuster Still Got The Blues album from the early 90′s. But it was his solo 80′s rock records that first captured my imagination. Particularly the Corridors of Power (1982), Victims of the Future (1984) and Wild Frontier (1987) releases. Gary’s playing style combined a ferocious attack with power, fluidity, speed, melody and feeling unmatched by most in the genre except for perhaps, another long time favorite of mine, Herr Michael Schenker (Scorpions, UFO, MSG) .
Unfortunately for us fans of heavy rock guitar playing Gary pretty much stuck with the blues thing for the last 20 years or so and hadn’t shown much interest in getting back to the Hard Rock style (similar to the way Vivian has disowned his Dio years) until just recently. Rumor has it that he had been working on a Celtic Rock album in the vein of Wild Frontiers but now, sadly, we’ll likely never hear the results of that. I must admit that Gary had fallen off of my radar a bit lately until a couple of years ago when my wife gave me the Gary Moore One Night Live In Dublin Tribute to Phil Lynott DVD (video) . This thing knocked me on my ear! Talk about a master class of Gibson/Marshall tone. Not to mention playing that will have knock your block off. If you’re a fan of heavy rock guitar playing and have never seen this DVD it’s a must have. Miraculously this man hadn’t lost a thing over the years and if possible was even getting better. Who does that?? Except for Jeff Beck of course. Anyway this is my favorite song off of the DVD. It was filmed at the Point Theatre in Dublin Ireland on the same night they raised the Phil Lynott statue on Grafton Street. I can’t imagine what it must have felt like to be Irish and in the crowd on this night as just watching the DVD made the hair on this Yanks neck stand on end!! So enjoy and say a small silent thanks and goodbye to a true giant the likes of which may never be seen again Gary Moore/Scott Goram Black Rose RIP Gary you were a BAD MAN!
Happy Birthday Django!
January 23rd is the birthday of the greatest guitar player ever, Django Reinhardt. All over the U.S. and Europe there are guitar societies dedicated to keeping his music alive. And for good reason. His amazing guitar runs and flourishes have yet to be replicated. Many take a respectable stab but no one can reproduce it. The lightning speed and clarity of each note is amazing. But don’t just take my word for it. Jerry Garcia stated that Django was his favorite guitar player. Jerry loved his music and said Django was the only guitar player he ever heard where he could not figure out the fingerings. Jerry said that he could figure out Eddie Van Halen, no problem, but not Django. Part of this stems from the fact that Django played with only 2 fingers on his left, fretting hand (this being the result of a house fire that badly damaged the hand). A house fire couldn’t kill him and neither could the Nazis; they just couldn’t bring themselves to do it. Django was a Romani gypsy and they were usually destined for the death camps in the 1940’s. But even the Nazis respected his music and set him up in a Paris nightclub so that their officers could enjoy his live performances as part of their “brothel city” during World War II.
If any of you guitar players out there want to take a crack at playing a Django solo, have fun and be prepared to be blown away. Let me know how you fare. Happy Birthday to the man whose music will not die, Django Reinhardt.