Backstage Banter

So last weekend I was playing my friends Danelectro and I got to finally use one our new Merino Wool guitar straps. From what I have been told by both Brett and Dave, these Merino Wool straps have been selling like hot cakes.  (What are hot cakes anyway?)

Playing my friends Danelectro

After playing last weekend with the strap I totally understand why these are flying off the shelves. Honestly, it was the most comfortable strap that I have ever used. Don’t let the Merino Wool thing get to you either, they’re not itchy. The full genuine leather tabs on either end also means you don’t have to worry about your heavy guitar tearing through it.

Right now these straps are only available in black, brown, and white pinstripe. However, Dave and I have just recently come up with new designs that should pique your interest even more. We got some samples of these in and they look awesome. Lets just say that after Winter NAMM in January your strap collection is going to have some attitude added to it.
All right, time for me to get back to work (if I must, sigh). In the mean time happy playing and happy holidays.

Pushed the piano down to Western Avenue & Petaluma Blvd. last Saturday and donned the traditional Santa hat for the annual arrival of the Clause by boat at the river turn around. Tens of hundreds of parents and kids swarmed the downtown area while Petalume Pete wailed on ragtime versions of Jingle Bells, Rudolph and, yes, even Silent Night with a swing beat. The tip jar overfloweth. Later discovered the event was captured and blogged by a Petaluma Citizen, who provided the reader with the attached photo.

I also discovered something all buskers can use. It’s the employment of a “remote” tip jar, because some people are reluctant to approach you with money, but are happy to pop their bucks in a jar that is at a safe distance about 20 feet away. I made a very secure remote tip jar that I will share with you soon. Do you have any tip garnering ideas you can share with our fellow buskers?

So as you probably know there is an awful lot of hullabaloo on the webbernet and elsewhere these days about the long-awaited, much-anticipated,  ridiculously-delayed release of Chinese Democracy, the not-so-new Album from Guns & Roses or NU GNR or The Axl Rose Solo Band or whatever you prefer to call them.  Most of the reviews that I’ve read have been positive and I like what little I’ve heard so far.  Axl’s voice sounds good (well sounds like Axl anyway), the riffs groove and the songs rock. There’s a touch of an industrial sound here and there and the lead guitars, while stinging and soaring in their own right, are much different from Slash’s bluesy burning which I miss.  Other than that some of the material could almost be Use Your Illusion era Guns with Axl attempting his best Freddie Mercury ala November Rain.  I’m sure it will sell by the boatload and I’ll probably find it in my Christmas stocking! One certainty is that the live show, with Reunion Blues endorser Richard Fortus (also of Psychedelic Furs fame) laying it down on rhythm guitar amid the musical maelstrom of Axl, Dizzy, Richie, Bumblefoot, Frank, Chris, Tommy and possibly even Buckethead???, will be a spectacle worth beholding.  www.myspace.com/gunsnroses

Richie Rockin

On a less grand scale but no less important, I’d also like to briefly mention another new release by yet another Reunion Blues endorser, a local boy and personal friend Josh Ramos.  The CD is called The Dream and it’s a collaboration between Josh and Hugo Valenti. Some of you may remember Josh from his time in The Storm which featured former members of Journey and Santana including Gregg Rolie, Steve Smith and Ross Valory and also the SoCal based hard rock outfit Hardline.  Hugo started out fronting Valentine which later became Open Skyz but might be best known for fronting Evolution, the pre-eminent East Coast Journey tribute act.  So as you might have guessed buy now, The Dream bears a strong resemblance to Journey in many aspects, but all in a positive way.  It’s the best collection of Journey songs from a band not named Journey that you’ll ever hear. The songwriting and arrangements on this album are rock solid and memorable and Hugo is a terrific singer with great range and passion. But the highlight of this cd is Josh’s playing. He really rips it up all over the disc with ferocity, feeling and an innate sense of melody not many possess.  The Dream is being released primarily in Europe so it might be a bit hard to find but for fans of outstanding melodic rock guitar playing it’s well worth seeking out. www.myspace.com/ramoshugo

Josh Jammin

Brett’s Music Bag: You’ve also got to check out The Answer www.myspace.com/theanswerrock. These bad boys from Northern Ireland are really bringing it hard the wayyy old school way. I’ve had their initial release Rise for close to a couple of years now after hearing about them in Classic Rock Magazine.  Anyone who caught them on The Late Show with David Letterman recently knows exactly what I’m talking about. The singer Cormac Neeson reminds me of a heavier, more aggressive Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes and the guitarist Paul Mahon is pure Gibson/Marshall hard rock glory.  Catch The Answer  live in concert opening for AC/DC on their Black Ice world tour. Never toolate indeed…    

The Answer Rocks

 Speaking of AC/DC, kudos to the Brothers Young & Co.  whose Black Ice recently went #1 in 29 countries, shifting 1.5 million units in the first two weeks of release in the US alone and over 5 million copies sold worldwide so far. Brings a tear to a crusty old rocker’s eye. Good on ya mates! www.myspace.com/acdc