Backstage Banter

Don’t you just LOVE this business?

Stay tuned for more from the NAMM show floor.

After 40,000 hits, our first stress test video received a lot of viewer comments, challenging us to try it with a more fragile tilted headstock guitar. We accepted the challenge…

So recently real life circumstances required me to travel to my hometown of Grand Junction Colorado for a week. About a year ago my good friend, Phil Street, who is also from Grand Junction and was the drummer for my band Crunch here in California moved back to Western Colorado to be closer to his folks. 
He’s drumming in a band there called Missy’s End, 

R to L Joe, Todd and Phil of Missy's End.

 led by a talented singer/songwriter named Joe Davis, and they just happened to have a gig scheduled while I was there and asked me to sit in for a couple of songs. This was the perfect opportunity to give our new Reunion Blues RB Continental case the ultimate road test, by checking it in as baggage with the airlines and letting the handlers do their worst. So I caught the bus from Petaluma

Me and the RBC at the Petaluma Airporter

to the Oakland Airport on a sunny Saturday morning, arrived at the US Airways baggage check in, handed over the company’s Epiphone Dot Studio in the RB Continental case, checked it in and told them to do their worst!

RBC at Oakland Baggage Check-In

(note I didn’t use my own guitar, I may be crazy but not stupid!) I had to make a connection in Phoenix to Grand Junction. The flight to Phoenix was quite turbulent as their were storms lined up the whole way. Then if that wasn’t enough fun, I got to hop on a 2 propeller prop job for the final leg to GJ.
It had been a number of years since I’d had the pleasure to fly on one of those and I’d forgotten just how much “fun” they can be.

Keeping cool on the bouncy prop job

Luckily our pro flight attendant Sandra kept everything calm, cool and under control. Upon landing in Grand Junction all 9 of us intrepid travellers  got off the plane and I headed to baggage claim with more than a bit of apprehension. Within a few minutes I saw the RB Continental Case come down the baggage carousel.

RBC arrives GJ baggage carousel

With nervous anticipation I slowly opened the case and voila! There was the Dot in perfect condition. Not a scratch, dent, ding or blemish of any kind. 100% Success!

An Epi Dot without a spot!

 Now all I had to do was learn Suffragette City by Friday, play the gig and then see how the axe survived the return trip back to the Bay Area.  The gig was at Quincy’s Bar, the only alternative lifestyle bar in Grand Junction, the crowd was probably around 200+ with one of the most interesting mixes of humanity I’ve ever seen.

The one and only Quincy's Bar in GJ.

The people watching was almost as entertaining as the band. We even had a party bus pull up and out came 25 bouncing bachelorettes ready to rock.

Missy's End and yours truly rocking Suffragette City!

So we obliged them and then headed to Todd the bass players house for an after gig party until about 3:45 AM. That’s the latest this old man has been out in quite a few years but we had a blast. The next day I had my good friend and martial arts expert  Kerry Wong give the case a good hard karate chop with the guitar in it and yes it survived the Kung Fu test beautifully as well.

RBC passes Kerry's Kung Fu Karate Chop test!

After taking care of all my family business it was time to head home. The return trip was smooth even if I did have to find a way to kill 3.5 hours in the Phoenix Airport (UGH!) . I arrived back in Oakland to find my wife and kids waiting for me (a sight for sore eyes for sure!) and waited for the RB Continental to come downt the carousel. When we got home my kids helped me check the guitar and as expected it was in perfect condition. I even stuffed some extra clothes, toiletries, etc… in the accessory pockets of the RBC to save space in my carry on. You can literally pack everything you need for a 1 or 2 night gig in this case and not even need any other luggage. And if your guitar happens to fall off a 3 story building or has to be subjected to the whim and whimsy of airline baggage handlers you can at least have some peace of mind knowing that it’s ensconced safely in a Reunion Blues RB Continental Guitar case. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it! Rock on everyone!

Hello fellow Buskers. – Back in December, I promised to show you a trick I discovered to make more money playing music on the street. That post can be found by clicking HERE. – My discovery came when I realized about half the people are too timid to get close to a stranger on the street, so they elect to pass on putting money in the tip jar that is sitting right there next to me.

As soon as I added a remote tip jar to the mix, my income increased by almost 40%. – This is not just any tip jar, however. It’s a big plastic office water bottle that is light in weight but secure because people cannot stick their hands in through the small opening once the bucks are deposited. – Go for it!

Guitar Showcase is the next stop in our continuing series!

 In this segment:

•  We get to check out an early-50s Gibson ES-175 Electric Archtop which features the original specs, including a single P90 pickup in the neck position. Later models featured a humbucking pickup.
• The next guitar was an original Epiphone Model 4 roundhole acoustic archtop. As described in the video, this is one of the oldest instruments to be featured in this event. Check out how they determine its authenticity..ONLY PROFESSIONALS!!
• Another guitar featured is a relatively new model in the vintage market, an original Kramer guitar. But what makes this guitar special is the one-off paint job done by San Francisco artist, Mark Erickson.

Ever wonder what it would be like to go on a world tour with an international blues celebrity? Now you can have the next best thing. Veteran bassist Greg Rzab has joined forces with John Mayall, and will be reporting in to us from the road! First leg of the Mayall 2009 tour schedule starts on March 20 in Cerritos, California, on to Copenhagen Sweden, Spain and Ireland, and ends July in the UK. -  During Greg’s career he has performed with many artists including, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Page, Carlos Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Albert Collins, Otis Rush, Gov’t Mule,The Allman Brothers Band, Bob Weir, and the Black Crowes just to name a few. – Check back often to get the latest news from Greg’s perspective, as the tour visits Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium and the UK.

Our new best friends at Guitar Noize slipped some cool RB coverage right past without us catching it so we’re back-tracking here to thank them for the consideration. – This is a GREAT site for all you guitar nutz out there. See it HERE.

Further down in this blog site you will find part 4 of the Vintage Guitars Road Show video series, also available for viewing on the Premier Guitar magazine web site. In it, an enthusistic participant is touting a plaid painted Blues Saraceno guitar. We stumbled across one that looks a lot like it on You Tube. It’s Blues himself, wailing on one back in 1995 at the NAMM show. – Check it out!

We’d like to thank everyone for the interest in our guitar straps. Check out this picture:

As you can see, our helper elves got them into the mail and you should be receiving them soon. We know you’ll dig them as much as we do!