How a Hero Gets Made....Sometimes

Often times greatness is not something that is easily recognized. In addition, greatness often emerges over time.
Perhaps a person that posesses the raw ingredients for greatness simply becomes a little more great every day.
So when The White Stripes first took the stage at Detroit's Gold Dollar back in the summer of 1997, it is difficult to say whether or not Jack White played with his full present greatness. Jack has certainly become a prolific artist if not one of the most prolific artists of our time. Keeping company with modern day masters like Dave Grohl, Jack simply continues to get better and better with each project.
Perhaps this is how a true guitar hero is made in some cases. I say some cases because other guitar heros seem to have had a certain god status from the very beginning. Say Eddie Van Halen for instance. From the very first record, few people doubted Eddie's ability to drop jaws with his withering solos and vastly creative approach to guitar playing.
Contrast this with Jack White's rise to power. Did we know by White Blood Cells that Jack was destined for guitar greatness? Perhaps, but certainly not in the same instantaneous sense with which we watched Randy Rhodes or the previously mentioned EVH. Be that as it may, Jack White belongs among the guitar greats. Every bit as creative as Eddie, every bit as flashy as Rhodes, as good a song writer as Grohl, as prolific as, dare I say it, Prince, Jack has arrived. Perhaps long ago in some people's opinion but certainly arrived now in everyone's opinion.
While it is not "new" music, go and take a hard listen to Elephant or The White Stripes. Yes, they are from way back in the day by now but they still hold those early markers of greatness that can sometimes only be recognized in retrospect. My personal favorites include Ball and a Biscuit or Girl, You Have no Faith in Medicine.  The former channels Hendrix esque blues vocal style that oozes a powerful rock star virility while the later containes a staccato guitar lick that I have yet to be able to adequately copy.
Jack White is indeed a modern day hero. Whats more and more important is that he is a timeless hero. This work will stand and continue to inspire. Fifty years from now, young guitar prodigy players will be doing magazine interviews and saying the likes of, "Uh well my heros are ummm...well Jack White for sure..I mean right? Who doesnt want to play as good as Jack?"

All Hail the Flying V!

A poster of your rock idol on your old bedroom wall, an old pair of black Chuck Taylors, a faded black concert T, a bandanna you used to tie around your wrist, classic vinyl stacked in a box in the back of your parents closet.
Icons of the rock and roll spirit. The items and images that connect you to the music and passion that is driven by overdriven amps, power chords and the heaviest of back beats. The power and the glory of rock and roll!
Add to this list the image of a Gibson classic. Born before its time with its brothers the Gibson Explorer and the Moderne, all hail the Flying V!
Marvel at its heaviness. Behold it's greatness and rock...ness! No doubt hewn from the very bones of warriors and demons. Not for the faint of heart. Its very shape indicates that it is a rocket ship to another dimension of distortion and fury. Brave are those who would ride. Bold are those that would try to tame it.
Many have tried, few have survived. Check the coolness with which the man holds this monster of music mania.
In all their youth and angst. Hendrix and the mother f#@%ing Flying V!

"In the Midnight Hour.......'"

There is something about the politics of rock and roll I can never seem to reconcile. I understand why we love the music. I understand the raw power and the angst against the backdrop of eternal youth. I get all that. What I never can get past is the rejection of any band that is not staffed with 'teens or twenty somethings.
Oh, here it comes now. I can hear you already. "Nobody want to jam to some old dudes!". Well, I want to challenge that. Why not? Are you there to listen to the music or are you there to sleep with the band?
What does it matter how old the band is?
Now I am only asking this to fans of rock and roll. Other genres seem to be more tolerant of older players. I see new artist in the blues arena that are into their 50s before they break the scene. Even country music seem to be OK with new artists with a little grey in the beard. I wonder if fans of those musical styles are a little more appreciative of the music and less focused on image. Is it possible that in rock music we are too connected to the celebrity and the rock star status?
Music is an art form. It is not unlike painting, sculpting, dance, etc. Now I wonder how many of us look at a painting and say to ourselves, "I wonder what this guy looks like?" Not many I would guess. In other art forms we are very focused on the art and not the artist. Music is a weird variant from that. I am not suggesting that I understand it, I am asking if anybody can explain it. On second thought, I really could care less. I simply think that it is a simple minded stance. Shallow and rooted in idol worship and not in a love of the music.
Speaking of idol, check out the picture below. Billy Idol himself. One of my idols from my teen years. I used to burn the needle through the vinyl listening to his stuff. I even started to try to dress like him. I recall a Halloween party that I attended in full Idol wear. The girls were all over me (sort of). In retrospect it seem silly. Why would anybody get adoration for dressing like a rock and roll artist?
Again, it is the power of celebrity. It can separate the art from the artist and really cheapen the experience of the appreciation. I challenge you this. Go to iTunes and subscribe to the podcast called Roots Rock Radio. This dude collects indie artists and promotes their tracks for free. You never see the bands but you hear some really killer music. Learn to separate the music from the musician and it opens up a whole new experience of listening.
So, in the midnight hour, does Idol still rock? Of course he does. At age 56, at the time of this writing, he still brings a great rock show. Better than some of the new shoe gazer acts full of late teenagers, playing a whole show with their feet stuck in one place. I'm not hating on new acts, I'm simply saying that ageism has no place in art. Rock and roll included. So again, in the midnight hour for any of us, do not count us out. Rock with us.

"You Butchered Some of My Favorite Songs!"

Man o' man. The life of a cover band musician. Sometimes it is as good as it gets and other nights it is sheer misery. I suppose that is not only true for cover band players. Pretty much any performer can relate to the bipolar nature of the viewing or listening audience. With the same set list in the same club, some nights just rock while other dates are a dull as the point on a bowling ball. Even within the same gig, the reviews cover the whole field of feedback.
This past weekend, my band played to brutal long sets at a local Austin club. At one point we had folks interupting songs to get business cards so they could book us at their next occasion. We had the dance floor packed and rockin' and guys were dumping tips on us to have us pose for pictures with their girlfriends. By most standards, a pretty good night. After our last song we high fived each other and thanked the club owner for the gig. Out of nowhere this chick rolls up to the stage to chat us up or so we thought. She was actually sticking around to let us know how bad we suck. "You butchered some of my favorites songs, man!", she yells over the house DJ's pumping party tracks. At first I just laughed, thinking she was just giving us a friendly jab. Then I noticed she was serious. She was maintaing her disgust with our performance and being more than a little vocal about it.
You have to understand, we are a party band. A cover band that relies on good customer relations to keep our scene rolling. The last thing I wanted to do was piss off a good bar owner by giving this chick the "what for". So I just smiled and played along. What else could I do? She finally got to the end of her liqour fueled bombing run on our egos and then asked us if our hair was real. More like surreal I thought. The whole thing. I have had folks yell, "You suck!" from the dark reaches of the back corner of a crap bar, but this was a first for me. Someone staying after the show to inform us of our lack of talent. However, as the experience sank in and I pondered it a little later that night, I realized the key message. She STUCK AROUND! Good or bad, she stayed to the last song and I am sure had a few drinks ( maybe more than a few) in the interim. At the end of the night, that is what pays the bills. We did our job. We kept folks at the bar until closing time. All and all....job well done.
Maybe a strange and delusional way of seeing the situation but that is how I choose to see it. Truly, it's hard to argue with me on this one. Drink in hand, this chick was there at closing.
Currently I am reading through Duff McKagan's great book, "It's So Easy, and Other Lies". My trials at Saturday's show reminded me of G N R's early shows. Duff remembers his brother asking, after peeking around the backstage curtain, where all the fans were. He recalled one show at The Gorilla something or other where they played to about twelve people. Thats friends, family, and bartenders included.
So in light of it all, if the great Guns and Roses can trudge on and keep the vision, who am I to let one chick get  under my skin. We probably had over a hundred or so folks rotating on and off the dance floor most of the night. By that measure, we kicked Axl and Duff's ass! Of course I jest. Not a apples to apples comparison but you get my drift.
Cover band brothers, and garage band buddies listen up. There will be those highs and lows in any musician's career. Just keep plugging in and turning up. You have heard it a million times and I want to say it again. Screw the critics. We just go back and work on our craft and keep working our chops and maybe someday....and....maybe not. But let'ts commit to butcher people's favorite songs with conviction and a smile on our face. It seems to keep them around and coming back for more.

JCH-2012

    Dig it. Duff and Slash. If this does not make you want to go rock...your in the wrong business.

Soul Surfer

In surfing circles, one can have the moniker of "Soul Surfer". This is a dude that surfs strictly for the sake of surfing. Typically this is the dude or chick that lives the lifestyle and is so connected to the act of surfing that it, in turn, connects them to the universe. Connects them in a very deep, spiritual way. You can see it in the way they surf and the look on their face when they are in the water. They are truly in a spiritual moment. These surfers typically do not surf contests or take endorsement deals. They surf the same way many of us eat food or sleep or drink water. They do it to live. I am sure the same thing exists in snowboarding, skiing, etc. I think that it also exists in the music world or at least it should.
When most of us pick up our guitars, we do it because we love it. Yes, truly we are connected to our instrument and to the music community itself when we participate in the act of playing music. But I wonder how many of us that play music for pay, can separate the vocational aspect of our playing from the "I love this freakin' guitar" part of our playing.
I often times go into the rehearsal studio with a very work-a-day attitude. I may have a gig coming up and I know I need to memorize some lyrics or fine tune some guitar lines. So, I go into what would otherwise be a creative space and simply go through the motions of practicing material. It ends up being a very dry, empty experience. I am sure many of you have experienced the very same thing. Is it possible that this type of exercise puts us far away from the very essence of what music is about? That is to say, can it remove much or all of the spiritual component of the act of making music?
For the lucky few that get big contracts or record deals, this might not be an issue. When your label has you covered from a financial standpoint, you might be able to spend all of your playing time in a creative vein. For the rest of us that are having to pound out a paycheck in a cover band or giving guitar lessons, the feeling that our playing is simply a J. O. B becomes very palpable. Maybe there is no way to get around this though. I just think that it is interesting to consider how an artistic endeavor can grow to be so far from removed from the creative process if given enough time and the right (or wrong) circumstances. What makes it even more interesting is the thought that the addition of money or pay is often times the circumstance that kills the whole thing.
I was asked to be a judge at a local Guitar Center's King of the Blues contest. I was honored and agreed to do it. When I arrived, I almost immediately regretted my decision. There where several guitarists getting set to show their chops and there I stood, maybe half the player those guys are, getting ready to judge their ability. Now clearly all of these players had spiritual moments of their own. They spent time in rehearsal learning the backing tracks, but then added their own lead phrases in. The creative process in full tilt right? I am sure that it was. Now they are in a situation where they will have to package up their spiritual moments and make them marketable to the small audience and panel of judges. This is very strange indeed. All of the guys did a great job. Really nice playing from every contestant. Still, I wonder if that is the kind of thing that we need to judge. Maybe we should only listen, accept, and enjoy. Playing for playing sake. A type of soul surfing on guitar you see? Think on this when you have time and get back to me in the comments box.
Go enjoy the perfect waves that are waiting for you in your rehearsal or jam space. Go ride those moments of creativity and momentary genius. Above all else, stay soulful.

Jonathan Hardy

Play for Yourself First

Im a late bloomer. Many lessons that come early for some, come way late for me. At 45, after playing in bands for years, I am finally finding some of the keys to happiness in a cover band world. 

In early projects, to be honest, I was still searching for that rock star status. I suppose I was wishing that some of the fame that was being experienced by the band I was covering would somehow be projected onto me. Silly, but it is a mistake that many young cover bands make. The mistake that fame can be hijacked or celebrity can be imitated. Fame and celebrity are not created by the musicians. These are things that are created by the public and projected onto the artist. So to think that a measure of them comes with learning to cover an artists material is a terrible miscalculation. When the truth comes home to roost and the cover artist is not awarded rock star status, it can frustrate the musician.

It was certainly frustrating for me. To work on material in the hopes that I was going to play the songs all the dancing, young girls wanted to hear and have them making goggly eyes at me all night, only to have them leave with the bartender is a let down. Thats the typical BS rock star mentality. The silly thought that the fans, or bar patrons or whatever are there for me. Totally shallow. I only recently figured that out and it has been a blessing to me to unload that poison.

To realize that the music is thing that matters seems so basic but in reality it is a hard thing to keep hold of. We pay lip service to that truth but all too often we fall into the trap of playing rock god. Once I began to regularly remind myself that I needed to only focus on the music, my job satisfaction went through the roof. Now my band picks the material we like and we focus on making it a high quality interpretation of the original. Not a dead rip off and no time spent on mimicking the original artist. We just play it well and play it for fun. Honestly, the crowds respond so much better. Even if we don't cover every line of the original, our crowds seem to get into it more. I think it is mainly because we are having a better time playing. No false bravado, no "look at me, I rock" kind of crap.

For the first time, I am playing for myself first and loving it. That satisfaction, I believe, has a super positive energy that carries right into the gig and makes it a success. Raw love of the music, and a raw love of performing it. 

I have always loved the picture below. For me, it captures the intensity and real emotion of playing music. Just open up and let it fly. Thats where I am today. Thanks for being patient.

Delta Lab DD1 Digital Delay

Just a quick entry to post my impression of this budget pedal.
I recently was given a gift certificate to Guitar Center from a band that I did a freebie sound mix for. Nice gesture from some nice guys that put $25 in my pocket and a good excuse to go dig around at the Guitar Center in Round Rock, Texas. I was wanting to simplify my stage rig my going back to using a few analog/digital stomp boxes. I was thinking I should have a good delay unit because my amplifier does not have a built in reverb feature. I did'nt want to break the bank and because some of our crowds get a little rowdy, I did'nt want to buy an expensive piece that might get damaged.
I had seen the Delta Lab line before but never really investigated them in too much detail. The rep at Guitar Center informed me that the Delta Labs were on sale. That got my attention so I plugged one in and started picking.
I would say that the appearance of the unit is spot on. Great blue color and good graphics. To be short, it looks good on the pedal board. Also, I would say that the construction is sturdy. Feels like it is built solid and can take being on the road.
The delay times are a little limiting. I would say that the max is about 400ms or so. However, it is not really a limiting problem. On the fast side, it offers some good Rock-a-billy tones and on the slow side, it can do a pretty good U2/Edge rip off.
The repeats are certainly adequate. All in all I would say that it is a pretty decent little unit. I have gigged with it twice since buying it and it has done just fine.  If you can pick one up at anything less than $40, you will have a good little unit.