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My Favorite Guitarist, Jeff Beck, Plays ‘A Day In The Life’

People always ask me who my favorite guitar player is. Well my favorite guitar player is Jeff Beck and he’s been my favorite since I was a teenager. He is a supreme musician both live and in the studio. I just love the way he gets so much expression out of his Fender Stratocaster. He plays with his fingers almost exclusively although I’ve seen him grab a pick a time or two. His skill with the whammy bar is unparalleled for musicality.

This clip is Jeff performing the classic Lennon/McCartney tune ‘A Day In The Life’. The way Jeff Beck interprets this song is absolutely stunning in its beauty. The emotion that Jeff gets out of his guitar really defies description, you just have to listen to understand. It also shows what a beautiful melody John Lennon wrote in ‘A Day In The Life’. I hope you enjoy this rendition as much as I do. (more…)

My Stage Amp – The Fender Cyber-Twin SE

My main onstage guitar amplifier for the last couple years is the Fender Cyber-Twin SE. As a live guitarist this amplifier has been invaluable to me. Because I play in a cover band as well as an original band, I needed an amplifier/effects setup that could cover a wide range of different guitar sounds. At a gig I will use sounds ranging from a country twang to hard rocking Marshall type distortion to full on saturated mid-scooped distortion.

I used to use a Digitech 2120 Valve Guitar System but it just didn’t have the punch and presence of an actual amplifier and it’s sound always left me wanting more power. When I was searching for a new amplifier I played a bunch of modeling effects units and amplifiers including the Line 6 POD, Boss GT-8 Effects Processor and the Line 6 Vetta 2 among others. None of those modeling devices gave me the playing response that the Fender Cyber-Twin SE did.

The biggest thing I noticed was on the other modeling devices, whether I played light or heavy, or when I turned the guitar down or up, the sound stayed the same. The Fender Cyber-Twin SE responded to my playing touch, guitar volume adjustments and my picking attack. It simply breathes more than a standard DSP modeling amplifier. There’s a secret to how Fender achieved this with the Cyber-Twin SE.

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Weekend Gig Report – In Stereo at Canyon Inn, November 7-8, 2008

We had a really excellent gig at the Canyon Inn in Salt Lake City this last weekend. In Stereo hadn’t played any shows for about a month and half so we were all rested, charged up and ready to rock! Let’s face it, live musicians are meant to play in front of live audiences and we were really stoked to be playing again. Because we had taken some time off we got together on Thursday and ran through a few songs to knock the rust off before the weekend. The extra practice really paid off because we played great all weekend long.

Friday night when we arrived at the Canyon Inn it was pretty dead. We were a little worried that the crowd would be small. We shouldn’t have worried because right before we hit the stage people came rolling in. The club filled up really nicely and the crowd was lively and ready to have some fun. (more…)

Getting Along Is More Important Than Musicianship

That’s right, getting along is more important than musicianship. This is band chemistry 101 for all you live musicians out there. I’ve played with some of the most incredible musicians I’ve ever heard and I’ve also seen them not able to function in a band for more than a year. The musicians I play with now are all excellent. Maybe not the best in the world, but excellent players. My two bands have been together for 18 years and 14 years respectively. Let me tell you why we’ve been together for so long.

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Stevie Ray Vaughan Interview And Guitar Lesson

Stevie Ray Vaughan is a legendary live musician. His live performance was simply amazing and he was very much at home on the stage. In this video clip Stevie talks about his playing and you get to sit back and enjoy him riffing away on his Fender Stratocaster. The camera stays on Stevie’s hands so you can really take a good look at what he’s doing while he’s playing. If you’re like me, then you wish every concert DVD had a camera just on the guitarists hands so you can see and learn what they’re doing. The only downside of the clip is I wish he was playing more but he does have some sage words of wisdom for guitarists. Enjoy!

Stevie Ray Vaughan Interview And Guitar Lesson

Happy Halloween From Live Musician Central

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope that all your Halloween gigs go well this year. Hopefully you’ll get to see some sexy ladies on the dance floor. If you’re not playing a gig, then get out and trick-or-treat and raise some hell with the kiddies. In celebration of Halloween I’m posting up a clip of the classic Halloween song “Monster Mash” by Bobby Pickett and The Cryptkickers. It’s an animation done by Gary Ramey and it’s quite well done. I appreciate the fact that the audio quality is so good which is hard to find on YouTube.

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Live Musician Central Tribute To Keith Moon

One of my very favorite drummers of all time is Keith Moon of The Who. He is the first drummer I remember ever focusing on with my complete attention while listening to a song. I remember being simply blown away by how varied his drumming was and how he could play so much yet still carry the rhythm of the song. The way Keith interacted with The Who’s music is simply perfect and The Who were a great band because of the way Keith played. Keith had a way of intertwining with the vocals, bass and guitar that would lift the other instruments up without overpowering them. It always amazed me how he could sound so scattered and out of time, yet be so perfectly in sync with the music.

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Which Famous Guitarist Are You?

I’ve got a couple of fun things for you today. First of all, have you ever asked yourself the question “Which famous guitarist do I resemble?”. Well, I’m going to point you to a quiz that will let you answer that question. Just follow this link to find out Which Famous Guitarist Are You? Check out my results below, I’m Jimmy Page. Who knew? I always thought I was more of a David Gilmour type.

Which famous guitarist are you? Your Result: Jimmy Page You are just one component of music. The spotlight is your home, but only if you’ve have your Jack Daniels for the day. Lay off the drugs and fourteen-year-olds. You have good talent, and you don’t want to waste it by doing stupid stuff now.
Jimi Hendrix
David Gilmour
Adam Jones
Dimebag Darrell
Synyster Gates
Tom Delonge
Which famous guitarist are you? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

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Be Prepared For Your Gig With This Basic List Of Essential Items

Pete Townshend Winds Up To Trash The Stage

When you’re preparing to play a gig, it’s extremely important to prepare for the unexpected. Murphy’s law seems to always rear it’s ugly head at a gig. Here are a few basic essentials every live musician can do to prepare for equipment problems and breakdowns at a gig.

Make sure you bring some basic tools. At the very minimum you should have a Leatherman Multi-Tool and a flashlight. It’s a really good idea to have a soldering iron as well. You can fill out your toolkit with the following:

Super Glue
Electrical Tape
Duct Tape
Cable Tester or Multi-Meter
Battery Tester or Multi-Meter
Allen Wrenches
Wire Cutters

You’ll also want to have some extra basic equipment accessories such as: (more…)

Jimi Hendrix Performs Voodoo Chile

It goes without saying that Jimi Hendrix is one of the most influential guitarists that ever lived. It has been argued that he’s the greatest guitarist ever. Whether you love him or hate him, I’m sure you probably have a Hendrix tune that you love.

Here’s my favorite Jimi Hendrix tune, Voodoo Chile. There’s just something about this song that grabs me. I think it’s just the sheer energy and noise in the tune that I love. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this classic video of Jimi Hendrix performing Voodoo Chile. Make sure you vote in the poll below.

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Category: 1. Live Musician Central