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In Memoriam – Mitch Mitchell Of The Jimi Hendrix Experience

John "Mitch" Mitchell, July 9, 1947 – November 12, 2008

The world lost another legendary live musician and rock pioneer on November 12, 2008 when Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell was found deceased in his room at the Benson Hotel in downtown Portland, Oregon. He was 62 years old which still seems far too young to die. It’s a sad day indeed as Mitchell was an integral part of the music behind the great Jimi Hendrix.

Mitch Mitchell was one third of the great rock trio that made up the Jimi Hendrix Experience. His drumming style was a great example of jazz/rock fusion. He would switch between a traditional jazz drum grip and a matched rock style grip when he played. His playing was very active and he had a great feel for filling the space around Jimi’s lead guitar and vocal work. When Jimi would take a guitar solo Mitch would have a very active interplay with the guitar on the drums. It’s really a pleasure to listen to Mitch and Jimi play music together. (more…)
My Favorite Guitarist, Jeff Beck, Plays ‘A Day In The Life’

Jeff Beck

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

Fender Cyber-Twin SE Front

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

In Stereo Bass Drum Logo

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…)
Sunday Funnies – George Harrison Sings “The Pirate Song”

Of all the Beatles, George Harrison had the most “English” humor of the bunch. He had a dry wit that a lot of people missed when he spoke. It would sound like he was being serious but he was really making a joke.

In todays Sunday Funnies, George Harrison sings “The Pirate Song” on the BBC program Rutland Weekend Television 1975. Enjoy! (more…)
Live Musician Central – Weekend Album Picks 11-8-08

Every week here at Live Musician Central we post up several albums for you to check out and download. We feature some of the most heavily marketed new releases every week. These albums are a good example of what the music industry is marketing and you can use them as a guide for building your bands songlist. You always want to play songs the people will be familiar with and there’s an excellent chance that the albums featured in our weekend album picks will have a lot of songs that people will know.

We feature downloads from iTunes as well as MP3 downloads from Amazon.com music service. The Amazon.com MP3’s are ripped at 256kbps and are DRM free so you can copy them to as many music players as you like. They’re priced very low when you download entire albums. I’m also posting a link to the iTunes Free Music Video Of The Week. You can bet that people will be knowing that song as well. So check ’em out!
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Getting Along Is More Important Than Musicianship

In Stereo Gets Along

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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Music123 Sale, 15% Off Your Entire Order

**This Offer Has Expired** Check out other great offers from Music123!

From now until November 26 you can get 15% off your entire order at Music123. Music123 is an online music store that caters to every type of musician whether you play live or just like to record. I’ve always had good experiences ordering from Music123. Here’s an experience I had recently when I ordered a product. I had ordered several different types of guitar picks to experiment with including the Jellifish Chorus Guitar Pick. Somehow, the Jellifish got crushed during shipping and all the wires on it got bent. I called Music123 and they sent me out a brand new one, completely free without making me return the damaged one. Now that’s customer service! So make sure you check out the great sale and excellent products at Music123.

Now is the perfect time to get your big ticket items for Christmas. These top items sell out regularly and can be hard to get closer the Christmas. I recommend these top selling products from Music123: (more…)

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

Planet Waves CT-03 Pro String Winder With Cutter And Tuner

$Planet Waves CT-03 Pro Winder\Tuner\Cutter$
Planet Waves CT-03 Pro WinderTunerCutter

One of the most essential tools you can have for your guitar and bass collection is a string winder. It’s a real challenge to hold the string in place while with one hand while having to reposition your other hand every time you want to give the tuning head a half turn. The other tools you need every time you change strings are a string cutter and a tuner. Well, the Planet Waves CT-03 Pro String Winder\Tuner\Cutter is the tool for you. You can have all 3 tools right there in your hand while changing strings. The built-in tuner is so handy you’ll wonder how you lived without it before.

The Planet Waves CT-03 Pro String Winder also has a built-in bridge pin puller. It’s nice to have that for pulling the bridge pins on your acoustic guitar. The string winder is a really handy tool and makes changing your strings so much easier. (more…)