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Friday 10/6/2006 ~ Jet and Falsetto
It was cool to see some guitar
bands on TV this week. Not that I have anything against lip-syncing,
hand-waving, holding-up-their-pants, monotone-rapping, drum-machine-using,other-people's-music-sampling
dance acts. There's certainly a need for them in the world. But
as a music fan, I enjoy seeing people playing musical instruments...
especially guitars!
On Tuesday night I saw two rockin'
bands: Jet (on Jay Leno) and The Killers (on Jimmy Kimmel). They
were similar four-piece rock bands... the primary difference
being that the lead singer in Jet could actually sing. (Well,
Jet also had a better lead guitarist and a better bass player...
but other than that, they were very similar.)
Jet, however, used something
I've never seen before. The lead singer had a dual mic stand...
a single base, leading to a Y-split near the top, with two different
microphones mounted side by side. On this particular song he
sang in falsetto during the verses into the mic on the left,
and then used an AC-DC-like screaming voice in the choruses into
the mic on the right. I'm not sure why. They were different models...
I think both were made by Sennheiser. I know that different mics
have different frequency responses, so perhaps he felt that one
mic was better suited to his soft falsetto voice, and the other
was better to scream into. Or maybe it's his way to circumvent
counting on the soundman to ride the levels. Before the song
started he could have said, "This mic- loud! Other mic-
not as loud!" I've worked with some distracted soundmen
myself. The moving-back-and-forth-between-two-microphones approach
looks a bit odd, but it would be practical.
Speaking of falsetto, to me there
are good falsetto songs and bad ones. Here's a sampling: (Sorry
these songs are all so old... you have to consider the source.)
* Most Annoying Falsetto: Lou
Christie "Lightning Strikes"
I've never understood why he sang like that. Runner-up: Frankie
Valli & The Four Seasons. Again, I ask, what's up? "Sherry"?
"Big Girls Don't Cry"? Fingernails on a blackboard.
* Falsetto That I Didn't Like
When I Was Young, But Now Appreciate It As Part Of The Intricate
Layered Harmony Structure: Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys
When I first heard the Beach Boys I was still too spooked by
Lou Christie. But Brian really knew how to build and intertwine
harmony lines. The high voice is an important part of it all.
* Best Falsetto Slide Into Regular
Voice In Two Seconds: The end of "Ticket To Ride" by
The Beatles.
A surprise twist on the last line of the chorus and a great way
to end the song.
* Probably Not Falsetto, Just
His Regular Voice: Neil Young
His voice just comes out that way when he sings.
* The Best-Ever Use Of Falsetto:
Prince "Kiss"
Now THAT'S how to use falsetto!
See you soon,
Carl
PS: We can order a dual mic holder
for you if you wanna give it a try.
PPS: We do have this cool little
mini-music stand that clips on your mic stand, perfect for holding
"cheat sheets."
PPPS: And, of course, we have
mics in stock, too.
PPPPS: Saturday October 28, 2006
The Rex 8PM
"Night
Of The Singing Dead, Part 14"
A Pittsburgh Halloween Tradition
Music, fun, and cheezy props!
http://www.nightofthesingingdead.com
Tickets available now!
PPPPPS: Customer web site:
The Saw Doctors
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Friday
10/13/2006 ~ "The Girl Can't Help It"
I was switching through 200 TV
channels in the middle of the night this week and came across
a funny old film, filled with vintage rock & roll appearances
and, of course, vintage guitars.
It was from 1956 and called "The
Girl Can't Help It."
In the movie, Edmond O'Brien
stars as a gangster who wants his girlfriend to become a famous
singer. The girlfriend, played by Jayne Mansfield, apparently
can't sing... which is a problem until the gangster discovers
rock & roll. He figures that ANYONE can sing rock & roll.
The plot is as thin as Jayne
Mansfield's waist. (Which I'm guessing was around 15 inches.)
However, the musical appearances are as big and powerful as Jayne
Mansfield's northern regions. (Which must have utilized a state-of-the-art
internal support superstructure, since gravity was definitely
being defied.)
Little Richard, Fats Domino,
Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, and other 1950s stars randomly perform
in the movie and although they're all lip-syncing, it's very
cool to see the instruments.
As in every picture I've ever
seen of him, Eddie Cochran plays his modified Gretsch 6120 (the
model later made even more famous by Brian Setzer in the Stray
Cats). In the 1950s the Gretsch 6120 came stock with DeArmond
pickups. Eddie replaced his neck pickup with a Gibson P-90, which
was bigger (and blacker) than the DeArmond, and against the orange
color of the guitar it was a very noticeable change. I imagine
that Gretsch wasn't thrilled about it. On the other hand, that
P-90 is Gibson's main exposure in this movie. The only other
Gibson product in the entire film is the violin shaped Gibson
EB-1 used by Little Richard's bass player. And considering the
lack of success of the EB-1, I doubt that many viewers even recognized
that it was a Gibson product. But they did have Eddie Cochran's
P-90 goin' for them!
(Beatles connection: Eddie Cochran's
biggest hit was 1958's "Summertime Blues," which was
redone in 1968 by the super-loud wall-of-Marshalls band Blue
Cheer, and in 1970 by The Who. But in "The Girl Can't Help
It," Eddie sings his 1956 hit "20 Flight Rock,"
which features a whole lotta fast lyrics. "20 Flight Rock"
was the song Paul McCartney sang on July 6, 1957, the day he
met John Lennon. The naturally cynical Lennon was impressed with
McCartney's mastery of both the music and the complicated lyrics.
They became fast friends and, as you may have heard, had some
success in the music industry.)
A Gretsch guitar is also prominently
featured in Gene Vincent's appearance. Performing his hit "Be
Bop A Lula," Gene plays what appears to be an Epiphone archtop,
while his lead guitarist rocks out on a very attractive orange
Gretsch 6022 "Rancher" acoustic. (You can't miss a
6022... it's a jumbo sized flattop with a triangular shaped soundhole
and a big "G" brand on the face.)
But the COOLEST thing about this
movie are the repeat appearances of early 1950s Fender Telecasters.
There are almost three of them! A guitarist in Gene Vincent's
band plays a Tele. The guitarist in The Treniers plays a Tele.
And Little Richard's guitar player plays an Esquire. (A Tele
with only one pickup.)
(Aside #2 (not Beatles related):
Today The Treniers are not a household name, but they were an
important part of the musical shift from late-1940s swing to
early-1950s rock & roll. A self-contained band led by twins
Cliff and Claude Trenier, they merged swing music and jump R&B
into a highly entertaining stage act, and are considered by some
to be one of the world's first rock & roll bands.)
Getting back to the Teles: In
1954 Leo Fender changed the pickguards on Telecasters from black
to white. (Perhaps to match his newly released "Stratocaster"
which also had a white pickguard.) For this reason, in the vintage
guitar biz, Teles made prior to late 1954 are often referred
to as "black `guard Teles." And even though "The
Girl Can't Help It" was filmed in 1956, all of the Teles
in the movie are pre-late-1954 black `guard ones. And I must
say, they look fantastic! The blond finish with the black pickguard
shows up well on film and stands out with a simple, yet distinctive,
look. It's worth tracking down this movie just to see those Telecasters!
Here's a picture of a 1952 "black
`guard Tele."
While we're at it,
here's a picture of a new `52 Reissue Tele.
See you soon,
Carl
PS: Speaking of movies, we recently
started filming some stuff for youtube.com. Here's an article in yesterday's Post-Gazette.
And here's the video they are referring
to.
PPS: Did I mention this year's
big Halloween extravaganza?
"Night
Of The Singing Dead, Part 14"
Saturday, October 28, 2006
The Rex Theater
8 PM
PPPS: Customer web site:
The Meridians
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Friday 10/20/2006 ~ Sitcom Garage
Bands
Earlier this week I was surfing
TV channels while waiting for The Colbert Report, and I stumbled
across a show called "According To Jim." I've never
watched an entire episode of this series... not because I have
anything against Jim Belushi... I loved him in... ah... er...
wait, lemme think... well, whatever it was, he was great!...
and his wife, Courtney Cox-Thorne-Birney-Smith... she was a wonderful
lawyer when she worked for Cage, Fish and Associates.
Anyway, in this particular episode,
Jim was in his garage, playing the blues and jamming with his
friends. They had an entire band set up... drums, amps, etc...
And I was happy to see it. They obviously weren't young kids
trying to be the next big thing. They were regular guys, with
regular jobs, who got together to play some songs and enjoy music.
(I didn't watch the rest of the episode, but we can presume that
Jim did something stupid, and made his wife mad, but in the end
she forgave him, and everything worked out.)
Then this Wednesday someone called
me to tell me about Ted Danson's new show. Apparently, he's a
psychiatrist (or psychologist?) (which one was Bob Newhart?)
and in this week's episode he formed a band with his old friends...
and they called themselves "Pink Freud." Again, it
made me happy.
You see, some of our customers
are famous and tour the world and that's wonderful. But many
Pittsburgh Guitars customers don't have a hit record. This week,
these two shows helped emphasize the fact that having a hit record
isn't the only reason to play guitar. Playing the guitar (or
any other instrument) has multiple benefits. On a personal level,
playing guitar exercises your brain, and your body. On an interpersonal
level, playing music with your friends can be an enjoyable social
event. A group of people, working together, combining their individual
creative skills, to create a successful end product is emotionally
and intellectually satisfying. And that's hard to find in the
day-to-day workplace. Playing music will make you feel better
about life. It's a wonderful and healthy hobby. Most importantly,
playing music will keep you young!
Call some of your friends tonight.
Make a point of getting together in someone's basement next week
to play some songs. You won't regret it.
In fact, I'll tell you what...
A few months ago we had a fun show at The Rex called the "Big
Beatle Night." We organized a list of our customers and
students, and we provided the amps and drums, and everyone played
a Beatle song or two. Why don't we do it again, and YOU can play!!
Hold on a minute, I'll call the Rex................................................................
OK, it's set for Saturday, November 25th, at 8 PM. Here's the
plan: Put together a band. Even if it's only you and one other
person. Learn a Beatle song or two. And we'll give you a stage.
A big one. With lights. And a smoke machine. It'll be a blast!
Even if you've never played in public before... do it... it doesn't
matter if you make a mistake or two... it's all for the joy of
music.
See you soon,
Carl
PS: We got great response from
our latest video on youtube. It's
also posted on our myspace.com site, if you want to check it
out.
PPS: "Night Of The Singing Dead, Part 14"
Saturday, October 28, 2006
The Rex Theater
8 PM
PPPS: Customer web site:
Blindsider
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10/27/06 ~ Night Of The Singing
Dead, Part 14
Hey,
Sorry I don't have time to write
an email special this week. I'm busy working on tomorrow's show,
"Night
Of The Singing Dead, Part 14."
Actually, the show is much like
what I talked about last week... hanging out and playing music
with your friends.
It all started a long, long time
ago, when a group of us got together one evening to sing songs
by dead rock stars. Over the years the show has gotten more and
more elaborate... and now it's a big stage production with costumes,
sound effects and cheezy props. (I'm a fan of cheezy props!)
On one hand, Night Of The Singing
Dead is a massive, complicated show. On the other hand, it's
still just a bunch of friends playing music. Some songs are rehearsed,
some will be us winging it. Some props will work, some will fall
apart. Rather than do the same show every year, we write something
new, with the freshest dead celebrities. So even though this
is the 14th year, it won't be a polished big-city show... it
will be a bunch of friends having a good time. Stop by, you'll
have a good time too!
This year's hosts: Larry Richert
as Dracula and Steve Hansen as The Wolfman!
I'll have a real email special
next week! Thanks for understanding!
See you soon,
Carl
Night Of The Singing Dead, Part 14
"A Scary Home Companion"
Saturday, October 28, 2006
The Rex Theater
8 PM
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