Guitar Licks and Tips

Listening to certain types of songs may just tell you more about your own, or even someone else’s, personality than you think! Take the music test, it’s easy and painless. Plus, the worst thing that you can do is learn something about yourself or people in general.

Throughout the years, I have often wondered if there is any correlation between music and the listener. Personal preferences define people to a point, but they’re only accidentals, they are not the essence of an individual.

When I was young, I enjoyed many styles of music. I tended to listen to the ones that older people was interested in. Maybe I was musically mature for my age. The best bands that I enjoyed playing with were always the older and more seasoned players. Then, when I played with guys my own age, I just played with them to keep myself busy. No disrespect intended, but it wasn’t all that much of a challenge to me at that point.

My life was as a young kid growing up in Brantford was normal. My parents stayed together. They didn’t drink or fight and our neighbourhood was like Mr Rogers. I lead a very solid, middle class existence.

When I was exposed to some certain styles of music that was very foreign to me during those informative years, I sometimes thought that it reflected directly upon those people. I imagined that this kind of music was part of who and what they were. Like for instance, if people listened to Punk Rock, then they must be prone to violence and anarchy! Country music reflected a drunk who lost his dog and so forth. I know, what a weird way for a kid to think.

Now after skimming through an article called maybe this song is about you, I now feel that, hey maybe I was on to something there as a young child!

So see what type of personality that you are in this test and tell us if you think the result are accurate … to some degree!

Keep on Jammin’

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The Vintage Morley Power Wah Fuzz Volume Pedal, is a must to have for the old school guitar player in you! It’s classic, very functional and is damn well indestructible to boot.

This is a pedal from the past that was near and dear to my heart. It was my go to pedal for anything RUSH like!

As in the post on my other site, it was the secret behind my rendition of La Villa Strangiato, from Hemispheres, 1978 album. It was by far my heaviest pedal, backed up by the video, and it always was the one that caught everyone’s eye. If you ever see this pedal in a pawn shop for a cheap price, pick it up for your favorite guitarist in your life and you’ll have a friend for life, trust me!

The video above was very educational to me and I just thought that I’d share it with you.

Keep on Jammin’

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I’ve seen ads on the TV this past week about a band called Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

At first glance, it looks like some Las Vegas show that they decided to take it on the road. I’ve never heard of it before on blogs or even at the old water cooler at work. So what is this Trans-Siberian Orchestra experience all about?

Well it’s like a rock opera, according to one of it’s founders. They are Paul O’Neill along with Robert Kinkel and Jon Oliva. Paul, a long time producer/writer wanted to make his new musical experience much more than your average concert. Paul’s main desire was to combine two art forms that will help him create a much larger emotional impact on his audience!

• (1) Form a great instrumental music show/band, which could be a show in itself
• (2) Develop a Poetic production that could stand alone from any musical interruptions

once you put the two of them together, the sum of the parts would be greater than the whole, and you couldn’t imagine them apart.

So that is the essence of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra experience, a Rock opera. I think this new form entertainment could also be recognized as Art Rock. The only other time that I have heard of this new genre of music was my introduction to it at the Nuance festival in Toronto.

So who would play in this band and what were it’s working parameters? The band members, only the best musicians would fit the bill. It would be very difficult to keep these guys and gals together for an extended period of time, so they would come and go. The end result will be a constant evolution of music! As for the working musical sound/style of this group, it would evolve as well. Almost like Ringo Starr and his traveling All Star Band in some ways.

Moss does not grow fat under these rolling stones! I think this could be a show that you could see one year and fall in love with it. Then you could follow up with them following year and be just as mesmerized as you were the first time seeing it.

So I am wondering, who out there has seen one of these shows? Please share your thoughts about it with us because it may just help turn some music lovers towards this great experience that they call the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Keep on Jammin’

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The Pop Montreal festival is a celebration of bands from another time period that did not want to take all the fame and glory for themselves. There are a lot of indie performers at this event which often serves as a spring board to launch their careers.

As well as musical artists, the Pop Montreal Festival highlights artists and artisans of every medium. There are symposiums at this event (which help the general public comes to grips with the true meaning of the festival and all it’s multiple off shoots) as well as concerts and exhibitions of their wares.

I recently found out about this neat little festival while skimming through the Maclean’s Magazine Nov. 03 ‘08 publication in the “stage” section. Once in a while I stumble across a great article that catches my eye, and this one was certainly note worthy.

They discussed the line up of the show and shed of faint light about who the artists really are. The performers are acts that shared the limelight with many of the past great performers of their time, but for whatever reason they chose not to stand out in that particular crowd at the height of their career. I guess you could say that these bands are the ones who decided not to sell out their musical souls to the POP devils!

For instance, for all you true soul and R & B fans out there, Irma Thomas played at the Pop Montreal Festival. The song that helped her, and the Rolling Stones out, was Time is on my side. We do have to give New Orleans credit for this magical influence!

Another band that played at the festival was Silver Apples, an obscure electric act from the 60’s who had Simeon Cox with his HOME MADE electric synthesizer. They were more like a new wave band with a RadioHead feel to it, from this era. Oscillations is a great one to groove out to! Today, new bands that have taken the torch and ran with it to new levels! Congratulations to Cortometraje are in order.

Then there was Elyse Weinberg, for the folk lover in all of us. Her Canadian counterparts were none other than Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and a little guitarist called Gordon Lightfoot! Houses, with Neil Young playing guitar on this track is just plain beautiful!

In the musical portion of Pop Montreal events, I just love to see them showing the bands from the past that did not wish to sell out to the masses during their brief time in the spotlight. This is a celebration of these ideological trail blazers. This underground event also helps us to place them on the proper pedestal that they so rightly deserve, even though they never really were acknowledged properly by mainstream media!

I, for the life of me, don’t know what makes some artists shine so bright in their respected genres, and then they chose to take a back seat to all the divas of their time? The only thing that I do know is you have to respect them for their stance.

Sometime in the future, when I’m able to, I will head off to Montreal to check out this gathering of the musical minds. Love live Pop Montreal!

Keep on Jammin’

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If you love going to haunted places this year and you live in Ontario, Canada, then this post and links on it is the place to go!

Haunted Ontario is a place to check out. I wonder if there is a haunted music studio on this tour? Yes, even in Toronto the good there are some SCARY PLACES! One place that was too scary for me, is this one music store on Queen St. W. near Leslie ville. For the rest of the city Toronto ghosts are everywhere, boo!

Don't drink & fly

So for all of you going out for Halloween in the Ontario area, like where my buddy Domenic is playing with Hairy Mulligan at Liquid Lounge in Brantford this Friday Oct. 31, make it a safe one and most importantly …

Keep on Jammin’!

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