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Dear Santa, this is my X-mas wish list of electric guitars

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Dear Santa.

As you all ready know, I’ve been a very good little boy this year, just ask my mom, and here is the list of electric guitars that I would like, anyone will be a great reward for all the good things I’ve done so far this year! I know that time is running out but what the heck eh? Better late then never Santa.

  1. A 1957 Fender Stratocaster. This guitar is a classic! The sound that the single coil pick ups in this little beauty will bring a tear to anyone’s eyes. The neck makes it so comfortable to play that it can make anyone sound, or at least look, great! While flying around the world giving presents to all the good little boys and girls out there, see if you recognize this young lady and see if she may want to part with this one!
  2. Next is a vintage 1968 Gibson Gold Top Deluxe. The double coil pick ups (P90’s man Mr Kringle, don’t they look unique? I’m trying to make it easy for you to let it apart from other guitars!) on this guitar has a super smooth sound that is so rich and full that it’s probably bad for your heart … if you play or hear it too much that is! Isn’t everything that tastes great bad for you? Don’t worry Santa, I’ve got lots of cardiologist friends at work. Besides, it’s for the long forgotten jazz guitar player in me.
  3. Now I don’t want to be too much of a Christmas present hog so last but not least (I had to narrow it down a lot here) is the 1959 Gibson Sunburst Les Paul guitar! The sharp sound that comes out of this puppy is legendary! I’ve only held one and never actually strummed it because I was afraid that it would brake. So if you’d be so kind and find it in your heart of hearts to get me this one, then you’d really be helping me overcome my 59′ phobia!

So thank you for reading this e-mail Santa and say hi to Mrs Claus and the other little folks hanging around up there for me! Don’t worry about the dog barking, she will only lick you to death if you don’t pet her at least once!

Sing-cerly Chris

P.S. Keep on Jammin’ Santa!





Nail Care products for guitar players

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Finger nails are very important to guitarists that use them all or most of the time. I fall into the later section. I tend to use both my pick and finger nails to play. So tend to pay particular attention to what nail care products I use on my nails. I’ve tried some nail care products in the past but I haven’t found the best one for my application.

Here are the top products I’ve used so far.

  1. Acrylic finger nails
  2. Crazy Glue
  3. Ecrinal Durcisseur Vitamine

The Acrylic finger nails are the best I’ve used to date. They are VERY strong and reliable.

 

The reason I can’t use them is because these things collect bacteria like crazy … or so I’m told! I’ve been informed at work that due to the fact that acrylic nails carry germs easily, anyone at any hospital are forbidden to use them. Damn it!

Talking to a few of the nurses at work about this problem, some say that I can try putting on the hardener they put directly on the acrylic nail to thicken them up and make them just about impossible to brake! i tried it and I found that they would not stick to the nail. I even scuffed them up with emery paper to see if that would help me overcome my predicament but to no avail.

Bruce Cockburn my favorite guitarist of all time uses crazy glue. He once recommended not to apply it while drunk … good point Bruce, mental note! I tried it and at first it worked ok but it later started to look quite bad and it kept flaking off. Next!

Ecrinal Durcisseur Vitamine is what I’ve been using here and there. I found the product easy to apply over and over with fairly descent results. The only thing is that they do not provide the same strength and durability as Acrylic nails do. The best thing about it, is that the product helps out against microbial attacks.

While doing some research on what other guitarist use I came across an interesting article from this one site. It sounded good so I went looking for it. While going over the article it didn’t properly name the products so I wrote them and they replied they don’t know who about the items because the author is not working for them anymore.

I finally tracked him down and this is his reply.

Scratch all that- that was 10 years ago!
Now I use OPI Nail Envy (matte finish) for live playing: 2-3 coats is enough. Then I remove it when I’m home. For that I use Suncoat natural nail polish remover, available at health food stores. For moisturizing my nails daily, I use a bunch of products: L’Occitane Nail & Cuticle Cream; Burt’s Bees Lemon Nail & Cuticle Cream; Onymyrrhe.

So off I go to get me some of his recommended items. Hopefully they work out for me. Below are some links to the new lines of nail care for a guitarist.

Has anyone tried these products for guitar playing? If so how they react? If not, then what do you use to keep your nails in proper working order?

Keep on Jammin’

The band Cinema Face

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Cinema Face is the best progressive art-rock band that I have ever seen play in Brantford. The band was playing in Brantford in a popular bar called Alexanders Tavern.

This band stopped me dead in my tracks and left me, not to mention everyone else in the bar, screaming for more.

 

They had all these tv sets beside the stage that featured holographic images on them. They also had these black light effects that blew my mind, a first for me at a the local level as well as a phenomenal light show!

The band members of Cineman Face were Frank La Magna (guitar, vocals) Armin Hart (keyboards, vox) Randy Infuso (drums, vocals) Darryl Peterson (bass, vocals).

The band played at variable clubs throughout Ontario and started building a small fan base over their 13 years together. While the band faltered in Canada, they finally gained some ground in Europe and Japan. In Germany, the band gained near legendary status!

Even though they did not achieve overall commercial success they tried their utmost but came up short. Finally in 1983 Cinema Face recorded a self-titled album, which was released under the Red Sun Records label. Though the band had already called it quits by 1994, their debut was then re-released on the Pacemaker Records label. The album did well enough to bring Cinema Face back to life in 1996 to complete a sophomore offering, Face Card.

This is a video of the band playing at the old Gasworks in Toronto in 1983. For those who are not aware of this Toronto landmark, it was the bar that Wayne and Garth went to in Wayne’s World.

Below are some links to check out if you were a fan of the band and you want to pick up some of the bands CD’s for your collection!

Keep on Jammin’

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