Owusu & Hannibal - Living With Owusu and Hannibal
Youngblood Brass Band - Is That A Riot?
guitarist, singer/songwriter, journalist
Well it was fun while it lasted. I bought this Novax CH-8 last January. The CH-8 is Charlie Hunter's custom designed 8 string guitar which utilizes 3 bass strings tuned E-A-D, 5 guitar strings A-D-G-B-E and a split pickup system that runs bass and guitar lines out to their respective amplifiers. I spent 2 months playing nothing but James Brown tunes on this guitar and it taught me two things:
1.) I love James Brown in the most masculine way possible.
2.) I can't play 8 string guitar.
I might have guessed, I don't even like to play a 6 string in dropped-D. But I am amazed by Charlie Hunter and have wanted one of these for nearly as long as I have played guitar. Other gear I have bought because of Charlie includes a Hughes and Kettner Tube Rotosphere, a Mesa Boogie amp, and I've been lusting after the now out of production Way Huge Aqua Puss analog delay pedal. I've even considered strapping my Boss TU-12 to my pedal board instead of messing with a stomp box and to be honest, if I ever used any of the guitar pedals I owned, I would probably buy a Keeley Compressor too. When it comes down to it Charlie is still amazing and I'm too obsessive about being awesome at everything to have time to learn 8-string. So I am selling the Novax to pay for the Custom Shop Tele I bought a few months ago. By the way, James Brown's guitarist Phelps Collins played a tele. (Sorry no link to that, that guy is a ghost.)
So lately I have been inseparable from George Harrison's early 70's output. Obsessive to the point that I spend entirely too much time analyzing every available configuration of guitar slides to try to find that clean sparkly sound he gets on his lead lines. Oh, and my ringfinger is the lone digit with dishpan hands from essentially sitting inside a jar for hours while I perfect the tag solo from "The Lord Loves The One." Of course, the only detailed info I can find on his guitars is during his Beatles tenure. Either way, as a slide melody master tribute here are 4 Fab solos from the man himself.
1. "I'd Have You Anytime" - All Things Must Pass
2. "How Do You Sleep" - Imagine (John Lennon)
3. "The Lord Loves The One" - Living In The Material World
4. "I Dig Love" - All Things Must Pass
by Peter Guralnick
The definitive history of southern soul. A music always largely under represented in American popular culture that long ago submerged to mostly a cult following of collectors trolling through dusty 45 bins. This book left a pile of scribbled notes beside my bed and scattered along my coffee table full of long lists of artists and records I'd never heard of. The obvious are well represented here (Stax, James Brown, Aretha) but the stories of Goldwax, Johnny Jenkins, and Dan Penn are the reason to dig in. Now if someone would just release the legendary Dan Penn demo's from Fame and American studios.
My only complaint is the more than lacking discography which is comprised almost entirely of bargain bin best of's for all the baby boomers who picked this book up on a whim of nostalgia. For such a thoroughly researched work, the discography could have at least pointed at a few of the less obvious gems instead of just telling readers to pick up James Brown's Polydor comps.
Above Otis Redding protege Arthur Conley performs the books namesake to a German audience in 1966
Yeah, so this would be the ultimate goal. I don't even need a kitchen or anything, just give me this room, a stereo, and a matress.
A personal tour of Questlove's infamous 'Record Room'
Vinyl is a fairly new obsession, but I spent the better part of college in used record store basements digging up obscurities and imports. This looks like the beginning of something promising until you see Questlove in his library. Note the ever expanding Miles Davis section second shelf top left. He's the only artist who gets his own category in the filing system. My most exciting find lately was a pair of James Blood Ulmer albums from early 80's New York loft scene albums.
These went out of print in the mid 90's and will run anywhere from $25 to $60 on Ebay or Gemm. I picked them up separately used at Waterloo Records for $9 apiece. Still missing 'Tales of Captain Black' though, that's the record that got me started digging for these.
My most recent acquisition, a Fender Custom Shop '63 Relic Tele. You can hear the '60's rosewood tele's in action with Phelps Collins' stabbing contribution to James Brown's "Sex Machine," everything Steve Cropper played on at Stax, Robbie Robertson's lead playing off Dylan's '66 European tour bootlegs, and Jimmy Page's defining solo on "Stairway to Heaven." I found this one on consignment at Guitar Rez after having spent about 3 months playing every tele I could get my hands on. It has a midrange spank and bottom guttural bark that would send the faint hearted clamoring for their Eagles records.
A long overdue posting of all my previous Okayplayer record reviews. I can highly recommend Aloe Blacc's "Shine Through," which is a fantastic album and I raved about it so much that Aloe actually wrote me personally to say thanks.
Quantic - An Announcement to Answer
Rebel and tha Peacemaka - Return Uv Tha Essence: The Antidote
Shabba Ranks - Shabba at Showdown: Reggae Showdown Vol. 4 (DVD)
Wu Tang Clan - Legend of the Wu Tang: The Videos (DVD)
Bronze Nazareth - The Great Migration
Vernon Reid and Masque - Other True Self
I started playing guitar my sophomore year in college. I played so much that 2 more sophomore years passed and a stack of transcripts piled up before I ended up at Berklee College of Music in Boston. After graduation I moved back down to Austin, Texas. I spend most of my time now learning records and buying records. I also contribute record reviews and interviews to Okayplayer.com. I like records.
I openly wish I was Marvin Gaye, but my own work sounds closer to Phil Spector unleashed on an army of acoustic guitars. My core listening tastes exist somewhere between 1964 when James Brown recorded "Out Of Sight" and the mid-70's when Miles, Sly, and Marvin all burned out on coke, and then filter everything through post-Tribe Dilla and solo Nick Drake. I believe Jimi was more sensual than psychedelic, people don't name drop Phelps Collins enough, and Jeff Buckley channeled the voice of God.
Right now I'm going for a Terry Callier after John Coltrane thing. Like if Leon Ware made a record with John Martyn, except recorded entirely on meager equipment in my bedroom. I envision congas, a Rhodes, upright bass, and a drummer. Or maybe sampled drum loops. If anyone has an MPC for sale I’m listening.
I just turned 26. Otis Redding died at 26 and you don’t even know my name yet. I’m trying to work on my historic barometer.
“This is the baddest shit you ever heard, and if you don’t think so I’m going to kick your ass.”
-Miles Davis
My mind was strong like a trap and I didn’t need any guarantee of validity
-Bob Dylan
As all marines are rifleman, everyone in this orchestra is a percussionist.
-Sun Ra
I don’t want to be a star because stars fall
-Afrika Bambaata