Guitars and Life

I stopped doing "reviews" on here a while back when I realised some of my top read posts were title "Album review of..." and realised that maybe people were reading these confused I was a real critic.  Problem is, I'm not, I'm a fan therefore my reviews are somewhat biased from the word go as I've already probably spent my own money on the album - also ashamedly a few promoters, indy labels actually emailed me asking me to review their artists - I thought then - Hang on I'm not a professional should I really be risking an artists reputation with my blathering on. Anyway now we're going to have occasional - "What I've been listening to" posts.  This is one... Big Big Train - English Electric .  I'll mention this as it came out as two separate CDs and I latched onto after both were out.  It was I think a Spotify recommendation and normally I click one track and move on but this captivated me.  Now I'm an old school prog ro...

That sort of sums up the Bank Holiday weekend. Son-of-Furtheron and his girlfriend arrived at ours on Friday evening for a brief one day stop over as they were scheduled to fly out of Heathrow on Sunday morning to attend a PhD Summer School in Budapest.  Why it is in Budapest is a conundrum that will keep some of the most intellectual brains in the world occupied.  It is being organised by a prof from Sheffield, everyone attending is from the UK and all their host unis and funding councils have now had to pay for flights and hotel accommodation to/from/in Hungary.  Go figure, why not host it in Sheffield using empty student accom?  Whatever, maybe the fact the Prof arranging it is actually Hungarian may have had some bearing on it...  I'll leave you to consider. So after getting drenched in the rain fall down on Saturday when I popped to the shops for something on the way to Mother-In-Laws we spent the afternoon there topped up on tea and biscuits watching t...

I got this from IHeartGuitarBlog who got it from the Seymour Duncan User Group Forum Here are a set of questions to answer about your own fantasy signature guitar... Q1: Which company called you? Q2: Which standard model in their product lineup do you base your sig off of? Q3: What specs do you insist upon that make it uniquely yours? Q4: What other customizations do you make to the guitar? Q5: What special piece of “case candy” goes with it as a collector’s item? Right here goes... Q1: Which company called you? Fender Q2: Which standard model in their product lineup do you base your sig off of? Strat. Q3: What specs do you insist upon that make it uniquely yours? Ash body, rosewood fingerboard 12" radius, large 70s style headstock but four bolt neck joint. Non trem! Twin humbuckers, with tone and vol each and coil taps on the tone controls. Q4: What other customizations do you make to the guitar? Locking machine heads - not really needed but make string chan...

I had a revelation last night driving home from one of my regular meetings. I'd listened to a good friend talk about his experience on the road into drunkenness and back out of it on recovery. He is a man who enjoys his life, by his own admission his is a bit of a loner and is off on a motorcycle ride to Austria on his own in the next few days. Once there he will meet up with others from a club and lead them on a ride through Slovenia where he once nearly ended up in gaol through his drinking. How things change? There was one person in the group in the middle of a major turmoil in their life, a marriage breaking down, violence, money worries etc. After talking to them and then driving home I suddenly thought - hang on that negative projection they showed - that is what you're doing currently. That reflection on past events similarly - that's what you're doing. I'm still in transition - in limbo between the working full time as I was until a few weeks ago to working ...

It has been remiss of me to miss this auspicious occasion! On 8th Aug this year my Squier Strat has been a member of my family for 30 years. When I bought it it was harking back on a golden age of guitars i.e. It was modelled on a 1962 Strat and was part of the leave the awful 70s behind us movement of the early 80s. Now you see people paying daft money for 70s Strats many were awful and this Japanese new comer blew them away.  Just cos a guitar is old don't make it good!! It itself is now much older than the age it echoed when new. However still Fender make many classic guitars on a similar theme to this day - the latest from Mexico have period correct finishes which this didn't being a modern more robust type. I'd have to be desperate in some way now for this to ever leave me.  It is such a part of me even if now I use a PRS more.

Another obtuse 1970's lyric reference... Ram Jam from "Black Betty" - which probably is a song that no self-respecting label would put out now given it's colour references.  Anyway - the line before the totally off topic title of this post is "She's from Birmingham".   Luckily it was via my interest in music that I learnt there are (at least) two Birminghams in the world - one in Alabam' (sic) and one in the West Midlands, which I knew about already, Jasper Carrot supported the football team there that didn't do as well as Aston Villa.  Funny to look back on stuff like that but frankly that was probably how I really did learn stuff like that in that way. So why is that in my head today?  Because Son-of-Furtheron and his better half have moved to said fair city to start the next phase of their lives PhD studentships!  They are both starting PhDs in the next few weeks, S-o-F will be commuting to Leicester and doing something to do with the magnet...

I got a great review off a site called Red Label Reviews.  I submitted my album a while back but you know it has sat in the queue waiting, part of me thought, "Oh they listened to it and binned it" that negative self-defeatist bit of me.  But not a bit of it ... it got a really good review. Read it here ... But here is the verdict section... " Graham Hunt’s music is different in a good way. He clearly has worked well to add his own creative edge to acoustic music, by incorporating many different styles and techniques from other genres, yet keeping a firm acoustic feel present. For that reason, I highly suggest you check this album and his other music works." Not only was it a positive review the selection of tracks they talk about in detail they have clearly listened intently and picked up on things I know are there either intentionally or simply by happy accident etc. So please go and read the review and if you want to listen / download the album the...

Well away for a couple of days. This summer has turned out quiet hectic with Son-Furtheron leaving uni and moving also Daughter-of-Furtheron is working in the swimming school so we didn't plan a holiday. Mother-in-law needs to go to hospital later this week so in the end we're off to Hastings for a couple of nights. Oh the glamour! ;-)

The song referred to in the last post is this... And here is a photo of the old lads singing it on the tv - sadly I couldn't find the legendary performance I remember as a kid. 1970 eh where's it all gone! England team 1970 singing Back Home