Guitars and Life

I recently read and reviewed the first of the Robert Galbraith novels which is now JK Rowling's pseudonym for her thriller novel series. A Casual Vacancy was her first modern novel and it appeared in my "Kindle offers for you" list, clever old Amazon target marketing.  It was cheap so I decided to give it a go, and I'm glad I did.  It's a good read.  Not a pleasant laugh a minute read this is actually a novel that deals with a variety of hard hitting modern life issues. Set in a fictitious West Country village the title and plot is centred around "a casual vacancy" which is a vacancy created on a parish council when an incumbent councillor dies.  The vacancy caused by the sudden shocking death of an active councillor.  This brings to the fore long standing concerns over some boundary issues with the nearest large town.  There are factions that want the "problem area" an estate with considerable social deprivation, drug addiction and associ...

Firstly - Hey Jude. I'd hoped to mix the Beatles and Wilson Pickett version - not sure we managed that but... hey ho.. At least I'm visible in this one LOL! And a couple more I played on... Happy and Shackles.  I'm not visible thankfully some of you may say... but I'm there playing away. enjoy...

Ok I make no comment on the camera work... it isn't like I'd asked for anonymity or anything... LOL. Anyway - one of the recent songs from a "Go Gospel" night at the Rochester Music Cafe.  The singer (Damien) threw a curved ball 4 days before the performance of "Hey let's do this one..."  So presented with not screwing up a Jeff Beck version of this!   I was quiet happy with the outcome, we could have done with a rhythm guitarist or a keyboard player but still wasn't bad.  Let me know what you think. Once the others are up I'll post them too.

A bit of dual posting here... but since this blog has been a big part of my sobreity blogging I'll double up here and at my other blog . Can you believe today marks my 10th sober anniversary? In someways it feels like more than that, a lifetime in fact in other ways it seems like only yesterday I finally said “I need help”. 10 years! I won’t repeat it all here read my drinking story on this blog or an updated drinking story and recovery story over at my other home if you want to. What I would like to say the most huge thank you to the nurse who suggested rehab, the doctor who assessed me, all those that worked in the rehab, all the friends of Bill W who I have met and who have helped my journey and all those I’ve never met but whose spirit keeps me sober today. I love you all!

If you have read this rambling tome of a blog for any length of time you'd know that electric guitarwise I'm more likely probably to pick up a guitar with humbuckers in it than a single coil.  A Gibson man more than a Fender man I suppose.  To this end the collection features my Gibson Les Paul and the Gordon Smith Graduate 60 that adorns the banner of the blog currently, my PRS CE22 (yes with all the switch options but still more Gibbo ...) and a Peter Cook  Axis Custom all mahogany and humbuckers - more SG than anything Fullerton produced other than it's scale length. But you'll also know that the longest serving guitar in the collection is my treasured Squier Strat .  Now those of you who may be scoffing out there as the Squier label let me tell you this is from the earliest batches of Squiers to reach the UK in the early 80s.  It has a JV serial number. Fender who was frankly falling fast in terms of quality from it's pedestal and the changes poorly imp...

It is 50 years ago that this amazing stuff was recorded. Someone decided to invite some blues people over from the USA and record them in the rain on deserted station platform somewhere near Manchester...   I know and these people were the establishment at the time! Anyway - I know that this was a big thing.  The Stones had rekindled public interest in the blues and the Animals, Fleetwood Mac and the Bluesbreakers were all just about to blow the whole 60s music scene with stuff that no doubt directly led to most of what we call rock, metal etc. today. Feast your eyes and ears on these two great clips. Loving Sister Rosetta's SG Les Paul Custom with sideways vibrato - classy guitar for a classy lady!