Tokai ..

Several well known guitarists have played these Tokai replica Strats, the most famous being the late Stevie Ray Vaughan. Stevie appears on the cover of Tokai's 1985-1986 Edition of their Electric Guitars catalog. Also, an interesting piece of trivia concerns Stevie's Texas Flood (Epic 1983) album cover photo. It was taken while Stevie was playing a Tokai replica Strat. On the cover, the Tokai logo was removed, however, many music shops sell a poster of that album cover and "Tokai Springy Sound" is clearly visible on the headstock.


In the customs paperwork Mr SRV had Tokai Strat in the list....

amazing thread...

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/194271-1959-les-paul-build.html

The Pikasso

Here we go..Pat Matheny apparently has played this creation...reckon you'd need a boot full of tabs to even pick her up..all the best..

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Gibson Les Paul.
Nuff said. Okay, so nowadays it's all about the buck and Gibson seem to have entered into a CBSesque style timewarp where they're guitars are getting through quality control without the quality we expect.
And having looked at some of the high end Gibsons I have to agree with my mate that they are appearing to, "suck"..
I had a really nice Les Paul, Jimmy Page Signature first run from 95.beautiful flame. But the pickups were stock and I really didn't get anything from the gimmick of push-pull pots on all four and well, I decided to sell to finance other projects.
But the Gibson Custom Shop still pump out some classic items, here the latest Peter Green 59 Butterscotch..yes please.

then the JP Authentic...

Ibanez Hoshino Gakki 100 Anniversary

Passing the local music shop today ended in a decent Indian lunch with Bruce, the owner, and a friend of his called Per, a guitarist of some note by all accounts and top bloke working at the Botanical gardens.

Looking at the guitars around the shop I noticed a rather ugly looking guitar hanging there with a price tag of 89,000kr. WTF! Ibanez? Basswood japanese junk that have to use hot Dimarzio pups and Floyd Rose to get their sound..well, not quite.Lets just say I don't have one, never played one but I'm sure Vai, Satriani and all the rest know a good guitar when it drops by.

This isn't basswood.

This is very rare, one of 3 in Europe apparently.

Reading around and apparently they don't sustain very well as standard models.

Well, in a way its cool. despite the cost.It's interesting to see that Ibanez guitars are demanding some huge prices though for models in pretty basic woods. But whatever works I suppose, they do have their own following and sound and for once they're original nowadays. Can't understand any hype for any Jap builder of copies. Doesn't really matter if its considered better, as i don't believe they are.Just cheaper. And, copies. JJ- JUST JUNK! and like all junk, cheap junk.

Saying that though...they do have some great craftsman and pride in their work. So sure, they've done some great work..but..copies...naaaaaa.

However...Ibanez, they have their own look, so yes, I'd probably buy one one day.

These past weeks...

..have been weeks where there have been some interesting developments in human behaviour and relationships. Its interesting but only to the point where if you had a few sessions with some very wise people you know when its time to quickly use the stepping stones in the murky swamp of bitterness than actually get stuck up to your arse and elbows.
I'm not gonna go into what the changing traits are, as I don't really have the inclination or patience to write it all down in script, however a mate saying to me, "you know that all people are cunts anyway" was something I would contest any day of the week.

What I don't get is how people can live with themselves. But thats quite immaterial as thats what people would like, they feed off bad karma of others and enjoy the bullying aspect as they have been bullied themselves.

One of the wisest things I was ever told when I was caught down in that very swamp of self pity and bitterness, as well as basically being very low and disappointed, was that one should never give these people the time of day , as they don't give you a minute of their time.And it's true. So the best way forward is to move on quickly and more importantly, always follow your own gut feeling and back yourself in the honest stakes as you'll never disappoint yourself if your 100% honest towards yourself.

So, here we are.
Knee decided to blow out finally..feels like my cruciate ligament has torn and is on it's way out.bummer.

Just now its a real "two sides of the fence".
On the one side, I have 4 squads who want me around and 1 that doesn't know why I'm not around except for the agenda to ensure I'm not around. Thats a four to one ratio. Happy days!

Guitar playing has been coming along and I'm so happy to have nailed some Page phrases. I'm gonna buy some cheap recording gear and lay down some phrases.It's a great way to use the grey cells and at the same time its so awesome to be playing music that you've only been flabbergasted by listening to it.

Pulled back my 62ri schecter from a mate, missed playing her and she never disappoints. simply amazing strat.

Oh well, no pics today, its a b/w day but all good.

Random pics from the Creative TankRoom

nuff said.

all the pics are from Masters rugby, which is to say the over 35 bracket..lots of fun. 

A legend busking...

WTF!

3 weeks! Been feeling as rough as a welders bench for three bloody weeks! Dubai, sick, flights, sick, training, sick..frikken tired of feeling like I'm waiting for lung inflammation to burst out like Jethro Tull!

If you've read this blog from the start you'll have read earlier my theories about Sweden being a Virus Tent , producing killer virus as their over protectiveness throughout the years of their children who used to get injected for everything and anything , has now successfully managed to ensure we now have killer virus and flus that put people out of action for a minimum of 3 weeks! makes bird flu, pig flu and hippopotamos flu look lame in comparison! I was too naive to actually feel , that I felt better...then I sneezed...and now its bloated throat meets a bullfrog jumping around my head..

However, despite this general feeling of mass pity which could even move Dan Brown to write a new novel about how we men die at the very sneeze of a flu, I'm actually getting a real buzz listening to the Ravi Shankar and i've decided to buy myself a Sitar! What a challenge! awesome sounds! The way the players bend the strings, I'd hazard a guess that Albert Lee would have been a star! Imagine him turning around to a lefty and stringing it upside down...I've found an old one in town and may have have to invest. I love the off beat rhythms, almost jazz like in following the durhams(?) beats to the sitars..
You can hear a lot of guitarist took quite a bit of influence from India and the sitar drone and melody, Page being very influenced and of course tuned a lot in DADGAD to retain the classic drone which is what the sitar has the sympathetic strings to reproduce..have a listen to Joe Bonamassa playing India..awesome picking technique to reproduce "that" sound..
Anyway, we shall see..

back to training..this week been putting a lot of time down learning a few favorites, Over the Hills and far away and ten years Gone..next is bron-yr-aur ...
 

Sunday at the FuzzGuitar show

So first of all I ended up hung over after a long trip to Enköping to coach a rugby team to a huge loss and then watch a young player get his thigh bone snapped in half in the last minute of the game...he'll not want to remember his 2010 season premiere.
First off I managed to get a lift to Erikbergshallen, only to find out it wasn't the right venue...fortunatly a mate was working at the show so after a call he told me I was miles off...so another call to Jimmy and a free lift was on, although Jimmy wouldn't be joining me as he's had enough of guitar shows..

T silver was the first to be sourced, hiding behind a bunch of cool guitars with beer in hand, and off we went to see some of the gear he liked, including a cool Taylor baritone 8 string and a host of nice acoustics.

I'm more into the original fenders and gibsons, but the best deals would be found with the 70s and 80s japanese replicas.Has to be said, a lot of guitar for very little money.
Anyway, nicest guitar imo was the 57 100% mint Gibson Gold top at a mere 850,000kr...

.a bunch of Fender strats, cheapest at 125,000 up to 250,000kr and a a rare sight indeed, a custom shop SRV lenny for 125,000kr.

.to be honest, I was happier coming home to my own guitars, theres more variation..people are obviously holding on to their classics as there were no les paul customs in abundance (old) and only a few nice strats and telecasters..

Taylor ebony streaks...61 thousand...nice nice
I also managed to look for a seat at some point and find myself in a room with some guy who came in and played along to some backing music trying to sell us the new guitar players recording dream..can't remember his name but he was pretty good at playing guitar.Think he played in Europe at some point.

Gibson Les Paul with the new style fuzzy frets and a kahler trem and lock nut..

Jimmy age Influence...the ravi himself...plug into a potato chip brotha!

and on this one...pass me the bong..."welcome to India, Dr Jones"

what I really want...

Here is a G I've always wanted.54 black beauty. Could never afford an original, and the 92 versions I feel are too light...they dont have the grunt..

So, here is a 73 and I have a few days to decide if I wanna buy it...

Bron-Yr-Aur

Of course it seems to be J.page week and the Zeppelins, so here is a picture of a cottage which is also a very nice wee acoustic piece that Page laid down on Physical graffiti. This is where the lads used to head off and eat some Welsh magic mushrooms and inspiration...And looking above this picture you find where a lot of inspiration came from, with Snowdonia and its surroundings.

Not sure, but seems like we'll never have these types of bands ever again...sign of the times I suppose...The Black Crowes of course decided to pull off a great recording by heading up to woodstock and playing in front of a live studio crowd..but otherwise there seems to be a lot of plastic out there and the old brass fittings aren't used anymore...know what I mean..

Saudi

So, having recently returned from Dubai my curiosity for the Islamic world and Arabic World has had me looking at maps and reading about Mecca and Saudi on the whole,as whilst I was in Dubai I heard just how much harder the country and its traditions are held.

As we've all heard, public flogging has become more popular in both Saudi and Iran, to keep the youngsters in place with regards sex and alcohol. The more you read the more you have to wonder just how medieval they have managed to keep the inner shell, with all laws based on their religion and with woman being kept as much aside from men, it's a bit of a mind cluster fuck to get yer head around the size of the country and its 28 million inhabitants whose oil reserves are 90% of their country's income. 

Just getting into the country is meant to be well difficult and if your not a muslim you can forget about taking snaps of their holy shrines, seen below.The last picture is their petroleum company's HQ, so it's worth a place with the other two..

Gonna be interesting when the oil runs out as they predict...

I'm also informed that quite a few head over to Lebannon and act quite differently...I reckon if they're gonna live by the sword they should also die by the sword..

Scarey stuff if you ask me..

Cover to the propaganda comic book "Is This Tomorrow"'..printed 1947

okay...with the new "strip citizinship" bill being pushed thru the senate due to terrorism , we're all getting strapped into a time machine to get back to the McCarthyism years...
So here is a reminder of the fear, this comic printed in 1947...would make for a great record cover me thinks.. Maybe it's not the Russians that the Yanks should be worried about this time though, they've sold off half their debt and country to a worst communist regime who only a month ago reported a mass of dead babies bodies found on the bank of a major river, down stream from the local hospital...they count went past 25 and they ahd no requirement for CSI Beijing as the poor souls still had their plastic hospital name tags on their wrists...It was not made public as to what gender the babies were...
Think about that the next time you buy something "made in baby slaughterland".....Nooooo..one musn't judge the actions of one hospital as an entire nation, especially that large, they are reknowned for their human rights..

Ten Years Gone

From Knebworth and very unusual to see Jimmy playing a tele on this song to be honest. Its rough but its a dirty sound and purest form..check out the three necked special as well..





Now then, here he comes again whilst playing with another fav band, The Black Crowes many years after. IMO this version is massive in both vocals of Robinson as well as the guitars and of course Mr Page was starting to really get back into the game.



One of the earliest songs I tried to play...oh dear...
The chords in this song are quite interesting..diminished and all the rest...
so of course, you know how it is, your looking at this and notice another favorite...so..

New Digital Camera

Been looking at this Digital camera for a while so when the opportunity came in Dubai to get one at half the cost due to the duty free and tax situation, I took it.
So, expect more pics of the guitars and other things that I find interesting...

back in the day..

Local Edinburgh band The exploited used to provide entertainment at the NiteClub!

Goodbye...Dubai...

No scripting for a few days as I've been busy mixing business and pleasure..
After a night long flight from Dubai to Amsterdam and on to Landvetter, I managed to wake up at 15.00 this afternoon..
So, a week is over and a whole new ideology is fixed in place...First time in the middle east and the sudden realisation that you see first hand is that our culture really is the minority on the planet. With 80% of the people living and working in Dubai coming from India, pakistan, Iran and of course China and other Asian countries, its a real eye opener to say the least.
best people to have a chat with were the taxi drivers.If there is one thing that is cheap in Dubai then it's the taxis. I met some really nice guys who I asked many questions to, about their home cities in Pakistan or towns in India, as well as their religions and the Muslim ideology. These guys make a wage of 5000kr a month and have a rent of 10,000kr a month...work than one out..
Whilst I was getting a guided tour around Dubai Sport City, the woman who was guiding us was 28 and had never had a drink in her life. She also did the fasting according to her religion but at the same time she was blinged up with bright watches, pink mobile and nothing hiding her face or arms. She said she wasn't that much into the religion but at the same time had respect for various parts of it..28 without being on the piss? NEXT!
Dubai is a country that you almost have to witness...its also a country that isn't as extreme as some of the others..like Saudi.So they don't mind selling out their traditions for the sake of development and tourism.
Its the size of everything that is scarey...it really is LasVegas meets Disneyland..Indoor ski slopes, highest buildings in the world, ice rinks in the Malls, biggest Malls in the world which you DO get lost in, and Hotels that ignore the rating of 5 and claim 8 stars, with helicopter pads and...well, you get the point.
5 times a day the prayers can be heard over the whole city at the same time you don't really see anybody reacting. I'll post some pics soon, but here is an idea of the hall inside the Atlantis palm which had just about everything except an airport in it..