Seriously Vintage Musical Instrument
Amazing. Archaeologists have found a flute believed to be over 30,000 years old. Carved from a vulture bone, this instrument appears to demonstrate that homo sapiens had the gift of music at a very early stage of development. this may be one of the reasons they were able to leap past the Neanderthals. The ancient flutes are evidence for an early musical tradition that likely helped modern humans communicate and form tighter social bonds…. Music may therefore have been important to maintaining and strengthening Stone Age social networks among modern humans, allowing for greater societal organization and strategizing [National Geographic News].
What makes a music scene?
I recently had the privilige of interviewing Jacob McMurray Senior Curator of the Experience Music Project for a feature piece on music museums. Within the contect of describing his upcoming exhibition Nirvana in the Northwest Underground, 1982-1992 Jacob articulated a really interesting understanding about the development of music scenes:
“Nobody had looked, commercially, at the Northwest for a long time. What were the pieces of infrastructure in the creative underground that needed to be in place for their to be a scene in the first place? That’s one of the things that I’m really interested in exploring. In order to have a scene you have to have a sort of renewable source of music like a college. Olympia is a great example of this, Evergreen College there. You have to have a source of communication for your underground message. Like fanzines and radio, like the college radio, KAOS radio, or Op magazine. In Seattle the Rocket would serve that. You had to have venues. You had to have record stores to reinforce this underground message. And so trying to build step-by-step what it takes to develop the scene in the Northwest.”
How to Choose an Instrument 101
This excellent piece on the choosing a musical instrument was written by Carolyn Grant, the Executive Director of the Museum of Making Music.
Carolyn Grant
I’m totally down with Carolyn’s adept interpretation of the bond between musician and instrument. Taken from the Spring 2009 issue of InTune, the newsletter of the Museum of Making Music:
Last week a young man interviewed me as part of a school project which required that he learn about the guitar. The discussion was moving along swimmingly until he asked, “Is it better to play acoustic or electric guitar?” I paused. While my interviewer may have thought I was simply taking some extra time to carefully express my choice of one instrument over another, in reality my mind was racing to digest/interpret/ define/situate one particular word… better. The choice of a musical instrument is deeply personal: when you play an instrument, you are in essence extending your own voice—the voice with which you were born. So, the concept of better really has no place unless you are asking yourself, “which one is better for me?” For anyone wanting—or needing—to express themselves through music, this is a key question. Some people intuitively know the answer before they can even walk or talk. Others may not solve the riddle until later in life, having spent many years enjoying the quest. So how did I answer the young man? It is better to play the instrument that intrigues you. It is better to play the instrument whose sound takes your breath away. It is better to play the instrument that fills you up until you believe you could fill the sky and beyond. That instrument is much, much better.
New Interviews Published
I have two new interviews out . Both are in Vintage Guitar magazine and both are with incredible musicians whom have really made a mark on American music.
In the May issue of the magazine is my talk with Sun recording artist Sonny Burgess. I have been listening to Sonny’s music since I first found a re-issue on the Charly label. (Thanks again, Stray Cats, for getting me into rockabilly
Sonny Burgess
and its myriad offshoots.) Sonny was a great subject, warm, easy to talk to, and full of funny, entertaining, and mind-blowing anecdotes. Eventually I will post his full interview here.
In the June issue is my piece on Gary Louris, a guitarist and songwriter best know for his worked with the beloved, belated, Minnesota folk-rock band The Jayhawks. Gary I felt a little more in awe of when we spoke. Also, his publicist told me to keep it to 30 minutes exactly. Combined, I may have conducted the interview in less than my normal, casual manner. But, the piece came out well. Gary is out on tour right now with his longtime partner Mark Olson.
I’m very grateful to have had the chance to speak to these two musicians. Please check it out, available on newsstands now. Thanks.
RTM music review: Roe v Brownbird
In August of 1997, the Smithsonian Folkways label re-issued the Anthology of American Folk Music, the mythical collection of pre-WWII tuneage first released in 1952. The following May, Greil Marcus’ book Invisible Republic, a book ostensibly about Bob Dylan’s Basement Tapes but really about the Anthology and the lost parochial America that produced it, was published. Together, these two documents served as a time-traveling roadmap backwards for a generation of alt.country fans looking for something newer, older, and heavier than Uncle Tupelo and the Jayhawks. What they found in the Anthology and Marcus’ book was a cascade of humanistic information constructed somewhat like an old, abandoned house where every room held a fascinating artifact that provided a glimpse into a lost, yet inhabitable, world. This world appealed very much to young urban dwellers, people whose jobs and lifestyles were succinctly opposite to those of the new-found old-time heroes. Representing time-travel at its currently-available best, it became such that the mystique that surrounded outlaw-hillbillies like Dock Boggs, Charley Patton, and Bushel Motsuk was transferable—and for those who chose to pick up an instrument, be it graphic designer or Java programmer, coffee shop denizen or barfly there was a world open to play and perform a new style of somber, somewhat dark and mysterious music that was outside the mainstream without being punk, without being modern, and without requiring any serious amount of talent.
More than a decade later people continue to use the raw clay of the past to mold new sounds, shapes, and identities. Two new-ish discs recently were sent to me that represent what I feel are different schools of the genre. Both of the discs feature well-crafted, clever songs performed entirely on acoustic instruments with sounds, cadences, and structures that mirror post-war American folk music. The first disc of the pair that I listened to was The Earth and All That is in It by 
The Roe Family Singers out of Minneapolis. The RFS are a group centered around the husband and wife duet of Kim and Quillan Roe. For this recording they are joined by a group of players using instruments ranging from the standard guitar and bass to the traditional washboard and jug to the more ethereal musical saw. The music on this album is clean and crisp. The instrumental parts are executed with care and precision, providing an interesting contrast to the recurring semi-apocalyptical lyrics speaking of topics of death, murder, and environmental disaster. The vocal performances are compelling, if slightly derivative. I found myself growing particularly fond of the song “My Heart Took to the Earth,” with its imagery and soothing music. The disc as a whole is pleasant to listen to, but I found it difficult to feel convinced. Throughout the piece I kept trying to find a level of authenticity that would allow me to become fully engaged but in the end I could not hurdle my distraction at what I felt was an imitation of the real thing.
The real thing can be found on Anti-Stereo Acoustic Holler Blues, the late-2007 release by Brownbird Rudy Relic of New York City. A musician friend of mine who lives in Tijuana gave me the disc, saying only, “It’s your thing, man.” I found it to be so. Make no mistake, Brownbird sits squarely in the camp of post-Anthology players. He sounds like Son House. As it turns out, he dresses like Son House, plays the same guitar as Son House and wears the same type of country-gentlemen clothing as Son House (I saw this on YouTube where, at the same time, I also saw some clips of the Roe Family playing in a modern studio wearing shorts and t-shirts. I find it difficult to envisage Brownbird ever even going outside not in full regalia. Does this matter to me? It must, otherwise I wouldn’t be mentioning it). The fact that Brownbird is one of the most convincing heirs to Son House is something I find exciting. Let me say here that my love and enthusiasm for the music of Son House is of boundless proportions, so Brownbird was treading a fine line—either he could pull it off or he could not. Let me tell you he did. Brownbird accompanies himself on a National resonator guitar of which he is an expert player showing much chops but not overplaying or showboating. He writes songs in the blues vein, but is not afraid to throw in some happy surprises such as a I-VI-IV-V doo-wop chord progression or a sweet cycle of fingerpicking. In some respects his act—one guy sitting down playing guitar—puts me in mind off the Minnesota player Charlie Parr. What I like better about Brownbird is that he makes me laugh and tap my dang foot whereas Parr, with his unrelenting downhearted mood like a cloudy month up North, makes me just feel bad. Brownbirds’ lyrics, many of which I am sure are made up on the spot, are compelling. When he sings “my heart is made of razorblades/so I cut myself to size/to size” I’m moved and it creates imagery in my mind, takes me somewhere else. Transporting the listener is one of the key prizes in making music, one which Brownbird Rudy Relic makes happen often and with great joy.
Ratings:
Anti-Stereo Acoustic Holler Blues by Brownbird Rudy Relic: B+
The Earth and All That is in It by The Roe Family Singers: C+
New review of Gibson Amplifier book
My most recent book, Gibson Amplifiers 1933-2008: 75 Years of The Gold Tone, was reviewed in the April ‘09 issue of Premier Guitar magazine. PG is a newer entry into teh guitar magazine arena and I encourage you to check out their digital issue. Here’s the text of the review:
Gibson Amplifiers 1933-2008: 75 Years of the Gold Tone
According to author Wallace Marx Jr., the motivation for the first book dedicated entirely to Gibson amplifiers arose when a chance encounter with a 1957 GA-70 Country Western amplifier that was almost tossed out with the trash convinced him that there were too many Gibson amps that “too few people knew too little about.” Beginning with a primer on the origins and early phases of instrument amplification, Marx begins to reassemble the many scattered and incomplete pieces of the story behind the Kalamazoo instrument maker’s entrance into modern sound amplification before WWII and the company’s further efforts up to 2008.
Despite a heap of obstacles—myths, rumors, missing or unreliable records— Marx did his homework. His pages are full of the kind of evidence that mark a reliable history and the kind of uncovered details that make for a rewarding read. The resulting account, though it may yet be expanded, establishes an impressive and thorough groundwork for Gibson amplifier enthusiasts. Those who are not yet Gibson amp mavens, but who might wish to be, will likely find this book takes them quite far.
In addition to the nearly 80 pages dedicated to the history of Gibson and Gibson-produced amplifiers (Epiphone, Maestro, Kalamazoo, SG Systems, and Lab Series) the book also includes 16 pages of full-color photos illustrating the major elements of the Gibson amp story and a complete guide to every standard production Gibson amplifier— in the manner that makes all Blue Book publications so very useful, with lots of information and pictures. Included with the book is a CD-ROM with the original Gibson Amplifier Master Service Book, as well as manuals and schematics for Gibson amps produced between 1936 and 1966.—CB
Breakfast with a Musical Marine
Over eggs this morning in Carlsbad Village I listened to my young friend Nick describe what the next four weeks of his life would be like in Marine Combat Training. Nick graduated from Marine Corps bootcamp on the 13th of this month and played a gig with our ska band the next night. 
Nick is a world-class saxaphone player who is in the Marines for the singular mission of playing in the Marine Corps Band. To do this, he needed to go through basic training. It was interesting to notice the changes in his behaivior after his 13 weeks of training. You don’t smile in basic, so his smile was guarded. But when it showed up it was still bright and wide. Even at the bar for the gig he often reverted to standing at attention, straight up with his hands behind his back. He lost 55 pounds in basic. His supreme fitness highlighted eveyone else’s permanent slouch. And it seemed like he didn’t walk across rooms or parking lots, but more like he willed himself from one point to another. Today he goes in for his four weeks of combat training, blowing stuff up, shooting guns, etc. When he gets out he will go to Norfolk, VA, for six month of music courses. For the following three years he will play 300-400 gigs a year with various bands (marching, big, and combo). He has a guaranteed paycheck and will move up in rank and his room and board are paid. There is a slight chance he will be deployed. If that does happen, he will have a rear-guard post. Telling me all these things, the soon-to-be-21-year-old expressed that he felt he had made the right decision: playing music around the world for a guaranteed paycheck for the next four years.
Man, I could not argue.
Gibson Amp Book: Where to Buy
Here are a few internet sellers who are stocking the book Gibson Amplifiers, 1933-2008: 75 Years of the Gold Tone:
The Blue Book, inc. website. This is the company that published the book.
Amazon. Here is a direct link to the book page.
JK Lutherie, a big seller of music-related books.
Elderly Instruments, who are located in Michigan and have a really huge selection of great stuff.
Thanks to everyone for your emails and inquiries!
First Review of Gibson Amplifier Book!
Dave Hunter, a writer I look up to a lot, wrote a really great interview about the new book on the official Gibson website.
http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/gibson-amplifiers-1933-2008/
Wallace Marx Jr.’s Gibson Amplifiers 1933-2008: 75 Years of the Gold Tone
Dave Hunter | 02.04.2009
The first question a reader might ask upon picking up Wallace Marx Jr’s exhaustive new book Gibson Amplifiers 1933-2008: 75 Years of the Gold Tone (Blue Book Publications, Inc. 2009, $29.95) is, “Why hasn’t this been done before?” As hallowed a place as Gibson amplifiers hold in the annals of tone, it’s almost incomprehensible that no one has produced a comprehensive survey of them before now. The answer, as the author himself undoubtedly knows better than anyone, is that the history of Gibson amps is scant and scattered, and pulling it all together represents a massive undertaking. You could sum it up as a catch 22 of sorts: Why has so little been written about Gibson amps? Because so little has been written about Gibson amps.
All the more reason, then, to applaud this release from Blue Book Publications , Inc., and Marx in particular, who have done the extensive groundwork required to bring us the Gibson amp history that so many fans of these great creations have craved for so long. Over the course of 192 pages, including a 16-page full-color pictorial section, Marx charts the evolution of Gibson’s amplifiers from the early offerings of the 1930s to the rejuvenated GA series produced today by Gibson Pro Audio. In addition to Gibson amps, the book also documents other brands covered by the Gibson stable, including Maestro amps of the ’50s and ’60s, Epiphone and Kalamazoo amps, and Lab Series solid state amps of the late ’70s to early ’80s.
The chronological specs section that forms the second portion of the book (its two halves delineated by the color photo section) is a godsend for everyone from players to techs to collectors, but the history section at the front is what really nailed this book for me as a gripping read. Rather than merely romping through the rolling out of the models year to year, Marx has taken time to root out the back stories, anecdotes, and romance of evolution of a legendary amplification line through the better part of a century, and in the course of doing so brings the reader to an understanding of Gibson amps that simply wasn’t possible prior to the publication of this tome. Some of the real gems, for me, include the numerous revelations of who actually manufactured some long-under-documented Gibson amp lines, and the spotlight shone on much of the thinking behind the R&D that gave birth to certain legendary series (the design changes required, for example, to help the amps make the most of Gibson guitars’ move to humbucking pickups in the mid ’50s). Also, while the eye candy might lie in the central color section, the extensive illustrations in the history section— from amp and chassis photos, to vintage advertisements, to factory and promotional shots—also comprise an invaluable visual resource.
On the strength of all of the above, Gibson Amplifiers 1933-2008: 75 Years of the Gold Tone is already an utterly worthy addition to the bookshelf, but the addition of a back-cover-mounted CD-ROM reprint of the Gibson Amplifier Master Service Book pushes this package right over the top. First published in the mid-’60s, this manual contains a wealth of information that is otherwise difficult to access in one place, including schematics for every Gibson amp made from 1936 to 1966, and owners manuals for many models. All in all, Gibson Amplifiers 1933-2008: 75 Years of the Gold Tone is not only the first full history of the Gibson amplifier, but an authoritative and informative one at that, and sets the benchmark for journalism on this subject for all who will follow.
