Parts-O-Caster

A friend of mine stopped over to jam a couple weeks ago, & without missing a beat I leaned over & snapped a couple shots of his back-up 6 string tele while it was resting on the stand. The Bender is a surprisingly sweet playing axe with bastardized tremelo, as indicated on the custom headstock decal. The neck feels meaty, with the big frets you wouldn't expect to find on a fender. This is one guitar you need to see & hear, the next time the Whatknots play in a burb near you. Dan Hanson, the regional sales rep for Fender will be happy to show you this & other guitars he uses on the show. Click HERE for their web page. They're practically the world's greatest cover band.

Rock with me tonight at Neisen's in Savage. It's gonna be a great NO COVER show.

Never Smile at a Crocodile

This isn't the first custom manufactured guitar strap I've gotten from Painted Creek Saddlery, but it's easily the coolest. Yes, it's real crocodile; no, it doesn't bite. This is the gear that can make a worthy musician into a rock star. Custom accessories that are tailored to your needs will put you in a class above the rest, & that's exactly what it takes to succeed in the entertainment business. If you don't stand out, you'll go un-noticed, thus un-remembered. Painted Creek creates many varieties of leather fantasy rocker stage gear to help transform you into the rock star that you truly are. Gauntlets, belts, hair accessories, jewelry, guitar straps, wireless pouches, chaps, & wrist bands are all standard fare, & business as usual for this hip twin cities custom leather designer. Hit the site at PaintedCreekSaddlery.com & take the first step to fulfilling your destiny & living your dream. In a big hurry? Contact them by phone at: 763 228-2986
Stand out - Make your personal style memorable. Be all that you can be.

Want to see this & other cool leather work from Painted Creek? Stop out to a show & see many of these various leather products used live on stage.

Root Beer - Ibanez RG570

The ever reliable Ibanez RG-570 is known to be one of the fastest & smoothest playing guitars around. With the world famous ultra slim Wizard neck at the forefront of desirable components on this axe, you can close your eyes & swear you were playing IBZ's flagship Jem. Anywho... I won't be using this guitar any longer in our current setting, so I launched it on Craigslist this week (http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ank/msg/3103251249.html). Shoot me an offer at Duganrox@aol.com if you find yourself in need of a locking Floyd Rose equipped tone monger that sustains til next Tuesday & dive bombs like it's WWII. It's in great shape, as it's never left my house even once over the years. The finish is metal flake, & it's called Root Beer Sparkle.

Rock with me this Saturday Night (4/21) at GB Leighton's Pickle Park in Fridley

Mellow Yellow

I stopped into the Anoka Flea Market today & spotted a plethora of used guitars, banjos, & mandolins that made for a pleasant perusal. Patty from Earthway Music runs a musical exchange in South Haven, & was kind enough to show me this screaming yellow zonker. It's a neck through Les Paul copy import that's priced to sell, & plays surprisingly well. Check out the odd pick-up array of Humbucker, single coil, & soap bar. Hmmm... if you recognize this guitar you can use the comment section below to correctly identify it & claim your bragging rights. Watch for Patty's unique selection of stringed instruments at various trade fairs around the area, or contact her at 320 236-7852 to shop her axes. Here's the email contact as well: earthway@lakedalelink.net

AmpliTube - iRig

AmpliTube iRig is a combination of an easy-to-use instrument interface adapter and guitar and bass tone mobile software.
With AmpliTube iRig, you can plug your guitar into your iPhone/iPod touch/iPad and jam anywhere with world class guitar and bass tone right in the palm of your hand.
Plug the iRig interface into your mobile device, plug your instrument into the input jack, plug in your headphones, amp or powered speakers, & download 'AmpliTube FREE' version for iPhone or for iPad.
You’ll have at your fingertips the sound and control up to 4 recombinable simultaneous stompbox effects + amplifier + cabinet + microphone selection.
Add amps and effects as you need them. You can expand your rig with up to 11 stomps, 5 amps, 5 cabinets and 2 microphones in the AmpliTube iRig app custom shop.
Check it out on YouTube.

Les Paul Recording

A beautiful example of a vintage 1976 Les Paul recording, generously submitted by proud owner: Mark Rasper of Oshkosh WI. There was also a bass guitar version from this series available as well back in the day. This is Mark's second '76 Les Paul Recording that he's owned. He bought his first one new back in his gigging days, & decided to replace it a couple of years ago. Awesomely versatile & classic. This one has an added feature of being autographed by Les shortly before his departure....RIP. How cool is that?

Happy Easter

Seems like everybunny wants to get in the act.

Father of Loud

R.I.P. Jim Marshall.
So sad to post that today marks the passing of high power audio amplifier innovator Jim Marshall. ...always a gentleman.
You truly have gone to eleven now.
MarshallAmps.com/
Washington Post

Effector

Straight from the 1983 Sears wishbook catalog, here's their top of the line P.O.S. ; the Kay Effector. My semi-authetic looking Les Paul copy, complete with ultra cheesy on-board effects. Enjoy a step back through time with this link to the original catalog page. These crazy instruments received awful reviews, but collectors seem to love 'em. Check out what they're bringing on ebay these days. I'll take the first $200 cash someone hands me. While campy & cool, the questionable electronics on these rare guitars keep them from ever being reliable stage axes. Still fun to show off cuz they're so weird with all the knobs & switches for Fuzz, Wah, Trem, & Echo.

The Patriot

You'd have to be some kind of communist if you couldn't appreciate this fine highly recognizable WK sig Flag strat. These Wayne Kramer models are ultra light weight with super smooth frets. Cuffy Parks of Saint Paul shared this pic, & it's surely one fine axe that everyone would be proud to own. Seymour Duncan® ’59 humbucking middle pickup and a commemorative neck plate engraved with “This Tool Kills Hate" are both unique hallmarks of this guitar. Alder body, lacquer finish, maple C neck with large ’70s-style headstock, 21-fret rosewood fingerboard vintage-style frets, along with hard-tail string-through-body bridge, Fender/Schaller® vintage-style “F” tuners and chrome hardware make it an honorable edition to the collection. Heck, I'd buy it just for the Red white & blue paint job.

SRV Mojo

This nineties Stevie Ray Vaughan strat is just the ticket if you've got a hankerin' for playing some modern electric Texas style blues. Note the lefty trem in the bridge. I'm a strat man, so right away I'm thinking how this Fender will be mine some day soon. This one's parked in New Prague & it's from the impressive collection of working axes maintained by monster six string master Cary Havlicek. He's played with just about every band in the southern region, but now he's putting a very special new act together. I've met some of the guys from the forthcoming band & I can tell you that it's sure to be amazing. Watch for "Wreckless" performing at a club near you very soon.
}:-D-
Rock with me this Friday at the Blue Fox in Arden Hills & Saturday at Main Street bar in Hopkins.

J-Bone

Odds are pretty fair that you've seen these red Fenders on stage around town with twin cities fave glam band PopRocks. Jason Swanson pounds out low grooves on these work horses where ever the party is rocking. You can find a link to their cool website HERE. Find a show near you & have J-Bone show you his fine customs.

Doubting Thomas

Freak of the Week
A great example of a Harvey Thomas Maltese from the sixties. Made famous by Mott the Hoople. A special axe from a US company started by a special man. You'll see a few more of his guitars out on the 9:00 coast than you could ever find here in the mid west. Click HERE for a cool website that tributes Havey & his swanky 60's guitars.

1962 Framus Semi-Hollow with Tremolo

The 25th annual St Paul musician's trade fair Saturday yielded some great finds & some very cool guitars, but a few stood out as true rare gems. This 1962 Framus hollow body with tremelo is really a unusual axe, & just like the English Burns of the era, there are very few bench parts used in their manufacture. This rare Bavarian made guitar features an unbelievably ultra-thin laminated neck & a strange metal screw on nut! What a great find. Thanks for sharing the pictures Joe. See ya next year.

White Lightning

If you've you've got a keen eye you should be able to recognize this highly modified 1960's Tiesco Del Rey. Owner & builder Scott Montgomery has more spage-age recreations that I'll post in the future. Visit his shop "Rocks n Roll Emporium" in Crosby MN for a closer look at his customs.

Rock with me Saturday night (St Patty's Day) at Maxx Bar in Ham Lake.

Hey, Mister Wilson!

I feel like Dennis the Menace pestering AG&B's inventory manager Ron Wilson for pictures of his personal guitars. Ron confesses this Schecter 007 Elite seven string guitar was I bought as a mid-life crisis creative reinvention of his classic rock stylings. Now me on the other hand; well, I'm still hoping to find a two string guitar to properly reflect my humble talents.

1963 Melody Maker

Here's another vintage rock warrior from the collection of Kelly Peterson. This 63 melody maker is one of Kelly's oldest axes, & it's got the necessary mojo for ripping out old Thin Lizzy dueling melodies; thanks to the popular mods that now give it the updated sustain & intonation for rich lustrous soloing. It's truly a great guitar to fart around with, & the K-Man isn't looking to give it up soon. Why would he? You just don't see these for sale very often. Thanks for sharing Kelly! Here's some cool footage of K-Train jamming on some old Robin Trower that I found on YouTube.

Green Machine

I picked up this Dean Custom Zone in nuclear green yesterday at Mister Mark's Music in Anoka. It'll really turn heads at the Rock it Science shows this season. This keen clean green Dean is a lean mean teen rock machine that made the scene in a St Patty's latrine. Know what I mean, Gene? The matching green finish on the maple fret board is what really sets it off & makes this axe scream rock & roll. I'll give this toxic waste dump to the girls to use. Come check out a show soon, & maybe see this guitar up close.

Bedell

I caught this guy performing a show with Jana Anderson last weekend, & then ran into him again on Monday at Mr Marks Music in Anoka. Check out this rare old Bedell acoustic, modified & converted to electric for Sam Kuusisto of the Sam Kuusisto Band. This is one beautiful guitar up close, & you've got to see it to believe it. Thanks for the photo, Sam. Rock on.

Bikini Contest RADIO

Friday night's colorful Brat Pack RADIO show at Povlizki's was a spectacle to behold. The band was rockin, even though they got second billing to the Bikini Contest. Veteran twin cities bassist Craig Holets was down right tight, laying down & making it look easy. He used a killer Yamaha 4 string for the show, & it sounded snappy & crisp like it should. Check the Brat Pack Radio schedule for future dates. Nice talking with you, Craig. Rock on.