One Big Bass - CONK

That's one big bass. If this had any more strings it'd be a piano.
I caught Jonathan Thomas doing a R&B show at the Shorewood lounge on Friday December 2nd with Ronn Easton. His bass really stands out; it's fairly unique so I snapped a pic. I had some other clubs to hit so I didn't get a chance to talk with him & ask him about his axe. You can use the comment section below to help correctly identify this hip seven string bass guitar. Jonathan plays around town with several different acts, so check his website to find out where he's laying it down.

Rock with me Friday & Saturday this weekend at St Croix Casino in Turtle Lake for our next big show on new years eve. We'll be dropping hundreds of balloons from the sky at midnight, with THOUSANDS of DOLLARS tucked inside to make this the greatest party ever. Hope to see you at the show to check what cool guitars we're using. Frosty says he'll be playing his '66 Gibson Firebird for a set, so come & party with us!

Stocking Stuffer

This guitar spatula is a great stocking stuffer for the musical chef in your family. Make a guitar player smile at breakfast time. Get it at Amazon.com. The gift that keeps giving.

Blaine Busch Whacker

Here's the latest addition to the Tom Busch collection. 2011 Gibson Les Paul. I bet you've never seen a Custom that looks like this before. Still waiting for more info on this new axe form Tom, but in the meantime we can all enjoy the pic that he's submitted. You can always click on the pictures in this website to enlarge them.

Naughty or Nice

With only one week 'til Christmas it's time to start working on getting on Santa's nice list. Who wouldn't love to wake up on Christmas morning to find this 1966 Fender Stratocaster waiting under the tree. You can always wish, but Karl Swartz of St Paul won't be giving up this vintage guitar anytime soon. He's owned it for thirty years, & you'd be lucky to see this axe on his current tour with his band "Free Fallin". Check the Free Fallin TOUR link to catch one of their upcoming shows. Want to learn to play like Karl? You can sign up for lessons at the Music Connection in Forest Lake. Happy Holidays.

In Tune in Braham

Custom Davison shark fin V with classic coffin case. Owner Jake King of Braham MN. Jake runs a music store out of his house that resembles a small Music-Go Round. Bring your trade in & do some swapping if your in the neighborhood. Here's the official In Tune Music website, & here they are on on YouTube.

...Rock with me tonight at the Dog House in Maplewood.

The Schaefer's

Need Jazz? Nothing beats Fender for the style that launched a thousand artists. This pearloid Mexi Bass owned is by freelance bassist Chris Schaefer of Brooklyn Park. }:-D-
Chris says it's got great tone, playability & comfort; & for the little bit of dough he had to shell out at Music Go Round it simply can't be beat. You can tell it makes a nice addittion to the family.

Epiphone Les Paul Ultra III

I stopped at Best Buy in Roseville on Saturday to find this futuristic LP lingering on a hook with the other guitars, but after spotting the USB port I almost expected some clerk to mistakenly stock it with the printers or routers. Note the tuner mounted atop the pick up ring. Yes, handy indeed. Other unique feature is NanoMag acoustic pick up mounted at the base of the neck. Check out this impressive demo on YouTube.

OK Corral in the UK

Wow. Let's all give kudos to Marvin Cairnes of UK for undertaking the immense task of reconstructing the famous 1970's Colt guitar from nothing more than a few parts rolling around in the remnants of his father's shop. This was no easy task, as many new parts had to be custom cast & made at a local foundry in order to properly complete this gem this year & pay homage to the original designer (his father), Jim Cairnes. Really a fine job, Marvin. Thanks for taking the time to share the picture of Colt #3. I'll post a picture of Joe Walsh's #1 when I am lucky enough to receive it. You can see a little bit of #2 in this rarely seen YouTube footage by clicking HERE. Enjoy.

BLINK 182

Daphne blue Mark Hoppus signatue Fender precision bass, featuring the unique combination of the offset Jazz style body with the traditional P style split pick ups. Note the single Volume knob (no tone control). This bass owned by the incomparable Danny Grossnickle, caught playing the low tones for the long time local entertainers, Monarch Band while doing a outdoor gig at St Tim's Summerfest in September. You can catch the next Monarch show on December 30&31 at the Champlin Legion, 8:30-12:30 pm. You may have seen Danny perform with other cool shows around town like the Rhythm Kings, Shaw-Allen-Shaw, or Beautiful Noise.

Rock with me this Saturday Dec 10th at the Main Street bar in Hopkins.

Smokin' Hot Guitar

STOLEN GUITAR ALERT
Carl Bailey lost his two tone 80's Charvel this past weekend during a break in at his home while he was away at a gig. It's has a unique burgundy & blueburst finish, with a bound neck, shark tooth inlay, & Floyd Rose tremolo, as pictured. In the mean time you can probably catch him playing his Flying V, as seen in this video on YouTube with his band Lady Luck. Spread the word about this stolen guitar & give a shout back if you have any info that will assist in the recovery.

Horse Feathers

Here's a shot taken last Friday on the new stage at Povlitzki's in Spring Lake Park. Darren Hensel from the reincarnated Iron Horse is showing off his two color sunburst Fender Stratocaster, a nice vintage reissue with pearloid pickguard. Check the Iron Horse band schedule to find where you can hear Darren jam & ask him about his stage axes.

Where's Waldo

1982 Gibson "The Paul" with traditional natural finish on walnut body, camouflaged against same guitar wallpaper. I guess this should really be called Where's Pauldo unless it gets painted with red & white stripes.}:-D- This is a great playing ebony board, neck-thru beauty with jumbo frets & Grover tuners. There's no maple cap here from which to carve the arch top. Gibson also chose not to include a pick guard to keep the cost down. Owner Dave Sanborn used this guitar for years in the twin cities rock metal band Wyzdom. These days you'll find his banjo skills are equally as impressive as his Deep Purple solos were back in the 80's. I'll post an update to the next hoedown.

Rock with me tonight (Saturday Dec 3rd) at the Blue Fox in Arden Hills.

Pull Your Pistol

Freak of the Week
This six stringer is a six shooter. Colt Peacemaker, designed by Jim Cairnes. This English made Star guitar has Cairnes pickups, & ebony fretboard. The trigger is the volume, & the hammer selects the pickups. The cartridge ejector rod is a push/pull tone control. Currently on display at the American Guitar Museum in New York.

America the Beautiful

1996 USA Fender Special Edition Buck Owens edition Fender Telecaster. This is really one of the most beautiful Teles that I've ever seen, & you can guess that it plays like a dream. Routed out for a 3rd pickup by Brad Paisley’s guy at Cook Guitars in West Virginia. Originally had gold hardware & gold pickguard, now changed to nickel & pearl. Pick ups have been upgraded to Joe Bardens along with a 5 way switch & 2-way toggle. B-Bender installed by Brad’s bender guy, Charlie McVay in Pennsylvania. Also has locking tuners and a custom tone/volumes knobs with red M.O.P.
      This axe isn't just for show. Owner Mark Heurkins of Big Lake plays it everyday & says this guitar will have to be pried out of his cold dead hands! Mark is pickin & a grinnin with this fine machine at local clubs around town with his band Blue Canyon. Catch their next show Sunday, December 4th, 4:00 pm at Neumann's Bar in North St Paul. Follow them on facebook HERE.

Rock with me tonight at Buster's in Owatonna.

Just Like Living in Paradise

Paradise guitars USA - Jason Becker - Siganture model. Owner Haanz Vakker of Spring Lake Park says that playability was a key factor when this one was on the drawing board. It's great for recording, as the ultra sustaneous pick ups are very quiet between passages. Check out the YouTube video of Haanz ripping it up on this axe. Click Here for the schedule of where to see Haanz shredding this guitar live with his band JoyRide,

Tonight: Pov's in Andover

Electric Mandobird VIII

Our show at the St Croix casino yesterday allowed me the opportunity once again to view a portion of the collection of Steve Lindstrom from Amery, WI. Here's his Epiphone Electric Mandobird VIII (8 String Mandolin in vintage sunburst finish). It's not every day that you run across these, so it's nice when someone generously shares their odd instrument. I snapped a few pics of some of his other axes, & I'll post them at a later time. Here's looking forward to featuring more specimens from Steve's collection & getting additional pics when we return to Turtle Lake for our next big show on new years eve. We'll be dropping hundreds of balloons from the sky at midnight, with THOUSANDS of DOLLARS tucked inside to make this the greatest party ever. Hope to see you at the show to check what cool guitars we're using.

Flock of T-Birds

I found a rather impressive display of Epiphone Thunderbirds hanging around a local used music shop last week & thought I'd share it. Music go Round in Roseville had these Ultra cool Nikki Sixx Blackbirds with traditional goth theme & maltese cross inlay. What's really unique about these is the absence of volume & tone pots; just one over sized toggle switch! Need more info of these? Call the store: 651 487-5600. Pick up one of these basses & It'll be your picture posted here next time.

Tonight: St Croix casino in Turtle Lake, WI.

Goldilocks

Shiny, sparkling, & downright glitzy. Original finish 1999 Epiphone Sorrento, owned, operated, & maintained by George Paulos of Little Canada. As always, a few mods were necessary to get this up to pro standards; note the new Gibson Nashville tune-0-matic bridge. George has installed an upgrade of new cts pots, & of course he puts jumbo frets on everything he plays. George was the luthier at Torp's Music for ten years, so getting the mods right the first time was quick, easy & painless. George can currently be seen using this axe frequently around town with his steady gig Rythm Engine, a five piece rock, soul, & pop combo complete with keys & sax. Click HERE for a list of their current scheduled performance dates

Hit Me With Your Best Shot.

Dan Hansen from the Whatnots offered up a great performance last weekend at the St Croix casino showroom in Turtle Lake WI. The white stratocater that he used was quipped with a PRS dragon humbucker & Floyd Rose trem, but he also featured his new reliced 59 reissue Gibson Les Paul deluxe for a few tunes. They're both fine axes & look great on stage. Erin was in fine form also, & was kind enough to sing me a little Pat Benetar. }:-D- Here's their schedule for the next time you want to go rock for a while.

My Hero

These fine high quality plastic examples are true vogue specimens of the new millennium. Minneapolis power house drummer Eric Althaus proudly displays his red SG Guitar Hero controller which he enjoys using for the many difficult passages in tunes by RUSH. The black Fender strat Rock Band model is more appropriate for noodling along with Dick Dale's Miserlou. Wen he's not busy engaging in fierce family battles with guitar hero at home Eric stays busy performing on drums with twin cities based feature show JoyRide. Be sure to catch a show at any one of various local night clubs found on their tour schedule. Want to know even more about Eric? Click here to learn about Equinox.

Attack of the Spectors

Here's John Lockner of Maple Grove playing a 1986 Spector NS-2. It's a nice sounding & smooth playing bass that's never let him down on stage. This is one of five Spectors that he uses regularly to cover the low grooves. John's had a busy gig schedule, as he's been working with GEMINI for years. That keeps him active when he's not busy selling great gear at American Guitar & Band during the week. His past rock trysts include a long history of performances with great local acts Barilla, Dungeon, & Jaded. John's got a lot more cool axes to share, so check back on this site soon for more vintage mojo from a true dedicated rocker.

Battlescar Gallactica

This high mileage heavy metal Stratocaster is owned & built by Kelly Peterson from Blaine. Great beginnings for this one, starting life as a 1983 alder body reissue of a 1957. New features now include tone zone in the bridge position, dimarzio paf pro in neck position, & stacked coil razor from AllParts in the mid position. Fender logo on Jackson replacement neck with ebony board, Kahler locking nut &super jumbo frets attached to body now routed out for Floyd Rose. This battle worn weapon has earned it's stripes. Kelly has always stayed busy working with many past acts such as Rocking Horse, Regime, Badditude, Killawatts (the list goes on & on). Kelly is as talented & reliable as they come in this business. We got our music degrees together back in the 80's, so you know he's got it down right tight! He's one heck of a luthier as well. Some of Kelly's current projects are K-Train doing classic rock & Custard Pie, a cool Zep tribute act.
You can always hit the official KmanRocks.com website to find out where to rock with the Kman. He might even let you sit in, or at least let you knock over one of his guitars. }:-D-
Stay tuned for future posts featuring more of Kelly's other hip battle axes.

World's Largest Pedal Board

Freak of the Week
I'd get so lost using this set-up. Maybe there's an ap you can get for iPhone (like google earth) to help navigate this thing. We all dreamed of effects arsenals like this when we were teens, but now most of us dream of burning the mortgage. You've got to admit that it'd still be fun to start twanging & stomping all over these pedals. Use the comment section below to try & correctly identify as many of these classic pedals as you can. You can click on the picture to enlarge the photo. I'll honor the winner of this contest with my personal congratulations on their misspent youth.

Twisted Sister

I was lucky enough to have Gloria Gunnick of White Bear Lake think of me yesterday when it was finally time to sell her '81 Guild X-80 with factory mounted Kahler trem. She's taken good care of this, & it's still in amazing condition after 30 years here in the cities. She's rocked with several acts over the years, including the Glo Girls & Phat Pearl, so you might remember her from some of the classic rock party rooms of the era, like Muldoons, Monte's, or the old Iron Horse. Here's some classic footage of her in action I found on YouTube. Thanks for years of great entertainment, Glo. Can't wait to see what's next.
...Tonight: McKracken's in Burnsville.

1968 Gibson Dove

This classic is owned by Dan Osberg of Cottage Grove. Dan inherited this gem from his father who played a lot of shows in South Minneapolis back in the day. Note the addition of a custom clear plexi pick guard on the top. This axe has played a lot of polka & country before Dan ever got rocking on it. While this guitar has a lot of monetary value, nothing can compare to the sentimental value that Dan places on this classic honky tonk machine. I've played many shows with Dan this year. He a solid reliable player, & a dedicated rocker who's most noted for his prior work with the twin cities based Metallica tribute show "One".

Erin-Caster

This is an exact replica of an 82 "big peghead" Fender Stratocaster built for Willie McManus by Erin Randolph of South Minneapolis. Erin is usually busy doing repairs, as he is the authorized repair luthier for Encore Music. Erin still finds time to build a couple guitars every year. You you can contact him at lexluthier72@yahoo.com, or by phone at 612 987-0825. Click HERE to see Willie rocking this axe on YouTube. Catch Willie's next show on Saturday November 19th at the Fabulous Driftwood Char Bar. with his cool band "The She Shes"

Free Fallin'

Brian Evans can be seen all across the country playing this one of a kind axe by Phantom Guitars out of Oregon. This rare 12 string was custom made to specs set by Karl Swartz for Mark Larsen, & is one of the many authentic axes used in the Minneapolis based Tom Petty tribute show "Free Fallin'". Click HERE for a link to where you can see this guitar in action.
For more information contact: Phantom Guitarworks 80353 Quincy Mayger Rd Clatskanie, Oregon 97016 USA (503) 728-4825 Tel

1967 Voxmobile

Freak of the Week
Even though the owners of this Barris custom currently reside in Denver, I just had to upload this because of the obvious tie in with the previous post below. So here it is - the one and only VOXMOBILE! In 1967, VIP's from Vox corporation approached George Barris to build a Voxmobile guitar car. George had just finished the Bat mobile, & would soon be making the Monkey mobile. The idea was to fabricate a custom roadster that would function both as a car and as a mobile amplifier, designed to be used for promotional purposes. Their dreams came true with Vox mobile, a vehicle with a Vox guitar silhouette that served as a functioning amp that could support up to 32 guitars, and also featured a working Vox Super Continental organ in the rear deck. You can learn more from the Barris Customs page.
Here are more cool Vox mobile links:
http://www.thevoxmobile.com/index.php/what-is-the-voxmobile/6
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=351329&showall=1
http://www.pedaltothemetal.com/index.php/news_story/1967_george_barris_quotthe_voxmobilequot_vox.html

Beware the Encore Phantom

Here's the five sided Japanese copy of the ultra British Vox Phantom, distibuted by Tiesco Del Rey. A rare appearance of model EV-2T, circa 1967 available through Encore Music at 2407 Lyndale ave S. Chad was kind enough to let me into the shop to snap a few pics this week during the extensive remodeling process at Encore. With the plethora of vintage guitars on hand it was very difficult to select only one to feature. Give him a call at 612 871-1775 for more info on this pizza paddle, or to get an update what else he's got available this week.

God Save the Queen

Beautiful 2008 Red Special from Brian May Guitars (very similar to the original Burns) as used by Steve Pritchard of Rogers, MN in the great Queen tribute "Crown Jewels". Steve picked up this axe specifically for this cool show which I attended at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis on June 14th 2011. The band is now on temporary hiatus while searching for a new keyboardist for this project. Steve is also currently working with the Audio Marauders this fall. Click HERE to check their twin cities schedule. Maybe you'll get lucky, as Stevie just might be be swinging this axe for a few tunes.

Update: Just caught Mark from the Whatnots playing this same fine axe in the event center at St. Croix casino on 11/11/2011.

Diver Down - B2A

Here's the pic that I've been promising of the first Steinberger licensed bass that I purchased back in '84 from Crazy Jim's Anoka Music Center, (now Mr. Mark's Music) which I first referenced in the Wednesday, July 13, 2011 post "Small Package, Big Sound". The diving flag paint scheme is pretty unique, but in line with the styles of the day. Distributed by Hohner & tagged as B2A (Bass, 2 pick-up, Active electronics) this was really bargain priced for the day ($399). If anyone remembers Rod House from the band PANIC, tell him I'd like to buy this one back to use in my current touring bass line-up. This axe photographs very nicely & would work well in our current setting.
My next in town show is this Saturday, November 5th at Main street in Hopkins. Swing in for a cocktail if you're in the neighborhood. Next up after that is Saturday November 12th at McCracken's in Burnsville where I'll be playing the white Steinberger pictured up at the top of this page.

1966 Ibanez Dega

Guitar of the Week
Japanese export from 1966, Ibanez Dega, catalog #452. You'll rarely see one of these in Minneapolis, but there have been sitings reported. It's the mystery of the outcome of the hunt that makes us continually seek out gems like this. Now you tell me, who wouldn't pick this up at a local garage sale if you saw one. I don't care who you are; certain guitars are so alluring that we become helpless as if there were a beautiful naked woman standing in front of us. We open our wallets & walk away smiling with our prize.

ALERT - Stolen Guitars

Four guitars stolen during a break in at Encore Music 2407 Lyndale Ave S Minneapolis on Sunday night this week.
1959 Gibson es-125 cherryburst SN#20326
1974 Gretsch country club
Charvel fusion black shredder guitar SN#326948
Kramer striker single duncan pickup
First two are very similar to photo. Please forward any info to the owner Chad Speck & aid in the recovery of these axes.
Encore Music 612-871-1775

Vote for Minnesota's Best Bass Player

You've worked the circuit, you've seen the players, you've grooved on the tone & the licks. You know who's a dedicated entertainer & who's a unreliable ego-ed out flake. Now's your chance to pay homage to the guys that have layed down the coolest combination of low notes so there was a foundation to build on. Click HERE to vote for the best bass player in Minnesota & show that you actually paid attention over the years. When you're done with that you can vote for MN's best guitarist on the same site.
MusicMates.com-Musician's Megabase.
Salute!
http://www.musicmates.com/vote-best-minnesota-bass-player.php
The pic above is a nice clean 74 Fender Precision American work horse. My black '71 P looks darn near identical to this one. Check back for photos.

Washburn G-10V

These old Washburns from the 80's are some of the most functionally useful guitars out there for the money. It seems that everyone out there who has one of these got it for under $200 bucks. That's a steal for a quality US or JAP made vintage dive bombiming metal machine. Note the locking nut & the three on/ off switches for the pick ups! The hockey stick headstock would be enough to reel me in. Check out the value ratings on Harmony Central to learn more about why these are so loved. I've got my eye on a Washburn A-10 right now that is just oozing the MTV vibe. Frosty Atkinson is the proud new owner of this red relic, & you can join his fan club here. Someday I'll post a picture of his '65 Gibson Firebird. Here's his band's website: lot80s.com. Catch Frosty's next big show at Pickle Park on Friday October 28. This is a great concert venue with a wonderful nightclub atmosphere. Make sure you check out the giant 32 foot Gibson guitar hanging over the bar while you're there.

Japan Air Strike EX-1

When Fender JAPAN released their new line of active guitars in the eighties it didn't quite have the same impact as Hiroshima, mostly due to some of the heaviest competition the market has ever seen from other exporting manufacturers. Nonetheless, they produced some fine unique axes like like this pristine example. John Ryan's 1989 Fender Heartfield EX-1 finished in Blue-Burst. This bolt on beauty came with a recessed mount licensed Floyd Rose trem, active rail pick ups, which are very hot and loud! It also has some cool electronics like a boost switch, coil splitter, and a sweep control. You might be able to catch this axe out at a show with John's band Stealin the Covers. Check out their facebook page to find a list of their scheduled performances.

1979 Gibson SG Exclusive

Great color combination on this Gibson from the late seventies. Finished off nicely with cream pick guard, block inlays, brass nut, fully bound neck & Grover tuners, this was one of the finest playing guitars I've experienced. With the jumbo frets & ultra low action, this axe practically played itself (like butter). It also featured factory pick-up coil tap controlled by a rotary "Tap" knob. Even the Dead Milkmen sound good using this axe in the video for "Punk Rock Girl". This was my third SG (25 years ago), & was the best one by far to date at that time. Only 478 of this model manufactured (one year only, 1979), & there were a couple available on the web recently. I'll file this in the "sold way too cheap" file along with my 1962 Fender Jazz. Oops!

Gene's Fine 59's

Looks like it was a catalog Christmas for some lucky kid back in the day. Who remembers looking at the guitars in the Wards & Sears catalogs as kids in their youth, & picking out your favorites for your wish list? Dreams can come true, as proven by Gene's fine '59's. Side by side, here are the fierce competitors; Airline & Silvertone. Money was scarce in 1959. If one of these cost 25 cents more than the other, odds were pretty good it would outsell it's counterpart nearly two-fold. This pic submitted courtesy of the Gene Olson collection. We'd all be proud to display these early classics. Gene was one of the first sound techs that I worked with back in the late seventies, it's always a treat to see his old gear.

Coyote - Beep Beep

HONDO Coyote
Speaking of great duos, You may remember this rare model attacking in pairs as twin cities metal power pop band Obsession hit the stage in the 80's. When Jeff Loven & Brynn Arens came out with these dogs barking after our set back in '83, I was immediately a howling fan. These guitars are really hard to find now, & I was glad to see that Brynn still has these canines, as seen in the August 2011 reunion show at the Cabooze in Minneapolis. Long live Rock. You can catch Jeff doing his one man show in town most any night here in the cities. Click HERE for the schedule.

Hydra Power

On the left: Tom Schulz collection, Minneapolis MN. This BC Rich is a USA model. 22fret, Ibanez Gotoh Floyd bridge, Grover Tuners, Dimarzio pickup. You probably won't ever see another like it, but one never knows. On the right: EVH collection, Pasadena CA. The original early Charvel Hydra.

Tom & I rocked the twin cities stages together in the nineties, & he's a world class talent. Known for his work in the Blondes, Maniac, Tony Kamona, Raven Wolfe, & the Mixx, Tom is a very sought after performer. As for Eddie, well, Michael Anthony got the gig in instead of me back in 73, cuz his mom knew Eddie's mom; but you've all heard that story before... }:-D-

Dynamic Duo

These early Charvel Hydra guitars are just about as cool as the guys that played them. Enter Johnnie Donaldson & Dugan McNeil from famed midwestern regional act Chameleon. The first time that I got my hands on these axes was back in '83 at the old Palms Ballroom in Renville with my band WYZDOM while sharing the stage with this legendary act. So many pick ups & knobs on these rock machines; it looked like you were flying the star ship Enterprise. The six string non-reverse had been repainted black as it's shown in the picture. The reverse 4 string is a little harder to come by, as I believe it to be a custom from the Knut. If you know where either of these two axes may have ended up drop me a line.

1963 Epi Crestwood

Freak of the Week
Epiphone made some great quality guitars in the sixties, including this neck-thru beauty. Both style & playability were in check during this era, & there's nary a player out there who wouldn't appreciate this double cutaway gem. Looks a bit like an SG, & the stock custom Bigsby style wrap around tremolo is beautiful. How about that nicely finished clear plexi pick guard. I wish these were as easy to find as they were in the 70's. Got a cool axe like this? Send me a pic.

1995 Ernie Ball EVH

Povlitzki's was the host to another of my long standing favorite north-side bands September 9th. Brandon Przezdziecki was laying it down with his cool Music Man for Inside Out. These small body EVH's have sustain for days, & the headstock design can't be beat. It's always a real treat to sit in with IOB. Click here for the Band's schedule.

Purple Rein

We may never know exactly what the hell this is. Rumor has it that it's called an Auerswald Model C & it's manufactured right here in mini apples. We can be certain it's one of the most uncomfortable axes used in a live performance. Looks like they took a 80's Roland synth axe, tuned it upside down, gave it even more sharp edges, & added some really ugly gold hardware. This guitar helped the artist formerly known as Prince redefine the glam movement. Would be cool to spot him around Minneapolis once in a while.
Click HERE to see the purple one's guitar collection.

All day String Change

Freak of the Week
This guitar can make anyone a rock star. You'll need a strong back to show it off though. Leave the polishing & string changing to the road crew.
Catch Raven & Vixxen doing their cool impersonations of all the hip chick acts from the famed MTV era at these upcoming shows:
Prime Time, Burnsville Friday Sept. 23
Main Street, Hopkins Saturdat Sept. 24
Jimmy's Octoberfest, Vadnais Heights Friday, October 7
Neisen's, Savage Saturday, October 8
Find the full schedule under the TOUR link at Risrox.com. Find out more about me HERE.

1954 Fender Re issue - JAPAN

I had the good fortune of picking this fine Stratocaster yesterday right here in the hood. Wow, that's the second Jap strat that I procured locally in one week. This is a 1954 Fender Reissue made in Japan 94/95. Really not a lot of these to be found. Beautifully crafted with a soft V profile neck. Looks completely authentic, except for the absence of 50+ years of abuse & play wear you'd expect. More pics & info of this good luck charm can be found by clicking HERE. To quote the great philosopher JETT, I must iterate "I love rock & roll". This one may be for sale soon. You can contact me with offers.

I'm going to Jackson

1985 JACKSON Custom Soloist. I found this fairly rare smooth playing axe to be in amazing original condition. Owned, gigged & cared for by John Richardson, currently performing with MONARCH around the northern suburbs. He's been with this show for 15 years, so he delivers a real smooth performance. I caught their show this past Sunday filling in for IOB. John is also known for his past work with CROW & DICK TRACEY. You can catch John's next show:
September 16&17 - CHAMPLIN LEGION - Champlin, MN
September 24 ZIMMERMAN LEGION Zimmerman, MN
December 30&31 - CHAMPLIN LEGION - Champlin, MN

Music Man - S T I N G R A Y

Jim Brophy is shown here with his tri-color sunburst four banger. These low end tone monsters have some of the best natural sound out there, & the playability is nothing to laugh at. As usual Leo got it right when developing these classic timeless functional works of art. Jim had three of these beautiful Music Mans lined up at the big Pickle Park show last Saturday night. Bigger is always better in the glam world of rock & roll. Click HERE to see what's new with Jim's cool band JoyRide.

Chop - Chop

This pic is from last August at jackpot Junction in Morton, but I'm doing another show with this guy tonight at Stifftungfest in Norwood/ Young America. Bobby Jensen is seen here with his Cort GS-Axe-2 Gene Simmons limited edition Signature KISS bass. He says "it's the coolest bass you'll never hear". Very cool bass recreation. Bobby is one of the greatest Minnesota entertainers that I've met. Click here for a Link to the official site of his band Hairball.

Can you correctly identify this Mystery Axe?

Freak of the Week
Comment on this post, or send me a message if you think that you can correctly identify this fine axe.


Here's some cool links to vintage guitars for the enthusiast:
http://www.vintageguitar.com/
http://www.solidbodyguitar.com/
http://www.gruhn.com/
http://vintagecityguitars.com/
http://www.elderly.com/
http://www.vintageguitars.net/
Let me know if you find any of these sites particularly cool to browse.