Wham !

George Michael in the house? Hardly... The Rock it Science show typically features several costumed impersonations through out the evening. Raven is pictured here dressed as the troubled WHAM singer to perform her rendition of "Faith". She's holding a very cool full scale 335 style semi-hollow Aria Pro with cream binding & factory trem bridge. It's pretty authentic looking for the bit. It's also a great playing axe & was really economically priced as well. Tune back in soon for pics of the pink strat she uses in the Chrissie Hynde featured bit. It's always a great show when Raven Hits the stage along with the whole Rock it Science crew.

What's New?

Perhaps Gibson’s most unexpected release at NAMM 2012 is the new Les Paul Junior Special with; yes that’s right, B-Bender. Turning a guitar infamous for its rock ‘n’ roll contributions and making it a little bit country, we can safely say we didn’t see this coming! However it could prove a quite promising concept and has already got people talking about it.

The junior has been played by names such as John Lennon, Johnny Thunders and Bob Marley so judging by its impressive credentials there is no compromise in sound for its size. The new Les Paul Special has a second pickup but keeps its pared-back ethic. So clearly adding a B-Bender was a bold and surprising move; and to those of you unsure of what it is, basically it is a device, usually a spring-loaded strap-button, that is used to bend the ‘B’ string via a lever mechanism within the guitar. Therefore when the guitar is angle towards the floor the button moves and bends the guitar to a full semitone. The effect is very similar to a lap-steel hence its popularity with country music. This feature can also be change to the ‘G’ string so a fair bit of experimentation can be done with this guitar.

The thing I like about the Gibson Les Paul Junior Special is it takes two aspects from very different styles of music and combines them in one instrument. With its versatile p90 pickups it can be used for both genres of music and it is capable of really unique things and will appeal to fans of both types. The guitar is expected to be on sale in summer 2012 so if you’re interested check out this site for more information or sign up to the newsletter and be kept posted.

Squishy Cake

Happy Birthday to me. This isn't my first guitar cake, but I still remember my first guitar cake 30 years ago. It's the kind of memory that lives on for a lifetime. Already I can't wait for another guitar cake on my next birthday. I'll say it again:
"Happy Birthday to Me".
Come & rock with me Saturday at the Blue Fox in Arden Hills. It's gonna be a great show with the whole Rock it Science crew. See you there.

Doom

One of a kind bass made by Doomedelic Guitars in Coon Rapids. This ultra unique axe is from the Scott Montgomery collection. He's sent more pictures of his customs, & I'll be posting them in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. In the mean time you can check out many of his other axes by visiting his shop Rocks n Roll Emporium in Crosby MN when you get a chance.

Orchids o' Warwick

This ultra cool Warwick Thumb NT is ergonomically adapted to the human body for maximum comfort. Crafted from selected bubinga, pommele, ovangkol, & tigerstripe ebony, you'd be hard pressed to find a nicer bass on stage in this town. Rob Awe of local group "Steel Orchid" digs this 26 fret, on-board eq, neck-through tone monger. He's been rocking this axe for six years! Check it out live in action. Hit the official Steel Orchid website for future scheduled Minneapolis appearances.

R.I P. Paul Manske

This post tributes & marks the passing of St. Paul's Paul Manske of Music Man Productions. His exit from the twin cities music scene ends a 40 year career promoting & contributing to the twin cities local music scene. Paul was was most famous for his work in the band Raggs, & also formed the Boogiemen & Hillbilly Voodoo Dolls. I'll always remember Paul as a Fender man, but this most recent pic from a gig at Neumanns bar shows Paul playing a classic Danelectro Bass. R.I.P. Paul. Your contribution to Minneapolis music was great. You will be missed. Click here for the full story in the Trib.