Honestly, I thought it would come earlier than it has, perhaps even a year or more ago. But there is no reason to delay it further… now is the time… so here goes….

I receive about a dozen emails a week from GuitarBUZZ readers. Most are very complimentary and thank me for posting a story or review that they had not read anywhere else.

But in the course of an average week, I can expect one of them to read something like this:

“Hey GuitarDaddy, I really enjoy following your blog but I have to ask: “Why do you write so much about Joe Bonamassa”? I mean, the guy’s good, but he’s just a blues player!”
Sincerely,
Regular Reader.

Well, this post is my answer to that question.

Dear RR,

Thanks for your email. I truly appreciate it. I often wonder if anyone reads this crazy passion of mine. The fact is, even if nobody read it at all, I’d still do it!

To accurately answer your question, I need to share something with you.

I need to take you back to the very first post on TheGuitarBuzz.com. I wrote it on December 31, 2008, a little over 3 years ago.

It was New Year’s Eve and after 3 months of research, planning and teaching myself how to use WordPress, I was launching TheGuitarBuzz blog with the first post. It marked the end of the 3 month “development period” that began just a few days after attending my first Joe Bonamassa concert… and here is my ticket to prove I was there:

My first Joe Bonamassa concert was the inspiration for "TheGuitarBuzz.com"

The concert was 2 hours away and it was well after 1:00am when I finally got back home. But even after a 10 hour work day, a 4 hour round-trip drive between Phoenix-Flagstaff and a 2+hour concert, I wanted to play my guitar as soon as I walked in the door.

Why did I want to play my guitar when I should have collapsed into bed? It’s simple. I left that concert inspired because that night, I found my GUITAR HERO!

The truth is, Joe Bonamassa inspires me to play and he also inspired me to create this blog.

I fell in love with the guitar all over again that night and when I finally did lay down in bed, the inspiration to create TheGuitarBuzz came to me. I did not sleep much…for several days.

So I pay tribute to that inspiration by following his career and posting (often) about his guitar playing. My “tribute posts” started with the very first blog post. I titled it: “Here’s To The Guitar Hero!“.  Allow me to re-post a few portions of the “Genesis Post” on TheGuitarBuzz.com:

…[I'm not talking about] the “video game” Guitar Hero… but the REAL Guitar Heroes.  You know… the guys like Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Larry Carlton, Brian May, Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, Sonny Landreth, Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Ronnie Earl, Eric Johnson, Jeff Golub, Norman Brown, Robben Ford, Carlos Santata, Robert Cray and so many other six-stringer’s that authored licks more memorable than the songs they’re a part of…

Guitar Heroes have tones you can identify from the first note you hear.  From jazz to classical and from punkers to shredders, these are the guys that rock my world, your world and the world of countless other guitar lovers everywhere. When I listen to my Hero’s play, I am reminded why I play.

There is no other instrument like the guitar. In the hands of a new player, it represents the ability to be expressive, inventive and artistic.  In the hands of an accomplished player, the guitar is the centerpiece of musical creation…

Is the Guitar Hero a dying breed?  I don’t think so.  There are plenty of young guns out there like Derek Trucks, Guthrie Govan and Joe Bonamassa that inspire the next generation to keep the flames alive and burning.  They motivate us to keep practicing, keep learning and keep playing…

Oh by the way, in case you think Joe Bonamassa is the only guitar player I listen to…get this: I have over 12,000 songs on my iPod. Only 169 tracks are by Joe Bonamassa (yes, that’s his entire library of recorded songs plus a few rips from YouTube!)… but Joe is still my GUITAR HERO!

I think he’s a Guitar Hero to a lot of other players as well.

In the past few weeks, his latest album “Dust Bowl” was nominated for “Best Rock Blues Album” and the album “Don’t Explain”, a compilation album Joe did with Beth Hart was nominated for “Best Contemporary Blues Album”.

Classic Rock Magazine - Joe Bonamassa Cover

But don’t think that Joe Bonamassa is “just a blues player”. No RR, not anymore…not at all.

It has taken a while for the media to catch up but finally, this month, Joe Bonamassa was plastered on the cover of “Classic Rock Magazine”!

What’s that title again? “Classic Rock”!

Any why not? Alongside his brilliant solo career, Joe is a founding member of Black Country Communion, the band who has released 2 scorching rock albums, a live DVD and was named “Breakthrough Act of the Year” at the most recent Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards.

Listen RR, I will admit that Joe gets a lot of press on TheGuitarBuzz. Consider me guilty as charged. But a quick glance at my Tag Cloud will reveal the dozens of players and bands who have been referenced in the over 400+ blog posts that have followed that New Year’s Eve 2008 launch.

So where to from here? Well, rather than post yet another Joe Bonamassa post later this week, I will merge it into this one. That way the overall count won’t be as skewed! My plan was to post this video later in the week, but after further thought I believe it fits perfectly right here as the video begins with Joe and his personal reflection on how his career got to where it is today.

The video is a first-class production from Jim Dunlop, introducing Joe’s “Signature Pedals” — the Cry Baby and the Fuzz Face.

“Dunlop is very proud to present two signature pedals that were developed in collaboration with Joe Bonamassa, an artist who is famed for not only being one of the most talented guitarists working today but who also owns one of the most discerning ears when it comes to guitar tone and gear. Joe talks to us about the passion and dedication he has for his craft, the story behind the creation of his signature pedals working alongside Dunlop’s product designer Jeorge Tripps, and gives an intimate solo performance where he features his use of these electronics.”

The truth is, RR, there’s a lot to write about Joe…and I doubt I will stop anytime soon.

Would you stop writing about your hero? Of course not. And neither will I.

His nickname is Reverend Willie G.

Billy is is best known as the lead guitarist for “ZZ Top”. Gibbons trademark guitars are his Gretsch “Billy-Bo” and his 1959 Gibson Les Paul known as “Pearly Gates”, although it is common to see Billy step on stage with something quite exotic.

He is also known for his custom cars and love for Mexican cuisine. It is widely known that Billy uses a Mexican Peso coin as a guitar pick.

One of my favorite Billy Gibbons quotes is: “This place won’t be here tomorrow, so let’s tear it down tonight!”

Happy Birthday Billy!

The Undisputed Top 100 Guitar Players of All Time...

Do “Top 100″ lists really matter?

Are they measurably accurate?

Or, to look at it a different way…does it depend on who wrote the list?

Lets be honest. Would your personal list of the “Top 100 Guitar Players of All Time” be the same as mine? Of course not!  (And of course, my list would be better than your list!)

Rolling Stone Magazine recently published their list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists” and it has stirred up an emotional debate amongst readers who’s favorite player was snubbed from the list.

Joe Bonamassa (who was not on Rolling Stone’s list) published his own list…and while the majority of his forum readers agree with him, some followers chime in with even more omitted names.

A quick Google search uncovers more lists, like TruFire.com’s list of “100 Gifted Guitarists You Should Know“. Gifted guitarists?

So where do you start and who do you believe?

Unless the list is confined to truly measurable criteria like: “The Top 100 Solo-Guitar Players Ranked by Album Sales From 2001-2009″, then the author has listed who they believe are the best players — which makes the list truly subjective and based on the opinion of the writer.

Recently,the 2012 Grammy Nominees were announced.  That’s another list that has proven to be very subjective. Case in point, a certain well-known blues guitar player with 12 albums, 9 of them #1 selling, who sells out 200+ concerts worldwide year after year did not make the list.  He was not nominated. In fact, he never has been!

As for me, all I have to do is look at my iPod and sort by artist to see my personal who’s-who of guitar playing! With 12,000+ songs, I assure you every influential player in MY LIFE is there…

To say that Jimi Hendrix was a guitarist, singer and songwriter is like saying Michael Jordon was a basketball player. 

To many people, Jimi is considered to be the greatest electric guitar player in the history of rock-n-roll music… and don’t expect GuitarDaddy to dispute that!

Certainly he was one of the most important and influential musicians of his era across a wide variety of genres.

He said often that his playing style was influenced by blues artists such as B. B. King, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Albert King and Elmore James.

After his initial success playing in Europe, he achieved “rock-star” fame in the United States with his 1967 performance at the Monterey Pop Festival. He went on to headline the iconic 1969 Woodstock Festival and the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival.

Hendrix favored raw overdrive and amplifiers with high gain and treble. It was that combination that helped him fine-tune the previously undesirable technique of guitar amplifier feedback. Simple stated, Hendrix turned the undesireable into the desirable.

One of my favorite Hendrix quotes was: ““Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you’ll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you’re gonna be rewarded.”

He was rewarded, and so were we — every time we heard him play.

Stevie’s memories and his music still penetrate our spirits and will do so…forever.

I never had the chance to see Stevie play live. It’s something I will eternally regret and if not for the huge “video vault” know as YouTube would be something left only to my imagination. Once again, Thank You YouTube!

Earlier this month, three videos were posted by YouTube user: “gstarvids” that have been hidden away for years.

Sit back and watch in succession – as an observer of an SRV soundcheck. Soak in 18 minutes of musical genius.

This Video is song #1 of 3 from the sound check at the Syria Mosque in Pittsburgh, PA 1-24-86. Video Photographer Greg Savage has captured SRV doing the sound check, and these videos have never been public until now.

This Video is song #2 of 3 from the sound check at the Syria Mosque in Pittsburgh, PA 1-24-86.

This Video is song #3 of 3 from the sound check at the Syria Mosque in Pittsburgh, PA 1-24-86. The audio is the monitor mix to the camera since a board patch was not available.

She came from a seriously unconventional family long on throttling everything they can out of life. When she was six years old, Hayley’s parents refitted a 45-foot Hawaiian charter sloop and together with her two older sisters, the five took off sailing for two years down the Pacific Coast to Mexico. “It makes or breaks you as a family” says Hayley, “and it certainly set the tone for me. Family is the most important thing for me and we’ve always been really close.” On top of home schooling, everybody had chores from standing night watch to swabbing decks but there was still a lot of down time and with dad’s old Fender acoustic on board, there was a lot of music. The girls soon figured out harmonies to Beatles tunes and nursery rhymes and even on their return to Vancouver, summer sailing jaunts always meant music.

Read Haley’s full bio and hear more of her music on The Official Haley Mclean Website.

Special thanks to one of my favorite blogs, StratoBlogster, for introducing me to Haley!

In honor of Bob’s big day, I am re-publishing one of my favorite Dylan stories from a couple of years ago…

Take A Good Look At This Face…

If you were walking down the street and came face to face with Eric Clapton… would you know it was him?  Ok.. what about Bob Dylan? If you said “yes”, you have a sharper awareness of historical rock icons than many police officers!

As the story goes… Bob was taking a walk in Long Branch, New Jersey — minding his own business.  It was raining and he had a jacket with a hood on.  He came upon a house that was “For Sale” and decided to take a look in the window.

Then things got a little interesting. Actually very interesting.

It turns out that a neighbor was watching through the window and called the police to report the suspicious looking man.  The officers, both 24 years old, did not recognize the then 68 year-old Dylan.  Even after he told them his name was Bob Dylan, they still asked him to show some identification.  Poor Bob did not have anything with him.

(TIME OUT: Ever been there??)

Luckily, he was traveling on tour and the tour bus was not far away.  So the police accompanied him to the bus and Bob was able to prove who he was — avoiding an unpleasant overnight in the slammer.

I suppose at that moment Bob was humming one of his favorite songs titled: “Like a Rolling Stone”.  Remember the lyrics?

…How does it feel?  To be on your own?  To be without a home?  Like a complete unknown? Like a Rolling Stone…

That DVD has been getting a lot of play at GuitarDaddy’s house!

So I have been following Carl on Twitter and today he tweeted about a YouTube video that was posted from his BETA TV interview.

BETA TV is a nationally syndicated (146 U.S. cities) weekly music centric TV series filmed and produced in the heart of Hollywood, showcasing at least 3 acoustic artist videos from newly signed and Indie bands in episode format. BETA emphasizes educational and pop culture segments and in-house produced music videos using the best vintage analog recording gear (Telefunken, Neve, Studer, RCA, Trident, etc) combined with the modern sounds of its instrument sponsors such as Taylor Acoustic Guitar, Sabian Cymbals, Gibraltar Hardware, etc.

Here is a link to the video.

We’ve only got 12 notes that we’re dealing with, it’s the ornamentation of the style…. sonicly, you know …the sound, the trills and pull-offs and choices of notes… –Carl Verheyan

Albert King Gravesite in Memphis

Albert was known as one of the “Three Kings of the Blues Guitar”, along with B. B. King and Freddie King. He was a large man, 6′ 4″, 250 lbs, with incredibly large hands that were perfect for playing the guitar.

Like so many other blues guitar players, Albert began singing with a family gospel group at a church when he was just a young boy. He was influenced by blues musicians Blind Lemon Jefferson and Lonnie Johnson.

King was a left-handed “upside-down/backwards” guitarist meaning that while he was left-handed, he usually played right-handed guitars flipped over upside-down so the low E string was on the bottom. The electric guitar (specifically the Gibson Flying V, which he named “Lucy”) was his signature instrument. In later years he played a custom-made Flying V that was basically left-handed, but had the strings reversed. He also used very unorthodox tunings, often tuning as low as C — to allow him to make massive string bends.

This video is from a LIVE recording in the mid-1980′s titled “Blues Legends: Albert King, Live in Sweden” and the DVD can still found on eBay…usually under $10 bucks. If you love the blues, you should buy one of these while you can. What I LOVE about this clip is the interview and the open and candid answers that Albert gave. For a big man, he had an even bigger heart. He loved his fans and he loved the blues. His music lives on in me — which is the purest way to measure one’s impact on people’s lives.

I miss you Albert – Happy Birthday!

One more thing… You can download a BACKING TRACK to Albert King’s “Born Under A Bad Sign” by CLICKING HERE.

Joe Bonamassa is one of the best guitarists in the world and also one of the nicest, most humble guys out there and I’m proud to be his friend. If you don’t know, Joe has had seven consecutive albums debut at #1 on the Blues charts and his latest album, Dust Bowl, debuted at #37 overall in any genre! That was his highest overall debut and the fifth in a row to be higher than the last. Put simply, Joe’s popularity is increasing exponentially and this is your chance to own the guitar that started it all for him…a true piece of music and guitar history.

Joe used this 1968 Gibson Les Paul Standard as his main axe from 1998-2000 and featured it prominently on his first solo album, A New Day Yesterday. It’s an incredible guitar. Small headstock. Round, beefy neck. Sustain for days. See Joe’s letter of authenticity.

Joe Bonamassa's Les Paul Gold Top on eBay

Joe is notorious for not trading or selling any of his gear…mainly because he uses it all. He told me this ’68 LP was the first significant guitar he’s ever let go…and one of the most expensive in his collection no less.

So how did I get it? Well, I had to do my fair share of begging and then give up two of my best vintage guitars…a flawless 1953 Gibson ES-295 and a 1968 Gibson ES-355. Scotty Moore and Freddy King models. It was a good trade for us both…Joe knows I am selling this to fund more inventory for my shop and is very understanding…if I could afford to keep this and keep my shop going, I would. I’m starting this at just 99 cents with NO RESERVE to give everyone an opportunity to bid! It will be a fun one for sure.

This guitar will probably have more collector appeal, but this really is one of the best Les Paul’s I’ve played…and I’ve played one of everything. The P-90s are very strong (8.75k bridge, 8.41K neck) and they sustain more like humbuckers with fat, meaty notes that cut through. This one is nice because unlike most late 60s goldtops, it isn’t a boat anchor…just over 9 lbs on my digital scale. The neck is absolutely heavenly…round C shape without the big shoulders and measures 0.936″ at the nut, 0.861 at the 1st fret, and 1.001″ at the 12th fret. As you can see, the guitar is evenly weather-checked — and interestingly this very goldtop is what gave Joe the idea to have all his Gibson Les Paul signature models aged at the factory. It has the expected buckle rash on the back but no structural issues at all. The guitar is all original save for the metal saddles, a scratched-on social security number under the serial stamp (from the first owner, not Joe…it has been blurred out in the photo), and three tiny screw holes on the butt from a trapeze tailpiece (not a Bigsby)…that obviously didn’t stay on long. It also had a really nice pro refret that you can barely notice. All the pots date to early ’68 and the wiring and soldering is all original save for a removed back shroud, 50s style.

Here is a link to the actual eBay listing.