The quintessential chick-with-guitar, Hayley throws a stark and dramatic silhouette on stage, cross-referencing Bonnie Raitt rootsiness with Keith Urban virtuosity and everywhere she plays, right after they pick their jaws off the floor, people turn to each other and ask:

“Where did she come from?”… Watch the video to see what I mean…

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!

Bob Dylan turns 70 today. Happy Birthday Bob!

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…

Last week I wrote a post about “The Carl Verheyen Band & “The Road Divides DVD“.

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 was born on April 25, 1923 (“Under a Bad Sign” of course!) and world have turned 88 today. Oh how I wish Albert was still with us!

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.

This message text… copied from the eBay listing…

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.

I am declaring this to be “Jeff Beck Week” on the GuitarBUZZ!

Since Jeff will be a guest musician on American Idol this week – it seems appropriate.

I am pretty stoked about what he might do – just knowing that he will be backing the Top 9 finalists gives reason to assume some wild guitar playing is in store for everyone.

Premier Guitar Magazine wrote about Jeff this month in an story titled: Signal Chain: Going Au Natural where they highlighted Jeff’s finger style (sans pick) playing.

If you watch and listen closely to Beck, you’ll notice how he can shift the timbre of each note or phrase . . . He uses his fingertips as an equalizer by striking the string at different points to create a range of tones.

The tone variance is dramatic at times. When he mixes his finger attack with a masterful use of a trem bar, the results are what make Jeff Beck…Jeff Beck. Check out this version of People Get Ready, performed at the UDO MUSIC FESTIVAL live in 2006:

USA Today reports: Jeff Beck will play with the contestants on American Idol Wednesday.

Then they go on to say: “If you don’t know why that’s a big deal, check out this clip….”

That’s the biggest understatement of the year!

Last Sunday, I woke up to the news of Gary Moore’s sudden passing.

Seven days later, I am still in shock.

I find myself searching Google every day — looking for new stories and updates to the tragic story. One of the saddest stories I have read is “Heartbreak of the blonde beauty who was Thin Lizzy guitarist Gary Moore’s last love“, which was posted today.

About 6 months ago, I purchased Gary’s CD Box Set titled: Essential Montreux. I never wrote a review about it – but I tweeted dozens of times about how I considered it to be a six-hour masterclass in the blues.

“See Gary Moore Play Live” was on my bucket-list. I scratched it off today.

R.I.P. Gary Moore, 1952-2011

Use to be so easy
To give my heart away
But I found that the haeartache
was the price you have to pay
I found that that love is no friend of mine
I should have know’n time after time
-Gary Moore, Still Got The Blues

I must admit… I really love this time of year.  In no particular order, here are five things I love about the Holiday season.

• Trimming the tree and decorating the house. Our tree goes up the day after Thanksgiving and stays up until New Years.
• Giving gifts. I believe in the old Biblical truth… It is better to GIVE than to RECEIVE.
• People’s generosity and acts of kindness. People seem to be nicer this time of year. Even this year… when the economy has challenged so many.
• Family time. The kids are out of school and the work schedule slows down. As a result… our family is together for more hours each and every day… and I love it.
• Turkey, Ham & Cookies. My wife loves to cook, and this is her season to show off her chops in the kitchen.

So in the spirit of the Holidays, I give you Gary Hoey… Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree!
Ahh… this is the way Christmas Music is supposed to sound!

Gary Hoey Rocks!
If you like what you just heard… his Complete Collection is available from Amazon.com:

Satch walks through his full live stage setup and demonstrates some of his unique sounds.

CREDIT: MusicRadar.com