This is a very interesting cartoon.

It is funny because of what it says about Jimi Hendrix… but it is also a serious illustration of the economic times we currently face.

I have way too many friends who have lost their jobs.

I have way too many friends who are in jeopardy of losing their homes, because they have lost their jobs.

I have way too many friends who are losing their self-esteem, because other people (read: hiring managers) are telling them that they are not qualified for the job.

I have way too many friends who are looking for work and hiring managers are too narrow-minded to recognize talent – even when talent is sitting right in front of them.

We are a nation of incredibly artistic people and we need to open our minds to the fact that we are un-employing and under-employing thousands of gifted minds.

What if Jimi Hendrix was not given the opportunity to play guitar on a national stage because he was not “experienced” enough? What a tragedy that would have been… for everyone.

If you are reading this post and you are unemployed, looking for work, frustrated and discouraged… please keep your head high. You did not get to where you are in life by failing. You are where you are because of the amazing accomplishments and the seemingly insurmountable odds you overcame to get there.

Your day will come and your opportunity will come. Stay focused. Keep the faith. Send me an email and I will pray that the higher power we all believe in will provide direction for you.

Thanks for reading and thanks for allowing me to post something slightly off the usual buzz…

I don’t know about you, but “Blues Music” really moves me. I’m talking about slow, bendy, stirring, bluesy blues. I love the way it sounds and I love the way it makes me feel. It’s both electrifying and inspirational.

When it comes to “feeling” the blues… Ronnie Earl is the master.

Ronnie plays music that penetrates your heart. He refers to it as “spiritually uplifting music that heals” and I totally agree. I have all of Ronnie’s CD’s — totaling 249 songs and 23.7 hours on my iPod. Hey…a couple more tunes and I can have a 24-hour Ronnie-Fest!

Here is the opening clip from “Blues Guitar With Soul” the only instructional video Ronnie made. It was originally released on VHS in 1995 and re-released on DVD in 2005.

It’s a timeless recording that worked in 1995 and still works today. Enjoy!

Schecter Guitar Research placed this ad in Guitar World Magazine.

It was a full page ad, with only a slightly visible logo for their company in the lower right corner.

The ad says it all, and is worth sharing here to remind us all of the tragic events of 9-11-2001.

Let us never forget those who’s lives changed forever 8 years ago today.

Thank you Schecter.

I just finished dinner with my 11-year-old daughter.

During that dinner we watched President Barack Obama’s speech to America’s youth. This is not a political blog (and that was not a political speech) but just in case you missed it… I will provide a link: CLICK HERE.

What that speech prompted me to do (as a 52-year old man) was to sit down with my 11-year-old daughter and remind her that her opportunities are endless… as long as she starts now, works hard, finds a mentor and never quits. While all of her dreams may not come true, none of them will ever come true without a commitment to the cause and a sincere dedication to learn and apply the knowledge she acquires along the way. Above all, quitting is not an option!

Sounds like good advice for aspiring guitar players.

Case in point: Orianthi Panagaris, the young female guitar-playing superstar to the left that Carlos Santana called “the one he will pass the baton to” and the same young lady who practiced on stage with Michael Jackson the night before his tragic death.

Orianthi Panagaris or “Orianthi” was born on January 22, 1985 in Adelaide, Australia.  She learned to play the acoustic guitar at age 6, started playing electric when she was just 11 and started writing songs and performing at the mature age of 15.

Orianthi had the opportunity to meet Carlos Santana when she was 18 in her hometown. Carlos invited Orianthi to get up and jam with him during the soundcheck then asked if she would join him on stage later that night.

She has played with Prince and toured with Steve Vai.  She played at the Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival and also appeared at the 51st annual Grammys with Carrie Underwood where she was Underwood’s lead guitar player.

Not bad for a young girl who picked up a guitar at a young age, worked hard, found a mentor and never quit.

Check out what Carlos Santana had to say, then watch this girl rip it up on her PRS:

August 13, 2009 we lost the man who created The Electric Guitar!

I have posted links to “The Chop Shop” in the past and it seemed appropriate today to provide a link to “The Chop Shop Hall of Fame” page that honors Les Paul, and includes a high-resolution (free) download image of the man himself.

From the Chop-Shop Hall-of-Fame Page:
Lester William Polfuss (forever known as “Les Paul”)
Born: June 9, 1915, Died: August 13, 2009

Les Paul was born Lester William Polfuss. Les started playing music on harmonica at the age of 8. By the time he was 13 he was playing guitar in a country band. At age 17 Les dropped out of school to join a radio band at KMOX in St. Louis.

In the mid-30s Les decided he need to make his acoustic guitar louder, and extracted the magnetic receiver from a telephone, used it as a pick up in a 4” X 4” log, inserted into his instrument, and helped create the solid body electric guitar.

In 1947 Les invented a system of sound on sound recording using 8 different guitar parts to create “Lover (When You’re Near Me).” He did the recording with shellac disks. Les would record a track onto a disk, then record himself playing another part, in addition to the 1st recording layer by layer until he was satisfied. This is the 1st known example of multi track recording.

In the early 1950s, Les made a number of revolutionary recordings with his wife, Mary Ford, who sang. These records were unique at the time for their heavy use of overdubbing. Their hits included “How High the Moon,” “Bye Bye Blues,” and “The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise.”

In the 50s Gibson incorporated this design and created the Gibson Les Paul, one of the best selling guitars of all-time.

In 1954, Les continued to develop this technology by commissioning Ampex to build the first eight track tape recorder, at his expense. From this point, he was known as the father of the modern-day recording studio.

In 1978, Les was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

In 1983, he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award.

In 1988, Les was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 1991, The Mix Foundation established an annual award in his name; the Les Paul Award, which honors “individuals or institutions that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of audio technology.”

In 2005, Les was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

In 2006, Les was inducted into the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame. He is also an honorary member of the Audio Engineering Society.

Rest in peace Les Paul, we will NEVER forget you.

We are all driven and inspired to play like our favorite guitar heroes. We listen to their music and we practice their licks.  We spend hours working on our “Layla” and “Europa” imitations and and perturbed and frustrated when we can’t pull them off note-for-note.

Because of the amazing story of Mark Goffeney, I will not allow that to happen to me — ever again. I will forever look at the guitar — and my ability to “master” playing it — completely different.

I read Mark’s story when a friend emailed me a link to “Ability Magazine”. I immediately went to YouTube look for a video of Mark in action.  All I can say is that this in one of the most inspirational videos I have ever seen.

Mark was born without arms and learned to play the guitar with his feet. He has played and performed as far back as he can remember. He chuckles about being the poster child for “The Easter Seals” and “March of Dimes” telethons.

Mark started singing and playing guitar in a band in the 9th grade. Today, he is the lead guitarist and vocalist for the “Big Toe” band from San Diego.

Take a look at one of the most inspirational videos you will ever see:

It was Saturday, August 16th, 1969.

Carlos Santana was called to the stage earlier than he was thought he was scheduled to play.

He later admitted that he was high on LSD at the time and feared he would not get through the set. He prayed to God that he would never do LSD again if he could just make it through the last song..

Well, he did not “just make it through”… Watch for yourself as Santana performs this amazing, near-perfect and legendary performance of Soul Sacrifice.

Everybody has to start somewhere, even if that somewhere is sitting Indian-style on the floor in your bedroom, plucking out an awkward first chord and feeling like a dork. In fact that’s what stops most wannabe guitarists before they’ve even begun: The initial agony of knowing nothing just doesn’t match up with the imagined ecstasy of ripping into a guitar right off the bat.

But the fact that even Frank Zappa got his start fooling with chord books and that John Mayer was subjected to a year of guitar store lessons is somewhat heartening, right? This collection of quotes imply that not only does their love of music bind these amazing guitarists but also their complete and utter dedication to learning guitar. As Judas Priest’s Glenn Tipton said, “I gave dedication a completely new meaning.”

Stroll on over to Gibson Lifestyle to read the rest of this superb post by clicking HERE.

Prince paid a guest visit to the Ellen Degeneres show last week singing his cover rendition of “Crimson and Clover”.

As I listened and watched, I was reminded of what the judges say each week on American Idol…”Make the song your own” .

Price has always been considered a musical genius. Ellen calls him “Brilliant” after this performance. I have to agree…this is an amazing example of musical (and guitar) mastery.

I have read my copy through two times… and I am sure one day there will be a third.

Editorial Review: With striking intimacy and candor, Eric Clapton tells the story of his eventful and inspiring life in this poignant and honest autobiography. More than a rock star, he is an icon, a living embodiment of the history of rock music. Well known for his reserve in a profession marked by self-promotion, flamboyance, and spin, he now chronicles, for the first time, his remarkable personal and professional journeys.

Born illegitimate in 1945 and raised by his grandparents, Eric never knew his father and, until the age of nine, believed his actual mother to be his sister. In his early teens his solace was the guitar, and his incredible talent would make him a cult hero in the clubs of Britain and inspire devoted fans to scrawl Clapton is God on the walls of London s Underground. With the formation of Cream, the world’s first supergroup, he became a worldwide superstar, but conflicting personalities tore the band apart within two years. His stints in Blind Faith, in Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, and in Derek and the Dominos were also short-lived but yielded some of the most enduring songs in history, including the classic Layla.

During the late sixties he played as a guest with Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan, as well as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and longtime friend George Harrison. It was while working with the latter that he fell for George s wife, Pattie Boyd, a seemingly unrequited love that led him to the depths of despair, self-imposed seclusion, and drug addiction. By the early seventies he had overcome his addiction and released the bestselling album 461 Ocean Boulevard, with its massive hit I Shot the Sheriff. He followed that with the platinum album Slowhand, which included Wonderful Tonight, the touching love song to Pattie, whom he finally married at the end of 1979. A short time later, however, Eric had replaced heroin with alcohol as his preferred vice, following a pattern of behavior that not only was detrimental to his music but contributed to the eventual breakup of his marriage.

In the eighties he would battle and begin his recovery from alcoholism and become a father. But just as his life was coming together, he was struck by a terrible blow: His beloved four-year-old son, Conor, died in a freak accident. At an earlier time Eric might have coped with this tragedy by fleeing into a world of addiction. But now a much stronger man, he took refuge in music, responding with the achingly beautiful Tears in Heaven.

Clapton is the powerfully written story of a survivor, a man who has achieved the pinnacle of success despite extraordinary demons. It is one of the most compelling memoirs of our time.