Mario’s Stuff

‘Lick of the Week’

Starting from next Friday Feb 18th, I’m going to post a ‘lick of the week’ on Twitter and the Blog every Friday for an indefinite period. The lick will consist of an audio clip of me playing it, plus tablature and playing tips on how to play it. I get many requests for guitar tuition, so I’m hoping this will be of interest to those of you who have emailed me about it :-) The licks will be just that; short guitar licks with a brief explanation, playing tips and tab. So… check out my Twitter page and/or Blog every Friday!

Mount Charleston, NV

One of our favorite places near Las Vegas is Mount Charleston. In the height of the Summer when it’s around 120F here in the valley, we often go to the top of Mt. Charleston to chill out and cool down. The mountain is approximately 35 miles away from central Las Vegas and is a relatively short drive for such an amazing contrast between desert heat and cool mountain air. We went up there today as my daughter Skye wanted to play in the snow. The temperature in Vegas today was approx. 60F (it’s been 70F most days this week), but at the mountain it was 26F with a lot of snow.

Skye in the snow, Upper Lodge, Mt. Charleston, NV.

We always stop off at the Upper Lodge for hot food and drinks, then we had a wander around the mountain and watched Skye throw snowballs.

A slightly arm-stretched-out-and-shaky photo of me & Shawna at the mountain…

We had a great time up there then began the descent…

Shawna took this photo out of the truck’s window of the road from Mt. Charleston back to the Vegas Valley at sunset.

Once back at home it was time for a slightly warmed brandy… ;-)

The 2011 Superbowl

Today was Superbowl Sunday, so the perfect time to get out and about with minimal road traffic and human interaction! The majority of Las Vegas’ residents were probably sat at home watching a bunch of men run up and down a field for thirty seconds while clutching a ball. Then stopping play for five minutes, then running up and down the field for thirty seconds again. Then stopping for another five minutes… etc. etc… Yes, just in case you didn’t get my subtle hint; I don’t really care for football, or any other sport for that matter. The only sport I occasionally don’t mind watching is baseball.

The Movie

So… As Las Vegas was deserted, we took advantage of this and got Shawna’s Mom & Dad to babysit Skye. We then went to see The Rite, the ‘exorcism’ movie starring Anthony Hopkins. I had high hopes for this movie whereas Shawna was a little more cynical. Sadly, she was right; it was a ponderously bad and boring movie with a truly awful and cliched script. Anthony Hopkins was… well… Anthony Hopkins. He’s a great actor, but he just played himself. His character was a sort of cross between Hannibal Lecter and Captain Bligh. Considering the movie’s subject matter was the devil, demons and the dark side, it wasn’t scary in the slightest. The PG13 certificate alluded to that. Oh well… We hadn’t been to the movie theater in ages so it was a good reminder as to how annoying other theater goers can be with their incessant chatter, fidgeting, coughing (in all the wrong places) and getting up and down every 10 minutes to go to the restrooms due to their drinking of industrial sized fountain sodas. I think in future we’ll stick to our large HD flatscreen and surround system at home with all our other creature comforts…

The Laughs

After the movie we drove down to the Vegas Strip area, as just behind it and near to the Stratosphere is our favorite restaurant, the Lotus of Siam. As I parked the car, we realized we were early for dinner, so I drove around the little square area opposite the restaurant. This evening was dusky and warm, it was 70F today and there were a few people wandering around the shopping area. The square is made up of 95% Asian stores, from massage parlours and dry cleaners to general stores. As we drove around its perimeter checking out all the different premises, we came across two gems that made us laugh:

The ‘A Minus Mart’… Not quite an ‘A’ but at least they’re honest! :-D

As if to reiterate it’s A Minus status, as I photographed it, the ‘A’ in the ‘Mart’ suddenly went out! It then became the ‘B Plus Mart’ :-D

Right next to the ‘A Minus Mart’ is the ‘OK’ Tailors…! Seriously! Not great… Not even good… just ‘ok’… :-D

From the square, we could see the Las Vegas Hilton, once named the ‘International Hotel’. Elvis Presley lived at the Hotel from ‘69 to ‘76 in the Penthouse Suite (Room #3000 on the 30th floor) as he performed there. The Penthouse is where he shot several items, including the TV when he saw a Robert Goulet appearance on a show. The suite allegedly still has all the bullet holes from Elvis’ bizarre target practices.

Elvis’ Penthouse at the Las Vegas Hilton. The penthouse suite is clearly visible on top of the roof in this photo.

The Dinner

Dinner at the Lotus of Siam went perfectly well as always, the food and service was outstanding. My wife and I chatted and reminisced, and enjoyed each other’s company without a feisty three year old coming between us every other second…

Back at home, Skye had behaved well for her grandparents so it was a happy end to a nice day. We’ll do it again soon! :-)

It’s now 9pm as I type the ending to this blog entry… definitely time to chill out and pour a bourbon-on-the-rocks… ;-)

My old friend and former band-mate Tony Martin was in town yesterday, he traveled up from Los Angeles via my friends Karpis & Sumie Maksudian. We all hooked up at the Aria Hotel on the Vegas Strip and had a great time catching up and reminiscing :-)

We realized that the last time we saw each other was 18 years ago…! It seemed kind of strange because despite the long time gap, he was still the same old Tony I knew back in the day.

Me & Tony sensibly drinking wine at one of the Aria Hotel’s Restaurants last night.

Me & Tony after more wine…! :-D

Our friends Karpis & Sumie Maksudian. Karpis is a top L.A. video director and will be shooting a video for my new album later this year.

We enjoyed a great dinner courtesy of the Maksudian’s and their wonderful hospitality, then later in the evening Tony and I went for a walk together and I showed him some of the sights of the Vegas Strip.

The Eiffel Tower at the Paris Casino.

We had a look inside the Paris Casino then the Bellagio and Caesar’s Palace. Tony got some great video of the dancing water show at the Bellagio, set to the tune of Henry Mancini’s ‘Pink Panther Theme’.

Tony outside Caesar’s Palace.

We walked through Caesar’s Palace and it’s amazing ‘The Forum’ shopping center then returned to the Aria. For those of you who don’t know Vegas, it’s hard work walking the Strip! There’s so much to see and do, with miles of walking…

Statues outside Caesar’s Palace.

We all had a great time and will hopefully do it again soon!

Viva Las Vegas!

Happy New Year!

Yes… I know… I’ve done it again and not updated the blog in ages… Sorry!!

Let me start out by saying that I hope you all had a great holiday season and I wish you the very best for this New Year :-)

My daughter Skye turned three on the 21st of December, how time flies… She enjoyed her birthday and Christmas, though she got into trouble several times for systematically removing (and often damaging!) the decorations on our Christmas tree.  Little bugger…

So, the New Year is here and it should be a busy one for me with the release of a new album (Shadows & Light) plus several other things I’ve got on the go. Please see the news page for all formal announcements as it’s updated more often than the blog! :-p

The Magician - 20th Anniversary!

The Magician (1991)

2011 marks the 20th anniversary of my first solo album The Magician. It was recorded in London, England in April 1991 and mastered at Abbey Road Studios, London in May that same year.

We recorded it at the same studio (Watershed Studios) we recorded my guitars for the two Forcefield albums Let The Wild Run Free & Forcefield Instrumentals.

It feels weird looking at the album cover as I write this as I’ve not seen the physical CD nor listened to the album in years.

I still get a lot of mail from fans all over the world who enquire about The Magician, and I get asked a lot for tablature for ‘Heatwave’, possibly the most popular track on the album. I was at the NAMM show in ‘09 and got asked about ‘Heatwave’ there! :-)

President Records (who originally released The Magician) and I have been in touch recently and we’re thinking about possibilities for a ’20th Anniversary’ commemorative collaboration. Right now, I can tell you that we’re thinking about re-recording ‘Heatwave’ 20 years later with the way I sound and play now. It will probably be cunningly titled ‘Heatwave 2011′ and would be inititally offered as a free download. I’ll keep you posted on it. We would be open to suggestions from you too by the way, if you can think of something you’d like to see/hear regarding The Magician then please drop me a line via the contact page.

Congratulations to Pablo!

Late December also saw the birth of bassist Paul ‘Pablo’ Stanney’s baby daughter, Maia. Our congratulations go to Pablo and his wife, Sophia :-)

Mojave Sunset

We went for a drive into the desert at sunset a couple of days ago. I love the Mojave Desert, and especially so at sunset, twilight and dawn. We drove out of Nevada and into California, along part of the old Route 66 to one of our favorite places, Nipton. Shawna took photos of the desert mountains and canyons from out of the truck’s window. Due to the heavy rain we had a couple of weeks ago, parts of the desert dry lake beds were full of water and looked quite beautiful with their reflections of the sky.

View of the desert along the I.15, just past the Primm Valley. You can see how heavily it rained from the amount of water in the usually bone dry ancient lake bed.

The I.15 southbound at sunset. This Interstate is the road we take to Los Angeles whenever we visit.

Another view of the Mojave Desert from the I.15

Old signpost for Nipton and Searchlight just before Route 66.

Route 66 towards Nipton, CA. Part of the road was damaged a couple of years ago due to flooding.

The Nipton Trading Post with our truck in the foreground.

I’m sorry for the late blog entry but I’ve been busy with a family visit and working on numerous recordings…

My Mother (Sue), sister (Raqui), brother-in-law (Noel) and nephew (Thomas) came to visit us for three weeks from England, they landed in Las Vegas on the evening of May 4th. They got over the jet-lag fairly quickly, then we took them on a tour of Nevada and neighboring California.

Las Vegas, Kelso Depot, Bonnie Springs & Nipton

My Mother Sue & my daughter Skye

Skye was very pleased and excited about her Nana’s visit, she got on exceptionally well with her cousin Thomas too :-) (Skye is 2 1/2, Thomas is aged 3.)

Skye & Thomas at Kelso Depot, Mojave National Preserve, CA

We first showed them some places that are all local to Las Vegas such as ‘The Strip’, Bonnie Springs & Red Rock Canyon.

Wild burro near Bonnie Springs, NV

Raqui & Thomas pulling the hangman’s lever at Bonnie Springs, NV

The restrooms at the Bonnie Springs restaurant :-)

Red Rock Canyon, NV

On the way back from Bonnie Springs, we drove through Red Rock Canyon. It was a beautiful day that ended with golden light and a spectacular desert sunset.

Bill’s Oasis Cafe, Nipton, CA

Those of you who follow the blog will know that Bill’s Oasis Cafe in Nipton, CA is where Shawna and I always liked to go when in the area to dine on Bill’s phenomenal gourmet burgers. Sadly, on this visit, we discovered that Bill had died of cancer the week before. Both Shawna and I were very saddened by this news as Bill was such a great character and very hospitable. Our sincere condolences go to his family and the people of Nipton. The Oasis Cafe will remain open, I spoke with a local woman who told me that she was going to run the cafe in Bill’s tradition and still serve his awesome burgers.

Desert cactus bloom, Nipton, CA

Skye, Sue and Thomas, Nipton railtracks, Nipton, CA

Los Angeles & Disneyland, CA

I drove the family to L.A. for a few days as it’s only a four hour drive from home. The traffic was unusually good in and around the Los Angeles area, we showed them some of the usual places; Hollywood, Beverley Hills, Santa Monica, Downtown, etc. The weather was a little cooler than Vegas, and the Pacific Ocean breeze was perfect.

Sue, Raqui & Noel in Hollywood, CA.

After visiting Los Angeles, we then moved on to Anaheim, CA where we spent a few days at Disneyland. Everyone had a great time, both children and adults alike. We stayed at the wonderful Candy Cane Inn which is next door to Disneyland and closer to the Theme Park than the Disneyland Hotels ;-)

Sue, Skye & Mickey, Disneyland, CA

The next day at Disneyland, we had breakfast with all the Disney characters. Skye and Thomas were in awe of it all, Thomas is obsessed with Mickey Mouse and spent all morning with him. The girls who play the characters have the patience of Saints, they were totally awesome with the kids and made the morning a very magical event. Skye still talks about it to this day :-)

Daisey Duck & Skye, Disneyland, CA. Daisey and Donald Duck are Skye’s favorite Disney characters, she was ecstatic when Daisy came and sat at the table with us! :-)

Minnie Mouse & Skye

Me & Stitch, Disneyland, CA

Skye snuggling Stitch

Skye was initially afraid of Stitch and cried when he came over to see her… The girl in the costume worked her butt off to befriend Skye, and her hard work paid off in the end ;-)

Toon Town City Hall, Disneyland, CA

Another view of Toon Town

Shawna & Skye, Disneyland, CA

Raqui & Skye on the carousel, Disneyland, CA

Sleepy Skye & Donald after a long day at Disneyland.

California Theme Park next to Disneyland, CA.

Death Valley & Hoover Dam

We drove out to Death Valley via Pahrump, NV. We stopped off first at Zabriskie Point, then made our way down to Furnace Creek and headed back home via Beatty and the ghost town of Rhyolite.

Sue at Zabriskie Point, Death Valley, CA

Strange sculptures at Rhyolite, NV

The Hoover Dam always makes for an interesting day. Shawna and I were quite shocked at how much the water levels have dropped recently as you can see from this photograph.

Plaque at the Hoover Dam commemorating Dr. Elwood Mead, the namesake of Lake Mead.

The family enjoyed their visit and we enjoyed their company :-) They’ll be visiting again soon, in the meantime we’ll continue with our long-distance webcam chats!

The Trials Of Life…

 

I’ve had a few emails from fans asking about the new albums, in particular Shadows & Light.  I’m currently working on several recordings simultaneously, but due to my increasingly busy schedule and a demanding 2 year old daughter, I’m struggling to be honest!

 

Originally, Shadows & Light was going to be released around the late Summer this year, but we’ve changed the release date for Fall 2010. This is more realistic as there’s still the cover and artwork to complete plus the mixing and mastering. I also want to promote the album ahead of time as best I can, so the Fall schedule is ideal.

 

Distant Dreams will soon follow, probably more towards the end of the year. As with Shadows & Light, I’ve already got several songs finished, I just think that more time is needed to promote and plan plus it’s not a good idea to release two albums at the same time anyway.

 

In between the above recordings, I’m working on two vocal based albums with singers John Pratt (Firefly/John Pratt Band) and Lee Small (Phenomena/Shy/Lee Small Band). At this moment in time there’s no definitive release date, we’re working on the albums on an ‘as and when’ basis. Whenever we have spare time we dedicate it to the projects. The album with John already has a title of Uncharted Waters and we’ve almost finished one of the songs called ‘Kyoto Belle’. As soon as there’s an update I’ll of course let you know and will also post a soundclip to give you an idea of how the project sounds.

 

As well as all the above, we moved house in December to a different area in Las Vegas, the studio was also relocated and took some time setting up and settling in. The scorpions, spiders and other bugs became too much of a problem at our old abode, plus the new house we’ve moved to is brand new and bigger.

 

The New Guitar!

 

I’ve had several emails from guitar fans enquiring about my new Siggery custom guitar. The guitar was delayed a little due to a supplier messing up a parts order, then the English snow blizzard earlier in the year caused some delays for other parts. But, the new guitar is finally here with me in the studio in Las Vegas, and let me tell you – it plays and sounds amazing…!!! Above is a photo of the new guitar, more will follow and I’ll get some video of me playing it online asap ;-)

 

My ’signature’ guitar is totally handmade and will retail at $2,095.00 (price includes a Gator flightcase). For all enquiries please contact Siggery Guitars on +1 1892 610073 or email mtsigg@aol.com

The guitar’s spec is as follows:

• Solid mahogany body with thin Koa veneered top and set mahogany neck
• Rosewood fingerboard (25″ scale) with 24 jumbo frets
• Grover 18:1 locking tuners
• Tunomatic bridge, strung through body
• Rio Grande pickups (handmade in Texas): ‘Barbeque Bucker’ in the bridge and ‘Buffalobucker’ in the neck
• One volume and one tone pot (with pull/push coil split), 3-way selector switch
• Transparent black nitro laquer finish (transparent crimson also available)

Please note that a waiting list will be in place for all orders. 

 

Bonnie Springs, NV

 

Just outside of Las Vegas, not far from Red Rock Canyon is a little place called Bonnie Springs located in ‘Old Nevada’. It’s an interesting place that preserves the old cowboy heritage around here. It’s a combination of a Wild West Town and zoo (rescue center), and despite the strange sounding combination, it’s a great place for all ages. Shawna and I took Skye there recently, she had a great time.

 

Opera House, Bonnie Springs

 

 

View of the Western Town

 

  

Shootin’ Gallery, Bonnie Springs

 

Bonnie Springs Chapel

 

General Store

 

Bonnie Springs Stamp Mill

 

Old Saddle, Bonnie Springs

 

Bison at Bonnie Springs, NV

 

Timberwolf at Bonnie Springs

 

After a good walk around, hot cherry pie served a la mode was a great choice in the Bonnie Springs diner ;-)

 

 

Dr. Sellot’s Snake Oil

 

Old Western Carriage

 

No cowboy town would be complete without ‘wanted’ posters…

 

‘Old Nevada or Bust’ Western Cart

 

Great view of the desert canyon on the way home. Las Vegas, NV

 

Skye had a great time, there was so much for her to see and do, she looked very pensive throughout the day!

 

Skye’s Karaoke Corner

 

Speaking of Skye (or ‘The Critter’ as we affectionately call her ;-), she’s started trying to entertain us in the evenings before she goes to bed, singing into a maraca as though it were a microphone! I’m going to make this a regular feature of the blog, as she makes up her own funny words, here’s the repertoire she came up with tonight:

 

1. Tuna the Dog

2. Stop Until You Eat Cake

3. No Sit Down to Ticky Ticky Ticky Tock

 

:-D

 

 The Beatles Remasters

 

I recently purchased The Beatles 2009 remasters box set, and was astonished at how good they sound. The clarity of the backing tracks on some of the songs is amazing, I can now hear more of the distant acoustic guitar layers (The Beatles were great at layering electric and acoustic guitars together) and there’s more separation of the tracks.

 

If you’re a Beatles fan, I would definitely recommend buying this box set, at times it’s like listening to the songs for the first time as they sound so fresh. George Harrison was one of my earliest influences, and I still dig a lot of stuff he played back then.

 

A friend of the family’s was lucky enough to see the Beatles live back in 1966. He also saw several rock and metal bands years later but said that the loudest band he ever saw was the Beatles…!

 

 

Pablo’s Wedding

 

My friend and bassist Paul ‘Pablo’ Stanney got married in Vegas in November to his wife Sophia. I was the best man at the wedding, while Skye provided the entertainment…

 

Pablo’s since relocated from England to Sophia’s native Canada (Vancouver), so he’s not as far from us anymore.

 

L to R: Shawna, Skye, Me & Pablo

 

El Niño

The strange weather front known as ‘El Niño’ reared it’s head again at the start of the year. Southern California was affected the worst, here in Vegas we just had a few heavy storms and misty days. 

 

Luxor in the Mist… I took this shot while driving down Tropicana Avenue early one morning, The Luxor Casino (pyramid) was obscured by thick mist. This same day the weather was very strange and by the afternoon a heavy storm had kicked in. Typically, the day ended with a beautiful Vegas sunset…

 

Unusual cloud formation during the calm before the storm…

 

Seconds before the storm hit…

 

The same area as in the previous photo, showing a typical Vegas Sunset just a few hours after the storm had passed over.

 

The Death of Music?

 

I’ve mentioned it before, but illegal downloads are increasing so it’s worth mentioning again…

 

My wife did some research a couple of weeks ago and discovered that over 32,000 illegal downloads of my album Entranced had been stolen via torrent sites and similar since it’s 2007 release date. Whilst I know it’s a tiny amount compared to some bands who are losing hundreds of thousands of sales to illegal downloads, at my level (appealing to mostly guitar fans within a niche genre) it’s affecting me greatly and is eventually going to prevent me from recording and releasing music in the future if it persists.

 

It takes quite some time to write, rehearse, record, mix and master an album. I can’t justify spending months in a studio to produce an album that doesn’t generate enough income. Although I love music and it’s my life’s work, I’m a professional musician and make a living from it. Many other people are in the same position, and there’s an air of apathy in the industry at the moment due to musicians (quite understandably) being unenthused with recording due to the lack of income generated from it.

 

Several record labels have closed/are closing down, blaming internet piracy. EMI is currently in debt for $460 million dollars and is allegedly rumoured to having to sell off its iconic Abbey Road studios. What a sad state of affairs… We mastered The Magician at Abbey Road back in ’91, it had such a great vibe to it and was full of musical history. Lion Music in Finland who have possibly released more guitar instrumental/neo-classical/prog music than anyone else have expressed their concerns through their article ‘Murder of Music’. This article, and several others written by some of Lion Music’s artists can be read here.

 

I will always continue to write and record music; it’s in my blood. But if the illegal downloads continue as they are doing, I may look at other musical avenues and stop releasing albums.

New Guitar!

Marty Siggery, the main luthier at Siggery Guitars has been working hard on my new custom guitar, I’ve attached a photo below to show it’s progress.

The new guitar!

The guitar has an SG body style, and is made of solid mahogany with a very thin Koa veneer for cosmetic purposes (as shown in the image). It has a 24 fret set neck (no binding) with dot inlays, rosewood fingerboard with 16″ radius, jumbo frets and 25″ scale length, two nickel covered humbuckers (Rio Grande pickups), a ‘Barbeque Bucker’ in the bridge and a ‘Buffalobucker’ in the neck, one volume, one push/pull tone with coil tap, 3 way selector switch, jack input on side of body, locking 18:1 tuners, tunomatic bridge and strung through body. It will be sprayed transparent black by Marty at the workshop. I can’t wait… ;-)

NV & CA Wildfires

A couple of weeks ago we had some pretty severe wildfires in the Nevada/California areas. August usually produces wildfires, and this year was no exception. Sadly, several brave firefighters lost their lives struggling to bring the fire to a halt :-( The fires were eventually calmed by the Fire Departments.

The wildfires were in mostly California, but eventually crept into the Nevada border. In the evening, Las Vegas smelled like a bonfire, with the strong smell of burning wood permeating through the warm night air. The following day the roads and sidewalks were covered in a layer of ash, our front patio included.

Mount Charleston, NV

One of our favorite local places is Nevada’s Mount Charleston. When the weather gets really hot here, Mount Charleston is the perfect retreat as the weather is considerably cooler at the top of the mountain than it is in the Vegas valley. Last week was like this as we drove to the mountain and visited it’s lower and upper lodges. The weather in Vegas at the time was 105F, and as we drove higher, the weather was a stormy 56F at the Upper Lodge.

The stormy weather at Mount Charleston.

We first stopped off at the Lower Lodge with the intention of getting coffee and a snack, but the bad weather had caused a power cut, so the snack bar was closed. Skye enjoyed sitting in a carved tree in the lobby though :-D

 

Skye sat in the carved tree at Mt. Charleston’s Lower Lodge.

We made a quick dash back to the truck to get out of the pouring rain, and continued driving up the mountain. Just past Kyle Canyon the storm’s lightening had hit a tree causing it to fall into the road, so I had to get out and push it’s charred remains to the roadside.

When we finally arrived at the Upper Lodge, I was soaking wet and ready for a hot coffee. We shared a pizza and I played with Skye, drawing pictures on a napkin :-)

Me & Skye at Upper Lodge deciding what to order…

Me & Skye drawing.

Funny Pics

We went to a local store Shawna and I affectionately refer to as ‘the ghetto store’ a few days ago, and there in the parking section was this cholo car… I just had to photograph it with my cell phone for the blog :-D

Cholo Car!

In our local Walmart store last night, we saw a clown slowly wandering around the aisles pushing a shopping cart… It reminded me of George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead so I took a (blurred) photo discretely with my cell phone :-)

Walmart Clown…!?

Bug Update

We’ve been lucky so far to have not had any further scorpion/spider incidents in or around the house, let’s hope it stays that way…

We’ve had a few of the nicer bugs visit though, a large moth and several Praying Mantis’.

This large moth was approximately 4 inches in length and had a wing span of around 8 inches.

Always alert and other-worldly, this green Praying Mantis spent the night on our front patio. We also get sand colored Mantis’ here in the desert.

Uncle G’s Visit

Graham, Me & Skye at Lake Mead National Recreation Area, NV (5/15/09)

Uncle G (Graham Bonnet) came to visit us last week, we had a great time driving out to a few local places of interest and we also worked on some new songs for the Savage Paradise project.

“DAY-O!” Graham being Graham… ;-) Testing out the echo at Red Stone, Lake Mead (05/17/09)

Amongst other places, we visited the Lake Mead National Recreation Area (see above pics) and went to Echo Bay for lunch. Shawna had her little camera with her and took a bunch of great photos :-) On Monday the 18th I drove along the Nevada and California state line and into the Mojave Desert along the Joshua Tree Highway and showed Graham the little town of Nipton and then Cottonwood Cove on Lake Mohave (yes, it’s spelled with an ‘h’!) The temperature at Cottonwood Cove was 118 F with a warm wind.

Thirsty Skye drinking watermelon juice. Echo Bay, Lake Mead, (05/17/09)

Graham went back to L.A. yesterday, and that same evening my friend and bassist Paul ‘Pablo’ Stanney arrived in Vegas for a visit from the UK.

Shadows & Light

As well as the Savage Paradise album, I’m also hard at work on my new solo guitar instrumental album Shadows & Light and will be announcing soon the track titles and running order. I’m very pleased with the way it’s sounding so far, and it will further benefit from Pablo’s (Paul Stanney) bass lines and Kev’s (Kev Taylor) drums. There will be three special bonus tracks on the CD of vocal versions of three of the songs. Each song will have a different singer, the singers are Graham Bonnet (Rainbow/MSG/Alcatrazz), Lee Small (Shy/Phenomena/Lee Small Band) and John Pratt (Firefly). I’ll keep you posted on the album’s progress.

Bug Update

There’s actually nothing to report!! Hopefully it will stay this way… (touch wood)… we’ve already had our share of scorpions and spiders…

There are a few harmless lizards that live around our house, I managed to photograph one on the patio wall a few days ago with my cell phone (below).  They’re about 6 inches long and very fast…!

A desert lizard on our patio wall.

The weather’s getting warmer now, it was 109 F yesterday, and pretty soon the cicadas will be making their loud weird noise outside. We usually get praying mantis’ on the patio during the Summer months, but they’re harmless and good at keeping other insects at bay.

With a bit of luck, there won’t be another bug update for a while…

I’m asked a lot by learner guitarists through my website and MySpace page about guitars, amps and guitar music that influenced me when I was young, and also for advice on technique and guitar playing in general (which I’ll cover in the next blog entry).  I’ll try and answer the most commonly asked questions…

Guitars

There’s a lot of misinformation, nonsense and snobbery surrounding musical equipment in general, but especially so for guitars. Just because something costs more doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better. We all know that an expensive guitar and amp in the wrong hands will sound like shit, yet a cheaper guitar and amp in the right hands will sound fine. I’m often asked to recommend guitars and amps to players, but skill, experience, playing style and of course personal opinion are important factors to consider when buying equipment. It would be unwise for a novice player to spend $4,000 on a new guitar, as a professional grade instrument won’t magically improve someone’s playing and technique (or tone for that matter). However, I totally understand and respect the idea that it’s also nice to be the proud owner of something of value and beauty regardless of skill level.

Other than your skill level, the first thing to consider when buying a new guitar is what the guitar will be used for. It would be pointless investing in a high output dual humbucking guitar with a whammy bar if you intended playing folk music, just as it would be a bad choice to choose a guitar with single coil pickups if you planned on playing ’shred’ techniques. Think of the style of guitar that would be best suited to your requirements then go try a few.

The guitar’s build quality and wood are very important to how the guitar will play and sound. Mahogany is my preferred wood for guitars as I like it’s fat tone and singing voice, but there are guitars made from many different kinds of woods and combinations to suit. A popular combination is mahogany with a maple top, producing a brighter tone than just all mahogany (I personally prefer guitars made from all-mahogany). Some guitars are made of Alder, others from Basswood (my least preferred), there’s also Maple, Koa, Sapele, etc.

Pickups are very important too, and should usually be replaced on cheaper guitars as they will make all the difference in tone and noise levels. There are many options to choose from; higher output pickups are better suited to hard rock/metal/punk/shred, whilst medium output pickups are good for rock/blues/pop, etc. Humbuckers produce a fatter, thicker sound and are the best choice for overdriven sounds and clean jazz tones, whilst single coil pickups give a lighter and thinner sound, and are best suited to cleaner tones and pop, blues and softer rock styles. ‘Stacked’ humbuckers are available for single coil based guitars, but I personally prefer regular humbuckers to play modern rock guitar and ’shred’ techniques, plus a humbucker can easily be coil tapped to use as a single coil anyway.

I’m also often asked why I prefer set necks or thru-necks over bolt-on necks. My reasons are that I like the smooth, even sustain and resonance from set/thru-necks and the almost heeless feel to the upper frets. I also believe the theory that fewer joints and hardware produce better tone and stability. Bolt-on necks just feel cheap to me, and I don’t like some of the heel plate neck joints found on some guitars.

Guitars cost anything between $100 to thousands, obviously, a $100 guitar will play and sound in a manner to reflect it’s price tag, and very cheap guitars are a false economy as you’ll probably want to replace and upgrade almost immediately. You should shop around and try out different guitars and brands, there are some fine instruments out there around the $500 mark, add to this the cost of a pickup upgrade (if required) and you could own a pretty good guitar for around $700. However, a realistic price range for a quality, professional grade guitar is between $1,000 - $4,000, but there are bargains to be found and some great guitars are sometimes available for less. As a rule, the more you spend, the better the guitar’s wood and appointments will be.

Amplifiers

The same principle of best isn’t necessarily the most expensive with guitars also applies to amplifiers. If you’re a bedroom guitarist, you wouldn’t really need a 100W stack. Likewise, taking a 15W combo amp to a thrash metal rehearsal would be rather silly too. Again, look at your needs and style and then choose your amp carefully.

I personally use all-tube amplifiers. I’ve never liked solid-state amps and think that amp modelling/simulation technology is still very much in it’s infancy. A real tube amp behaves and reacts in a specific way to the guitar’s dynamics, and produces a distinctive warm, smooth overdriven tone.

In the studio, I usually play all my clean guitar sounds through the mixing desk, but all my overdriven guitars are played through close mic’d tube amps. My personal amp choice is relatively simple; I use a small 30W tube combo amp for recording, and larger 100W tube heads with 4 x 12 cabinets for live work. I use the amp’s overdrive gain on full, with a distortion pedal to boost the signal if required. A compressor/sustainer pedal is placed before the distortion unit to smooth out the signal.

As with guitars, amps are available in many different price ranges, the only way to choose one is to play through several until you find one you’re happy with. Other than the obvious tone, things to look for are build quality, amount of channels (two or more are best) and reliability.

Guitar Albums

I grew up listening to all kinds of music and was influenced by all kinds of styles and players. Although I was also influenced by several composers, I’ve listed below the guitar based albums that most influenced my playing when I was young:

(In no particular order):

1. Al Di Meola - Elegant Gypsy (1977)
2. Al Di Meola - Splendido Hotel (1980)
3. Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin & Paco de Lucia - Friday Night in San Francisco (1980)
4. Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin & Paco de Lucia - Passion, Grace & Fire (1983)
5. Paco de Lucia -  El Duende Flamenco de Paco de Lucia (1972)
6. Django Reinhardt - The Great Artistry of Django Reinhardt (1954)
7. Van Halen - Van Halen I (1978)
8. Van Halen - Van Halen II (1979)
9. Scorpions - Lovedrive (1979)
10. Scorpions - Blackout (1982)

Bug Update

The weather’s getting warmer here in the Nevada desert, so our bug guy came to the house last thursday and did his routine insecticide spraying inside and out. We haven’t had another scorpion incident since the last one, but we know that this doesn’t mean anything as last year proved…

I photographed a spider on our patio wall a few days ago, it looks like one similar to the spider I photographed a few weeks ago with a weird skinny abdomen, big body and long legs. I’m normally quite good at identifying the bugs but I don’t know what kind of spider this is. It was quite large, measuring approximately five inches in length.

Immediately after the bug guy’s spraying we usually get a sudden influx of insects, but this is normal as the bugs come out of their hiding places to move on.

The strange spider on our patio wall.

Echo Bay

The weather’s getting warmer, it’s been around 96F this week so we took Skye to Echo Bay again to feed the Koi carp. This time, we cunningly didn’t take popcorn for the fish, only bread; and Skye threw the bread pieces into the water without trying to eat them all like the last time :-)

Me (with the sun blinding me) & Skye at Echo Bay yesterday

Carrying Skye on my shoulders, one of her favorite things :-)

Funny Videos

I was sent the below funny video clips of British comedy duo Mitchell & Webb, and I thought I’d share them with you :-)

The Road to Echo Bay…

Not far from where we live is the Lake Mead National Reserve, a place of incredible beauty where the Colorado River meets the Hoover Dam, and then turns into Lake Mead. Lake Mead itself has 550 miles of shoreline, and the landscape is a mix of rugged mountains, smooth desert and calm waters. I’ve not been too well over the last few days, I’m still getting rid of a cold, but it always helps me to get out of the house and get some fresh air, and a drive through the Reserve is always uplifting. The weather was perfect on Sunday, it was a warm 82F with a warm breeze.

Desert Cactus in bloom, Lake Mead National Reserve

Located within the Reserve is Echo Bay, a little bay and marina at the bottom of a mountain pass, approximately 40 miles away from the Henderson side of the Lake Mead National Reserve gateway. We often drive out this way as the drive is peaceful with scenery straight out of a wild west movie, and the little nautical themed restaurant at Echo Bay has great food and a friendly atmosphere (the old blog had a few photos of the inside of the restaurant).

Echo Bay from the top of the mountain

You may remember from the old blog and gallery that we liked to visit the Las Vegas Marina at Lake Mead to feed the Koi Carp, but since the water level of Lake Mead has diminished over the past two years, the Koi have spread out further along the lake. We were pleased to see that Echo Bay has it’s own Koi population and Skye got to feed them popcorn and bread.

Skye walking along the jetty at the Echo Bay Marina holding my finger.

Having used up all the popcorn, I tried to show Skye how to throw pieces of bread into the water for the Carp…

… but she decided that whilst the popcorn was for the fish, the bread was definitely for her… ;-)

We stopped by the restaurant and had a late lunch, then drove around the lake for a while before hitting the store for groceries. In the store, Skye spotted a bright yellow Easter chick toy and was so taken with it we had to buy it for her :-) The video below shows some of the day’s events.