"...the bass I've had for over 27 years. One night I got drunk and pulled all the frets off, then drunk again a couple of weeks later I tried to stick them back on again. A while after that I got drunk yet again, and decided to whittle a new neck out of a piece of 3" x 2" timber I had in my shed. That said, it played, and I have used it on many of my recordings."
Eastwood Guitars - those kings of the retro-reissue guitar - proudly present the limited edition Pete Shelley Starway signature guitar, based on a guitar with a partially broken body that Pete played in the early days of classic punk band The Buzzcocks. Judging by the headstock shape and those distinctive fingerboard inlays, my guess would be that the original was a Teisco - probably the E-100 model (look it up on the Teisco Twangers website).
Comments will now be moderated. Sorry about that, folks, but there's always one brain-dead simpleton who has to spoil it for everyone else, in this case a retard calling himself Ed, who - no surprise - was too chicken to leave his email address.
It's an original 1988/89 Made in Japan Blue Flower Fender Strat, not one of the inferior recent reissues (nasty scratchplate and small headstock on those), and what's more - it's absolutely pristine! There's not a scratch on her. One lady owner, low mileage, etc.
Long-term blog readers will know that I used to have a pair of Paisley Pink Fenders from this same period - a Telecaster and a Stratocaster (pictured here on the right) - and I had to sell them as I needed the money quite urgently at the time. I've always regretted that sale, but this Blue Flower baby makes up for some of that. Wow! What a find!
Sadly, tonight in the UK on BBC4 we'll be seeing the final episode in the first series of Flight Of The Conchords - one of the funniest and most inventive comedy shows to be seen in recent years. The premise is simple: Bret and Jemaine are two naïve musicians from New Zealand trying to make it in the music business in New York, aided and abetted by Murray their usually inept manager who has a day job in the New Zealand Consulate. If truth be told, not a lot actually happens of any momentum to our two heroes throughout the series. The joy of this programme is in the ridiculous dialogue, the hopeless tangles they get themselves into, and the fantastic and often quite surreal songs that are woven into the scripts usually in the form of some dream sequence.
Led Zeppelin: The guitars are as much a part of their image as Robert Plant's blond cascade: Jimmy Page's guitars are as much a part of the Zep image as Robert Plant's blond cascade. Article from The Independent.
This guitar really takes the biscuit! It looks as if someone wanted to emulate the now legendary Dobbincaster and create an animal-themed guitar. Check out those fingerboard inlays - they are bone shaped. Wacky, eh?
I reckon they could have been a bit more inventive. For instance, how about having the dog's head emerging from a kennel? As it is, the fade to a turquoise Randy Rhodes style shape just doesn't work for me.
And why not give the dog a collar and attach the strap to that as if it were a leash? That would have been quite funny.
Anyhow, this beastie is equipped with what appears to be a backwards mounted
"Great sound for heavy metal", it says. Now, had Anthrax changed their name to Basketful of Puppies as was once suggested during the anthrax scares of a few years ago, then this would have been the guitar for them.
One of these days I'm going to start up a spoof gothic band and get in a bunch of hideous guitars a bit like this.
This guitar found for sale on eBay (where else?) looks like it could be a cousin of the squashed frog.
Here's a rather wacky-looking left-handed acoustic fretless "banana bass" from the now legendary rustic luthier Steve Wishnevsky. This one looks like it was inspired by an early harp guitar design.
Queen guitarist Brian May named university chancellor: "In this age of celebrity culture, it is rare to find someone who has fame, fortune and universal acclaim and yet who remains true to his core values of learning and enlightenment," says Michael Brown, vice chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University.
The 5-minute Interview: Steve Diggle, singer, songwriter and guitarist from The Buzzcocks, of course. They have a new live album out next week.
Island gives inspiration for guitars: The story of how a barrister-musician-songwriter-producer-entrepreneur set about creating his own high quality guitar brand - Vashon Guitars - named after the island where he lives.
Did John Lennon Own The Mystery Guitar? "Lennon stayed at the hotel with friends and, when he came to pay the bill, he apparently didn't have the cash on him so left the guitar behind while he went into Plymouth to get some. The story goes that he never came back..."
Epiphone announce EpiActive pickups: the design makes these looks awfully like the dreaded EMG pickups. Let's hope they sound better. (Sits back and waits for the backlash).
I wouldn't have thought it was possible to take a BC Rich design as inspiration and make it look any worse! Mercy!
Imagine trying to find a case to fit that monstrosity. I really can't imagine anyone having the patience to put up with such a stupid and unwieldy design. (eBay link).
Reverend Guitars Announces Roundhouse HB-FM Electric Guitar: I wonder what Gibson will make of this? After all they didn't take too kindly to PRS's Single Cut guitar, claiming it infringed the design copyright of the Les Paul.
The History Of The SG: Sharp Points And Radical Departures: A potted history of Gibson's classic guitar from the folks at Epiphone. I notice they skip over details such as why it was renamed from Les Paul to SG (i.e. the man himself didn't like it).
Here's Stig Pedersen from Denmark's D-A-D (formerly known as Disneyland After Dark but don't let the Walt Disney Corporation hear you calling them that else their lawyer-dialling fingers get twitchy) wielding another one of his barking mad two-string basses. Absolute genius!
Photo: Tina Carstensen www.tinacarstensen.dk
Living legend Page 'on the mend': as you will probably have heard by now, Led Zeppelin's re-union gig has been postponed because Jimmy Page managed to break the little finger of his left hand in a freak gardening accident. At least he didn't fall out of a tree onto his head like another guitarist we all know.
Turned up to 100: Tom Hughes learns to read music for a mass gathering of guitarists as he takes part in a performance of Glenn Branca's Symphony No 13, subtitled Hallucination City.
McCartney Refused to be the "Loser Bassist": Paul McCartney was unhappy with his role as bassist when he joined The Beatles because he feared he would be less famous than his bandmates. (So it says here. But surely Stuart Sutcliffe was the bassist when he first joined? Sounds like bad journalism to me.)
Now it's India's turn: Over 2,000 guitarists will gather at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, for The World Record Guitar Ensemble during the autumn festival on October 26. For this attempt at the record, the song they will be playing is Bob Dylan's "Knocking On Heaven's Door". The existing Guinness Book of World Records' guitar ensemble stands at 1,721 guitarists from Kansas City, US performing the rock classic "Smoke On The Water" on June 4, 2007.
Paul Raven, bassist with post-punk band Killing Joke, has died of a suspected heart attack aged 46.
In another sad loss to the world of alternative and punk music, Paul Fox, guitarist of The Ruts has also passed away.
RIP to the both of them.
I'm impressed by the ingenuity that some people display when customising guitars, but let's face it, that headstock isn't really designed for all those extra machine heads, is it?
However, if it appeals to you, it's currently for sale on eBay.
Now, this is what a Fender Stratocaster XII should look like.
Prince Is Number One Underrated Guitarist: I'm astonished. That's the trouble with these polls - no imagination.
Gibson's Self-Tuning Guitar: "As the strings are played, the Powertune processor compares their actual frequencies with the desired notes and sends instructions - tighten the string this much, loosen the string by that much - to tuning pegs equipped with strong, tiny servo motors mounted on the back of the guitar's head."
Guitar Tour Is Lift For Oxfam: A guitar has started an epic journey - beginning and ending in Oxford - to raise cash for aid relief. The stunt will see Jammy - a green electro-acoustic - being played by hundreds of professional and amateur musicians in order to raise money for the Oxford-based charity as part of the Oxjam music festival.
Meet Yuri Landman, Maker of Awesome Guitars for Sonic Youth, Liars, Blonde Redhead, Lightning Bolt: As a postscript to my previous post, here's an interview over at PitchforkMedia with Yuri Landman, the creator of the Moonlander and other eccentric instruments.
Outlaws' Guitarist Dies at 55: Hughie Thomasson, a founding member of the legendary Southern Rock band The Outlaws, passed away at his home in Brooksville, Florida late Sunday evening. Thomasson, 55, died of a heart attack in his sleep.
Whitesnake Guitarist Uncovers His Own Imposter: Former Whitesnake guitarist Mel Galley has personally uncovered a man who has been posing as him. Perhaps he should have asked him to demonstrate his guitar playing skills.
Led Zeppelin to Rock with Sound of Craftsman's Guitars: John Paul Jones will be playing new basses built by Hugh Manson of Exeter at the forthcoming Led Zeppelin one-off reunuion show at London's O2 centre later this year.
Guitar fans are bursting with love for the now legendary Gibson Les Paul Standard "Burst" sunburst finish. Nice article on vintage guitar collecting from Virginia's dailypress.com.
Led Zeppelin to confirm reunion: Rock group Led Zeppelin are expected to announce a one-off reunion concert at a press conference on Wednesday.
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