Steve Lukather is Cool and I Love the 21st Century

First, let's start with this: I've been thinking I needed to dream up something to say here. I never thought it would be anything like this.

I saw a link on Facebook today, of Eric Skye doing a solo fingerstyle arrangement of "All Blues".



Let's be clear: Miles Davis' Kind of Blue is one of my favorites, and "All Blues" is one of my favorites from Kind of Blue. Beyond that, I've been wanting to get a smaller bodied guitar because I want something less boomy and more punchy than my dreadnought.

I love it. I need to listen to the real take, not just the discussion. Plus, I need this or at least this, but that's not really actionable today. What is actionable is pulling up versions on Spotify and putting them into your queue.  This included one with Larry Carlton and Steve Lukather from No Substitutions, Live in Osaka.

Ever have something rub you the wrong way? It did me, and I tweeted about it.

Listening to Larry Carton and Steve Lukather take on All Blues. I like guitars w/ gain. I like jazz. I don't like said guitars in jazz.

A justifiable position, if a throw-away position. Re-listening to the track on Spotify, I'm finding it far less objectionable. And it's a tone issue, not a playing issue. Clearly, both are top players.

 Here's some Larry and Steve from YouTube, but not the same track.



This lead to a discussion with friend-of-the-blog and fellow Clarence White fan Adios Lounge (@adioslounge), basically ending with the thought that Western Swing and Redneck Jazz are great. We hold these truthes as self-evident.



That is the greatest of ease, isn't it?

But it doesn't stop there. Because, I follow Steve Lukather on Twitter, so he was able to find this conversation and reply via DM, which I won't quote because I can't link to it.

In the 20th century, you harsh on music you have problems with to your friends near you. At the turn of the century, you harsh on and discuss music you have problems with to your friends around the world. In the 21st century, the person you harsh on, a person who played on one of the first albums you ever bought, responds to you.

I love the 21st century. And I still need to find Eric Skye's take on "All Blues". No, wait....

David Gilmour on a Telecaster

Plus an echo box, doing "Run Like Hell"

Jim Campilongo, "The Prettiest Girl In New York"

Man, if that isn't Chet Atkins meets Roy Buchanan, I don't know what is.

The man will teach it to you, too.

Riding With The Wind

Steve Vai.
Orianthi.
Joe Satriani.
And, coming in at the 6-minute mark with the guy with the camera-phone not knowing where to look, the amazing Tony MacAlpine.

All going through Hendrix' great song, "Little Wing".

(Seriously, look up Maximum Security. It is about my second favorite shred album, still after all these years.)

So, That Was Something

We just had our Christmas concert. Normally, the holiday-themed event is better explained as a play or a musical or the like, and there was a bit of a theatrical element, but by and large, it was the band -- bands, really, involving both Sunday bands, with the bassists switching off and the percussionists trading positions between the plexiglass cage for the kit and the bongos and shakers and such outside -- and the choir just playing music.

We guitarists simply decided that the other would generally play lower chords while I would play higher chords, because it is silly to have two guitarists playing the chord form. So, I'm up the neck, set to bridge pickup, and playing a chord form I learned from Richard Thompson. Listen to "Shoot Out The Lights" from the album of the same name and and you'll hear a bit that you will not immediately recognize as E-D-E, because of the joy of voicings. The first E is basically the D form barred and moved up two frets, roughly 022450, which you'll notice is all roots and fifths. When playing with distortion, the third makes the chord sound bad, so that's a nice chord to have. I've taken to that as a go-to chord form, the D-style barre, going there more often than A and E style barres, which we've come to take as standard.

So, I had roughly 2 hours practice on Tuesday, general playing on Wednesday, 2 hours practice on Friday, 2 hours practice on Saturday, 1 hour practice/soundcheck and 2 services Sunday AM, and the gig Sunday evening. And boy, is my shoulder still sore. But it was fun.

Cool Floral Teles from Fender Japan

Those in the know are well aware that many of the coolest, best made Strats and Teles come from Fender Japan, and this floral Tele, one of a series of kimono-inspired floral designs, shows it. Hat tip to Guitarz for making me aware of these.

Indianola, as played by Eilidh McKellar

Stratoblogster annonted Eilidh McKellar as a Strat-o-Sister, sure, but notice the lack of top horn on her guitar. She's one of us Tele pickers. Come to think of it, when Robbin Ford (whose song she's playing) plays single coils, doesn't he play a Tele too?

I love a top-bound sunburst Tele. Don't you?