When it comes to classic rock, it's hard to beat AC/DC.  My favorite band?  Well, not exactly.  But I love their energy (pun intended), the fun they seem to be having on stage, and the sound and style of their…

One of the best things about being a guitar player is having access to effects pedals. They're interesting, colorful, they open up lots of new sounds, and if you know how to turn the knobs just right, they can really…

Strange but true! OK, not so strange actually, but I thought it was sorta weird: Early on Saturday afternoon, I was flipping through TV channels, and stumbled upon a golf tournament. I'm not a golfer (probably because I'm no good…

Wow, two legends gone in one month.

Jeff Beck, one of my favorite guitar players, passed away in mid-January. He was one of those people that I assumed would be around forever; probably because he pushed the envelope, and was…

Been seeing a lot of articles about "music royalty" lately.  There's Elvis, King of Rock and Roll.  Aretha Franklin, Queen of R&B.  James Brown, Godfather of Soul.  Many people with titles like those definitely deserve them.

But now I see…

Happy Holidays!  We've had quite a month here; let's just leave it at that. Due to several events out of my control (and a fair amount of exhaustion), I decided to find an easy way out of having to think…

Unless you're a guitar nut, like me, these 3 guys are most likely not household names.  But they are some of my guitar heroes, and they deserve way more attention than they get.  Click these YouTube links and give them…

When I started out in 2014, I quickly found out that a lot of my preconceptions about performing were wrong.  One of them was my fear of using backing tracks.

More than once, I had heard other musicians use words…

As I'm pretty sure I've said before, writing music doesn't come easily for me.  It's why, after all this time, I've done only one album.  You'd think though, that at least the lyrics shouldn't be too much trouble, considering some…

A while back, I posted about some highly unlikely collaborations that actually happened (Zappa and Osmond on Nightline, the Martha Stewart / Snoop Dog connection, Pat Boone's "metal and leather" phase, etc).  I jokingly suggested that there is an upcoming…

In 2015, I tried adjusting the neck relief on my Squier Precision Bass but I forgot to loosen the strings first.  SNAP went the truss rod.

I ordered a replacement neck from Warmoth, a vendor of bolt-on…

I couldn't resist making fun of this one. The world's most overplayed cover song; Sweet Caroline.  from cruise ships to poolside bars to Boston Red Sox games to Over-55 retirement communities everywhere.  How many times have I played it?  Thankfully…

There used to be a venue in North Melbourne that was near (actually right next to) the Sarno Road landfill.  It was called, rightly, The Landfill Saloon.

It was pretty popular with locals, especially with bikers, but for some reason…

I've butchered the lyrics to quite a few songs over the years, even before there was a Weird Al Yankovich.  And as I had said in a previous post (see Hey Mr Dan Marino, from 18Nov2021), I plan to put…

Some bucket list buckets should remain empty, I guess.

When I was 7 years old, I wanted to be a "blimp driver".  True.  We lived right across the causeway from the mooring mast of the Goodyear Blimp. It was maybe…

In 1985, I saw something I never would have believed could happen.  On the TV show Nightline, Frank Zappa and Donny Osmond were discussing a Music Content Labeling bill that was up for vote in Congress.  Strangely, they were both…

I really love what I do.  Playing music is, by far, the best "job" I've ever had.  No one so lucky should ever complain.  So please forgive me for my second consecutive whiney post.  Anyway, here goes:

Guitar players, especially…

Any musician who's been out there long enough has horror stories of gigs that went wrong, and I'm no exception.

A few years ago, I got a call from a French-Canadian snowbird about playing a New Year's Eve party at…

UPDATE (09Jan2022): Incredibly, after I posted this writeup and parody song, Miami won 8 of their last 9 games of the 2021 NFL season.  Maybe it's time to write a song for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

I love college football.  NFL…

I've never really been in a successful band, though the first one, in high school, was by far the most fun. The fact is, I don't think I was ever meant to be in a band situation. It just seems…

What is it about vacuum tubes?  Why would so many of us pay so much for for gear that has electronics that are modeled after 1940s-era technology?  Though it seems odd and outdated, most guitar players will swear that tube…

We were watching one of those Saturday evening Time-Life audio collections on TV the other day (yes, I admit we do watch them sometimes) when they started playing tunes from lesser known bands like Mott The Hoople and Nazareth.  Though…

Summer always reminds me of how much I love the Fall.  Nothing wrong with summer, I'm just not a big fan, though it is very hot today and I could use a big fan.  I love Florida, boats, fishing, and…

Cars used to be pretty simple, and as far as I ever knew, beer was just beer.  Both have changed a lot over the years.

One night way back when, a friend (hey, Ken) and I had a few cold…