8/16/2007 2:53:08 PM
Hashish To Ashes

6/30/2007 5:08:12 PM
Meeting a Guitar Hero

6/30/2007 5:08:12 PM

Meeting a Guitar Hero
Just went to Polperro in Cornwall to watch Wizz Jones play. He is one of the classiest acoustic guitarists I have ever seen - one of the original beatniks and still out there entertaining at 68!

He probably won't thank me if he ever gets to hear this but he is the Grand Old Man of the UK folk scene and has been an inspiration to many, including the new wave of UK folk musicians. I rate his fingerpicking among the best I have heard; the style has to be seen to be believed but the result is fantastic. Wizz has used the same Epiphone for 40 years and it sounds great. He captivated the audience playing a mixture of his own songs and songs from his travelling years. If you're interested he has a website, www.wizzjones.com, with links to youtube videos. The standout songs are National 7, Happiness Was Free and Lucky The Man IMHO.

And to any cynics out there, I am not being paid to promote the guy - just want to share something special.

6/30/2007 5:43:54 PM

It's cool to run across some of your favorites and get to chat with them too. You can learn a lot from the masters, and when they say something, you'd be smart to listen and soak it all in. Hearing and watching them play is always great! There's a good reason why those guys are at that level. I myself have been playing 30 years and I never stop learning.

7/2/2007 10:31:45 AM

When I was 16 (1986), I was at the NAMM show in Chicago and had just been dissed by Neil Schon. I was feeling dejected. I bent down to tie my shoe and saw a pair of cowboy boots walk past. I looked up and saw none other than STEVE MORSE!

Taking a chance, I called out his name. He backtracked and came over to speak with me, with a smile on his face.
"Come on. Let's take a walk," he said to me. "I'm heading back to the (Ernie Ball) booth."

We walked together for a few minutes and he asked me as many questions as I asked him. He seemed genuinely interested in hearing what I had to say, and he offered me some pretty good advice for getting better.("Always practice with a metronome.")

It was the polar opposite of my experience with the other guy. And I have appreciated it every time I pick up a guitar since.

Great player. Great guy.

So cool when something like that happens.

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