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Bob Elliott
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4/7/2009 12:40:55 AM
That Pete Townsend Quote Sure is Stupid
I smash guitars because I like them?
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Duane Flock
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4/7/2009 3:02:41 AM
I would think the guitar sponsors give Pete plenty of axes to smash up. That was Pete's thing. Windmill strokes...play till you bleed.... and then fuck-up your equipment with a loud Bang!
Hendrix would light his strats on fire with lighter fluid.
If it works, keep doin' it.
D.
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Bob Elliott
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4/7/2009 3:16:30 AM
Well, if you're jimi Hendrix...
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Jesse Adams
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4/7/2009 4:22:17 AM
I don't care who you are there is no excuse for smashing perfectly good guitars. (Or lighting them on fire or whatever egomaniacal thing you can think of.)
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Bryon Tosoff
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4/7/2009 5:43:25 AM
I was at a concert of the Who in 66 or 67 in Vancouver and it was unbelievable watching them smash their equipment at the end of the concert. kicking the crap out of the Drum Kit, smoke billowing out of the amps, Everybody just looked at each other in the audience in stunned silence. something totally unexpected...
IT was pretty mind boggling. but the music they did was amazing, a real trip ,so tight as a group and truly a magical time nonetheless
, . Blues Magoo Opened , The Who followed and it was sure tame with the headliners of Hermans Hermits afterwards.......
yeah I am that old....
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Gary Stockton
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4/7/2009 5:59:55 AM
He won't smash them anymore. The last one was a gold strat in Japan a few years ago. In fact, his partner, Rachel, made a coffee table with the last smashed guitar inside and had planned to auction it off for charity, but apparently there were legal complications to this so the effort was scrapped.
Of smashing guitars, Pete says:
When did you start smashing guitars?
It happened by complete accident the first time. We were just kicking around in a club which we played every Tuesday and I was playing the guitar and it hit the ceiling. It broke, and it kind of shocked me 'cause I wasn't ready for it to go. I didn't particularly want it to go but it went.
And I was expecting an incredible thing, it being so precious to me, and I was expecting everybody to go, "Wow, he's broken his guitar, he's broken his guitar" but nobody did anything which made me kind of angry in a way, and determined to get this precious event noticed by the audience. I proceeded to make a big thing of breaking the guitar. I pounced all over the stage with it and I threw the bits on the stage and I picked up my spare guitar and carried on as though I really meant to do it.
Were you happy about it?
Deep inside I was very unhappy because the thing had got broken. It got around and the next week the people came and they came up to me and they said "Oh, we heard all about it, man; it's 'bout time someone gave it to a guitar" and all this kind of stuff. It kind of grew from there; we'd go to another town and people would say, "Oh yea, we heard that you smashed a guitar" and all this kind of stuff. It kind of grew from there, we'd go to another town and people would say "Oh yea, we heard that you smashed a guitar." It built and built and built and built and built and built until one day, a very important daily newspaper came to see us and said, "Oh, we hear you're the group that smashes their guitars up. Well we hope you're going to do it tonight because we're from the Daily Mail. If you do, you'll probably make the front pages."
This was only going to be like the second guitar I'd ever broken, seriously. I went to my manager, Kit Lambert, and I said, you know, "Can we afford it, can we afford it, it's for publicity." He said, "Yes, we can afford it, if we can get the Daily Mail." I did it and of course the Daily Mail didn't buy the photograph and didn't want to know about the story. After that I was into it up to my neck and have been doing it since.
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Conversation Suicide
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4/7/2009 10:19:34 AM
I've seen MANY a well done performance (mostly on VIDEO) that ended with a good smashing.
Personally, can't afford to do it -- I barely let anybody touch my bass, 'cause I can't afford to replace it right now, and it is almost 7 years old..... BUT --- as soon as we get some financial stability.... I will DEFINITELY get a 2nd, or 3rd bass guitar, or get another acoustic (last one was too cheap of a make, and only lasted a few years). AND when I do have the alternate instruments in place, or WHEN that Bass finally goes, I WILL most likely try to be aware of the RIGHT time to dramatically end a show by smashing it....
Remember, when PETE made that quote, he was at the PEAK of the YOUTHFUL success part of his career... I'm quite sure he rarely has the desire to smash a guitar these days.
Hey -- here's a good question -- He's been collaborating with & promoting his girlfriend RACHEL's INDIE music on IAC.... Why doesn't he ever stop in to say HEY? Just curious. We also never hear from GREATS like Tom Waits, Jim Carroll, etc.....
I guess being stressful constricts your TIME even more, and certainly takes away the NEED to be so busy with promotion....
Anyhoo -- I think smashing a guitar (preferably one that's seen better dayz) is a GREAT performance art statement to end a set or show, and MANY a punk/grunge/metal/hardcore band has imitated Pete's behaviour.
Don't knock it, till you've tried it....
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Otis and the Professors
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4/7/2009 10:22:48 AM
Ya, can't afford that.
Plus we usually end our shows with a song that I play piano on... would it look as cool to smash up my piano?
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Ya, probably not.
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Conversation Suicide
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4/7/2009 10:37:19 AM
hehhh haaa heh ... Yeah, that got me laughing! tee hee.
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Jesse Adams
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4/7/2009 7:41:11 PM
I would never do it. It's just stupid to me. My instruments actually mean something to me.
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Otis and the Professors
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4/7/2009 7:57:08 PM
Now that I think about it, if I ever got to play on stage with one of those really nice grand pianos and, yknow, I was rich. I think it might look kinda cool to smash it up, like maybe with a guitar even. Some sort of vortex symbolism for how music is made, Otis could smash the piano in with his guitar and then we could walk off.
I like it.
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4/7/2009 8:00:41 PM
Herman's Hermits (headlining) following The Who. LOL
If I'm Peter Noone, I'd be apologizing to the audience.
From "I Can see For Miles" .............. to "Mrs. Jones you've got a loovly daughter".
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Bryon Tosoff
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4/7/2009 8:31:23 PM
Saphire said
If I'm Peter Noone, I'd be apologizing to the audience.
From "I Can see For Miles" .............. to "Mrs. Jones you've got a loovly daughter".>
Yeah Saphire, my friend said to me as we listened to that very song and said, "this is sure tame compared to the Who eh" I nodded in agreement...so tame rhymes with lame,,,but those songs of the Hermits are still classics.
Everyone knew who should have headlined that show, but at the time I guess the Hermits had more hits appeal or something....maybe big shiny teeth sparkling bright in some place unknown
Blues Magoo was pretty sweet , You aint got nothing yet ,one day your up and the next day your down
WE AINT GOT NOTHING YET
bryon
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