Let’s talk about his setup and his work.  Mike had some beautiful semi-acoustic telecaster types on display.  I took a Ranchero Grande Thinline in my hands and it felt made to measure.  I showed a little grin and Mike was looking for this reaction.  I looked at him and asked him how he knew my hands.  He silently produced three or four unfinished necks and handed them over to me.  He insisted that I take it out to the back sound room and plug it into an amp and try.  Unfortunately, there was less than an hour until the show closed and I had to catch a glimpse of at least everything.

“Which one do you like best?”, he asked like a kid beating an adult at chess?

I mean this guy is really interesting.  Take time and visit his site at potvinguitars.com.  He has some standard models but my favourite is the Mercury GT, which to me strikes me as very “zz toppish”.

The other really cool thing is that his fan page has almost up to the minute coverage of two or three new guitars always in the works.  Fans get to vote on colors of dials, finishing colors, and all kinds of other stuff.

I promised myself that if I ever met Buddy Guy I would stay cool, calm, and collected, not to mention especially respectful.  Well, I broke that promise about three and a half years ago.

I’ve met other celebrities and I managed to keep my composure and not freak like some girl dripping over Elvis or the Beatles.  I think being in Mr. Guy’s presence had a much more powerful effect on me.

I think he showed Jimmy Page how to strum a guitar with a foreign object (Page usually uses a violin bow)

Buddy Guy plays with or without a pick – sometimes both in the same song as he hides the pick in his hand.  He plays with his sleeve dammit.  For Godsake’s he has fans in the audience that strum for him and it still sounds great!

He’s a damn fine acoustic player too.  His covers seem original and his original material is cutting edge and relevant.

For me he’s the Picasso of guitar players, having different periods with different sounds but you always could recognize the baritone blues singer with bone-chilling falsetto.  Whether from the Chess days or the Silvertone.  Whether with or without Scott Holt and Ray Allison or Eddie Kramer he always makes me want to pick up the guitar and play except when I see him playing – then I want to put my guitar down.

Let’s put things into perspective.  Many people will say that Buddy Guy is not the best guitar player and that there are or have been better players.  Consider that Eric Clapton has called Buddy Guy the best guitar player   Consider also that the only reason Jimi Hendrix ever cancelled one of his own shows was to see Buddy play on the same night.  In the many available interviews with Buddy Guy, he often recounts the story of being on stage when someone would say, “Hey man, Jimi’s in the audience” when he would simply retort, “Jimi who?”  Jimi Hendrix has also been cited as saying that Buddy Guy was a major influence on his showmanship and that many of his onstage antics were there to complement what he thought was mediocre playing, as did Buddy Guy himself.  It’s widely known that Buddy’s over the top onstage style compensated for what he thought was not so good playing and a not so good voice.  I couldn’t disagree more today.

So, considering his style, deep southern seated Chicago style electric blues, à la Muddy Waters.  In fact, Buddy Guy was also discovered by Muddy Waters after he had moved almost  penniless from Louisiana to Chicago.  Muddy had discovered Buddy sleeping on a park bench after he had heard that this new kid in town could play a few good licks.  Buddy became a Chess session player, being taught by Muddy Waters himself.  Also consider that Buddy played lightning fast – he plays sixteenths riffs where others are playing eights; he’ll play thirtyseconds where others are playing sixteenths.  He was also the second to play with this guitar around his back (the first being T-Bone Walker, unless anyone cares to provide a more accurate historical citation).  Consider also his more than emotional singing, his blues style guitar playing rising melancholic feelings in your soul, to making the guitar outright cry; but not crying hurtfully, but crying emotionally, sadly, like in Sweet Black Angel.

For those of you who don’t know, I hail from Montreal, considered a hockey capital, not a blues capital, yet we have our great share of local blues greats:  Steve Hill, Carl Tremblay, the guys from Offenbach and Corbeau.  We’ve also got our share of rock greats:  Marjo, Robert Charlebois, April Wine, etc.  Many of the blues folks in Montreal will talk reverently about Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, BB King, and Stevie Ray Vaughan (pronounced in French as “vogan” – no silent gh here).  I’ve seen Buddy Guy about five times between the Théatre St-Denis, the Spectrum (now closed), and the Bell Centre.  Buddy (first name basis only for the simplicity of writing this blog – I don’t know him personally, except probably for crashing his birthday bash in 2007 at Legends) always puts on an electrifying show, and some will point out that if you’ve seen him more than once, well you’ve really only seen him once as he’s almost always playing the same set.  I don’t know about you but I never get tired of hearing Five Long Years and Sweet Home Chicago.

The first time I saw Buddy was at the St-Denis Theatre sometime around 1995.  My wife had been in the hospital for a week with an undiagnosed respiratory problem (a persistent pneumothorax to be more precise).  The show was on her birthday and she told me not to miss the show.  I went to the show with her brother, with whom I agreed to be ready much before the show as the venue had general seating.  St- Denis theatre has a balcony and I pushed for the brother in law to be ready so we could catch a seat on the floor in front of the stage, knowing that Mr. Guy frequently played in the crowd.  My brother in law didn’t have his shit together and showered about 15 minutes prior to the show.  I was fuming.  We finally made it to the show to catch the opening act, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers.  Mayall and troupe were awesome.  But we were stuck on the godamm balcony.  We could see the stage well (but far) and the sound was excellent (as compared to that toilet bowl of an Olympic Stadium we have in Montreal).

Mr. Guy finally came on stage and we were riveted from that moment on.  We were literally on the edge of our seats and he intentionally would play barely audibly for the crowd.  He would whisper into the mic, and hand motion the drummer to play quieter still.  Then he broke into the most explosive solo with the volume at full throttle.  The effect on the crowd was both mesmerizing and hypnotic.  He got us.  Throughout the show, he’d played for the crowd a couple of seconds at a time and got some women to strum his signature Stratocaster while he did the neck work.  He was surreal and though I had heard of his showmanship skills before, nothing could prepare us.  The show was overall fantastic.

Throughout the show, I’d elbow my brother in law with these sharp reminders that we could have been sitting down below when all of a sudden he elbowed me so hard in the ribs I was winded.  “There he is!  There he is!”  I looked over at two o’clock where there was Mr. Buddy Guy, world’s greatest guitar player according to Eric Clapton, soloing on the balcony!  He was right there ten feet in front of us on the balcony.  Everyone could hear him but few had figured out where he was playing from.  We approached cautiously and he played for us – I mean it.  He played for us, not the stage nor the crowd.  We got close enough that he let me put my arm around his shoulder and my brother in law put his arm around his waist.  We played for the entire St. Denis theatre, looking over the balcony and everyone looking up at us.  We smelled the Geri Curl and we felt his perspiration but that didn’t matter.  We were in his aura.  The experience probably lasted no more than thirty seconds to a minute but time had frozen for us.

From that point on, Buddy Guy was my hero, just about surpassing Stevie Ray Vaughan, whom I had the opportunity to see play in Jarry Park, Montreal, during the September 1987 Miller Fest.

On top of my “bucket list” or list of places to visit before I died, Chicago escalated to number one spot.  I figured it would be much easier and more likely that I visit Chicago than the Great Pyramids of Egypt.  I was right.

On business travel, I ended up for about four days in the Chicago suburb of Northbrook (that’s where the Underwriter’s Laboratories are located).  I looked up Mr. Guy’s touring schedule and noted that he was in Europe the week before and the week after I’d visit Northbrook.  I hoped that he’d be in his club Legends, on Wabash street in lower downtown Chicago.

I entered Legends in awe, for me it was as important as a pilgrimage many Elvis fans make when they visit Graceland in Memphis.  I paid the ten dollar admission, bought a t-shirt, sweater, hat, and mug.  It was early evening so no one was on stage.  I took a seat, any one to my liking as the place was relatively empty.  I scouted the place to see if I’d spot anybody famous.  Saw a couple of people at the bar, almost invisible they were.

I went to the doorman and asked him whether “Buddy” (my first lesson in disrespect – don’t refer a famous blues legend that you don’t know personally by his first name to one of his bodyguards) would be in that evening.

“Mr. Guy will be dropping by anytime now,” the bouncer reassured me.  He also let me know that Mr. Guy was very approachable and usually never turns down a handshake, a photo, an autograph, or even a drink and a five minute talk so long as you approached him carefully and respectfully.

At that moment he walked in and the whole place offered him hellos and heys.  He was very humble and looked almost uncomfortable by the attention.  Hey, don’t forget this man is well into his seventies and plays some 300 shows a year.  What does he owe anyone?

Some female out of town fans quickly approached him with a disposable camera.  He offered to take his photo with them.  They didn’t need to ask.  His cue was well known.  He took a couple of photos with them when he saw me in the corner of his eye with the white Legends T-shirt.  I hesitated to ask him to sign it, but again he offered.  I approached, dry mouthed and speechless.  I put out my hand and he shook it with a, “pleased to meet you, sir”.  (I actually have goosebumps as I right this passage).  We shook hands and I told him I was from Montreal and almost always saw him, I was his best fan, I bought all his records, rant, rant, rant.  He acted genuinely as if he knew me or remembered seeing my in the crowd.  I became too enthusiastic after he offered to sign my shirt.  “Buddy Guy 2006”.  Wow!

The following year I happened to be in an Illinois suburb when I figured I had the time to swing down to Chicago and check out Legends again.  Checked out the touring schedule and that week there was no touring.  As it happened, I showed up at Legends with my digital camera this time, saw Mr. Guy at the bar, and immediately went to him, patting him on the back as if we were long time friends that hadn’t seen each other since the last family reunion, with a, “Hey Buddy, how are you?”  He didn’t remember me as that fan from Montreal from the year before and I obviously irritated him more than anything else.  Before he could answer I jibed, “Could you take a photo with me?”  Now there was a look of consternation just like when a celebrity is about to tell a paparazzi to fuck off.  I immediately came to my senses, offering an apology but it was too late.  The damage was done.  Here I am in Buddy Guy’s world famous Legends bar, on his terms, making an ass of myself, but more importantly, upsetting one of the most pivotal figures not only for the blues, but for all guitar players around the world, when he looked at me in the eyes, pissed, with a, “Come on man.  You want your picture?  What are you waiting for?”  It was the most awkward moment of my life.  I really didn’t want that picture that badly.  But I got it.

I’m sorry Mr. Guy for bothering you.  You didn’t deserve it.  Folks, remember, those musicians and rock stars you aspire to become, or idolize are human too.  They have good days and bad days like lots of us.  The next time you have a bad day imagine what it would be like to live in a hotel for 300 nights a year (on constant restaurant food) without your family.  With fame comes lots of responsibility but also lots of family challenges (does any celebrity have a normal family life?).  I don’t know anybody that enjoys being harassed by a sales clerk in a store.  Well many celebrities aren’t really impressed by strangers demanding something of them.

My memory of Buddy Guy went a lot further when I actually shook his hand and had a thirty second chat with him without expecting anything in return.

Grasshopper James

No movie exemplifies Django Reinhardt’s legendary persona as much as Sweet and Low Down, featuring Sean Penn, playing a second fiddle Emmett Ray.

Born in Belgium but spending most of his childhood and early life in Gypsy camps around France, Django was obviously gifted while playing banjo, banjo-guitar, and guitar.

Famous for what people refer to as “deformed” fingers, his third and fourth left fingers were badly burned in a home fire when he was around eighteen.  Doctors would say that he’d never play again.  It took a year to walk again and his brother Joseph, also an accomplished guitarist, bought him a new guitar to get him back on track.

From then on, everything we heard (and just about everything he recorded) from solos to chord work was done with only two left fingers (today Jeff Beck boasts about recording an album with only two fingers; does that make him a Django imitator?)

Django collaborated often with French violinist Stéphane Grapelli and eventually went on to play with Duke Ellington and play Carnegie Hall.

He died an untimely death at the age of 43 from a brain hemorrhage.

David Reinhardt is in direct lineage with not only a jazz guitar great, but a guitar great yet there is no entry for him on the English side of Wikipedia.  You can find him under “Gypsy Jazz” or the French Wikipedia.

Born in 1986, son of Babik Reinhardt (another Reinhardt accomplished guitarist), and never having met his legendary grandfather, he quickly proves that music is hereditary, at least at the Reinhardts.

Is he a contemporary player you ask?  With titles like “Sponge Bop” what do you think?

He’s been playing since the age of 6 and he formed his own trio in 2008.

David Reinhardt is lined up at the 2010 Montreal International Jazz Festival.  He’s also a very prominent and respected guitar player on the Manouche circuit in Europe.

Check out his MySpace profile myspace.com/davidreinhardt1986

BB King and Bukka White

If you listen to Satellite radio often enough, you’ll unmistakably hear B.B. King, the mayor of Bluesville (Sirius 74) in an interview with Bill Wax talk about his early beginnings and not to mention that he got a little help from his older cousin, the great delta blues player, Bukka White.

Bukka White was born Booker T. Washington “Bukka” White in 1906 and died in 1977 He was a delta blues guitarist and singer born near Houston, Mississippi. Even though he didn’t like the spelling “Bukka”, he was best known by that name. He gave B.B. his first guitar, a Stella.  Bukka was known to play on National Steels.

Thanks to last.fm

Johnny and Shemekia Copeland

I first took notice to Johnny Copeland around the summer I turned eighteen right about when the ground-breaking commercially successful album Showdown! came out featuring Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland, and Robert Cray.

I got more of Johnny Copeland on a Stevie Ray Vaughan show (his re-released 1982 & 1985 Live Montreux concerts).

Johnny Copeland, while not your traditional bluesman in the sense of identifying with a Les Paul or Stratocaster, or even a Tele or an SG, or a 335 or 355 for that matter.  No he simply played a Peavy T-60, more known for their amps than their electric guitars.  You can see him on stage playing off of Stevie Ray Vaughan as much as Stevie Ray played off him.

Check him out on landmark blues recording Showdown with Albert Collins and Robert Cray.  His Texas Twister album is also noteworthy and a blues landmark.

At a young age, Shemekia Copeland is already a force to be reckoned with in the blues. While still in her 20s, she’s opened for the Rolling Stones, headlined at the Chicago Blues Festival and numerous festivals around the world, scored critics choice awards on both sides of the Atlantic (The New York Times and The Times of London) and shared the stage with such luminaries as Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Taj Mahal and John Mayer. Heir to the rich tradition of soul-drenched divas like Ruth Brown, Etta James and Koko Taylor, Copeland’s shot at the eventual title of Queen of the Blues is pretty clear. By some standards, she may already be there.

At only 19, Shemekia stepped out of her father’s shadow with the Alligator release of 1998 debut recording, Turn the Heat Up!, and the critics raved. The Village Voice called her “nothing short of uncanny,” while the Boston Globe proclaimed that “she roars with a sizzling hot intensity.” A year later, she appeared in the Motion Picture Three To Tango, while her song “I Always Get My Man, was featured in the film Broken Hearts Club.

Thanks to shemekiacopeland.com and last.fm

Muddy Waters and Big Bill Morganfield

I was first turned on to the blues by Stevie Ray Vaughan via the Rolling Stones and Chuck Berry.  From there it didn’t take me long to learn about Muddy Waters.  Unfortunately, before the Internet came around, in the late eighties and early nineties I had to listen to Montreal’s Rock Station Chom FM’s Blue Monday – basically the only time we could listen to the blues was Monday nights between nine and midnight.

I had heard of the name “Muddy Waters” and I thought that was a really cool name.  I even learned that the Rolling Stones (my favorite band of all time) had named themselves after a Muddy Waters song.

Twenty years later I still listen profusely to Muddy Waters.  Anything from the early Chess recordings in the late forties to his late, Johnny Winter-produced, Grammy winning “Hard Again” will do for me.  Muddy is one of the few artists I can listen to any time of day, any day of the week and claim him to be mine.  Should I be stuck on a desert island and be allowed only one album to listen to, anything from Muddy Waters would do.

While he left a great legacy of recordings and he ultimately pioneered the Chicago blues scene, his greatest legacy must be his son.

Many people try to fill a parent’s shoes when it comes to entertaining families but Big “Bill” Morganfield was born with big feet.  He’s emerged as a solid player who can belt the tunes as competently as his father’s and his own legend is forming as well.

Morganfield’s debut album, Rising Son, was released in 1999 to popular and critical acclaim.  Guitar Player expressed their belief that Morganfield’s album would have brought a smile to his father’s face. The following year, the W.C. handy Awards dubbed Waters’ son the Best New Blues Artist.

In 2009, Big Bill Morganfield started his own record company, Black Shuck Records. Black Shuck Records is backed by VizzTone Label Group and serves as the backbone of Black Shuck Records. Bill’s new CD, Born Lover was released July 7, 2009 on Black Shuck Records. CD co-producer (and Muddy Waters’ Band alumnus) Bob Margolin writes, “Big Bill Morganfield’s, Born Lover, reveals and celebrates his journey and progress as a Blues artist. I find that Bill still honors his father with deep Chicago Blues. He also tells his own stories with original songs, a wide variety of style, and fiery slide guitar. Bill’s singing has taken an exciting leap forward in both power and nuance. It’s a thrill to hear Bill fulfill.”

Thanks to bigbillmorganfield.net

Cedric and R.L. Burnside

CEDRIC BURNSIDE, grandson of the legendary R.L. Burnside, son of drummer great Calvin Jackson, is widely regarded as one of the best drummers in the world. Growing up at his grandfather’s side, he began touring at age 13, playing drums for “Big Daddy” on stages around the globe. Cedric was born in 1978 and raised around Holly Springs, Miss., and has been playing music all his life, developing a relentless, highly rhythmic charged style with strong hip-hop and funk influences.

“I write about my life, my kids, and everyday things. I try to stick to the truth,” Cedric says. Just 29 years old, he recalls growing up without a radio or a TV. “My granddad used to play out on the porch, and we’d have house parties every weekend. Johnny Woods would come over and blow harmonica, and he’d drink two or three gallons of corn liquor. We just stomped up dirt.”

In addition to “Big Daddy,” Cedric has also played with, among countless others, Junior Kimbrough, Kenny Brown, North Mississippi Allstars, Burnside Exploration, Bobby Rush and Widespread Panic. In 2006 he was featured in the critically acclaimed feature film, Black Snake Moan, playing drums alongside Samuel L. Jackson. (The film is a tribute to R.L. Burnside, and gives many nods to the late bluesman.) Cedric has teamed up with guitarist Lightnin’ Malcolm and is proving to be a powerful vocalist and great songwriter. Cedric is a special talent that has brought new life and energy to the blues, and is loved by fans around the world.

RL  Burnside

RL Burnside had a powerful, expressive voice and played both electric and acoustic guitars (both with a slide and without). His drone-based style was a characteristic of North Mississippi hill country rather than Mississippi Delta blues.  Like other country blues musicians, he did not always adhere to twelve or sixteen bar blues patterns, often adding extra beats according to his preference. He called this “Burnside style” and often commented that his backing musicians needed to be familiar with his style in order to be able to play along with him.

His earliest recordings, like those of John Lee Hooker, sound very similar in their vocal and instrumental style. Many of his songs do not have chord changes, but use the same chord or repeating bass line throughout, giving his music a hypnotic feel.  His vocal style is characterized by a tendency to “break” into falsetto briefly (usually at the ends of long notes).

Thanks to Wikipedia.org and to myspace.com. check out Cedric Burnside’s myspace page and tour datesmyspace.com/jukejointduo

Johnny and Edgar Winter

Born cross-eyed and albino, Johnny Winter paid no attention to Mother Nature’s unkindness to forge a career as one of the few great white blues-rockers long before Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Winter’s father was from Leland, Mississippi. A career army officer who graduated from the Virginia Military Institute, he was in Texas on official business when he met his wife-to-be. The new Mrs. Winter moved to Leland, but her husband was shipped overseas, so she returned to her hometown of Beaumont, Texas, where on Wednesday 23 February 1944, she gave birth to John Dawson Winter III. Mr Winter sang in a barbershop quartet and in a church choir and by age five, Johnny began playing clarinet.

Uncle John Turner remembers: Johnny’s parents were living in Leland Miss. where Johnny’s dad was the “boss” of Stovall’s plantation. There were no good hospitals or medical care in that area, so Johnny’s mother went to her parent’s home, who were old Beaumont pioneers, to have Johnny. She stayed there a few weeks and then returned to Leland. Within a few years, they moved to Beaumont.

Johnny’s grandfather had been a cotton broker in Leland. When WWII ended, Johnny’s father took over the business but was unable to compete with the volume dealers who dominated the industry. Edgar was born when Johnny was 3, a year or 2 later, the family moved to Beaumont for good, but returned to Leland every summer. “I pretty much thought of myself as being from Mississippi till I was 11 or 12,” says Johnny.

Initially started playing clarinet at the age of 5, switched briefly to ukulele.“My father told me: The only two ukulele players I ever knew that did anything were Arthur Godfrey and Ukulele Ike, and I think you got a much better choice of makin’ it with a guitar.”

After school, Johnny entered Lamar technical college and specialized in a commercial branch. Nearly every weekend he hitch-hiked to Louisiana to play in small night-clubs. Six months later, he gave up his studies and devoted himself to music.

Johnny’s increasing personal problems led to long lay-offs and a fall in quality on the intermittent Still Alive and Well (1973) and John Dawson Winter III (1974). Disgruntled, Derringer and the others offered their services to the steadier Edgar – who, nevertheless, teamed up with his brother for 1976′s workmanlike.

In the early eighties, Johnny’s moved from less touring to more production duties for Muddy Waters’ comeback albums. Though the past fifteen years have not seen much risk-taking by Winter, at least his steady flow of albums – particularly 1987′s Grammy-nominated Third Degree with Dr. John, has demonstrated that his fret board dexterity had not deserted him.

For “Nothing but the blues” Winter was joined by Muddy Waters and his band, but the set received only moderate critical reaction and went largely unnoticed. Winter toured and frequently played festivals as a member of Waters’ backing band, as well as touring on his own. He produced and sat in on Waters’ LPs “Hard Again”, “I’m Ready”, “King Bee” and “Live Hard Again” And Muddy “Mississippi” Waters live both won Grammy awards.

Winter released a couple more albums before taking four years off.

In 1984, after a four-year hiatus from recording, Johnny leaped back into the national spotlight with his first album for Chicago’s Alligator Records, Guitar Slinger. It was widely hailed as his best (and bluesiest) album ever, and charted in both Billboard and Cashbox as well as earning a Grammy nomination. The album produced Johnny’s first video, “Don’t Take Advantage of Me”, which received regular play on MTV for over six months. He performed over a hundred concerts following the release of Guitar Slinger, and was featured in dozens of magazines and newspapers, as well as MTVs “Guitar Greats” special. In 1985, Johnny followed up Guitar Slinger with “Serious Business”, a scorching collection of what Johnny does best – rough and raucous electric blues. The album won Johnny his second Grammy nomination on Alligator Records and was introduced to over 200,000 fans on a month-long tour with George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers, playing major venues.

Johnny’s last record for Alligator, “Third Degree”, came out in 1986. The release features several special guests and an array of blues styles, including guest appearances by his original blues cohorts, Tommy Shannon and Uncle John “Red” Turner, as well as Dr. John’. Johnny also played two solo acoustic cuts on the National Steel guitar (the first time he’d played the National in the studio since 1977).

Like many of his white-blues rock contemporaries. Winter suddenly found himself out of vogue. The Grammy-nominated “Guitar Slinger” marked his return but in a more blues-roots vein. It, along with ”Serious Business” and “Third Degree” were critically acclaimed.  “The Winter of 88″ brought Winter back toward rock & roll but nowhere near the popular success he had enjoyed in the seventies. He remains one of the preeminent white bluesmen of his generation.

Edgar’s Bio

By the time Edgar Winter left his hometown of Beaumont, Texas in the 1960′s, he was already technically proficient in every aspect of music. A child prodigy who achieved international success early on, Edgar has found an audience in every major entertainment medium–music, film and television. A prolific writer, Edgar’s music encompasses many different genres, including rock, jazz, blues, and pop. From his critically acclaimed 1970 debut release, Entrance, he has demonstrated his unique style and ability to cross the genre lines and do the unexpected. His early recording of “Tobacco Road” is a powerful, emotionally devastating masterpiece that propelled him into the national spotlight. Edgar followed Entrance with two hit albums backed by his group White Trash, a group originally comprised of musicians from Texas and Louisiana. White Trash enjoyed huge success, both with the 1971 release of the studio album, Edgar Winter’s White Trash, and with 1972′s follow-up live gold album, Roadwork.

In late 1972 Edgar brought together Dan Hartman, Ronnie Montrose and Chuck Ruff to form The Edgar Winter Group, the legendary band that created such hits as the number one Frankenstein and the ever popular Free Ride. Released in 1973, They Only Come Out at Night peaked at the number 3 position on the Billboard Hot 200 and stayed on the charts for an impressive 80 weeks. It was certified gold in April 1973 and double platinum in November 1986. Edgar invented the keyboard body strap early in his career, an innovation that allows him the freedom to move around on stage during his multi-instrument high-energy performances. He was also the first artist to feature a synthesizer as the main instrument in a song. Frankenstein revolutionized rock and roll and opened up a whole new world of possibilities with experimentation and sound.

After They Only Come Out At Night, Edgar released Shock Treatment, featuring guitarist Rick Derringer in place of Ronnie Montrose. Later albums included Jasmine Nightdreams, The Edgar Winter Group with Rick Derringer, a live album, Together Live With Johnny Winter, Recycled, a reunion with White Trash, Standing On Rock, Mission Earth, Live In Japan, Not A Kid Anymore, The Real Deal, and Winter Blues.

With over 20 albums and numerous collaborative efforts to his credit, Edgar Winter has not been satisfied to ride the wave of popular music stardom. Major national television and radio campaigns have relied on Edgar’s music to advertise their products. Edgar has also made frequent television appearances, both to promote his music, and to give his opinions on everything from Politically Incorrect to a commercial with George Hamilton for Miller Lite beer. He has appeared in the film “Netherworld”, and the TV shows “The Cape”, “Mysterious Ways”, “Dave Letterman”, and “Jimmy Kimmel”.

Edgar’s music can be heard in no fewer than fifteen film and television projects, including Netherworld, Air America, My Cousin Vinny, Encino Man, Son In Law, What’s Love Got to do With It, Wayne’s World 2, Starkid, Wag the Dog, Knockabout Guys, Duets, Radio, The Simpsons, Queer as Folk, and Tupac Resurrection. Edgar’s hauntingly beautiful song, Dying to Live, is featured as “Runnin” (Dying To Live) in the film “Tupac Resurrection”, the biography on the life of rapper Tupac Shakur. Produced by Eminem, the song uses the vocal talents of the Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, and Edgar Winter himself. “Runnin” is on numerous Billboard charts. It peaked at number 5 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles Sales chart, and the soundtrack CD was number 1 for 8 consecutive weeks.

Edgar’s CD and DVD, titled, “Live At The Galaxy” was recorded live at the Galaxy Theatre for Classic Pictures in 2003. It features the songs, “Keep Playing That Rock and Roll”, “Turn On Your Love Light”, “Free Ride”, “Texas”, “Show Your Love”, “New Orleans”, “Frankenstein” and “Tobacco Road”. In addition, the DVD includes a 30 Minute Documentary, “Edgar Winter: The Man and His Music”.

Edgar Winter’s live shows consistently receive rave reviews. His music is always evolving and he is a master at stretching his skill and imagination to produce amazing results. He continues to thrill audiences with his live performances, always remaining on the cutting edge of music and style. Edgar is now at the very top of his game, and his future looks even brighter than his past.

Thanks to edgarwinter.com and www.yee.ch/winter/winter_bio.html

Lonnie and Ronnie Baker Brooks

“I grew up among the best of the best,” Brooks says. “Every time I play, I feel like I’ve got to do it with the authenticity and passion that I saw in guys like Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and my father.  But I also have to put my twist on it. None of those guys repeated what came before them.”

“I wanted to do something that would bring young people to the blues, and then give them the real hardcore thing at the same time,” Brooks says. “When I grew up, all my friends listened to rap and funk, and I listened to the blues. So I heard their music and they heard mine. I think we both saw some connection between them. I like that line in the movie “Hustle & Flow” when they say this new rap song ain’t nothing but “Backdoor Man” written for modern streets. It’s a hip-hop world right now, but I want to bring a little blues to the party.”

Brooks has earned his spot on the front lines. He spent a dozen years backing his father, watching how the master entertainer drew enthusiastic responses night after night. For years, the younger Brooks put his lessons on stage every night, opening his father’s show to great response. With his father’s blessing, he left the band to strike out on his own shortly after releasing his own debut album, Golddigger in 1998.

Like his father before him, Brooks became a Chicago blues mainstay, playing regularly in Chicago area clubs.  After the release of his second album, 2001′s Take Me Witcha, he hit the road for what turned out to be a seemingly non-stop three-year tour, picking up devoted new fans all along the way. And while he hadn’t planned to take five years between recordings, he did want to do it right. He made up for lost time by packing as many tunes as possible on “The Torch”.

“The good thing is I had time to test almost all of these songs on an audience and to work them out with the band”, Brooks says. “We knew what songs people loved, and we got them just the way we want them. It gave us a lot of confidence in the studio knowing that people already loved these songs.”

Even after 40 years away from his Louisiana home, Lonnie Brooks’ music is still instilled with the funky, swampy bayou rhythms of Opelousas and Lafayette, and his lyrics often speak of black cat bones and “Mojo Hands”. But along the road from Louisiana to Chicago, he’s combined the swing of Texas, the soul of Memphis and the pure power of Chicago blues into a musical gumbo that is all his own.

Lee Baker, Jr. was just a young laborer in Port Arthur when Clifton Chenier spotted him playing guitar on his porch and drafted him into the Red Hot Louisiana Band. Soon after, under the name “Guitar Junior”, he burst onto the scene as a rock ‘n’ roll star, cutting a string of Gulf Coast hits like “Family Rules” , “The Crawl”, and “Roll, Roll, Roll” for the famed Goldband label.

In 1959 he befriended the Legendary Sam Cooke on a caravan tour of the south, wrote a couple of tunes together, then hitched a ride with him back to Chicago to live with Sam’s mom and brother. This is where he began soaking up the raw sounds of the big city with the likes of Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Little Walter, Otis Rush and Magic Sam. Soon after that he then landed a job as a side man with Jimmy Reed and recorded the Blues Classic “Big Boss Man” as well as taking on a new name Lonnie Brooks.

Lonnie played throughout the ’60s in the tough joints of the West Side, and even recorded an album for Capitol under his old name of Guitar Junior named “Broke and Hungry”. But it wasn’t until 1978 that Lonnie cut “Two Headed Man” for Alligator’s Living Chicago Blues series and debut’d the “Voodoo Blues” sound that became his trademark. The release of the “Grand Prix Award” winning Album “Bayou Lightning” on Alligator Records in 1979 exploded Lonnie into the Blues scene. The Grammy nominated “Bayou Lightning Strikes: Live from Chicago” catapulted Lonnie into Legendary status winning wider recognition worldwide.

Since then, he’s played everywhere from the San Francisco Blues Fest to Montreux Jazz Festival from the “Hee Haw” TV show to David Letterman’s Late Show. He teamed up with Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman, and Director John Landis in the “Blues Brother 2000″ movie as himself. He’s been Eric Clapton’s onstage guest at Buddy Guy’s Legends club and he’s put 150,000 people on their feet as headliner of the 1996 Chicago Blues Festival. He’s not a true Voodoo Daddy (that’s just a name of his song), but definitely a “Blues Daddy” often leading sons Ronnie Baker Brooks (a writer of some new voodoo blues classics) and son Wayne in a three-guitar onslaught. With an unbeatable live show featuring his nonstop infectious grooves, Lonnie Brooks’ voodoo blues are essential listening for blues fans all over the world.

Lonnie’s current endeavors include co-authoring the book “Blues for Dummies” with Son Wayne Baker Brooks, and Cub Koda. Plus numerous live performances around the country.

Thanks to ronniebakerbrooks.com and Lonniebrooks.com

“I just hate to be in one corner. I hate to be put as only a guitar player, or either only as a songwriter, or only as a tap dancer. I like to move around.”
Jimi Hendrix

“I used to live in a room full of mirrors; all I could see was me. I take my spirit and I crash my mirrors, now the whole world is here for me to see.”
Jimi Hendrix

“I wish they’d had electric guitars in cotton fields back in the good old days. A whole lot of things would’ve been straightened out.”
Jimi Hendrix

10.  Noel Hogan – The Cranberries

Noel Hogan is the guitarist and co-songwriter of Irish rock band The Cranberries. In 2003 The Cranberries decided take a break after more than a dozen years of touring, promotion and recording which had seen them clock up album sales in excess of 40 million. Noel turned to focus on his own music and began working with programmer Matt Vaughan, who had already worked with Noel on unreleased Cranberries material. In May 2005 Noel released his new tracks under the name Mono Band, more a collaborative effort than a solo album, the record featured Alexandra Hamnede, Richard Walters, Kate Havnevik and others.

Following the release of the Mono Band album, Noel teamed up with ex-Theremin vocalist Richard Walters to form Arkitekt. Together they released two EPs ‘Black Hair’ and ’14 Days in 2008 and 2009′ with work all but completed on a full length album to be released in the near future.

Over the last several years Noel has been developing his production work, working with bands like Limerick’s Supermodel Twins, Mullingar rockers The Aftermath and Reema, a Cork band who have just finished their debut album with Noel.

In 2009 Noel released Tonelist on his own Gohan Records imprint. The album is a collaboration with Limerick Live 95FM’s Green and Live show, and is a collection featuring better-known and up-and-coming bands from the Limerick music scene.

In August 2009 The Cranberries that they will reform for a live tour with dates confirmed in 2009/2010 in North America, South America and Europe.

http://www.myspace.com/noelhogan

9.  Bermie Tormé – Ozzy Osbourne and Gillan (as in Ian)

It has been said of Irish guitarist Bernie Tormé that he plays his vintage Fender Stratocaster through a Marshall Amplifier as though he knew them in a previous life.

Bernie played in Dublin band The Urge (among others) in the early 70′s before relocating to London in 74, where he initially played with heavy pub rockers Scrapyard, and later formed the punk Bernie Torme Band in 76-77, touring with The Boomtown Rats and Generation X among many others.

In 79 Bernie joined ex Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan’s band Gillan, and had a crucial role in the bands success, writing and playing on four top ten albums and many hit singles. Following his departure from Gillan, he played with Ozzy Osbourne, standing in for the great Randy Rhoads following Randy’s tragic death in an air crash. Bernie joined forces with ex Girl and current LA Guns front man Philip Lewis in Torme during the 80′s, as well as playing with legendary keyboard player Vincent Crane as a member of psychedelic doom rockers Atomic Rooster.

Bernie also played with Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider and Iron Maiden’s drummer Clive Burr in Desperado. Desperado’s “Ace” album has finally just been released in the UK on AngelAir Records (cat no Sjpcd154) and in the US on Cleopatra (cat no CLP..1644-2).

Bernie is currently working with bassist man mountain John McCoy, also ex Gillan and psycho-slamming drummer Robin Guy under the band name Guy McCoy Torme, or G.M.T. for short.

Check out more of Tormé on myspace http://www.myspace.com/bernietorme

8.  Kevin Shields – Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine

Ok, he was born in the US to Irish parents – but moved back to Dublin at the age of 10.  Born in Queens, New York City to a mother who worked as a nurse and a food-industry executive father, Kevin Shields is the oldest of five siblings. Shields’ parents emigrated to the U.S. from Ireland in the 1950s.

He went to a Catholic school that he has described as “a really horrible school run by psychopathic nuns.” When he was 10 years old his family returned to Dublin to live close to the support of their extended family.

Shields has described the culture shock of moving to Ireland from the USA, reflecting particularly on the American consumer culture, saying, “It was like going from, as far as I was concerned, the modern world to some distant past.” The one difference between the USA and Ireland that had a big impact on him was the marketing of music towards teenagers in the UK and Ireland. He said it didn’t really exist in that way when he lived in the U.S. in the 1970s.  Shields continues to hold a U.S. passport^[3].

When Shields was 15 he was approached by a 12-year old who asked him if he wanted to be in a band. This band was where he first met My Bloody Valentine drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig. The band was called The Complex and they played “somewhere between Oi!  and older punk”, Shields remarked. Expanding on how he developed his playing style he said, “I always just wanted to be like Johnny Ramone. Just be really good at one thing. I think because I was never dexterous, and because I never really learned how to play a scale, or lead guitar, or anything, but because I still wanted to be expressive, that made me use the tremolo arm, which gave me something to work with for a long time. I really get off on hearing, I can’t even really describe it, the difference between hitting the same chord one way or another way, and the subtleties within that. So in that respect, more so than flashier guitar players, I can play and it sounds like the amp is turned down real low, and then play and it sounds like it’s on really loud. Control.”

One of the most recognisable aspects of Shields’ music is his thick and dreamy guitar sound, associated with his later recordings with My Bloody Valentine.

Customizing the tremolo system for Fender Jaguars and Jazzmasters, Shields manipulates the tremolo arm while strumming chords. He has had the tremolo arm on his guitars extended considerably and uses tape on one end so that the tremolo arm sits very high on the guitar and is very loose. (Alan Di Perna, Guitar World, March 1992, Pg. 26) With the tremolo arm in this position, his motion is not restricted, allowing him to strum chords without having to alter his motion to accommodate the tremolo arm. To thicken the sound, he plays through a Yamaha SPX 90 using a reverse reverb effect that inverts the normal reverb envelope without making the notes backward. (Alan Di Perna, Guitar World, March 1992, Pg. 152) Augmenting his sound further, he cranks amps to exceptionally loud volumes and uses open tunings, causing speaker “breakup” and increasing sustain. Instead of the usual note bending with a tremolo arm, he achieves a kind of chord bending that Rolling Stone described as, “a strange warping effect that makes the music wander in and out of focus”. Fans who played the vinyl record of Loveless were known to check the records for warping on first playing them. On the subject of 1991 album Loveless Shields remarks,” the songs do have weird timings and things, but the textures come from the guitar tunings.”

Shields has pointed out that he uses far fewer effects pedals and overdubs than fans and the music press sometimes make him out to use. He has noted many times in interviews that most tracks feature one or two main, albeit massive sounding, guitar tracks that give off many layers of sound. This has mistakenly led people to believe he uses multiple overdubs which he has repeated over and over is not how his sound is achieved, at least not before the Tremolo EP. Although Tremolo and Loveless featured more sampling and sampled guitar, (Simon Reynolds, NYTimes, December 1, 1991, Arts Section Pg. 26) one need only play around with a Jaguar or Jazzmaster and Yamaha SPX 90 with some strings in open tunings to get an idea of how he achieves a massive swirling guitar sound with one guitar that to some sound like numerous overdubs. Kevin’s earlier recordings pre-Tremolo consisted mostly of one guitar during the chorus and then a guitar with a different tone during the verses. Tremolo and Loveless involved more sampling of guitars and synths. Shields explained, “Ninety percent of what we do is just a guitar straight into an amp.” (Alan Di Perna, Guitar World, March 1992, Pg. 25-26) “People think it’s all pedals, but all my pedals are graphic equalizers and tone controls. It’s all in the tone.” (Steve Double, NME November 9, 1991, pg. 14) Various effects pedals mainly play a role when trying to recreate studio sounds in a live setting.

Many have tried to replicate the guitar sounds on Loveless, with varying degrees of success^{[citation needed]}. Shields even had trouble reproducing the sounds himself, as his live guitar sounds at the time varied greatly from those on the record. He was known to try to duplicate the sheer power of the recorded tone by turning on-stage monitors to face the audience, rather than the band. The My Bloody Valentine regular set closer “You Made Me Realise” typically included an interlude using blasts of noise and feedback that could go on as long as 40 minutes of which Shields remarked, “It was so loud it was like sensory deprivation. We just liked the fact that we could see a change in the audience at a certain point”. Many, including Shields, note that the Loveless-era My Bloody Valentine shows were amongst the loudest rock concerts they had ever experienced.  Fans even speculated that damaged eardrums had contributed to the post-Loveless absence of My Bloody Valentine^.

In August 2003, Shields was voted the 95th greatest guitarist of all time by the Rolling Stone magazine.

For recent live shows he admitted to using 30 effects pedals to achieve his guitar sound.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Shields

7.  Garry Roberts – The Boomtown Rats

The headmaster in Garry’s Dublin high school called Garry’s parents in one day to suggest they move their son to a boarding school, “where someone can keep a closer eye on him”.

His enforced move to a Quaker-run boarding school just outside Waterford proved a great success, but not for the reasons anyone anticipated. When Garrick clapped eyes and ears on the school rock group, he knew that was what he wanted to do.

“I was already listening to the Pretty Things, the Kinks, the Yardbirds, Jeff Beck and John Mayall and this was it.”

His early efforts with his dad’s acoustic guitar were cut short when it was lost in a school fire, but dad stumped up the cash for an electric replacement and soon Garrick and his mate Johnnie Fingers were regular fixtures at parties. Johnny on piano and Garrick on guitar.

Eventually, in the direction these things go, they decided to form a group and assembled a few more friends and relations It was Garrick who approached Bob Geldof to be their manager.

“I’d known Bob for ages”, “He only lived up the road. He knew a lot about music and had an astute business brain.”

However, Bob arrived for a band rehearsal in Garrick’s kitchen carrying a harmonica and a Dr Feelgood album. It wasn’t long before he was the singer.

“Up until then I had taken the lead vocals,” Garrick explained, “but I wasn’t happy with it. Bob looked good and had the presence and so we decided he should take it on.”

The rest is history.

When Bob Geldof went to pursue a solo career away from The Boomtown Rats, it left Garry Roberts in musical limbo. For a while Garry worked as a sound engineer with acts like Simply Red and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. He then sold life insurance for 15 years, and later became a central heating engineer – “I love nice-looking pipework”.

The Boomtown Rats guitarist Garry Roberts is still touring with The Boomtown Rats drummer Simon Crowe with the addition of Peter Barton on bass, and Darren Beale on lead guitar.

Garry lives in Herefordshire in England.

6.  Henry McCullogh – Spooky Tooth and Wings

The career of Henry McCullough cuts through just about every conceivable facet of rock music, and touches upon some of its most glorious moments.

Growing up in the seaside resort of Portstewart, Henry’s first musical venture was as guitarist with Irish showband The Skyrockets and the years to follow found him doing the dance hall circuit with similar outfits, including the popular Gene and the Gents.

When the blues boom hit Ireland, Henry became involved with the rougher side of music through the outfit that were to become Eire Apparent. Managed for a time by Chas Chandler, Eire Apparent were one of the many bands to take part in package tours of Britain, alongside groups like The Move, Pink Floyd, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Amen Corner… After an untimely exit from the band, Henry nailed down some of the finest mix of traditional and rock with his work as part of the legendary Sweeney’s Men. It is said that this line-up more or less invented the concept of Folk-Rock.

He then drifted to London where he became steeped in the blues scene, rubbing shoulders with some of the greats of the genre who were just coming to the attention of the British revivalists. An encounter with a young Sheffield singer led to a job and Henry’s first brush with the realIy big time – as part of Joe Cocker’s Grease Band. Tours and albums followed quickly, including an appearance at Woodstock and a lengthy period of work in the States.

Breaking with Cocker, Henry and The Grease Band continued to mune a gritty blues vein that made them a live favourite that has rarely been equalled.

He found himself auditioning for a gig with ex-Beatle Paul McCartney. Henry, along with Denny Seiwell, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney were the first – and many say best incarnation of Wings. He embellished the single ‘My Love’ with a graceful solo that is one of the all-time guitar gems and shows once and for all the expressive power of the instrument.

At one Wings session at Abbey Road when Pink Floyd were in the studio next door, Henry made a spoken contribution to the classic Dark Side of the Moon.

But musical differences with the headstrong Macca followed, and Henry made the decision to leave. Following his instinct for rock he ended up in some very good company, playing guitar and gigging with the Roy Harper, Marianne Faithfull, Ronnie Lane, Donovan, Frankie Miller, Eric Burdon, Viola Wills, Spooky Tooth.

During a visit back home to see his family in the early 80s, an accident with a knife almost cost Henry his livelihood, severing tendons in his playing hand. The enforced lay-off allowed Henry to re-evaluate his life and his career, and he took the decision to stay at home in Ireland. The road to recovery was almost complete when Henry started sitting in with the Fleadh Cowboys for their now legendary Sunday afternoon residency in The Lower Deck in Dublin. It soon became apparent that Henry’s contribution was an attraction in itself, so he formed his own band and toured Ireland in 1988.

In the 90’s Henry moved back to Portstewart and formed a new band with Percy Robinson on pedal steel and Roe Butcher on bass and Liam Bradley on drums. More recently the band has featured James Delaney on keys, Chrissy Stewart (Frankie Miller Band) on bass, Chris Probst on guitar and Tony Phillips on Drums.

In 1998 he went to Poland, where he rehearsed a band of Polish session musicians for a tour. At the end of the tour, they went into a studio and played ‘live’ for an afternoon. A resulting CD, Blue Sunset was consequently released in Poland, and was followed up by a further successful Polish tour.

On returning home, Henry decided that it was time to do record a few studio tracks. With help and encouragement from his many friends, he released ‘Failed Christian’, a harrowing self penned song that has since been covered by Nick Lowe on his latest Demon album, ‘Dig My Mood’.

In the summer of ‘99 Henry was devastated when his beloved 1963 cherry red Gibson ES335 went missing from a British Midlands flight between Warsaw and Heathrow. However, he still has his gold-top Les Paul that he played at Woodstock.

Henry McCullough is justifiably one of rock’s most legendary figures. Check him out live sometime and be convinced for yourself.

Check out http://www.henrymccullough.com/

5.  Eric Bell – Thin Lizzy

We thought it would be so cool if we just provided the link directly to the Irish Boy Eric Bell as his biography is written by him and written in the first person.  Good read at http://www.ericbellband.com/

I was born in East Belfast on the 3rd of September 1947. The first time I fell in love with music was around 8 years old, listening to classical music on a big wireless – it was great to daydream to. One Christmas, when I was 14 or so, one of my presents was a plastic guitar – it was totally unexpected. It was small, half size, had six different coloured strings, and pretty good frets.

There was a TV programme on in those days, and one of the regulars on it was Bert Weedon, a very well known guitarist. Every week, he would draw a guitar chord on a blackboard, and explain how to play it. I would watch and learn a new chord each week.

The next major thing to form my interest in music was hearing, and then seeing Lonnie Donegan. A friend of mine at school, Davie Lyttle, had lots of Lonnie’s records, and I would go back to his house after school to listen to them-they were magic and I never tired listening to them, even to this day. The other major influence was The Shadows, who also cast their spell on me.

I was still going to Orangefield Boy’s Secondary School, and one lunch break found out one of the guys in my class played drums in a Shadows-type group. Eventually I was invited up to the house where they rehearsed. Their guitarist let me play his guitar – the very first time I had ever played an electric. A week later, the group asked me to be their lead guitarist!

I stayed for six months, then joined another group, then another, until an offer to join an Irish Showband (The Bluebeats) came my way. The only reason I joined was they were professional. I said goodbye to the shirt factory where I worked, and went to live in Glascow where The Bluebeats were based. After a year and a few months later, we returned to Belfast, and went our separate ways.

I joined The Shannon Showband. Four months later and this time I had to live in Headingly, Leeds. We played working men’s clubs, Irish Ballrooms, and some Irish pubs. It all fizzled out after a year and a half, and I went back to Belfast.

I joined a blues group called Shades of Blue after their guitarist had left. A young man called Gary Moore.

Through Shades of Blue, I met John Farrell, a singer from a Dublin group called The Movement. John was going to be the singer with a new young modern Irish Showband called The Dreams. He said I should go to Dublin and audition for the guitar slot. I took the chance and got it.

After a year and a few months, I left The Dreams and decided to form a group. I called it Thin Lizzy…

4.  Vivian Campbell – Deff Leppard, Dio, Whitesnake

Sixteen years old in 1978, Vivian’s first band Sweet Savage hailed from his hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Along with other hard-core bands like Budgie, they were pre-cursors to bands like Metallica who were strongly influenced by Sweet Savage’s sound, and later recorded their own version of Sweet Savage’s “Killing Time” for their “Garage, Inc” album.

Out on tour supporting bands like Thin Lizzy and Motorhead around Britain, Vivian caught the eye of bassist Jimmy Bain, who would soon join Ronnie James Dio to record his post-Black Sabbath solo debut for Warner Bros. In searching for a dynamic, powerhouse guitarist, Jimmy recalled his memorable impression of the young unknown Vivian, and recommended him to Ronnie.

Vivian was 19 when he auditioned and that line-up went into the studio to record the now classic Dio albums “Holy Diver” and “Last In Line”. The boy from Belfast was on his way. In 1987, Vivian was invited to join Whitesnake, a bonafide hard rock supergroup. With a slick, sexy, MTV image and fronted by ex-Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale, that album would become the year’s phenomenon and finally break Coverdale (who was already a big star in Europe) as an artist in the U.S. But things were not to be, and Vivian yearned to create music that was more blues-based and less hard-rock, and also to try his hand at singing, his undisclosed secret weapon.

So the Riverdogs were born, a four-piece outfit with Vivian and cult blues singer Rob Lamothe on lead vocals. This line-up would record one album for Epic Records before Vivian was on the move again. In 1991 during an extended hiatus from touring he would finally begin writing songs for his own debut solo album for Epic Records. Its tone and direction would pay homage the pop-rock sounds of the singer/songwriter movement and the soul and R&B of Motown.

Writing collaborations produced beautiful demos and recording of the album was about to commence when the call came from Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott. The tragic death of guitarist Steve Clark left a gaping hole in the line-up of one of the world’s biggest selling acts. Always having been a fan of Def Leppard’s soaring harmonies and sterling pop hooks, it was a crossroads decision; you only get one chance to join a legendary rock band, and the solo album was put on hold.

Thirteen years later the time finally came to pursue a solo album again, but this time the direction would take a different form. Living in Los Angeles, Vivian had immersed himself in the world of the local blues-club circuit, quite a change from the intricate arrangements, multi-overdubs and state of the art production values of Def Leppard. The spontaneity and “one-take” urgency of the true blues genre dictated a specific new set of rules that would be applied during the making of “Two Sides Of If.” Rule number one: it had to be recorded LIVE in the studio, being sure to always maintain eye contact between all of the musicians. This meant Vivian singing lead vocals while playing solo guitar – no overdubs allowed….. Rule number two: have fun and fly by the seat of your pants. With wish-list players like Terry Bozzio on drums, and Billy Gibbons and Joan Osborne making guest appearances, the sessions were inspired and the end result is “Two Sides Of If.”

Twenty years in the making and not a minute too soon.

Check out Vivian Campbell on his myspace profile at http://www.myspace.com/viviancampbell

3.  Rory Gallagher

Rory Gallagher is the man who, without question, spearheaded and influenced the entire Irish rock movement. Remarkably, nearly 15 years after his untimely passing in June 1995, Rory’s music is as popular as ever with his legion on faithful followers. Rory’s music was his religion. The conviction and sincerity with which he projected it have assured him a place in rock history and earnt him critical acclaim as one of the greatest torchbearers of driving, effusive rock and blues.

Born in 1948 in Ballyshannon and raised in Cork, Gallagher’s rock ‘n roll odyssey began at an early age when he saw Elvis Presley on TV and became inspired to get his first guitar. Rory would listen and learn from the likes of Lonnie Donegan, Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters and Jerry Lee Lewis, many of whom Rory went on to record with. While still at school during his early teens, Rory began playing with professional show bands throughout Ireland, whose repertoires included all the popular hits of the day. Not musically satisfied with this, Rory converted his latter showband The Impact into a six-piece R’n'B outfit and headed for Hamburg in the mid-1960s. On arrival, this line-up was soon trimmed down to his first trio.

Rory went on to form Taste in 1967 a band who soon met with wide acclaim, and subsequently headed for London where they were an immediate success at London’s famed Marquee Club, counting among their fans John Lennon.

June 2010 is the 15^th anniversary since Rory’s passing, his legacy will be commemorated in Ballyshannon by the unveiling of a statue of him in action by renowned Scottish sculptor David Annand’s. This precedes the annual four day festival ‘Rory’ festival of that town. Adding to the civic honours of; Cork’s Rory Gallagher music library and Institute of Technology naming their theatre after local hero, Belfast placing a plaque at the Ulster Hall, to name but a few.

Currently, a documentary on Rory nears completion and is expected to have it’s ‘premier’ screening with RTE in June. Concurrent to that footage, work has commenced with director Declan Quinn to produce a film on Rory’s life and times. Further audio-material of Rory’s American recordings are being worked on in the studio and Polydor Records are to issue a box-set celebrating 40+ years since Rory founded his Taste – Rory Forever.

In ‘91 Gallagher undertook a World tour at the end of which saw the dissolution his old band. With a new line-up formed in ’93 (Richard Newman drums, David Levy bass, Gerient Watkins keyboards / accordion and retained Mark Feltham on harmonica), delighted with his new sidemen Gallagher undertook an extensive European tour, after which the musician intended entering the studios to record two further albums simultaneously; one acoustic and one with his new band. But Rory’s ‘Walkin’ Blues Tour’ was curtailed in Holland, January 1995 due to illness.

Following his admission to hospital, Rory underwent transplant surgery. Sadly, though having made a strong recovery, he died on June 14^th from an infection.

Tributes to the great musician came from people throughout the World, locations were named in his honour but importantly his music was not to forgotten with an array of tribute bands, gigs, festivals, songs and poems dedicated to him. Fender Instruments produced a tribute in the form of a Rory ‘Stratocaster’ and Martin Guitars made an acoustic in his honour.

Garnering Rory’s musical legacy, his brother Donal went into the studios with Tony Arnold (whom Rory was planning to record with), to restore and re-master the Gallagher recordings, whilst putting many of Rory’s filmed appearances to DVD. Placing these and the Capo label through BMG, later to become Sony, making  it one of the best selling artist catalogues and scoring no 1 places and platinum status for the DVDs – selling some five million copies since reissue.

Check out http://www.rorygallagher.com/#/biography.htm

2.  Gary Moore –Thin Lizzy and an extremely successful solo career.

Gary was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on April 4th 1952. Like many others, he was turned on to rock and roll first through hearing Elvis Presley, and then via The Beatles. Seeing the likes of Jimi Hendrix and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers in his hometown in the mid-60s opened up to him the rich world of The Blues. Hearing the art of the Blues guitar performed by such lauded exponents as Peter Green fired Moore’s nascent talent, and it wasn’t long before he was being hailed as a teen musical prodigy. Indeed, it was Green himself who helped foster Moore’s career, a debt that was repaid handsomely when Gary cut his warm and heartfelt tribute to his mentor, the‘Blues For Greeny’ album, released in 1995.

In 1979, Gary’s solo career began in earnest with the evocative hit single, ‘Parisienne Walkways’, which pitched Gary’s tasteful, blues-soaked lead guitar with a moody Phil Lynott guest vocal. The single reached the UK Top Ten in April of that year, and the subsequent album, ‘Back On The Streets’ was similarly well received. The late 1970s and early 80s were characterised by Gary’s restless search for the best musical settings for his talents; a reunion with Phil Lynott produced the powerful ‘Out In The Fields’ hit single (1985). He explored his Celtic roots on the album ‘Wild Frontier’ (1987), but it was with the 1990 album,‘Still Got The Blues’, that Gary arrived at a rich musical vein within which his creativity could flow freely. This and its successor, ‘After Hours’ saw cameo appearances from the likes of such Blues guitar greats as Albert King, BB King, and Albert Collins, and it is a testament to Gary’s own remarkable talents that he more than held his own amongst such august company. In 1994, Gary worked alongside Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce in the band BBM, cutting one accomplished album, before resuming his solo career.

The, ‘Back To The Blues’ (2001) album saw this consummately talented musician revisit The Blues with renewed vigor and determination, after the more experimental ‘Dark Days In Paradise’ (1997) and ‘A Different Beat’ (1999) albums. A ten-track collection that mixes excellent Moore originals with gritty and intense covers of standards. But, in the tradition of keeping his fans and critics guessing, 2002 saw Gary Moore crashing back onto the music scene with what has to be his heaviest collection of songs since the late 1980′s, once again forcing people to reassess any opinions and preconceptions they may have of him. That time round though, Moore had decided to share the limelight, joining forces with ex-Skunk Anansie bassist Cass Lewis and Primal Scream drummer Darrin Mooney to form ‘Scars’, a true power trio in every respect. The ‘Scars’ album was completed in early 2002 and that line-up, then went on to record the ‘Live at the Monsters of Rock’ (2003) live CD and DVD, which featured the band’s set as performed on two separate nights on the UK Tour in May 2003. That live set encompassed a diverse range of material, from across Gary’s playing career.

2004, saw possibly the rawest album yet from Gary Moore, ‘Power of the Blues’. The 10-track set, recorded mostly live in the studio, ranged from the hard rock/blues of the title track, via the upbeat swing of “Can’t find my baby”, to the haunting “Torn Inside”.

Taking time out in August 2005, for a brief reunion with some of his old Thin Lizzy pals, for a one off concert in Dublin. The evening was filmed for a 2006 DVD release. ‘Gary Moore and Friends, One Night in Dublin, A Tribute to Phil Lynott’ (Eagle Vision EREDV559). Gary’s last studio album ‘Old New Ballads Blues’ (Eagle Records, EAGCD314) 2006, features featured a blend of stunning originals mixed with some inspiring blues covers.

2009, sees Gary continue the momentum of all the touring behind the 2007 release of ‘Close As You Get’. Shows were played in various European capitals; also a number of outdoor festivals throughout 2008 and this has continued during 2009, with successful tours of Germany, Spain and the UK played during the first half of the year. Further European shows and festival appearances in Switzerland, Finland and again in Germany were also added to the busy touring schedule. Resulting in a demand for further UK dates in October/November. Giving even more fans, old and new an opportunity to experience ‘Baby For You Baby‘ live.

Check out  http://www.gary-moore.com/biog.html

1.  U2’s The Edge – David Evans

A few years back, pundits pronounced the demise of rock `n’ roll’s instrumental talisman, claiming that the Goliath had been slain by the digital slingshots of samplers and sequencers. Among the evidence cited for this musical revolution: U2.

On the quartet’s 1990s albums (“Achtung Baby,” “Zooropa,” “Pop”) this quintessential `80s rock foursome _ whose sound is instantly recognizable in guitarist The Edge’s chiming riffs _ went techno. U2 exchanged amp feedback for synthesizer doodles, floor toms for drum machines, leather jackets for nylon street wear.

Instead of the mystical desert of “Joshua Tree,” the Irish band sang about, well, “Miami,” as one track on “Pop” was called. Problem was, “Pop” bombed. The irony-laced album sold poorly, compared to the group’s usual multiplatinum level. The megahyped “Pop Mart” tour, announced in the unlikely environs of a New York K mart, similarly stumbled under the pretenses of its awkward high-low concept. The shows drew tepid reviews from the usually devout press and nearly bankrupted the group.

So U2 went back to the fret board. The group’s latest album, “All That You Can’t Leave Behind,” marks a return to rock `n’ roll basics.

As a guitar player, The Edge is recognized as having a trademark sound typified by a low-key playing style, a chiming, shimmering sound (thanks in part to the signature sound of classic VOX AC-30s) that is achieved with extensive use of delay effects, reverb, and a focus on texture and melody. To achieve an “Edge-like” sound, the feedback delay is set to a dotted eighth note (3/16 of a measure), and the feedback gain is adjusted until a note played repeats two or three times.

1987′s The Joshua Tree is probably the best example of the “U2 sound”, with songs like “With or Without You” and “Where the Streets Have No Name” being among the band’s most critically acclaimed and best loved works. The album was recorded at the height of the 1980s “shred-metal” era but The Edge’s guitar playing on it could not be further from the emphasis of the time on technique and speed. The album showcases The Edge’s approach to the guitar: rather than trying to push his guitar to the front of the mix and make his contributions obvious, The Edge focuses on the song and the mood, often contributing just a few simple lead lines given depth and richness by an ever-present digital delay. For example, the introduction to “Where the Streets Have No Name” is simply a repeated six-note arpeggio, broadened by a modulated delay effect. The Edge has said that he views musical notes as “expensive”, in that he prefers to play as few notes as possible. He said in 1982 of his style,

“I like a nice ringing sound on guitar, and most of my chords I find two strings and make them ring the same note, so it’s almost like a 12-string sound. So for E I might play a B, E, E and B and make it ring. It works very well with the Gibson Explorer. It’s funny because the bass end of the Explorer was so awful that I used to stay away from the low strings, and a lot of the chords I played were very trebly, on the first four, or even three strings. I discovered that through using this one area of the fretboard I was developing a very stylized way of doing something that someone else would play in a normal way.”

The Edge’s guitar technique has been shaped by many different influences. His first guitar was an old acoustic guitar, with which his brother Dik Evans and he experimented.^[10] He said in 1982 of this early experimentation, “I suppose the first link in the chain was a visit to the local jumble sale where I purchased a guitar for a pound. That was my first instrument. It was an acoustic guitar and me and my elder brother Dik both played it, plonking away, all very rudimentary stuff, open chords and all that.”

Check out u2.com

Folks, I’ve been thinking about whipping up a “guitar players that have played with Michael Jackson” list now for almost a year and a half.  Many readers know the story behind the man with Eddie Van Halen and Slash, but Michael Jackson had personally set up a great line up of legendary guitarists throughout the years.

Eddie Van Halen

Jackson was inspired to create an album where “every song was a killer,” and developed Thriller with that in mind.  Jones and songwriter Rod Temperton gave detailed accounts of what occurred for the 2001 reissue of the album. Jones discussed “Billie Jean” and why it was so personal to Jackson, who struggled to deal with a number of obsessed fans.

Jones and Jackson were determined to make a rock song that would appeal to all tastes and spent weeks looking for a suitable guitarist for the song “Beat It”, a song Jackson wrote. Eventually, they found Eddie Van Halen of the rock band Van Halen.  Legendary guitar player Eddie Van Halen was tapped to add the song’s distinctive overdriven guitar solo, but was prevented by his record label from appearing in the music video. He did appear on stage with Jackson in Dallas during the Jackson brothers “Victory Tour”.

Steve Lukather (also from toto)

The year 1982 turned out to be the most successful (commercially) in Toto’s and Lukather’s career. Steve Lukather contributed heavily to Michael Jackson’s Thriller album, that turned out to be the most successful album in music history ever with over 50 million copies sold.

Lukather achieved notability in the 1970s and 1980s as one of the most sought-after session guitarists in Los Angeles, playing with a wide range of artists from Aretha Franklin to Warren Zevon.  He performed the guitar solo for Olivia Newton-John’s biggest single ever on 1981′s “Physical”, which doubled as Billboard’s #1 single of the 1980s. He has performed on over 1,000 records spanning 36 years.  He largely credits fellow Toto members David Paich and Jeff Porcaro for getting him exposure in the industry.

Thanks to stevelukather.net

Orianthi

At 24 years old, Orianthi has already experienced what most aspiring guitarists can only dream of.  She’s opened for Steve Vai, backed Carrie Underwood, jammed with legendary guitarist Carlos Santana, and shared the stage on tour with the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

Orianthi is a beautiful, but tallented Australian guitar player and singer-songwriter. She is perhaps best known for being Michael Jackson’s lead guitarist for his ill-fated This Is It concert series. Her debut single “According to You” has peaked at No. 8 in Australia and No. 17 in the US; her sophomore album, Believe, received a worldwide release in late 2009.

Thanks to orianthi.com

Larry Carlton (Off the wall album)

During the 1970s and early 1980s, Carlton was a session musician in Los Angeles, making up to five hundred recordings a year, including albums by Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, The Four Tops, Christopher Cross, Barbra Streisand, the Partridge Family

In 1979 he played guitar on Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall.

Slash

For 1992′s Dangerous, MJ decided on Guns n’ Roses guitarist Slash, which left many Guns N Roses fans wondering wtf?  You can hear Slash wailing on “Black or White” and “Give it to Me”.

Steve Stevens (smooth criminal)

Steve Stevens is well known for his use of a raygun sound effect in the Billy Idol song “Rebel Yell.”  This sound effect was created by using a toy raygun held up to the pickups, according to a Guitar World interview. He now uses a toy raygun equipped with a pitch bender and a repeat changer to produce the sound effect.

“Dirty Diana” was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It appeared on Jackson’s seventh studio album, Bad. The song was released by Epic Records on April 18, 1988 as the fifth single from Bad. After “Beat It”, “Dirty Diana” was the second hard rock song of his solo career, more specifically a hard rock ballad, with lyrics about a persistent groupie.  Jackson hired Billy Idol’s former guitarist Steve Stevens to back him on the track.

Los Angeles Times’ Richard Cromelin describes clearly “Dirty Diana” as a hard rock song, he says about it, “‘Dirty Diana’ is trying to be this year’s ‘Beat It’–a hard-rock song about a tenacious groupie that’s sent into orbit by a Steve Stevens guitar solo”

Carlos Santana (Whatever Happens)

In 2000 Supernatural won nine Grammy Awards (eight for Santana personally), including Album of the Year, Record of the Year for “Smooth”, and Song of the Year for Thomas and Itaal Shur. Santana’s acceptance speeches described his feelings about music’s place in one’s spiritual existence. Later that year at the Latin Grammy Awards he won three awards including Record of the Year. In 2001, Santana’s guitar skills were featured in Michael Jackson’s song “Whatever Happens”, from the album Invincible.

Thanks for your patience, folks.  I needed a day to catch up on many of my notes from the 4^th annual Montreal Guitar show.

I couldn’t believe how well organized the event was and I’d like to tip my hat to the founder, Jacques-André Dupont.

You can also drop them a line at http://www.salondeguitaredemontreal.ca

I’ve been playing for quite a few years now and the question always comes up:  If I had an extra $2000, what guitar would I buy?  Well, overwhelmingly, my response is always either a kick-ass Fender or Gibson, only because these have “market-values” and are expected to be worth more later on.  I have considered Epiphones, and Paul Reed Smiths.

I know a friend who’s had several “personal custom” guitars made for him and he swears by them.

So on to the show I went, expecting to see the established mainstays such as Fender, Gibson, and Marshall, but no!  This is truly a guitar maker show.

I couldn’t believe the quality of products I saw on display.  The expo is divided intelligently into an acoustic and electric section.  Walking into the venue, you first end up in the acoustic section.  The electric section is

I saw a strong Manouche movement in terms of makers and luthiers.  Many types of Manouche guitars are available and again, I was first made aware of the strong Montreal Manouche guitar style community.

Many other acoustic luthiers are putting sound holes on the sides and even variable with a sliding door to adjust the size of the sound hole.  Talk about dynamic range.  Enough of acoustics (I’m not currently shopping for an acoustic ever since I acquired a half-priced Parkwood PW-510 in Chicago).

The electric guitar exhibitors are another crowd.  There were fewer electric makers than acoustic but they sure made up for it in intensity.  I mean many models were intense.

And they have several sound booths where you can try new product.  I was enthralled by the number of times an exquisite axe was pushed into my hands by its maker with a, “ come on buddy, take this for a try)

In addition to the acoustic and electric guitar makers, there were shows and workshops.  Master luthiers from around the world converged to discuss new guitar making trends.  Zeb Heintz and Andy McKee performed as well as many others.

The guitar show’s mood was great.  The electric side was festive while you’d think you were at some fancy auction house like Sotheby’s or Christie’s when you were in the acoustic section.

I would say overall that the time and place was formidable.  Having an annual guitar show during the jazz festival and on the same site is truly convenient.  One parking, one guitar show, many free concerts makes for a recipe for success.

Looking forward to seeing you next year.

Later.