Posted October 11, 2007 at 6:13 am | No comments
Mike Varney has a vinyl fetish. The founder and head of the Shrapnel Label Group started collecting records at the age of five or six and now owns over 40,000 vinyls and CDs, a collection that he’s put to good use. You’d be hard pressed to find someone more knowledgeable about the history of metal, hard rock, progressive guitar instrumental, blues-rock, jazz-fusion, and the various sub-genres those styles have produced, especially with respect to the role the electric guitar has played in such music. Since the founding of Shrapnel Records in 1980, Varney has expanded the business into three imprints under the Shrapnel Label Group: Shrapnel Records, Blues Bureau Records and Tone Center Records, with each label having a focus on a different genre – metal, hard rock, guitar instrumental (primarily progressive) and rock tributes on Shrapnel, blues-rock and blues tributes on Blues Bureau and progressive-jazz-fusion and jazz tributes on Tone Center. More »
Posted in: Interviews
Posted September 27, 2007 at 8:46 am | No comments
Acid Test (Marmaduke), the latest release from Los Angeles-based progressive instrumental rock group Cosmosquad featuring guitarist Jeff Kollman (Glenn Hughes, Sign of 4, Mogg/Way) and drummer Shane Gaalaas (B’z, Diesel Machine), is a broad spectrum, often eerie, nine-track funhouse maze that ranges from hard and dark to soft and bittersweet. It’s the third studio release from the group and their first album since the departure of co-founding member and bassist Barry Sparks, who is now with the metal group, Dokken. Though not intended as a concept album, it works well as a listen-through experience that invokes a diverse yet related menu of literary and cinematic imagery – the obscure menace of H.P. Lovecraft, sweet and sour shades of Stephen King, and, overall, the “what’s around the corner?” feel of Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes. Read »
Posted in: Other News and Information
Posted September 10, 2007 at 8:30 pm | No comments
A lot has happened since the last time I wrote. The biggest bummer was while I was carving the back shape into the neck for 001 an 1¼” long by 3/16” wide black/green stain on the visible side of 001’s neck appeared… ain’t that a bitch! After all the time, energy and dollars committed to the beautiful neck of 001 this stain shows up… neck lost!
Posted in: Gear Reviews, Guitars and Gear, Reviews
Posted September 10, 2007 at 4:51 am | No comments
by Michael Shea.
Charles (Chuck) “The Duke of Pearl” Erikson was born in Los Angeles in 1942. He’s been an integral personality and industry mover and shaker in the world of luthiery and inlay for over 40 years, becoming celebrated among instrument builders, furniture makers and jewelers for the nacreous shell inlay material he supplies. His company processes nearly 300 tons of shell each year from 18 different species and holds three U.S. patents on shell material. Chuck’s background is not limited to meeting inlay supply and demand or building his own stringed instruments. Chuck’s life has been an exploration of eclectic experiences and endeavors that defy any idea of a run of the mill existence. His livelihoods and interests have included snake hunting, gold mining, dealing in scrap metal, manufacturing mining claim signs, and serious antiquing. And these only skim the surface of his fertile mind and seemingly endless series of…
Posted in: Interviews
Posted September 10, 2007 at 4:48 am | No comments
by Michael Shea. Continued from page one » How would somebody that wants to get into inlay go about it nowadays? With the use of CNC machines is there still a place for handwork? CE: The thing with the CNC is it’s only good if you’re going to do multiples of a design. If you’re […]
Posted in: Uncategorized
Posted August 22, 2007 at 6:21 pm | No comments
Guitar International recently caught wind of a stunning blue guitar built by West Virginia luthier Andrew White that was on display at the Montreal Guitar Festival. A highlight of the guitar is the inlay work of Craig Lavin. A quick call to Lavin gave us the inside scoop regarding the collaborative design of a Powder Blue Tang fish and underwater landscape for the guitar. Read »
Posted in: Other News and Information
Posted August 14, 2007 at 7:52 am | No comments
Though he claims the nickname Caveman is the result of a physical resemblance, odds are the moniker has much to do with the fact that Kevin “Caveman” Shirley spends quality time in dimly lit recording studios producing, engineering, or mixing the likes of Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Dream Theater, and, since 2006, Joe Bonamassa. On August 20, 2007, Premier Artists (US) and Provogue Records (Europe) will release Bonamassa’s seventh solo studio album, Sloe Gin, for which Shirley served as both producer and mixer. While the actual role of record producer is often nebulous and, especially in the case of a seasoned recording artist, logistic or simply titular, Joe Bonamassa is quick to point out that Shirley’s contributions to Sloe Gin are concrete, serious, and artistic. “It’s unbelievable,” Joe says in a pre-release one-sheet, “he takes my vision, augments it, and brings it further than I ever would have thought to.” Interview »
Posted in: Interviews
Posted June 3, 2007 at 8:28 pm | No comments
This time I’ll show you some of the work involved with the building of Number One’s neck. A lot of folks think it’s pretty much as easy as sticking some frets into a piece of Maple… well it’s not quite that simple… at least on the P-1. I’ll be breaking the neck building into at least 2-3 different Functional Art articles, because there is just so much to cover. In fact, there are tons more steps than what I’m outlining here, but if I keep taking the time to document this build, instead of building it, I think I’m going to be upsetting my very patient client, Mr. Eddie James.
Posted in: Gear Reviews, Guitars and Gear, Reviews
Posted May 7, 2007 at 2:58 am | No comments
Posted in: Uncategorized
Posted April 23, 2007 at 8:24 pm | No comments
As I mentioned in this column last year, I decided to build some guitars again. After many years away from the guitar business, I got the “jones” again, and designed my newest guitar, The P-1. Over the next several months I thought that I would take you through the journey of building serial number 001, which was ordered by Mr. Eddie James (thanks Eddie!).
Posted in: Gear Reviews, Guitars and Gear, Reviews
