Wow – in the category of “things I never expected to see in my lifetime” we hear that Google co-founder Sergey Brin is leaving Google to become a blues guitar god.
Now if it wasn’t April 1’st – this could certainly take on a life of its own…here’s the original article on TC.
$40,000 for 3 lessons from Eric Clapton – that should turn him into a guitar God right?
What’s next, will we see Sergey giving away his Billions to the devil at the Crossroads so he can trade his business savvy for a premiere position in the blues guitar world?
Well, Mick Jagger was asked to lead a “While House All-Stars Blues Band” in front of President Obama last month in celebration of Black History Month, so I suppose anything is possible!
Anyway…Happy April Fool’s to everyone. Keep an eye out at your local blues club, just MAYBE you will see Sergey sitting in with the local band on open jam night. I won’t hold out hope for pictures though…
Filed under blues guitar by on Apr 1st, 2012. Comment. 
Ottawa blues trio MonkeyJunk took away the top Canadian Blues Award at this weekend’s Juno Awards…nice icing on what has been a very busy and positive year.
From day 1 – when Matt Sobb, Tony D and Steve Marriner came together for an open blues jam at Irene’s Pub – the chemistry has been strong.
Tony D’s amazing raw blues guitar talent combined with Matt’s steady back beat and the immensely talented Steve Marriner has just worked…can’t wait to see what comes next.
Their 2011 CD “To Behold” is the basis for their success in 2011 and the Juno Award, definitely worth a listen for those of you who have not had the chance to listen to this exciting, fun band.
They have just finished work on their latest CD collection where they will once again refine their sound into a mix of R&B, blues, soul and rock& roll…seems like the Sky’s the limit, we’ll all be looking upward. Here’s more in the Sun Ottawa newspaper.
Filed under New Blues by on Apr 3rd, 2012. Comment.
He’s been paying his dues, which these days has as much to do with hitting the social networks as it does hitting the clubs.
Texas blues guitar player Tyler Bryant, by all accounts, is the real deal impressing live audiences and YouTube nation…a double whammy marketing effort building his brand before his first album is due out this summer. His “Living Room Jams” have hit it big with YouTube audiences as he builds his reputation and chops.
It certainly doesn’t hurt to have the likes of Eric Clapton and Vince Gill in your corner not to mention stints opening for Jeff Beck and playing with Aerosmith.
Learning lessons from the likes of BB King who takes an active interest in all of today’s blues greats making sure they focus on their music and not get wrapped up in the destructive lifestyle that seems to take so many from us too early…not a bad lesson for 21-year old that is about to make it big.
Here are a few videos that show Bryant’s considerable talent…if you’ve had the chance to see him live, leave us a comment and let us know what you thought.
The first one is an acoustic slide called Lipstick Woman – shows some good potential on the slide, my own advice would be to slow things down a notch, amp up the feeling and put more into each note instead of trying to dazzle with the max number of notes. Stevie Ray always had Jimmie (his brother) to balance his amazing energy and speed with gut-wrenching feeling.
Now, an electric blues (sweet Gibson) through a Fender Amp called Shackles where the slide playing is a little tastier…
Finally, a shot from his opening slot with Jeff Beck..how amazing would this be to jam with Mr Beck?
All-in-all, at 21 he has so much blues guitar playing in front of him…let’s see where he takes it.
Filed under texas blues by on Apr 3rd, 2012. Comment.
Wow man, I was so impressed by this Jimmie Vaughan interview, mainly because he goes through the thought process of how he (and how other great blues guitar players like BB, Freddie King, Eric Clapton and Gatemouth Brown) developed their own style.
It’s one thing to learn the guitar, another to be able to play like your heroes and still another to have the confidence and desire to forge your own sound.
Not only do you become a musician and guitar player, but you become an innovator and artist using this approach.
Isn’t it better to leave this earth having shared and created your own sound instead of just imitating others?
How do you develop your own style… Jimmy’s way of describing it is “play what you hear”…now that makes total sense!
I remember hearing BB King talk about how he developed his style of “fills” by trying to come up with the horn (sax) fills he would hear in songs…that became the BB King style of blues playing.
So if you want to or already play guitar, think about what do you want to hear and try to incorporate that into your playing.
Here’s the video:
Filed under jimmie vaughan, texas blues by on Apr 5th, 2012. Comment.
I have to admit – a great Texas Shuffle a la Stevie Ray Vaughan or Freddie King before him just gets my blood pumping.
I have a son that is just now learning guitar, and though today’s generation is into all of this Electronic Dance Music stuff, I have to admit he even taps his foot when he hears a good blues guitar shuffle come on.
It’s one of the very first things we often learn on guitar (after mastering the basic chords), but getting a great blues shuffle down has as much to do with timing, feeling, swagger (confidence) and right handed picking technique as anything technical.
Here’s a great Kenny Wayne Shepherd number that features a bad-ass Texas Shuffle, tell me if this isn’t the coolest sound you have ever heard!
Kenny Wayne Shepherd – Shotgun Blues by Zone19
Doesn’t that make you want to go pick up your guitar and try to get that timing down, not to mention the great fills between chords…how’s your Texas Shuffle coming?
Filed under texas blues by on Apr 29th, 2012. Comment.
