SPINAL TAP: THE BIG BLACK BOOK

Oh My God!

I totally have to track down a copy of this book as I am a huge fan of Spinal Tap! In the meantime, check out this awesome press release:

Montclair, NJ (October 17, 2017) - Prettier than Poison, less hygienic than Mötley Crüe, deffer than Def Leppard, and braver than Bon Jovi, SPINAL TAP is THE greatest band EVER! They are better than those bands combined, times eleven-then multiplied by a million more and raised to the power of Hanoi Rocks plus Ratt. The numbers do not lie! Yes, when it comes to metal done heavy and loud, all you need are Hubbins, Tufnel and Small . . . and Shrimpton, Savage, Pepys, Childs, Pudding, etc.

Now, for the very first time between non-satin sheets, SPINAL TAP: The Big Black Book offers fans the unique opportunity to dive deep into a cherished moment in time when all that mattered was a filthy power chord progression, ceaseless lyrical innuendo, and grubby long hair shampooed by the gods of metal and conditioned by the angels of mercy.

The Big Black Book you are holding isn't just a book-it's an educational artifact! Inside this coveted collectible, you'll find:

- Priceless, removable SPINAL TAP memorabilia, including promo posters, the Stonehenge Napkin, ticket stubs, and a Smell the Glove album cover!

- A scratch-n-sniff card that captures the sights, sounds, and smells of a hardworking rock band on the road!

- Iconic photographs of the band and rockumentary filmmaker Marty DiBergi!

- Tracklists from every epic record!

- "Tap Up Close" profiles of band members as you've never seen them before (except for you, Gregor, and it was just that once).

And that's not all. You'll also learn the dirty secrets surrounding Marty DiBergi's "rockumentary," THIS IS SPINAL TAP. Consistently cited as one of the most groundbreaking, important films ever made, THIS IS SPINAL TAP has achieved cult status around the world. Regardless, the entire band, their management, and many devoted fans describe it as a "horror film." Was DiBergi a filmmaker who made a seminal film about a hard-working rock band, or was he a beard-faced liar who exploited his heroes for money? You decide!

All else aside, one thing IS clear. When it comes to touring the world and elsewhere, SPINAL TAP has been there, done that, and bought the tight-fitting Spandex t-shirts to prove it. Over their sixteen studio albums and dozens of what critics cruelly called "unnecessary" singles, SPINAL TAP has built a legacy that will continue far into the future-a future that may not contain any new compositions. Thankfully, the highly prolific tapestry of music they have bequeathed to us will not leave us yearning for any more. We've got enough!

But enough of our yakkin'! Get your devil horns at the ready and take your bookshelf from stupid to clever with this fully loaded, officially authorized rock program!

About the Author

WALLACE FAIRFAX (Clitheroe, England) was not only the first British journalist to interview SPINAL TAP after the band's triumphant first gig (as SPINAL TAP) at London's Music Membrane in 1966, he was also the very first person to buy its debut album. In 1971, SPINAL TAP members invited Wallace to travel with them around the word to document their rise to the top. At somewhere around the middle, in 1972, Wallace left the rock 'n' roll lifestyle behind for a "proper job" (his wife's words). Since then, Wallace has remained SPINAL TAP's greatest friend, and fan, hence the band's asking him to write this book.

SPINAL TAP: The Big Black Book

Available at Backwingstore.com

$40.00

Backbeat Books Hardcover w/ Removable Facsimiles; October 2017

Rock History/Film

ISBN#: 9781495089404

128 pages

Facsimile removable memorabilia

Color and B&W images throughout

Hal Leonard Guitar Method Complete Edition Review

Hello!

I run into people all the time that say that they have always wanted to learn how to play the guitar. If it is something that you have always wanted to do, then make the time and get down to it. And, if you are self-motivated, the Hal Leonard Guitar Method is a great place to start. I have bought many copies over the years as I usually end up giving mine to a fledgling guitarist that is in need of direction.

Hal Leonard is the world’s biggest music print publisher, and they have been around for over 60 years. Whether you are looking for sheet music, orchestral arrangements or instructional materials, they have all of the basses covered. The Hal Leonard Guitar Method has been around for over 30 years, and the Will Schmid / Greg Koch second edition has become an industry standard, and a top seller in their catalog.

The Complete Edition that we are looking at here today is all three books combined into one, and it includes play-along CDs for each of the volumes. It is a 144 page full-size (12 x 9 inch) book with a plastic comb binding, which allows it to lie flat on a music stand. This is a great format as staple or glue bound books have trouble staying open, and once you break the spine to flatten it the pages start to fall out. Comb or spiral binding are the only ways to go.

This book is great for the novice as it starts at the very beginning. By the beginning, I mean it talks about the different types of guitars, the names of the guitar parts, and even how to properly hold the guitar and tune it. By the way, this method works well with either acoustic or electric guitars. Anyway, from there, they dive into how to play, and I like the way they go about it, though I could see how some might have a problem with it.

A lot of young players want to learn to play songs right away, and I can understand their motivation, but this book focuses on the fundamentals, which includes learning how to read music. The authors go one string at a time in the first position, showing where the notes fall on the staff, and working in simple melodies with ¾ and 4/4 time signatures. I think this is a very effective teaching technique, and the ability to read music will only help in the future to help sort out melodies from sheet music or if the guitarist actually gets a paying gig that requires the ability to read sheet music.

Another cool thing is that chords are held off for a few weeks, which helps the budding player develop some callouses, which makes fretting chords a lot more satisfying. New chords and theory are introduced a bit at a time, so the student does not get overwhelmed.

Some of the songs and melodies can be hokey (e.g. “When the Saints Go Marching In”), but this is a beginner book and these simpler melodies are ones that most people can remember. In all cases, there are chords listed on top of the staff so the instructor (if there is one) can play along, and there also duets so that the learner can play some neat harmonic parts.

The first book finishes off with eighth notes and basic strumming techniques, and books two and three move into faster work, plenty of new chords (including barre chords), different picking techniques and more intricate and useful sheet music and melodies. If the player completes all three books of this method, they will be a solid intermediate player that can actually read music, which puts them a step ahead in my book.

This edition came with three CDs (one for each book), and they are neat play along pieces for many of the lessons within the books. They mostly have complete full band arrangements with other guitar lines, bass, drums and synthesizers. Often times they are presented in different tempos or formats, so the listener can hear the different ways that the same line can be played. The arrangements border on bizarre at times (like muzak you might hear in a Japanese department store), but I think they are fun. It is certainly a nice bonus for learners that might not know the melodies or are having trouble working out the rhythms and time signatures.

The best part about the Hal Leonard Guitar Method Complete Edition with CDs is the price. It has a list price of $24.99, but I see them online for as low as $14.99 from major retailers like Walmart. That is way cheaper than a single guitar lesson, so you might want to get a copy if you are thinking of taking up the instrument.

Mahalo!

Book Review of Duff McKagan’s It’s So Easy

Aloha!

Duff McKagan is one of my bass heroes, and one of the reasons why I stuck with the instrument back in the 1980s. His playing is melodic, his music writing skills are incredible and he is the epitome of cool. I follow the blog he writes for Seattle Weekly and like his writing style, so when I had the chance to pick up a copy of his autobiography, It was a no-brainer.

Depending on how old you are, you will know Duff as the bassist for Guns & Roses or Velvet Revolver, or possibly not at all. He is currently working with his own band, Loaded, and runs his own wealth management company. He is not a dumb guy. This is not his first writing gig, and besides working with Seattle Weekly, he has also been writing for ESPN.com and Playboy for a number of years. He had some help on this project from Tim Mohr, his editor at Playboy, but this book is in his voice so I believe McKagan did most of the work.

It’s So Easy covers the rise and fall of GNR (of course), but it also covers his life before and after the tumultuous years with the band. There is the expected dirty laundry, but we also get some insight into his private life, and even get a few of his favorite recipes. He is critical of others throughout the book (and rightly so), but is hardest of all on himself. The tale of his descent into and back out of the pit of drug and alcohol addiction is compelling, and should be required reading for teenagers.

At a bit over 300 pages, I figured the book would provide a few hours of entertainment, but I ended up taking my time with it because it turned out to be a really good read. Duff has a tremendous grasp of the details of these stories, and his writing style is very honest and natural. There is some raw language here and there, but probably not as much as you would expect. He provides a nice display of photos in the middle of the book too.

So, Duff McKagan’s It’s So Easy is a well-written book and an interesting read, and I recommend that you give it a shot. And here is the hot ticket: this book originally sold for $26 (which is way too much for any book, let alone a rock star tell-all) but they are closing these out for six bucks at Barnes and Noble, bringing it more into line for what I am willing to pay. Check it out!

Mahalo!

Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars 3rd Edition Review

Como estas?

Any serious collector of vintage guitars has to be familiar with George Gruhn, the owner of Gruhhn Guitars in Nashville, Tennesee. I have done business with him, having purchased guitars from him, and had him authenticate some pre-CBS Fenders over the years. He is the most popular authority on the history of vintage guitars, as well as how to identify and verify the originality of these instruments.

He has shared his knowledge with us though “Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars,” which was originally published in 1992 in collaboration with Walter Carter, who has is also a fabulous guitar historian. It includes acoustic and electric guitars, amplifiers, basses, banjos as well as ukuleles and mandolins. There are specifications for each instrument form the major manufactures such as Fender, Gibson, Martin, Gretsch, Rickenbacker, and even Mosrite.

His book went through an extensive rewrite in 1999, adding a boatload of new information and correcting mis-steps from the first edition. This book was well laid out, and it was easy to find out exactly what I needed to know. After 10 years, he issued a 500-page 3rd edition in 2010 (which I bought), and it appears that the wheels have fallen off the cart.

All of the good information is there, but the way it has been re-categorized is abysmal. The earlier editions were sorted by type (such as bass, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, archtops, etc.), but now it is now sorted by model and manufacturer in alphabetical order, and this makes for some interesting bedfellows. This might be ok if you know exactly what you are looking for, but what if you are trying to IDENTIFY a guitar? Let’s say you have a lonely and unidentified Gibson acoustic, and you are a die-hard Fender guy so you have no clue about what it could be. You whip out your 3rd edition and sift through the entire Gibson section to try and find it. Every limited edition SG, every Flying V, those awful faded guitars, and every one of the half-million variants of the Les Paul. What a pain the butt.

This is not going to cut the mustard, and it pains me to say this, as I really like George Gruhn, but I cannot recommend “Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars 3rd Edition.” Your best bet is to forgo the new information and purchase a new copy of the 2nd edition, which is still available on amazon.com

Mahalo!

Dan Erlewine’s Guitar Player Repair Guide Review

Buenos dias, amigos!

There are few things as miserable as having a guitar that does not play right, and generally, it is a pain to have somebody work on your stuff. Whether it is just a set-up or a major overhaul, you are at the mercy of repair shops that may not listen to what you really want, and might put your beloved instrument into repair shop prison. I have had great luck with my local repair shop, but chances are good you will not be so lucky, so you might want to take the steps to learn how to do your own repair work.

But how? It is not like there are luthiery schools on every corner, and they do not teach repair at ITT Technical Institute. Well, you can learn a lot from one of the best in the business by purchasing up Dan Erlewine’s “Guitar Player Repair Guide”.

Mr. Erlewine has been around forever, and has invented many repair tools that are used by your local guitar repair guy. He has built and repaired very high-profile guitars, and has produced DVDs, books and magazine columns devoted to guitar repair. He is the real deal, in other words.

The “Guitar Player Repair Guide” is over 300 illustrated pages that cover the most common procedures that may need to be performed on acoustic and electric guitars. He breaks down the procedures into three categories: “Basic” for folks that are new to working on guitars, “D.I.Y” for those who are skilled hobbyists, and “Deep” for those are not afraid of heavy-duty repairs. The procedures range from cleaning your guitar and replacing the strings to resetting necks, replacing frets and fitting acoustic guitar bridges. He even includes instructions on how to properly pack a guitar or amplifier for shipping.

Dan provides a listing of tools in the back that are needed for each of the three categories. Chances are good that you already have many of the basic repair tools at home, such as a guitar tuner, screwdrivers, hex wrenches and pliers. So, for a small investment in a few specialized tools you can start doing your own set-ups and repairs. Everything you need can be purchased online through Stewart MacDonald.

My copy came with a DVD that covers guitar inspection, setting intonation and stringing up your guitar. The only thing I do not care for about the book is the way it is bound. I really wish it was spiral bound so it would lay flat on my workbench. The older editions were spiral bound…

I highly recommend that you purchase Dan Erlewine’s “Guitar Player Repair Guide”. I got mine for $29.95 from Stewart MacDonald, and surprisingly it was signed by the author. You will save at least that much the first time you do your own set-up. Trust me!

Mahalo!

Please Help Out My Buddy (The Author): WAHOO RHAPSODY

Como estas?

I know that this has nothing to do with usual music topics, but the best book of the summer is WAHOO RHAPSODY. Well, it is the best book any of my friends have published this summer, but it's still really good. Think Carl Hiaasen funny and Elmore Leonard snappy with a kick-ass mystery woven through.

An American deckhand is smuggling pot from Cabo San Lucas to San Diego inside the bellies of dead fish. He steals from the drug lord and bad things happen. There's a corrupt federal prosecutor from Arizona, a beautiful and fearless P.I., and an expatriated hero with millions in cash hidden away. It's a fast-paced, salty tale that's perfect for the beach or the pool.

Go to shaunmorey.com to read the first chapter for free, and then go buy WAHOO RHAPSODY on Amazon. It is also available for the Kindle for 8 bucks. Trust me.

Mahalo!