Musician By Night: September 2011

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Michael J. Fox and his 6-string talent:

Michael J. Fox

Born
Michael Andrew Fox
June 9, 1961 (1961-06-09) (age 50)
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Occupation
Actor, author, producer, activist, voice-over artist

Years active
1973–present

Spouse
Tracy Pollan (1988–present; 4 children)

Michael J. Fox with Tracy Pollan at the 40th Emmy Awards in August 1988 shortly after they were married

Michael J. Fox is a Canadian/American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. It doesn’t matter whether you remember him as Marty McFly, Alex P. Keaton or that punk kid brother in the movie Midnight Madness, Michael J. Fox can burn it up on the 6-string. Check out Back to the Future, the movie is a classic. Pay attention to the scene where Marty performs Johnny B. Goode. Michael J. Fox’s chording and shredding during the school dance scene looks pretty good… most excellent dude! I particularly enjoyed his ability to mimic a few legendary guitar moves! Check him out kicking over his amp cabinet much like Pete Townsend of the rock group The Who, playing guitar while lying on his back… why isn’t that Angus Young of AC/DC, and let’s not forget how he chicken walked across the stage like the trademark Chuck Berry move.

All and all, Michael J. Fox really plays the part well. Watch the film for yourself and see how it all comes together when Marty shows the high school kids at the “Enchantment Under the Sea Dance,” his interpretation of futuristic guitar stylings with his McFly shred which just happens to combine the styles of Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen.

Michael J. Fox in “Back To The Future”

Here is The Original Movie Version:

The Original Movie Version of “Johnny B. Goode”

Back To The Future Part 1: The Power Of Love

by “Huey Lewis and the News”:

Back To The Future Part 1: The Power Of Love

Many songs from the movie “Back To The Future” were written and performed by “Huey Lewis and The News”.

Huey Lewis and the News – “The Heart Of Rock & Roll”

Huey Lewis and the News – “The Heart Of Rock & Roll”

Alex P. Keaton in Family Ties (1982-1989)

Back in 1982, Michael J. Fox played Alex P. Keaton on a television sitcom called Family Ties. Alex P. Keaton was a fictional character on the American television sitcom, Family Ties, which aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. Family Ties reflected the move in the United States away from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s. This was particularly expressed through the relationship between Young Republican Alex (Michael J. Fox) and his hippie parents, Elyse and Steven Keaton (Meredith Baxter and Michael Gross). American president Ronald Reagan once stated that Family Ties was his favorite television show.

Family Ties Theme Song . . . . . .

Alex (Michael J. Fox) is the oldest child of Elyse and Steven Keaton (Meredith Baxter-Birney and Michael Gross), who were Baby Boomers and Democrats during the early years of the Reagan administration. Married in 1964, Elyse, an independent architect, and Steven, a manager in a local public television station, were hippies during the 1960s. According to the episode, "A Christmas Story" in Season One, Alex was born in 1965 while his parents were on assignment in Africa, having been influenced by John F. Kennedy to participate in the Peace Corps. Alex has two younger sisters, Mallory (Justine Bateman) and Jennifer (Tina Yothers). Mallory was born while her parents were students at the University of California, Berkeley in 1967, and Jennifer was born the night Richard Nixon won his second term in 1972. The family lives in suburban Columbus, Ohio.

The Secret of My Success (1987 film)

The Secret of My Success is a 1987 American comedy film starring Michael J. Fox and Helen Slater, produced and directed by Herbert Ross (best known for Footloose). The screenplay is written by Jim Cash, who previously co-scripted Top Gun.

Casualties of War (1989 film)

Casualties of War is a 1989 war drama directed by Brian De Palma, with a screenplay by David Rabe, based on the actual events of the incident on Hill 192 in 1966 during the Vietnam War. It starred Michael J. Fox and Sean Penn.

An article written by Daniel Lang for The New Yorker in 1969 was the movie's primary source.

This film was, in a way, Fox's third major dramatic role. He had previously starred in the dramas Light of Day and Bright Lights, Big City. John C. Reilly and John Leguizamo make their screen debuts in the film, and the latter would again star with Penn in another picture by De Palma, 1993's Carlito's Way.

As you can see by his many accomplishments, Michael J. Fox is an incredibly talented individual who not only can act, but can play the guitar with the best of them. If you are interested in his career, check him out on You Tube, you’ll be surprised at his musical abilities; specifically his guitar playing techniques.

I’ll keep my eyes and ears open for any guitar pieces from Michael J. Fox and should I locate any, I'll be sure to make you aware of it. Hope you had a wonderful weekend; make sure you give those kids of you’re a big hug so they know that you love them.

So, until next time;

Musician By Night

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Custom Amp and Guitar Stands:

In my continued search for new, custom designed equipment and accessories to add to my gear, I stumbled upon these two products; a NEW quality Amp stand for the professional guitarist called the Ampendage Amp Stand and the exquisite, custom wood guitar stand from Take a Stand. I’ll tell you all about the Ampendage Amp Stand first, then we’ll move onto Take a Stand.

Have you ever had trouble hearing your amp at gigs? Are you subjecting your audience to a too loud and/or bright sound?

Then the Ampendage may be for you…

For years, guitarists with only small stages to play on, and with backline only setups (i.e. no PA system), have struggled to get a good guitar sound for both themselves and the audience. Often the amp is placed on the floor and facing the back of the guitarists legs; and he isn’t able to hear it clearly over the drummer's clatter and the rumbles from the bassist. And turning up the amp's volume and/or raising the treble EQ is not always the best option – he may hear himself a little better but the audience may find the resulting loud, piercing guitar tone a little too much to bear! So, various manufacturers have created devices to either angle the amp so the speaker is pointing upwards or to raise it off the floor so that the guitarist can hear it himself.

Ampendage is one such company that makes a stand that both raises the amp off the floor and angles the speaker upwards so it's pointing at your head. Good for you, good for your audience. The Ampendage comes as several black MDF boards flat packed that you assemble yourself. Assembly takes around 15 minutes and although it's not collapsible once built, it's not too big or heavy to inhibit its cartage in your car. Although primarily aimed at 1x12 combos, it can also hold 2x12 combos and the height puts a combo's controls readily to hand without having to reach downwards.

In use, it greatly improves what you hear so in effect improves perception of your playing for you, your band and the audience. It even comes with a carry handle that stops your amp sliding off the stand. Priced at $59.95 (plus shipping and handling), the Ampendage amp stand may just be the kit that keeps everyone and you happy about what you play. Good stuff!

Specs:

12" high | 14" wide | 12.5" deep

Amp standing surface 11"

Weight – 8.4lbs/3.8kgs

Able to hold a load of up to 300lbs

Now we move onto;

The Handcrafted Hardwood Guitar Stands

“A designer knows he has achieved perfection when there is nothing left to take away.” -Antoine de Saint Exupéry

Our wood guitar stands are created as fine furniture – meticulously designed to be structurally sound, aesthetically beautiful and flattering to your guitar and its surroundings.

Solid hardwood - no plywood or particle board
Safe for all guitar finishes
Custom designed to your specifications
Secure and stable
Patented designs - D610835, D628830

At Take a Stand, we believe your guitar stand should enhance and complement your instrument. Whether your guitar is custom made, vintage or simply your pride and joy, discerning players appreciate the quality of our guitar stands. Take a Stand wood guitar stands are handcrafted using the finest hardwoods with wood trim accents, precision machined metal and genuine leather. As a gift or for yourself, they are dramatic artistic statements.

SM Guitar Stand WM Guitar Stand

Selects

We often look for special and exotic woods that aren't part of our standard wood choices. Sometimes it's by chance, a customer suggestion, or simply a request. Either way, below you will find some very interesting guitar stands that are produced in limited quantities. Let us know if there is something that interests you. We may have the stand in stock or we can create one specifically for you.

We have other exotic woods in stock like wattle (Australian wood similar to koa), chechen rosewood, figured makore, bubinga, santos mahogany, quarter sawn sycamore, rosewood, curly cherry, curly walnut, flame birch, and others.

SM Design Guitar Stand in Curly Eastern Walnut

We found this very special board of eastern walnut amongst a pile of regular walnut. It's got spectacular grain and figure. Fortunately we've been able to find more of this wood from alternate sources and is available with an additional charge of $75. The pictured stand is an SM with ebony binding and metal feet. The center binding on the base is a unique design with an alternate strip of curly walnut. The feet and metal hardware are powdercoated with mirror black. The stand is complemented with black leather wrapped supports.

SM Design Guitar Stand in Wenge

This stand was requested by our good friend and fantastic luthier, Jason Kostal. Wenge is a tropical wood, dark in color with a very interesting grain pattern. Ebony binding was added to the stand to give it a somewhat more refined look. To match the ebony binding, mirror black hardware and black leather was added to the stand.

WM Design Guitar Stand in Ziricote

Ziricote is a beautiful wood found in a small part of Central America. It exhibits wonderful grain patterns and is denser than rosewood. Like cocobolo and rosewood, it is fairly heavy and polishes to a beautiful finish. The wood used for this stand was found while searching for other woods at a local exotic wood supplier in Long Island. It was a very rough board when purchased, so it was an incredible surprise when it first emerged from the planer in the shop.

SM Design Guitar Stand in Quartersawn Sycamore

We recently discovered sycamore while shopping for other woods. Sycamore is a beautiful wood with wonderful varied grain. Check out the close-up shot of the wood to get an idea of the grain. The stand shown here has bubinga edge binding and bubinga inlay on the base. The hardware is pewter powdercoat. We were pleasantly surprised to see that Batson Guitars had a gorgeous sycamore guitar at the recent 2011 Montreal Guitar Show.

If you find these guitar stands rather unique, and like pieces of furniture that would blend well with the décor of your home, you’ll love them. However, unlike the Ampendage Amp Stands, these guitars stands run between $325.00 for the WM Design with No Options, to as high as $600.00 for the SM Design with options like metal feet, etc..

I hope you find this post informative and as interesting as I did. It’s amazing what kind of custom products are available for the beginning all the way up to the professional guitarist. And it is important to note that they are offered at many different price points as well, so that we can each invest at the level we are most comfortable with.

Have a wonderful weekend and be sure to give your kids a big hug and kiss to show them that you love them.

Until next time;

Musician By Night

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Stevie Ray Vaughan Biography ( 1954 – 1990 )

Stevie Ray Vaughan (Born October 3, 1954 – Died August 27, 1990) in Dallas, Texas.

Guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan was at the forefront of a blues resurgence in the 1980s, bringing rock fans into the fold with a powerful, driving style of play that earned him comparisons with some of his heroes such as Jimi Hendrix, Otis Rush, and Muddy Waters. His four main studio albums were critical and commercial successes, rising high on the music charts and paving the way to sold-out stadium shows across the country.

Inspired by his older brother Jimmie's guitar playing, Stevie picked up his first guitar at the age of 10, a plastic Sears toy that he loved to strum. With an exceptional ear, (he never learned to read sheet music) Stevie taught himself to play the blues by the time he'd reached high school, testing his stage skills at a Dallas club any chance he could.

Well into his junior year, Vaughan had already played with several garage bands. But lacking any kind of academic drive, Stevie struggled to stay in school. Following a brief enrollment at an alternative arts program sponsored by Southern Methodist University, Stevie dropped out of school, moved to Austin, and concentrated on making a living as a musician. To make ends meet, Vaughan collected soda and beer bottles for money and couch-surfed at various friends' houses. The rest of the time he was playing music, jumping in-and-out of various bands that had semi-regular gigs in the Austin area.

In 1975, Vaughan and a few others formed Triple Threat. After some reshuffling, the group was renamed Double Trouble, inspired by an Otis Rush song. With Vaughan on lead vocals, the group developed a strong fan base throughout Texas. Eventually their popularity spread outside The Lone Star State. In 1982, the group caught the attention of Mick Jagger, who invited them to play at a private party in New York City. That same year, Double Trouble performed at the Montreux Blues & Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

While there, Vaughan's musical abilities caught the attention of David Bowie, who asked the musician to play on his upcoming album, Let's Dance. With some commercial viability behind them, Vaughan and his band mates were signed to a record deal with Epic, where they were put in the capable hands of legendary musician and producer, John Hammond, Sr.

The resulting record, Texas Flood, did not disappoint, reaching No. 38 on the charts and catching the notice of rock stations across the country. For his part, Stevie was voted Best New Talent and Best Electric Blues Guitarist in a 1983 reader's poll by Guitar Player Magazine. Double Trouble set off on a successful tour, and then recorded a second album, Couldn't Stand the Weather, which climbed to No. 31 on the charts and went gold in 1985.

More records (the live album, Live Alive and then another studio collection, Soul to Soul) and more success followed. There were Grammy nominations and, in 1984, the unprecedented recognition of Vaughan by the National Blues Foundation Awards, which named him Entertainer of the Year and Blues Instrumentalist of the Year. He became the first white musician ever to receive both honors.

But Vaughan's personal life was spiraling downward. His relationship with his wife, Lenora Darlene Bailey, whom he'd married in 1979, fell apart. He battled drug and alcohol problems. Finally, following a collapse while on tour in Europe in 1986, the guitarist checked himself into rehab.

For the next year, Vaughan largely stayed away from the high-powered music scene that had dominated his life over the last half decade. But in 1988, he and Double Trouble started performing again and making plans for another album. In June 1989, the group released their fourth studio album, ”Step”. The recording featured Vaughan's driving guitar style, as well as several songs such as "Wall of Denial" and "Tight Rope," which touched on the struggles he'd gone through in his personal life. The release reached No. 33 on the charts, and garnered the group a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Recording.

Vaughan was as much a fan of blues history as he was a part of it. He owned Hendrix's "wah-wah," as well as a small army of classic Stratocaster electric guitars that had colorful names like Red, Yellow, and National Steel. His favorite—and the one he used more than any other—was a 59 Strat he called "Number One."

In the spring of 1990, Vaughan and his brother stepped into the studio to begin work on an album that was scheduled to be released that autumn. The record,”Family Style”, made its debut that October, but Stevie never lived to see it.

On August 26, 1990, Vaughan and Double Trouble played a big show in East Troy, Wisconsin, that featured Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, and Jimmie Vaughan. Just after midnight, Stevie hopped on a helicopter bound for Chicago. Contending with dense fog, the helicopter crashed into a mountain minutes after take-off, killing everyone on board. Vaughan was buried at Laurel Land Memorial Park in South Dallas. More than 1,500 people attended the musician's memorial service.

In the years since, Stevie Ray Vaughan's legend has only grown. Just a little more than a year after his death, Vaughan was recognized by Texas governor Ann Richards, who proclaimed October 3, 1991, "Stevie Ray Vaughan Day."

In addition, fans have been treated to a number of tribute specials and posthumous albums, including an early live Double Trouble record and a special box set of rare recordings, live shows, and never-before-heard outtakes. In a demonstration of the power of Vaughan's music, sales of these newer records have more than matched the records that came out during Stevie Ray Vaughan's lifetime.

Related People

Stevie Ray Vaughan is one of my favorite Blues Guitar artists, and the deeper I get involved in Blues Music, the more I like Texas Blues Rock, which is synonymous with SRV. If you haven’t listened to much of his music, you owe it to yourself to give it a listen now. He is an awesome guitarist with an arsenal of licks that just keep you wanting to listen for the next new one. Check him out when you get the chance.

Have a great evening and remember to give your kids a big hug, they’ll remember it always.