''GUITAR GODS: Michael Hedges"

 - David "Skinny Devil" McLean

Originally published in Tinfoil Magazine
Date: Friday, May 03 2002 @ 16:47:19 BST

               There are guitar gods, and then there are Guitar Gods - the former of whom are those who excel in many areas, but the latter of whom are the elite few who manage to radically re-shape our view of what the guitar can do. Michael Hedges was a revolutionary player, combining pristine classical technique, rhythmic fire, a fresh ear, and a flare all his own to create something that was wholly new in the world of music.

The following interview took place in late 1990, a few days before Michael Hedges performed at Bogart's in Cincinnati, Ohio (USA), and 7 years before Michael's tragic death in December of 1997.

Book Review: "Language of the Blues"

- David "Skinny Devil" McLean

 Originally published in Tinfoil Music 
Date: Wednesday, January 04 2006 @ 12:39:57 GMT


               They set out with their hoes over their shoulders and their few possessions in a sack to hop the train, which would take them to the next town to find work in the fields. The year was 1850...or 1890...or 1910. By 1934, the BTA estimated there were some 1.5 million transient workers - or hoe-boys, shortened to "hobos" - riding the rails in the U.S. The term "hobo" showed up in songs by Howlin' Wolf, Memphis Minnie, and John Lee Hooker. We learn this, and other fascinating tales, from musician & journalist Debra Devi in her new book, "The Language of the Blues".

"Guitar Gods: An Introduction"

- David "Skinny Devil" McLean
Originally published at Tinfoil Music

Date: Sunday, March 10 2002 @ 12:37:03 GMT

 

               Steve Stevens, Joel Wanasek, Francesco Fareri, Stevie Salas, Jennifer Batten... Established gurus and heroes waiting in the wings, the "Guitar Gods" series talks to some of the finest players on the scene!

Jack Johnson: Music to Mother Earth's Ears

From EcoHearth:

At a time when going green is a new fashion trend among celebrities and those who aspire to be like them, there are few who serve as true catalysts for the cause.  Hawaiian native and recording artist, Jack Johnson, is one of them. He has become not only a symbol of laid-back acoustic music, but also an eco-conscious artist/businessman. By transforming the way his music is created and enjoyed by people all across the globe, he has taken his pro-environmental words and made them into reality.
 

Finding "IT": Creativity and the Flow State

From Serendip:

"All of a sudden somewhere in the middle of the chorus he gets IT- everybody looks up and knows; they listen; he picks it up and carries. Time stops. He's filling empty space with the substance of our lives, confessions of his bellybottom strain, remembrance of ideas, rehashes of old blowing. He has to blow across bridges and come back and do it with such infinite feeling soul-exploratory for the tune of the moment that everybody knows its not the tune that counts but IT." - from "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac

Lifestyle Test

testing labels....lifestyle

Google for Music

From KurzweilAI....

Can a computer be taught to automatically label every song on the Internet using sets of examples provided by unpaid music fans?

Dance Your PhD!

From TED.....

The youtube version:

The original:

http://www.ted.com/talks/john_bohannon_dance_vs_powerpoint_a_modest_proposal.html

Ethereal Drift

"Ethereal Drift" (Joshua McLean)

Beyond the Pale

"Beyond the Pale" (Joshua McLean)