Hey
Premier Guitar fans! This month our editors and Guest Picker are taking a trip down memory lane
to revisit the first tune we got under fingers. For some of us, it began a journey that
continues to this day, and for others it showed where we most definitely
didn’t want to go.
Joe Coffey — Editorial Director
What am I listening to?
Los Lobos,
Tin Can
Trust. Los Lobos albums
can teach a guitar player
an awful lot about
music, and this latest release is no exception.
I expect tradition, exploration, and great tone
from Los Lobos and they always deliver.
What is the first song you learned on guitar?
Do incorrect barre chord versions count? Then
I’d have to say “Smoke on the Water,” of course.
Rebecca Dirks — Web Content Editor
What am I listening to?
Menomena,
Mines.
Thick with guitar, keyboard,
alto and baritone
sax, glockenspiel, and
loops, the fourth and latest album from the
new-to-me Portland trio has 11 songs that are
both catchy and fascinatingly detailed.
What is the first song you learned on guitar?
Everclear’s “Santa Monica.” A friend handed
me his guitar and showed me the chords. It
wasn’t long before I shelled out $200 for a
used purple Strat.
Andy Ellis — Senior Editor
What am I listening to?
Joe Robinson,
Time
Jumpin’. Hearing this
19-year-old acoustic
fingerpicker is inspiring
and humbling in equal measure. It’s rare
to encounter such musicality in any player,
much less a teenager. A protégé of Tommy
Emmanuel, which explains a lot.
What is the first song you learned on guitar?
“In the Pines,” as recorded by the great Lead
Belly. I learned it in the key of E, and I had to
wrestle with B7 for about a week. To this day,
the IV-bVI-V7 change gives me goose bumps.
Shawn Hammond — Editor in Chief
What am I listening to?
The National,
High
Violet. Masterfully spare
arrangements of oboe,
trombone, trumpet,
accordion, drums, melancholy acoustic guitars
and frenetically moody Jazzmasters, and one
of the most compelling voices on the indie
scene today. “Runaway” may be the most
achingly bittersweet song of 2010.
What is the first song I learned on guitar?
Something like “Tom Dooley.” My first couple of
instructors didn’t seem to realize their curriculum
might actually turn students—in this case, a
young Van Halen acolyte—away from guitar.
Chris Kies — Associate Editor
What am I listening to?
Rx Bandits,
Mandala.
Over the past three
records and 10 years,
the sextet of So-Cal ska
masters have morphed
into a progressive rock quartet that reached
a new high with
Mandala’s catchy rock hooks,
timely solos, and culturally necessary lyrics.
What is the first song I learned on guitar?
Misfi ts “Last Caress.” My best friend listened
to the Misfits non-stop, so when I asked him
to teach me a song it had to be one of their
cryptic hits.
Adam Moore — Senior Editor
What am I listening to?
Arcade Fire,
The
Suburbs. The band’s
latest release lacks a
lot of the bombast and
obvious guitar hooks of their debut,
Funeral,
but more than makes up for it with haunting,
reflective songs about life outside of the city.
What is the first song I learned on guitar?
“Horse With No Name” by America. At the
tender age of 8, my uncle showed me that I
could play a (relatively) popular song by simply
sliding an Em chord around the fretboard.
Cue inevitable folk-rock phase.
Jake Cinninger
(Umphrey’s
McGee) — Guest Picker
What am I listening to?
I’ve been listening to
a lot of the first wave
of black metal, such as Emperor, Enslaved,
Darkthrone, Immortal, Bathory, and Burzum. The
sound is like a blizzard rolling over iced mountains.
This music makes me feel like a teenager
all over again—all pissed off for no reason!
What is the first song I learned on guitar?
I formed a little garage band called Live Bait.
I remember the only riffs I knew were “Bang
a Gong,” by T. Rex, and Steve Miller’s “Space
Cowboy.” We were pretty awful, but my
Marshall JCM 800 sounded like hell on earth!
Charles Saufley — Gear Editor
What am I listening to?
Lloyd McNeil Quartet,
Asha. No guitar on
this reissue of an LP
McNeil released himself
in 1969. Just beautiful
flute and piano playing with restrained,
melodic phrasing that translates beautifully to
guitar. Fun to play along with this thing.
What is the first song I learned on guitar?
“I Can’t Explain” by The Who—but only the
three chord intro. Took me about ten years to
get around to the rest. Killer hook though.
Jason Shadrick — Associate Editor
What am I listening to?
Jeff Richman,
Like That.
After being a go-to guy
on the LA fusion scene
for a number of years,
Richman gathers a bunch of his A-list colleagues
to create one of the most cohesive
jazz-rock albums of the year. He proves yet
again why a Strat is one of the most versatile
instruments around.
What is the first song I learned on guitar?
“My Friends” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
After an afternoon of working through the
“cowboy” chords, I somehow pieced this
tune together.