Everything the PG editors saw at Winter NAMM on Friday.
"Ibanez Guitars brought the new 7-string AFJ957VSB jazz box to NAMM. It features a lovely wood trapeze tailpiece, mini-humbuckers, and a rich-looking vintage sunburst finish."
Then we give a Takamine guitar & Fishman amp to an up-and-coming Nashville musician.
Music City is always swirling with top-notch musicians performing anywhere they can, so Takamine and Fishman challenged PG's John Bohlinger to take his talents downtown to gig on the street where he ran into YouTube sensation DØVYDAS and hands over his gear to rising star Tera Lynne Fister.
The new Jimi Hendrix documentary chronicles the conceptualization and construction of the legendary musician’s recording studio in Manhattan that opened less than a month before his untimely death in 1970. Watch the trailer now.
Abramorama has recently acquired global theatrical distribution rights from Experience Hendrix, L.L.C., and will be premiering it on August 9 at Quad Cinema, less than a half mile from the still fully-operational Electric Lady Studios.
Jimi Hendrix - Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision (Documentary Trailer)
“The construction of Electric Lady [Studios] was a nightmare,” recalls award-winning producer/engineer and longtime Jimi Hendrix collaborator Eddie Kramer in the trailer. “We were always running out of money. Poor Jimi had to go back out on the road, make some money, come back, then we could pay the crew . . . Late in ’69 we just hit a wall financially and the place just shut down. He borrows against the future royalties and we’re off to the races . . . [Jimi] would say to me, ‘Hey man, I want some of that purple on the wall, and green over there!’ We would start laughing about it. It was fun. We could make an atmosphere that he felt comfortable in and that he was able to direct and say, ‘This is what I want.’”
Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision recounts the creation of the studio, rising from the rubble of a bankrupt Manhattan nightclub to becoming a state-of-the-art recording facility inspired by Hendrix’s desire for a permanent studio. Electric Lady Studios was the first-ever artist-owned commercial recording studio. Hendrix had first envisioned creating an experiential nightclub. He was inspired by the short-lived Greenwich Village nightspot Cerebrum whose patrons donned flowing robes and were inundated by flashing lights, spectral images and swirling sound. Hendrix so enjoyed the Cerebrum experience that he asked its architect John Storyk to work with him and his manager Michael Jeffery. Hendrix and Jeffery wanted to transform what had once been the Generation Club into ‘an electric studio of participation’. Shortly after acquiring the Generation Club lease however, Hendrix was steered from building a nightclub to creating a commercial recording studio.
Directed by John McDermott and produced by Janie Hendrix, George Scott and McDermott, the film features exclusive interviews with Steve Winwood (who joined Hendrix on the first night of recording at the new studio), Experience bassist Billy Cox and original Electric Lady staff members who helped Hendrix realize his dream. The documentary includes never-before-seen footage and photos as well as track breakdowns of Hendrix classics such as “Freedom,” “Angel” and “Dolly Dagger” by Eddie Kramer.
The documentary explains in depth that while Jimi Hendrix’s death robbed the public of so much potential music, the continued success of his recording studio provides a lasting legacy beyond his own music. John Lennon, The Clash, AC/DC, Chic, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and hundreds more made records at Electric Lady Studios, which speaks to one of Jimi’s lasting achievements in an industry that has radically changed over the course of the last half century.
PG contributor Tom Butwin dives into the Rivolta Sferata, part of the exciting new Forma series. Designed by Dennis Fano and crafted in Korea, the Sferata stands out with its lightweight Simaruba wood construction and set-neck design for incredible playability.
We’re unpacking Reid’s playing—from his early days in the NYC jazz underground through his work with Living Colour and into supergroup superstardom—and his longstanding gear-acquisition-syndrome.
We love “Cult of Personality” because it’s one of the hardest hitting riffs in the classic rock canon. Catch it on drivetime radio and it’ll get your heart pumping faster than an extra double-shot of espresso. But we also love it because it launched Vernon Reid’s guitar into the mainstream. We’re unpacking Reid’s playing—from his early days in the NYC jazz underground through his work with Living Colour and into supergroup superstardom—and his longstanding gear-acquisition-syndrome.
This episode is brought to you by Reverend Guitars. Visit reverendguitars.com for more info.
