Andy Wood
Joe Bonamassa and Brent Mason make guest appearances on Andy Wood’s new instrumental album, out August 9.
The 11-track collection of instrumental compositions is slated for release on August 9th . Andy Wood is backed by a collection of some of Music City’s finest musicians on drums, bass, organ, keys, strings and even traditional Asian instruments. Guitar legends Joe Bonamassa and Brent Mason also lend their talents to album. The album is available in numerous physical configurations as well as available via all digital service providers here.
Free Range Chicken feat. Brent Mason (Official Music Video) - Andy Wood
From the opening track “Shoot The Sun Down” to the outro of “Believe,” Andy Wood expresses his emotions through his fingers and playing. Andy Wood tackles the Alice In Chains classic “Rooster” in a solo guitar arrangement that demonstrates Wood’s versatility on the instrument. Joe Bonamassa lends his talents to the track “Moaning Lisa” and thefirst single “Free Range Chicken” features another Nashville legend, Brent Mason.
Andy Wood, Charisma.
The tracklist for Charisma is:
1) Shoot The Sun Down
2) Free Range Chicken feat. Brent Mason
3) Rooster
4) Storms and Sparrows
5) Charisma
6) Cherry Blossoms
7) Master Gracey’s Manor
8) Hylia
9) Moaning Lisa feat. Joe Bonamassa
10) Copperhead
11) Believe
Andy Wood will be touring throughout 2024 and beyond in support of Charisma with a handful of recently announced dates and more dates to be announced in the future. Andy also hosts a sleepaway guitar camp - The Woodshed Guitar Experience – that will be returning this September and registration is currently open at https://www.woodshedguitarexperience.com. Aside from that, he also spends time as the band leader for the famed band The Stowaways onannual sold-out cruise, Shiprocked The announced tour dates are below and tickets for all upcoming events can be found at https://www.andywoodmusic.com/events/.
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Epiphone Slash J-45 Acoustic Guitar - November Burst
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The Gibson EH-185, introduced in 1939, was one of the company’s first electric guitars.
It’s hard to overstate the importance of electric guitar in shaping American popular music over the last half-century. Its introduction was a revolution, changing the course of modern musical styles. Today, when we think of the guitars that started the revolution, we think of the Stratocaster and the Les Paul, guitars held against the body and fretted with the fingertips. But the real spark of this musical mutiny was the lap-steel guitar.
In the early 20th century, guitar music was moving out of the parlors of homes and into public spaces where folks could gather together and dance. Guitarists needed to project their sound far beyond where their wimpy little acoustic instruments could reach. Instrument manufacturers began experimenting with larger body sizes, metal construction, and resonators to increase volume.
Around this time, George Beauchamp began experimenting with electric guitar amplification. He settled on a design using two U-shaped magnets and a single coil of wire. Beauchamp was in business with Adolph Rickenbacker, and they decided to stick this new invention into a lap steel.
If we put on our 1930s glasses, this decision makes perfect sense. The most popular music at the time was a blend of Hawaiian and jazz styles made famous by virtuosos like Solomon “Sol” Hoʻopiʻi. Photos of Hoʻopiʻi with a metal-body resonator abound—one can imagine his relief at being handed an instrument that projected sound toward the audience via an amplifier, rather than back at his own head via resonator cones. Beauchamp and Rickenbacker were simply following the market.
As it turned out, the popularity of Hawaiian music gave way to swing, and electric lap steels didn’t exactly take the world by storm. But Beauchamp and Rickenbacker had proven the viability of this new technology, and other manufacturers followed suit. In 1937, Gibson created a pickup with magnets under the strings, rather than above like Beauchamp’s.
“When I plugged in the EH-185 I expected to hear something reminiscent of Charlie Christian’s smooth, clean tone. But what I got was meatier—closer to what I associate with P-90s: warm and midrange-y.”
The first page of Gibson’s “Electrical Instruments” section in the 1939 catalog features a glowing, full-page write-up of their top-of-the-line lap steel: the EH-185. “Everything about this new electric Hawaiian Guitar smacks of good showmanship,” effuses the copy. “It has smoothness, great sustaining power, and an easy flow of tone that builds up strongly and does not die out.”
Picking up the 1940 EH-185 at Fanny’s House of Music is about as close as one can get to traveling back in time to try a new one. It is just so clean, with barely any dings or even finish checking. Overall, this is a 9/10 piece, and it’s a joy to behold. Speaking of picking it up, the first thing you notice when you lift the EH-185 out of the case is its weight. This is a much heavier instrument than other similar-sized lap steels, owing to a length of thick metal between the body and the fretboard. The catalog calls it “Hyblum metal,” which may be a flowery trade name for an early aluminum alloy.
This 1940 EH-185 is heavier than other lap steels in its class, thanks to a length of metal between its fretboard and body.
Photo by Madison Thorn
There are numerous other fancy appointments on the EH-185 that Gibson didn’t offer on their lesser models. It’s made of highly figured maple, with diamond-shaped decorations on the back of the body and neck. The double binding is nearly a centimeter thick and gives the instrument a luxurious, expensive look.
Behind all these high-end attributes is a great-sounding guitar, thanks to that old pickup. It’s got three blades protruding through the bobbin for the unwound strings and one longer blade for the wound strings. When I plugged in the EH-185 I expected to hear something reminiscent of Charlie Christian’s smooth, clean tone. But what I got was meatier—closer to what I associate with P-90s: warm and midrange-y. It was just crying out for a little crunch and a bluesy touch. It’s kind of cool how such a pristine, high-end vintage instrument can be so well-suited for a sound that’s rough around the edges.
As far as electric guitars go, it doesn’t get much more vintage than this 1940 Gibson EH-185 Lap Steel. It reminds us of where the story of the electric guitar truly began. This EH-185 isn’t just a relic—it’s a testament to when the future of music was unfolding in real time. Plug it in, and you become part of the revolution.
Sources: Smithsonian, Vintage Guitar, Mozart Project, Gibson Pre-War, WIRED, Steel Guitar Forum, Vintaxe
