When it comes to tone there is really no replacement for visceral experiences. Touch it, hear it, feel it and often times, smell it! Getting up close and personal in
When it comes to tone there is really no replacement for visceral experiences.
Touch it, hear it, feel it and often times, smell it! Getting up close and
personal in a face-to-face environment, where you can have an interactive
experience with the gear and artists you admire is truly the real deal. In your
personal pursuit of tone, there is simply no substitute.
This was once
again undeniably confirmed at our recent Premier Guitar Festival in Boston, held
September 15-16. In my nearly 15 years of experience as a road warrior,
attending, exhibiting and playing at guitar shows, that “real deal” experience
has never been stronger for the attendees of a festival. I personally had the
incredible honor of moderating our “Up Close and Personal” workshop sessions
with several of our featured artists such as Robben Ford, Johnny A, Trey
Alexander (winner of the Guitar Hero 2006 competition), Stu Hamm, Jeff Scheetz,
Monty Montgomery and Boston native J. Geils. Workshop participants were able to
truly learn about these amazing artists in an intimate setting. Peter Stroud was
kind enough to share his insight and awesome chops in our amp and pedal demo
clinics. Special thanks to our friends and colleagues at TrueFire
(www.truefire.com), the leaders in guitar instruction, for arranging and
providing workshops that were the hit of the festival.
My personal
observation in witnessing the undivided attention of the clinic attendees was
nothing short of amazing – they literally tuned in for each and every suggestion
on chops and tone that our presenters had to offer. In an Up Close and Personal
session with the legendary Johnny A, I observed an inspiring moment. A
40-something father of two was front and center, his small kids on his lap, arm
around his wife and guitar case in hand. He was intensely focused on his
opportunity to ask Johnny A about his Gibson signature model hollowbody guitar.
It was a very sincere moment and very moving for me – I remember thinking, “This
is what it is really all about.”
In my humble opinion, we can often take
this crazy business of guitars way too seriously, becoming so caught up in the
hustle of making a living that we sometimes forget about making a life. That is
what playing the guitar is really about: improving your quality of life. It’s
kind of heavy but entirely true.
In the Little Kids Rock clinic (www.littlekidsrock.org),
it was heart warming to see the looks on the young kids’ faces when they
mastered their first chord. It’s ironic that that same look shines on the faces
of big kids, like us, when we finally master a difficult chop or discover that
elusive tone. As you go about in your day to day life, make sure to share that
passion.
Unlike any other guitar gig ever, we have filmed the entire
Festival... all the workshops, all the cool exhibits; and all the entertainment.
We’re currently editing over 250 hours of film and will be putting it up... with
free access for all... on our network of websites; reaching millions of viewers
every month, by year end. So look for Premier Guitar Festivals/On Demand coming
in December... for a guitar experience that lives on! Just another dimension for
Premier Guitar to reach out and touch ya. Youcan’t rn and you can’t hide– the PG
crew will find you, and maybe even buy you a beer!
Rock on Gearheads.
Nuff Sed.