Friday 23 November 2012

Where have all the posts gone?

If you think you've seen more recent posts here, you're right!

Since November 2011, I have been focusing on creating under the Daughter of a Pistol name. My aim with that project was to complete a year of recording.

As I now only have one more song to go to fulfil that obligation, I thought the time had come to collect those creations together in one place.  All Daughter of a Pistol's song can now be found at:
www.doapannual2012.blogspot.co.uk.

Thank you for reading.

DOAP

Thursday 5 April 2012

Boy girl voices - Johnny Cash and June Carter

One of my favourite duets ever featuring Johnny Cash and June Carter. Here's a great version of Jackson from The Grand Ole Opry in 1968. That's quite a quiff that Johnny's sporting.

On a related note, I'm reading The House of Cash: The legacies of my father by John Carter Cash which offers a fascinating and intimate insight into the great Man in Black.

Monday 26 March 2012

Boy girl voices - The Vaselines

Another great song with the whole boy/ girl thing going on. One of my fave songs by The Vaselines - Son of a Gun. And, what makes it better is that I was there!

Thursday 22 March 2012

Boy girl voices - Veronica Falls

To mark the return, a new series - this time favourite boy/ girl vocals. Here's a relatively up to date one. Veronica Falls and Found love in a graveyard.

Tuesday 28 February 2012

New discoveries

Over the course of gig going, recent rehearsals and extensive radio listening, I have found three new-to-me bands that I want to share. Weirdly, they all begin with 'P'.

1. Peggy Sue - spotted supporting Wild Flag in Glasgow recently. Good voices and guitar action too.



2. Penguins Kill Polar Bears - overheard making a helluva noise at The Depot rehearsal rooms in Edinburgh. On the same evening Kid Canaveral were practising too - indie glitterati indeed!



3. Papercuts - yes, I know they have been around for a while, but that's ok! Sub Pop reckon the latest album is Belle and Sebastian crossed with Slowdive, recorded by Phil Spectre. How can that be bad?

Tuesday 21 February 2012

Shredders in chiffon: Carrie Brownstein

Concluding the Shredders in chiffon series with one of the best guitarists I have ever seen - Carrie Brownstein. Formerly of Sleater-Kinney and currently touring with Wild Flag, the Portland-based musician often crops up in 'best female guitarists' lists.

Brownstein started playing guitar when she was 15 and stuck with it ever since. She attended the 'birthplace of riot grrl' Evergreen College in Olympia, Oregon at the same time as Kathleen Hanna and founded Sleater-Kinney with Corin Tucker in 1994.

Now with Wild Flag (a band that boasts another awesome female guitarist in the form of Mary Timony), Carrie's fluidity and speed up and down the neck results in some impressive (but usually fairly tasteful) solos. Combined with windmills plenty and some high kicks too, she's just so rock and roll.

And so to equipment: Guild S-100 with Bigsby and I've seen her use amps by both Vox and Fender. Pedal-wise, she uses a Line 6 Delay, Boss Blues Driver, Boss OD3 Overdrive and a Z-Vex Super Hard On. Thanks are due to Dr Mailbag Hickory for pedal ID skills - please visit the Mailbag Hickory photography blog or follow on Twitter - @stcstc.

Anyway, here is Carrie Brownstein ripping it up with Wild Flag in Glasgow recently.

Friday 17 February 2012

Shredders in chiffon: Theresa Wayman

Lead guitarist with Warpaint, Theresa Wayman first picked up a guitar aged 9 to play along with her dad, but apparently didn't take the instrument seriously until much later, preferring piano and singing. Perhaps this is what's helped create her oft-ethereal and melodic approach to the instrument.

Theresa says that evoking a feeling is the key inspiration for the band's songwriting, rather than specific artists, although she often cites Bjork. She recently curated this playlist over at Spilt Milk, so that might contain a few clues? 

And there can be no doubt that there's a hint of shoe-gazing in there, whether intentional or otherwise. To that end, she plugs in an Electro Harmonix Small Stone and a Boss DD7 too. She also has a few distortions to choose from... 

Another Fender fan, Theresa plays a Fender Mustang through a Vox AC30. 

Here's the vid for Undertow, which I've never seen before! 

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Shredders in chiffon: Marnie Stern

Native New Yorker Marnie Stern is a massively dexterous guitar player. On her most recent album, she opined that 'Female Guitar Players are the New Black'. She might be right, but this one is all substance, not just style.

An advocate of tapping, Marnie's speedy skills need to be seen to be believed. On record, she builds up layers of sound to create hectic, rhythmic songs. Some people link this to prog. I would never say such a thing.

Stern has a quiver of guitars and can be seen tapping on a Fender Jazzmaster, a double-necked (!) Epiphone SG or a Flaxwood. Amp-wise, she uses a Fender Deluxe Reverb and doesn't go in for too many effects, favouring a clean sound to allow each guitar line to shine.

Marnie has this advice for females looking to learn guitar, which she shared in a 2011 interview with GuitarWorld magazine:


"I had been wanting to give guitar lessons to girls because I feel like women tend to use their voice as the starting point for a song and learn a few chords, and then it ends there because then they just use their voice to flesh out a song. I think you should look at the guitar differently instead of just something to help the voice. It’s its own amazing crazy thing that can bring about different ideas."

It's certainly worked for her!

Friday 10 February 2012

Shredders in chiffon: Anna Calvi

With her stark onstage look, Anna Calvi is a surprise shredder. Technically, I think she's a shredder in silk, usually red, but you get the idea. She creates her trademark brooding and sweeping sounds with a fairly simple set up - Fender Telecaster, Vox AC30 (in red, of course) and a TRex Roommate reverb pedal, although she does use a delay pedal too, probably a Boss DD7. Reports of a Crowther Hot Cake are unconfirmed at this stage...

Classically trained as a violinist, Anna is a skilled guitarist as she amply demonstrates with the awe-inspiring Rider to the Sea which opens her debut album. Amongst her influences, she cites Debussy, flamenco and film and I reckon it shows.

Wednesday 8 February 2012

Shredders in chiffon: Bilinda Butcher

Bilinda Butcher is perhaps best known for her work in My Bloody Valentine, the seminal post-rock group from the 90s. Providing vocals for the band, her guitar playing helped create the epic, effect-strewn sound that defined MBV.

Her weapon of choice tended to be a Fender Jaguar, but she also played Jazzmasters, and some internet research suggests that she used a modified Mustang... She also professes a love for Charvel Surfcasters, which I share. You can find out more about her gear here - vintage.guitargeek.com/rigreview/74/.

But really you should just sit back and listen to the helluva noise that she created. Amazing.

Saturday 21 January 2012

In Praise Of: riot grrrl

Carrying on with In Praise Of, I have been transported back to my musical youth with an excellent book Riot Grrrl: revolution girl style now, edited by Nadine Monem.

This is a thoughtful and scholarly look back at the 'movement' that was riot grrrl and discusses its legacy today. Focusing on the literature and art of the early 90s scene, it's the music that I'm most interested in. Bands like Bikini Kill in the US and Huggy Bear in the UK are widely credited with encouraging girls with guitars everywhere, hence the foreword by Beth Ditto.

The story of empowered and enterprising female artists is as inspiring now as it was as it was 20 years ago. Mainly though, the thing to note key is that riot grrrls rocked!

This vid keeps the riot grrrl dream alive - a homemade tribute for one of Bikini Kill's bangers. Enjoy!

Tuesday 10 January 2012

In Praise Of: Ski Sunday

January is a tough month in which to stay positive. We all know it. I'm going to try in 2012, by running a wee series In Praise Of. The first installment is dedicated to the joy of Ski Sunday, BBC2's winter sports show.

For decades, the iconic theme tune has heralded the arrival (for 6 short weeks at least) of a taste of the drama of alpine sports. Now, clearly, I'm not a skier, so why do I care? Let me tell you:

1. Ed Leigh - A UK snowboarding legend, the onetime Whitelines Magazine editor is now firmly snowboard establishment. In a good way. He got involved with Ski Sunday years ago now, much to the chagrin of many alpine purists and his mischievous influence has improved the show no end.

2. Downhill is insane - These guys hurtle down sheet ice at like, loads of km/hr. The crashes are epic. For a few weeks every year, I remember who the big names in downhill skiing and hang on their every turn. Current faves remain the US guys - Bode Miller for his wild inconsistency and Ted Ligety, for some reason.

3. Mountains - every week a beautiful, fresh alpine backdrop, contrasting acutely with the soggy, wind-ravaged slopes of Scotland which are mine to savour.

4. The theme tune - c'mon it's a classic!

5. Snowboarders ruling it - in the first episode of the new series, 2 UK snowboarders were featured extensively - Jenny Jones who has 3 X Games golds(!!!) and is a realistic medal hope for the next Winter Olympics and Billy Morgan who recently landed the first backside triple rodeo ever (this means you go upside down 3 whole times, while spinning horizontally at the same time).Watch here if you are confused. So proud!!