Check out Adam’s blog on Gibson and the future- http://guitarradioshow.com/500-words-with-adam-p-hunt-is-gibson-guitars-finished/

500 Words Guitar Documentaries

I love documentaries. Heck I’ve been known to watch documentaries on quilt making and haute coture. A well made documentary can be engrossing and illuminating as well as entertaining. Here area a couple guitar related documentaries you may enjoy.

Roy Buchanan; The World’s Greatest Unknown Guitarist. Shot in 1971 this great film that showcases Roy at the height of his power. The film is equal part inspirational, part intimidation, and part homage to Roy.

Les Paul Chasing Sound. This 2007 film gives the viewer a very good overview of the life and career of one of the most influential guitarists. Even if you don’t like his music you may just find yourself becoming a fan of this one-of-kind inventor and musician.

Teshumara; The Guitars of the Touareg Rebellion. Not a huge amount of information on this 2006 film but it’s a guitar journey unlike any other.

The Song of the Guitar. Andres Segovia did a lot to elevate the art of guitar playing. Not only did Segovia take what was, at the time, a folk instrument and adopt classical pieces to it, he popularized flamenco playing.

Genghis Blues. This 1999 film documents an unlikely journey of a blind blues musician, Paul Pena, and his unique blending of blues and Tuvan throat singing.

Can You Hear the Wind Howl; The Life and Music of Robert Johnson. This 1997 documentary explores the immense impact that Johnson had on popular American music. While the film is a little over serious it does help contextualize Johnson and places him in the place and time he wrote and played.

Be Here to Love Me; A Film About Townes Van Zandt. While Van Zandt was primarily known as a singer songwriter he was also a formable guitar player. During his short life Van Zandt collected a small following of influential fans such as Guy Clark, Steve Earle, Bob Dylan, and Willie Nelson.

Curtis Mayfield; Darker Than Blue. This 1995 film was completed shortly before Mayfield’s death in 1999 and covers his early years in Chicago, his rise to fame with the Impressions, and his prolific and poignant solo work. Even though Mayfield may be better known as a singer and producer he was voted the 34th greatest guitarist by Rolling Stone.

Such Hawks Such Hounds. Doom metal is a genre that has never had mass appeal and that’s perfectly fine with a lot of the fans. Such Hawks Such Hounds explores the somewhat hidden world of desert rats, stoners, and lovers of all things sludgy.

The Genius of Django Reinhardt. Sadly, not a lot of information on the film but the is a lot of biographical information, and some great archival footage of one of the all time great guitarists. Too bad there isn’t any footage of Django playing with the likes of Les Paul and Coleman Hawkins but you can’t have everything.

While not documentaries per se I would also recommend Festival Express and Lightning in a Bottle.

You owe it to yourself to check out Tom Caufield- http://www.caufieldmusic.com

Stay up to date with Pat Travers- http://www.pattravers.com

Learn more about Kevin Kastning- http://www.kevinkastning.com

For all things Frank Marino- http://www.mahoganyrush.com

500 Words on Steve Marriott

Although primarily known as a fine singer it’s easy to overlook the fact that Steve Marriott was no slouch on the guitar.

Steve Marriott is somewhat forgotten by modern audiences but Marriott was a key member in both the Small Faces with Ronnie Lane and Kenny Jones and later with Humble Pie.

During his time with Humble Pie Marriott shared guitar duties with Peter Frampton, Clem Cleptson (Colosseum, Jack Bruce, Roger Waters), Bobby Tench (Jeff Beck Group II, Van Morrison), and Charlie Huhn (Ted Nugent, Gary Moore, Foghat).

But before his life as a mod pop idol and rock ‘n’ roll road dog Steve Marriott played the “Artful Dodger” in a 1960 production of “Oliver!”

Marriot played a number of guitars throughout the years including a Gretsch 6120, a Telecaster with P-90 in the neck position, an Epiphone “Dwight” Coronet, several different Les Paul Juniors, Les Paul Custom and some 335s.

Even though Marriott appeared in advertisements for but Ibanez and Ovation it is questionable whether or not he actually put either of these into use.

Marriot’s first commercially successful band was the Small Faces that lasted from 1965 to 1969. The Small Faces straddled the line between pop, psychedelic, and r & b. During most of his tenure with the Small Faces Marriot was the only guitar player.

After the Small Faces disbanded in 1969 Marriot would later launch the first version of Humble Pie with Peter Frampton, Greg Ridley (Spooky Tooth), and Jerry Shirley (Fastway, Waysted).

Initially Humble Pie had a softer, almost folky sound to them but as time progressed and lineups changed Humble Pie gained a rougher blues rock sound especially with songs like “30Days in the Hole”, “I Don’t Need No Doctor” and “Hot ‘N’ Nasty”.

Marriott’s guitar sound was a lot of his vocals, robust, forceful, and a bit rough around the edges. Peter Frampton said that he had tendency to favor his neck pickup while playing through an array of Marshalls on the famous “Performance Rockin’ the Filmore” albums while Marriott tended to favor his bridge pickup.

Unfortunately Marriott’s story doesn’t end well. After decades of substance abuse and mental illness (schizophrenia) Marriott was killed in house fire after a night’s worth of drinking.

Steve Marriott’s guitar playing is sadly overlooked especially because he was the only guitarist for both the Small Faces and for several different lineups with Humble Pie.

Despite having some what of a twee beginning, Humble Pie would go on to sound like the snottier version of the Stones and even covered the Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women.”

Marriott’s legacy, however, can still be head in the echoes of such bands as Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, Mr. Big and Buckcherry. Humble Pie’s true legacy is that they laid down an irresistible mix of rock ‘n’ roll swagger, r & b roots, and soul flavorings that would be heard on the radio for decades to come.

From the very anticipated DVD concert we discuss in both parts of of conversation-

For more info on the soulful James Crouch go to- http://jamescrouchguitar.com

Check out James delivering the goods-