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Play It Again Sam is located in Montpelier, VT, and we are an authorized dealer for Fender, Peavey, Taylor, Epiphone, Washburn, Tacoma, Ovation, Applause, Danelectro, Kawai, Roland, Tascam, Deering, Goodtime, Vega, Weber, Pearl, DOD, Digitech, LP, SansAmp, Tech 21, Mackie, Toca, Bill Lawrence, Everyone's Drumming, and many other world-renowned guitars, banjos, mandolins, keyboards, amplifiers, effects, drums, music books and accessories. We ship worldwide! See our shipping cost chart at http://www.guitarsam.com/services/order.htm for shipping in the 48 connected United States. If you live outside of that area, email us for a shipping quote!
IN THIS ISSUE:
MUSICAL TIPS TIP #1---REFINISHING YOUR GUITAR.....We are frequently asked about painting or refinishing electric guitar bodies. Our first answer is....if you don't have the experience and the right tools and materials, you probably won't end up with a satisfactory job by doing it yourself... In many areas, there are professional instrument builders that can perform this very specialized procedure for you. However, there are lots of locations where there is no one available to do a high quality job. So you may think! Check with your local auto-body technician to see if they would be interested in helping you with your project. Auto-body paints and sealers will come out looking like a factory finish job when done by a qualified technician. Plus, many auto shops will be able to offer you different styles and effects, like sparkle finishes, translucent tints on top of solid colors, sunbursts, and more! A professional auto body shop has the right equipment, the right materials, dust-free spray areas, and they have the knowledge and expertise to see your project through to the end with success.
TIP #2---POLISHING YOUR GUITAR AND REMOVING SCRATCHES.....For those of you who are perfectly happy with the paint job you already have on your guitar, it still wouldn't hurt to polish it up and make it shiny and happy once in a while. The typical spray-on, wipe-off polish is fine for everyday use, but if you want to do a really professional polish job that will also remove many of those fine scratches, and give you a strong luster, follow these simple instructions..... Once again, think "cars". Your local auto parts store will probably sell "Meguiar's Mirror Glaze", which comes in a variety of styles. You'll want to get two different bottles, number 4 and number 7. Number 4 is a professional cleaner, which you will apply with a clean, soft, dry cloth. It will leave a dull, chalky look as you apply it in a circular motion. It will fill in many of the lighter scratches as you rub it in. Number 7 is the professional sealer and reseal glaze, and applying it with a clean cloth will clean off the white film, and you'll notice that the more you work with it, the more your scratches will disappear. A few reminders: Don't use the same cloth for both bottles. Use one cloth strictly for the cleaner, and a fresh cloth for the sealer glaze. Change to a clean cloth as often as necessary. As always, be sure to read the directions thoroughly before using any chemical products. For guitars with lots of scratches, you will need to repeat this prodedure, perhaps a few times. Each round of polishing will make your guitar look better and better! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED MUSIC SITE! http://billmorrissey.wing.net/ This month we're highlighting the web site of singer-songwriter-novelist Bill Morrissey, a native New Englander whose musical roots are planted a bit farther south, as evidenced by Bill's solid and rhythmic acoustic fingerstyle guitar work. His new CD (Bill's ninth album) is appropriately titled "Songs of Mississippi John Hurt". (Rounder Records) Bill Morrissey's web site lists tour schedules, booking information, a discography, reviews of Bill's albums and performances, as well as excerpts and reviews of his first book "Edson", a novel about a New England musician's dreams and realities. (No, it's not exactly an autobiography, don't let the story line fool you!) Check out Bill Morrissey's website, and stay tuned for us talking with Bill a little later on in this newsletter..... BEST GEAR REPORT # 1--TRUELINE DRUMSTICKS!...We have just become the official USA web-dealer for Trueline Drumsticks. This seventeen year-old company produces the original TG model drumstick, which is the most innovative grip-stick in the industry. Approximately 4" from the butt end, there is a ball lathed into the handle. This ball gives the drummer an improved grip, while still maintaining excellent balance and power. This month, we're offering the 12+ price for any quantity of Trueline Drumsticks. This is a great time to try a few pair! We have all models and all sizes in stock, including the signature series. Read more about them at http://www.guitarsam.com/catalog/trueline.htm
#2--TACOMA SP1 ELECTRIC TRAVEL GUITAR...Everyone's favorite new US-built guitar company has just released the SP1, a solid body electric travel guitar. Made of solid mahogany, and equipped with one Seymour Duncan designed humbucking pickup, this very nice playing and sounding instrument is built to be tuned up to "A", which gives it a whole new sonic field. (It's like playing a guitar with a capo on the 5th fret) The Tacoma SP1 also has a battery-operated overdrive circuit built in, and you can plug headphones in for practicing! Special price, this month only, is $339.00 with a gig bag. Read more about it at http://www.guitarsam.com/catalog/tacoma.htm
# 3--VEGA LITTLE LADY BANJO...Deering Banjos, who now owns Vega, has just started shipping the Vega Little Lady 5-string maple shell open back banjo. This sweet thing is on sale, this month only, for $599.00 with a nice gig bag.
# 4--MACKIE POWERED MIXER!...First, Mackie built the best value in a compact, professional quality mixer. Next, they built an incredible power amp line with very aggressive features. And now, Mackie is building professional quality powered mixers. The first model available is the 406M, a 6-channel powered mixer with 500 watts at 2 ohms, also offering dual 9-band EQ, and a 32-bit digital effects processor. Special price this month is $549.00, with free shipping in the 48 connected US states. Outside of that area, we'll cut you a serious deal on the shipping, too. See the Mackie powered mixers at: http://www.guitarsam.com/catalog/mackie_powmixer.htm MUSIC BOOK OF THE MONTH The New CONGA JOY for Djembes, Congas, and Ashikos. Bill Matthews captured the heart of the rhythm in book form, and offers it in a compact hard-cover that is written in what is best described as "drum-tablature". No need to read music with this book, just follow the very simple instructions in the beginning of the book, and you'll be playing over 200 rhythms written for one drum, two drums, or a full ensemble. Published by Bill Matthews, sells at $19.95. There is also a video available for $29.95. Read a bit more about it at: http://www.guitarsam.com/catalog/musicinstruction.htm To order by fax or mail, click to http://www.guitarsam.com/services/Order_Form.htm Or just call us with your charge card at 1(802)229-0295, and we'll ship it out to you the same day! WORKSHOPS Workshops coming to us soon............ Paul Lolax............Learn to play in the style of stride guitar,Thursday, April 22, 7-9 PM Pitz Quattrone.....Didgeridoo builder and instructor, returns Thursday, April 29, 7-9 PM. Bob Gagnon........Chord melody guitar workshop. TBA The above workshops carry only a $5.00 admission fee. Call or email for reservations. INTERVIEW WITH BILL MORRISSEY http://billmorrissey.wing.net/ Bill Morrissey has just released his ninth album, which is appropriately titled "Songs of Mississippi John Hurt". (Rounder Records) Bill Morrissey's first novel "Edson" was published in 1996 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. For fuller viewing of our Bill Morrissey interview, go to: http://www.guitarsam.com/interviews/bill_morrissey.htm Don't forget to come back and finish the newsletter! We spoke with Bill by e-mail, and he generously spent some time with us answering a few curious questions. Here's what we found out.....
THE BILL MORRISSEY INTERVIEW <Q> Bill, your career expansion from singer-songwriter to novelist doesn't surprise me, as your songwriting is a perfect example of how well-crafted words can create a picture in the listener's head of each verse, or chapter as it may be. Tell us about the creative shift you experience moving back and forth from singer-songwriter to novelist. <Bill> There never was much of a shift. I'd been writing short fiction all along. I think my lyrics and prose are all written in the same voice, the only difference being that my lyrics require a melody. They're written to be part of a marriage of words and music and can't or shouldn't try to stand on their own. But both prose and lyrics require a strong rhythmic foundation.
<Q> How do you handle the balance of two careers that require you to mix inspiration with a touring schedule? Do you find yourself writing verses that end up being a chapter instead? <Bill> It seems like sometimes my work gets in the way of my work. When I'm writing a book and touring, I travel with a laptop and try to get a page or so done each day while I'm on the road. I usually have hours of traveling from one city to the next to figure just where the novel is going, so by the time I check in, I sort of have the page(s) already written in my head. And, sometimes, you get ideas that you think will be songs, but the more you work on it, the more you realize you need more than 3 or 4 minutes to explore it. "Edson" was supposed to be a song.
<Q> Aside from you new CD "Songs of Mississippi John Hurt", is there one of your albums that stands out to you as your favorite work? <Bill> That's like "Sophie's Choice". There are moments on each album where I think I really got it right and moments on the same album where I took a chance and came up short. But, if you don't take chances, you might as well pump gas. I think the most fun session though, was recording "Inside". Whenever Johnny Cunningham (fiddle) is in the studio, things are going to be just fine and your biggest problem is to not blow you voice out because you're laughing too hard.
<Q> Your web site offers an MP3 free download song from the new album. Do you have any opinions or predictions of how this type of music format may affect the music industry? <Bill> I think one of the most interesting things musically about the Internet is how I now can get radio stations like KGSR (Austin) or KDHX (St. Louis) over the computer. In some years, many small community stations may have an international audience. It's a different ballgame now. And I have no idea where it's all going. But my gut feeling is that this is a good thing. It threatens the commercial media powers. It may give a much larger voice to non-commercial music.
<Q> I know that you use both standard and open tunings in your guitar work. Which open tunings do you prefer? <Bill> Mostly I work in Open D and sometimes G. At least that's what I've recorded with. I fool around at home with D minor and Open A, but haven't come up with anything in them for a while. But recently, the D minor seems really interesting.
<Q> What's the history of the old USA Epiphone acoustic guitars that you use? <Bill> My 1968 Epiphone Texan was made by Gibson in Kalamazoo. A friend of mine had owned it for about twenty years before I bought it from him, so I'd known and coveted the guitar a long time. It was an inexpensive guitar in its day, much like a Gibson J-50 or J-45, but it has a very unique (thin) neck. Shawn Colvin once borrowed it for a show and her only comment was, "This thing plays itself." A few years ago, when I was touring with Greg Brown, I found a 1963 Texan in a Missoula shop that hadn't even been broken in. It was the exact twin of my other one. And since my 1968 had had its neck broken twice by airlines, I thought it might be a good investment. (Since they don't make them anymore.) I just love the sound of a seasoned Epiphone. I also play a Guild D-35 from 1968. I bought it new from Jack's Drum Shop in Boston and it has been with me all these years and it sounds better than ever.
<Q> I read somewhere that you occasionally co-write with Fred Koller in Nashville. Where's that material going? Has any of it been recorded? (Note: Fred Koller is a Nashville-based songwriter who has written hundreds of recorded songs, including some Nanci Griffith hits, as well as co-penning "Angel Eyes" with John Hiatt, recorded by the Jeff Healy band) <Bill> Fred's a good friend and when we get together we end up writing songs. I think a lot of them are a little too quirky for mainstream Nashville. But we have a lot of fun writing them. Maybe someday they'll surface.
<Q> I recall a conversation I had with you 10 years ago, when "Standing Eight" (Rounder Records) had just been released, and I recognized a reference you made in your song "Motels and Planes" as being about Tom Rush, who had previously been your agent. Two questions about that: Did that verse frequently become a topic of conversation, and did you and Tom Rush ever make amends? <Bill> Yeah, people talked about the song, but I always think of my songs as fiction, no matter what. A lot of my audience has a problem with that since I write in the first person often. As far as I know, Tom and I are fine. We've seen each other a few times since then and everything's cool.
<Q> I realize that "Songs of Mississippi John Hurt" has just been released in early 1999, but are there plans yet for the next album of your own material, or is it time to put on your novelist hat for a while? <Bill> My goal is to finish this new novel this spring. I have about 2 dozen half-finished songs on tape that I haven't been able to get to because of the new book. Once the book is done, I put on my songwriting hat. I expect a new album in about a year.
<Q> So Bill, your job description currently reads "singer-songwriter-novelist", so what's next? Maybe a musical? <Bill> I do have a pretty good background in Broadway (my folks had a great collection.) And I think Cliff Eberhardt and I can do "Guys and Dolls" all the way through without looking at the lyrics. But I just want to write some songs after this book. After that, who knows?
<Q> Your song "Closed Down Mill' from "You'll Never Get to Heaven" (Rounder Records 1996) became your first music video. How did that come to be, and how was the song chosen? <Bill> That was Rounder. They wanted that to be the video. So that's what I did. I got to bring in my friends Robert Earl Keen and David Johansen and then got to show the dancing style that made a name for myself in the eighth grade. It was an incredibly fun afternoon filming in Austin. It ended up getting played on a bunch of stuff I didn't expect like CMT television's Jammin' Country show and Extra Magazine on television. And, on CMT they used it in their White Horse Saloon show and people were actually line dancing to me. So, I think that's pretty cool.
<Q> You've been sneaking horn arrangements into your music off and on for about 10 years. What do your fellow folk peers think about that? <Bill> You know, the real musicians on the folk scene, the writers I hang with, are the ones who know Bird, Diz, Hank Williams, Bean, Woody Guthrie, Lefty, Merle, Mother Maybelle, Duke, Prez, Bob Wills, Robert Johnson, Dylan, Ella, Gershwin, Tim Hardin...it goes on. So, if I bring in the horns, well, I just bring them in because they sound right to me and I don't give a rat's ass what anybody thinks..
Thank you, Bill, for joining us! For more information about Bill Morrissey, to check tour schedules, to read excerpts from his novel "Edson", and to hear audio clips, both live and studio, visit the Bill Morrissey website at: http://billmorrissey.wing.net/ PLAY IT AGAIN SAM'S MONTHLY GIVEAWAY! Please note! This contest is over! We have included this in our archives for informational purposes only! The winner.......Bob Gagnon! The first person to email us the correct answer to the following musical question will win a copy of Bill Morrissey's new CD "Songs of Mississippi John Hurt". The musical question: In 1993, Bill Morrissey recorded an album with one of his folksinger buddies, entitled "Friend of Mine". Who was that friend of his? Send your correct answer to us at playitagainsam@drbs.com The correct answer was Greg Brown. LAST MONTH'S WINNER! Congratulations to Kelvin Jouhar for quickly providing the first correct answer to our question, which was: "What is Roger McGuinn's choice of amplifiers?". The correct answer is a Roland JC-120. Kelvin won an Akai Chord Finder. PREVIOUS EZINES! To view previous issues of the "GuitarSam eZine", go to http://www.guitarsam.com/ezine/archive.htm
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Play It Again Sam...66 Main St...Montpelier VT 05602...Phone (802) 229-0295...Fax (802) 229-0755