John Butler Live Rig

Check out John Butler's live rig. There is a lot to LEARN about an acoustic/electric set-up for that big tone which is always quasi-mysterious, especially on the acoustic side of things. John, however, goes through the black magic to a great sound. The GP interviewer (Robbie Ginett?) is an idiot and starts out with an insipid generic question which he then qualifies with a moronic follow-up question. Too much hair to distract him, I guess. Butler takes Robbie, and us, to a good place though. Compassionate dude.

 

The guitarist of the day is Baden Powell

The guitarist of the day is Baden Powell. Baden Powell, along with João Gilberto are perhaps the most beloved Brazilian guitarists of all time.  In 1962, Powell and Vinicius de Moraes began a collaboration that yielded some classics of 1960s Brazilian music. They sought  to transcend the then internationally fashionable bossa nova sound by mixing Afro-Brazilian elements with bossa nova, samba, and jazz. The best known results are the Afro-Sambas de Baden e Vinicius.

Guitar pieces such as Berimbau, Xangô, Simplesmente, Braziliense, Horizon, Consolação, Samba, Casa Velha, Lotus, Imagem, and Canto de Ossanha are standards. His playing meets the highest technical and aesthetic standards: his unique melodic solo guitar playing and control of Brazilian rhythms and ways of articulating them are a high water mark for Luso- and Latin American nylon-string guitarists. And that Brazilian right hand that I've heard called a "little miracle."

This version of A.C. Jobim's "One Note Samba" ain't your daddy's martini-swigging, best friend's wife-shagging One Note Samba:
Baden Powell 1967 Berlin Guitar Festival

Check out these amazing free transcriptions in notation and tab:
 http://www.brazil-on-guitar.de/tabs.html
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The year before his death. 1999.

The guitarist of the day is Jerry Reed

The guitarist of the day is Jerry Reed. One of the rare nylon-string players in country music (along with Willie Nelson), his discovery by guitarist/producer Chet Atkins put the Georgia picker on the map. Virtuosic cuts like "The Claw" continue to attract the attention of serious players. His "Guitar Man," covered by Elvis Presley and many others (including Tom Jones) put him in the popular music world of the 60s and 70s.  Jerry's duets with Chet Atkins (listen to "Muleskinner Blues") set a new standard for a super-accomplished Nashville sound. Humor and showmanship were also Reed trademarks and sometimes compromise his live performances. But, he was performing for the people--not guitar players like y'all. Listen to his chord intro and electric guitar accompaniment to "Georgia on my Mind" and you'll hear this good ol' boy on  the classic Hoagy Carmichael ballad--weep if you have to.  I miss Jerry Reed. I hope you do too.



Jerry on telecaster with Glen Campell on Gibson es335 in this version of "Guitar Man". Check out the original if you can.