Archive for April, 2010
American Icons: Felice & Boudleaux Bryant
If the test of a great song is how good it sounds as recorded in several styles by many different artists, the song “Love Hurts” is an undeniable classic. Whether performed in dramatic rock-operatic style by Roy Orbison, in a heartbreak duet by Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, or as a heavy-metal anthem by Nazareth, [...]
Morning Becomes Electric: Pedals, Cables, Strings
REVIEWS BY JASON BULLOCK & SCHYLAR SHOATES The most obvious place to start with your guitar accessory needs is in the cabling department. First off, all cables are not made equally. In the case of the cables made by ELIXIR and RAPCOHORIZON, the difference is heard right away, more so with the Elixir. There is [...]
Under the Radar: Orpheus Gets a Makeover
[Pictured above: Brasstronaut] Somewhere between The Who’s Tommy and Sufjan Stephens’ entire body of work lies Anaïs Mitchell’s new folk opera, Hadestown (Righteous Babe). In their own particularly hesitant fashion, indie artists have been trending towards the theatrical for years now: Witness Stephens’ thematic obsessions with all 50 United States, Joanna Newsom’s whimsical harp albums [...]
1st Place | “This Old Heart”
“THIS OLD HEART” WRITTEN BY GARY BLACK MESA, ARIZONA Sometimes I catch my reflection starin’ back at me Wonderin’ who that old man in the mirror is that I see It’s not the gray hair and whiskers that look out of place But the sadness in the eyes and lines in the face CHORUS This [...]
Guitar 101: The Missing Links
Spring has sprung in Nashville and the sun is shining as I write this column. I love spring’s colors and smells! Summer is not too far behind. For my taste, it’s way too hot then, but there is a special reason I look forward to summer: during the summer in the Nashville area, there are [...]
3rd Place | “Come Find Me In The Wilderness”
“COME FIND ME IN THE WILDERNESS” WRITTEN BY MYLA SMITH MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE WWW.SONICBIDS.COM/MYLASMITH Come find me in the wilderness I’ll wait for you in dreams The deepest shade of midnight blue Will cover all the seams We will not feel the coarseness of The thick and jagged line That tore through every fiber And knit [...]
Morning Becomes Electric: Amps
Later on in this feature, we’ll look at what’s defining the experience of a new generation of electric guitarists: amp modeling. But here, we check out two combo amps whose tone carries nostalgia for perhaps a bygone era. ORANGE TINY TERROR Imagine lugging a nice Marshall half stack up two flights of stairs for a [...]
On the Money: Hello Music and Slacker
Slacker, the popular Internet radio platform with more than two million songs, has recently announced a partnership with a new music service called Hello Music. It’s significant in that the partnership will enable emerging and unsigned artists, for the first time, to have their music played on Slacker’s stations. Hello Music, founded in January 2010 [...]
Gretsch Power Jet
GRETSCH POWER JET For starters, this is a beautiful guitar. It’s hard to admire the finish just from a picture. If, at the very least, you need to look cool, then this is a good place to start. Gretsch spared no expense on the hardware either with its TV Jones Power’Tron pickups, original Bigsby and [...]
THE MYNABIRDS > What We Gain In The Fire We Lose In The Flood
THE MYNABIRDS What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood (SADDLE CREEK) Rating: When Laura Burhenn, half of the now-defunct Georgie James, sought inspiration for her new musical project, she looked toward one of the most famous bands-that-never-were: the Myna Birds. Formed in the 1960s, the band at one time included Neil [...]
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