Lots of well-known axe-slingers are quoted in Neil Zlozower’s new (and awesome) Eddie Van Halen book. One is the current white bluesman extraordinaire, Joe “gingers o’ fire” Bonamassa. What he says is interesting, and not sure I can hear what he’s hearing. Bear in mind a couple things: 1. EVH has said many times that [...]
…The Brian May and Joe Bonamassa Connections Rory Gallagher was Irish. ‘Nuff said. Seriously, Rory was a bad motherFer on the geetar, no doubt. I wish I was more familiar with him and his stuff, but here’s a cursory overview of his gear and tunes for others like me. Rory fans chime in with any [...]
Hasn’t even been a year since the first Black Country Communion (BCC) record came out, and the guys have already cut another one. That’s awesome, but even better is that the new one absolutely rocks! These guys are keeping the classic rock flame alive big-time. If you need a reminder, BCC is the “supergroup” consisting [...]
First I think we can agree on what tone is: gear + touch. Yes, your favorite guit-slinger will sound like himself (or herself) with a Chinese-made POS guitar through a Chinese-made POS amp, but they will not have their signature TONE and won’t be inspired playing through that crappy gear. Maybe they’ll be inspired to [...]
It’s no secret that I like Joe Bonamassa. The guy is flying the flag – of blues, blues-rock and classic rock. Works hard too. Tours his butt off and puts out new music like bands used to do in the old days: Black Rock about a year ago, Black Country Communion (they’re touring, so get [...]
Man, new music never gets old…not the greatest choice of words but you know what I mean. Here are three that caught my ears recently, might be news to you too. Before getting into it all, just bear this in mind: None of these vids sound remotely like they should, meaning YouTube and the internet [...]
Joe Bonamassa seems to be one of those guys with golden hands. Don’t think I’ve ever heard him with bad tone, even when he was a a flashy youngster. And as with all tone hounds, the amp – or in his case “amps,” since “there can’t only be one” – is a huge part of [...]
Been listening to the new Black Country Communion album quite a bit, liking it more and more. Listened to the new Santana album 2x – one time too many! Her’s more on both.
You remember the buzz about this band? The buzz goes like this: Joe Bonamassa, Jason Bonham, Glenn Hughes – and former Dream Theater member Derek Sherinian on keys. (No offense to Derek, he’s just not as well known as the first three guys.) The buzz was all about classic rock. Zep’s in the heritage there, [...]
Here are some vids you have to see if you haven’t already. Doesn’t need more explanation than that so….
It’s Friday! Do you have guitar-squeezin’ in your weekend? Is it part of the plan? It should be if not, even if you have to…squeeze it in. (I wish I could find an amp that I could crank through headphones late at night that would sound like roasting EL84s or EL34s.) Anyhow, to get your [...]
Part 1 of this interview was about the music Joe Bonamassa has been recording lately. In part 2 below, it’s all about tone and gear (yeah!). Joe has a great ear for tone (for woody tone), so it’s always interesting to see what he has to say. WoodyTone: There’s Black Rock, Black Country and now [...]
Part 1 of 2 I was fortunate to grab some time with Joe Bonamassa today, and got to ask him a few questions about Black Rock, Black Country and black Les Pauls, among other toney things. Sounds very dark, but Joe called that coincidental. I asked about things I hadn’t already read about, about half [...]
I’ll come right out and say it: Joe Bonamassa’s new Black Rock album is better than The Ballad of John Henry. My opinion, of course, and to some extent it’s apples/oranges, or at least apples/pears. Still, that’s a pretty big statement because I believe John Henry debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Blues chart, [...]
Have you heard about Black Country yet? This is the newly announced band with Joe Bonamassa (awesome chops and tone), Jason Bonham (awesome kabooming beats and tone), Glenn Hughes (awesome song magic) and Derek Sherinian (awesome augmentation, if you dig keys). Kevin Shirley is producing, and not only does he produce Joe but also has [...]
Well, wow. I’d been watching bits and pieces of Joe Bonamassa’s Live from the Royal Albert Hall DVD, but today I sat down and watched the whole thing, start to finish. I have to say that this is one of the best concert DVDs I’ve seen – and remember, I’m a rock guy. It’s a [...]
Pre-Show Clinic, Bogner Now in Rig Someone got it wrong. Either Chuck Berry misread the divine inspiration he got, or a couple of young parents in upstate New York picked the wrong name for their son. I’m betting Chuck was mistaken because after seeing Joe Bonamassa Wednesday night at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in [...]
Do Some Players Think So? I’ve always used my left-hand pinky while at the same time being acutely aware that many of the great players don’t – or not much. I’m talking riffing and soloing, not chording, obviously.
Before getting into this track-by-track review, I’d like to make three things clear just so you know where I’m coming from. 1. I’m a new-ish Joe Bonamssa fan, so I don’t have in-depth familiarity with his prior six CDs. 2. I’m a classic rock guy, not really a blues guy – although Joe is sort [...]
Uses Marshall Valvestates on Tour?! Yes, that’s right, Marshall Valvestates – if you can believe it. That’s what the Rev. BFG said (sort of…more below), among other things, in a recent audio interview on MusicRadar.com. Highlights of that interview are below. Hats off to Joe Bosso, who conducted the interview, for asking a few gear-related [...]
It’s cool that Joe Bonamassa is a pretty regular participant on the forum at his website. Maybe that’s because, at 32, he’s a little younger than most guitar heroes. Or maybe it’s because he’s jazzed about gear and wants to share what he’s learned – and is still learning. Whatever the case, the fact that he [...]
I’ve been listening to, and occasionally watching, this vid of Joe Bonamassa for about the last 3 days, ever since the good folks at thegearpage turned me onto it. It’s still giving me chills.
Part 1: Metro, Carol-Ann, Lollar I went to my first Amp Show on Saturday, the 3rd annual “New York” show, really held about an hour from New York City in Jersey – which was great because getting in and out of NYC is a b**ch! Show doors opened at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday and closed [...]
After doing that research about Joe’s gear for Wednesday’s post, I realized there wasn’t anything about his guitar. I know he plays a custom Gibson Les Paul now, but didn’t know the specs. Nor, importantly, did I know why he switched from a huge arsenal of Fenders to Les Pauls. Luckily someone at Gibson.com asked [...]
I can’t say I’m a huge Joe Bonamassa fan – yet, anyway. But I am a fan. For sure he can play, he can sing and WoodyTone just might be his middle name. Re: tone, a buddy of mine recently put me onto a great vid of Joe discussing his gear, which led me to [...]
From the folks at Gibson.com – who do a heck of a lot better job with their website than their Fender counterparts – are these tidbits of WoodyTone detail about Duane Allman, Eric Clapton (his Gibby-related “woman tone”), and fleet-fingered tonemeister Joe Bonamassa.
I was wandering through Wal-Mart’s music section the other day, trying to politely refused my son’s repeated requests for a Def Leppard DVD, and found a couple of Zep tribute discs. The first one I listed to was “Contemporary Blues Interpret Led Zeppelin,” put out this year. It’s cool. Some of it is about what [...]
Here’s the New VH Single/Vid: 50w?
Update from a reader (thanks!): Tattoo is is based on an old song, “Down in Flames” – check it below. “Tattoo.” Is it me or have we never heard a Van Halen tune like this before? If Ed used his “grail” Marshall Super Lead on this album, don’t think we’re hearing it on this tune! [...]
Breaking Down the VH NYC Debut
She’s the Woman! Cafe Wha – yeah man! Couldn’t wrangle my son and I an invite, so instead awaited the sure-to-follow YouTube vids. Fingers were crossed that the band would play some new tunes, though had to admit that didn’t make much sense since they hadn’t even released a tune yet. Anyhow, here’s what we [...]
Bonamassa Hears Clapton in EVH: You?
Lots of well-known axe-slingers are quoted in Neil Zlozower’s new (and awesome) Eddie Van Halen book. One is the current white bluesman extraordinaire, Joe “gingers o’ fire” Bonamassa. What he says is interesting, and not sure I can hear what he’s hearing. Bear in mind a couple things: 1. EVH has said many times that [...]
Have You Gone Extra Slinky Yet?
When I recently got an email from a WoodyTone reader – let’s call him Mike because…that’s his real name – I was stoked because I like light strings. I played 10s for years, then went to 9s after getting back into the whole EVH tone quest. With 9s I noticed that the notes “opened up,” [...]
If I ever had a doubt I’m a huge Edward Van Halen fan (never had any doubt, but…), any such insane thought was erased when I finished reading Neil Zlozower’s new Eddie Van Halen book. Yep, reading. Actually got a little emotional at the end of it (*sniff*), reading Nuno Bettencourt’s story about a recent [...]
Did Edward Van Halen have his MXR phaser and flanger modded to boost or not? The initial interviews are inconclusive. Exhibit A, from this recent post: I use a phase shifter, a Phase 90 – MXR, I think. It doesn’t really phase – it just kind of gives you treble boost, which I like. Cuts [...]
Last Cool Stuff From ’78 EVH Transcript
Here’s the last of the interesting stuff from the newly published transcript of the entire 1978 interview of Edward Van Halen that Jas Obrecht did for Guitar Player mag. Wish there was a lot more! Guitar Stuff The Shark/Destroyer Jas: Does it have a standard neck? EVH: Yeah. It’s completely stock, really, except for the [...]
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