Category: KISS
Not sure whether classic-type rock is dead or what, but doesn’t seem to be much of it lately. Maybe laptops and Pro Tools killed the ability to record great woody tones – with frickin’ air around it, not every nano-slot of the sound spectrum filled up! – but I don’t think that’s it. So when […]
Have you picked up “Guitar World Presents 40 Years of Van Halen” yet? Zactly – I didn’t even know it existed until I saw it in a bookstore (remember those? lol). Anyhow, I’m always amazed at how I think I’ve memorized every word ever written about Ed and his gear and then I read something […]
Even if you’re not a KISS fan or hate KISS or Gene Simmons or whatever, give this tune another listen – the original studio version, not the redo. Make it a loud listen. Why: > This whole album (Rock and Roll Over) has woody guitars all over it – because it was produced by Eddie […]
…in PremierGuitar.com Articles Lots has been written about KISS’s Sonic Boom album, but all of the interviews thus far have left info gaps. PremierGuitar.com recently posted a couple of new interviews – a little late to the party, but the info is good. A few gear details are still missing, but not many! One PG […]
Howard Leese’s Gear Too; Replace Ace? To me, the Heart tune “Barracuda” is one of those perfect songs. Everything’s great: guitar, drums (watch it on YouTube) and the singing, which is just amazing. We’ve all heard the song hundreds of times, but there’s precious little about the gear Roger Fisher and fellow guitarist Howard Leese […]
Full Track by Track Review After numerous listens to the Sonic Boom CD, that’s where I come out: good album, great single – and bear in mind that I’m a huge, long-time KISS fan. Don’t misread that. This is the best KISS record since 1979’s Dynasty (obviously I’m not a fan of the ’80s KISS […]
I’ve found myself digging certain parts of KISS’s new Sonic Boom CD, and realizing (or re-realizing) a few things, which are:
One of my favorite solos on a KISS tune is on one of the studio cuts from KISS Alive II: All American Man. It’s one of my (many) favorite KISS tunes, and guitar sounds too. I should also mention that I’m a huge Ace Frehley fan: He is THE reason I and many other guit-slingers […]
First Ace Frehley was in a Dunkin’ Donuts commercial, and now Gene Simmons is promoting another beverage: Dr. Pepper Cherry. What’s next, Peter Criss helping Dominos sell recession-proof pizza? Paul Stanley singing that at BK “you can have it you-owoo-owoo-owoor way?” Ah, whatever. It’s Friday, it’s fun, it’s Classic rock (sorta). And if you ask […]
KISS deserves every success they’ve achieved. Relentless hard work and guts made it happen. Would you have had the cojones to go to near-empty clubs, strap on ultra-tight pants, paint your face, wear platform boots and act like people should treat you like the king of England? When no one else had done it before? […]
First the disclaimers: I have nothing against Tommy Thayer, whose band Black ‘n Blue I really liked and who seems to do a good job filling the slot of one of my absolute favorite guitar players, the one and only Ace Frehley. Nor do I have anything against KISS, meaning Paul and Gene, one of […]
Couldn’t believe it when I heard about, but plausible – and if true, shocking. Enjoy. Chocolate NewsWednesdays 10:30pm / 9:30c KISS My Ass More Funny VideosComedians on Tour Get Funny RingtonesStand-Up Comedy David Alan Grier is a funny man!
Fair Warning Tone Ain’t All the Same
Got it in my head to figure out which Van Halen song tones – not album tones – I liked the most. Started with Fair Warning, whose balls I just can’t get enough of…which doesn’t sound so good but you get what I mean. Listen to it cranked in my car because that’s the only […]
Pondering VH’s Fair Warning Tone
LOVE the first four Van Halen albums. Always have, always will. Love the rest too, including the Van Hagar years (oops, forgot about VH III…), but those first four vinyl donuts are to me and many others just the nads. The nadliest of nads. They’re a band kicking the world’s butt in every way, and […]
Recently I was ruined yet again by a good amp. This time a bud’s Bogner Shiva, EL34 version. Let’s call him Sean – because that’s his name…. He’d been talking about how awesome it was for a while, and even though I know he has good ears, wasn’t too motivated to go try it. I’d […]
The Gene-EVH-Ace-Joe Perry Connection
Have you picked up “Guitar World Presents 40 Years of Van Halen” yet? Zactly – I didn’t even know it existed until I saw it in a bookstore (remember those? lol). Anyhow, I’m always amazed at how I think I’ve memorized every word ever written about Ed and his gear and then I read something […]
More On the YMI5150 Model-A Guitar
Few weeks ago I posted a brief “review” (outdated word) of Kevin Holbrook’s YMI5150 Model-A guitar. As a brief reminder, what got my attention were the following things: > A good wood combo: swamp ash, maple/rosewood. > An interesting and unique combo of components resulting in a Strat-shaped and -scaled guitar with an ABR bridge […]
Did You Read the Esquire EVH Piece Yet?
We’re going to have to wait yet another week for the interview with Kevin Holbrook of YMI5150 guitars because we have yet another newsworthy event. This time it’s the recent Esquire interview with Edward Van Halen. Now before you EVH fans get to getting your hopes up, let’s bear in mind the same ol’s: 1. […]
Show ‘Review’: Van Halen at the Garden
Took my 10-year-old son to see Van Halen at Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 1. I think he was more excited to see them than I was – not that I wasn’t, but this was the mighty Van Halen whose tunes the both of us have copped, jammed to and listened […]
