axebox

Claudio Light Improvises on the Chick Corea Tune "Spain"

axebox — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 09:49:00 +0000

Speaking of the song "Spain," written by Armando (Chick) Corea and which Armando (Boyet) Navajas played in the previous video, here's Claudio Light, a 39-year-old guitar player from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, who improvises on the tune using a classical guitar. I believe he also did the backing track.

I picked up a lot from Claudio's playing on this video. He's improvising, he's got a good jazz vocabulary, and he plays the lines so smoothly and fluidly.

It was actually Mr. Navajas who taught me how to play this tune (except the improvisation) after he studied and learned Larry Coryell's acoustic version of the song note for note. Pareng Boyet, mamulot ka na rin dito.

[video align='align-center']http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp_S4ADufNQ[/video]

Boyet Navajas in Australia

axebox — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:28:00 +0000

My good old friend Armando (Boyet) Navajas lives in Australia now, and here he is playing live with his band called Music Syndrome. He told me that when Van Halen went to Sydney (if I remember right), he got a job tuning Eddie's guitars. He wasn't alone though -- there were other techs backstage. I guess it's not surprising that Mr. Van Halen brought along a truckload of guitars with him.

Wow, repapips, OK sa birada, pusyon. Pusyon Bisaya. Hehehe. Seriously, man, you've come a long way. I really like your sound, Bro. Inggit ako. Ganda ng tunog mo, men. Parang Frank Gambola at Scott Tissue na pinagsama. Hehehe. Pero matindi talaga tunog mo, pare ko.

Medyo madugo mag-text sa iyo diyan sa Oz pero sige, magpapakarga ako mamaya.

By the way, check out Patrick Earl Danao's videos on YouTube. He reminds me a lot of Benjie Mendez, who used to play with Boyet and his brothers at some of the Shakey's Pizza joints around the metropolis during the 1980s. I deleted a post about the kid because I didn't realize that I was getting off topic.

[video align='align-center']http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuyLDO3snK8[/video]

Axe Care: Avoid Rusty Screws

axebox — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:01:00 +0000

There are times when you simply hate it. You want to remove your guitar's backplate or some other part but you can't because rust has eroded a screw or two -- or more -- and your screwdriver doesn't have anything to latch on to. You don't want this to happen to your priceless guitar, do you?

Here's a tip. Head off to your nearest aluminum and glass shop and bring a sample screw along with you. If your guitar uses more than one size, then bring one of each. Go ask if they sell aluminum screws -- which is very likely owing to the nature of their business -- make sure you ask for a screw that has the same diameter and thread. Buy more than enough for spare, just in case you might need more. If you're lucky, then you'll go home with the right screws. The screws are likely to be wood screws because they are often used to bind aluminum screen frames to wood; besides, if you end up with metal screws, you can use those for wood, but not the other way around.

The ones I got are round-head screws, which match the ones on my guitars. It's up to you if you prefer Phillips over slotted, but I guess it won't really matter as long as you have the right sized screwdriver and you're well aware that you're not tightening screws or bolts of a motor engine or some metal or concrete installation that requires brute force. Common sense will tell you that overtightening your guitar's screws can damage the wood and you'll end up ripping out your screw instead.

Remove your original, shiny screws and replace them with the aluminum ones that you just bought. Now, if and when you ever decide to sell your guitar, put the original screws back to give your guitar a little more resale value. Oh, and don't replace those four large screws that hold your neck in place with aluminum ones. I won't even replace the ones that hold the tuning pegs because I believe the original ones do a better job of securing the pegs in place. Obviously, the screws that usually catch your sweat are the ones that rust pretty quickly, so those are the ones that you'd want to replace.

Teddy Vaño on Boy Katindig's "Don't Ask My Neighbors"

axebox — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:02:00 +0000

I'm lucky to have seen Teddy Vaño play live. If I remember right, it was at Tavern on the Square in Makati; Mr. Vaño played a Brecker Brothers tune that I can't remember. Man, his playing was really smokin'. He was standing to my left, and someone told him, "Ang galing mo talaga." Teddy replied, "Chamba lang iyon." Hahaha. You don't become that good by luck alone.

Let me rewind further back by saying that I also caught Teddy play live on television with Gary Lising's Music Making Company -- or was it a band called Aerojets? He played the guitar parts of the Sergio Mendes classic "Love City" in the exact same tempo, note for note. I heard that there was a point in time he was into Robben Ford and Yellow Jackets, and a fellow musician way back then told me he saw Teddy playing the Larry Carlton classic "Room 335" in some beerhouse in Cebu.

Based on what I've seen, Teddy had a preference for solid body electrics; that's what I recall from the rather limited number of times I saw him play.

I can't help entertain the thought of playing in a band like the one in the Midnight Lady album -- a quartet of drums, bass, guitar and keyboard -- same format, same style, but maybe do more songs aside from the ones in the album. Yeah, but it would be nice to have a female vocalist and a sax/trumpet/flute player; I wonder what the employment prospects of such a band are, given that the tunes will be a mix of OPM and songs from The Great American Songbook -- you know what The Songbook is, right?

Check out the song "Don't Ask My Neighbors" on YouTube -- it's just the audio, but the audio is rather good. Mr. Vaño solos near the end and, man, I wish I could play like that. Idol talaga. I didn't hear that he's now doing his gig somewhere up there; I just read the R.I.P. from a post by one teddysapostle1. He can call me teddysapostle2.

I can't help saying it. I hear John Tropea.

[video align='align-center']http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1dMMui43_M[/video]

Jam na Malupit

axebox — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 02:31:00 +0000

Here's Rene Garcia, Nides Aranzamendez, and The Others (sorry, di ko nakuha info tungkol sa inyo) jamming in New Jersey (sarap nila at wala sila dito). Awesome.

[video align='align-center']http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG28JIG6_UU[/video]

Been Practicing, Still Hesitating

axebox — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:25:00 +0000

I've heard at least two great guitar players say nobody really improvises 100 percent. Licks will always be played. Scott Henderson said it's a 50-50 ratio. Emily Remler, if I'm not mistaken, puts it at 30 percent improvisation.

Well, my difficulty is making a seamless transition from improvising to inserting the licks and the other way around. This "lapse in judgement" accounts for most of my mistakes. Yeah, I sure do need lots and lots of practice, the luxury of which I can't afford.

Anyway, here's a take on that popular jazz standard using a solid body and a little overdrive -- and some compression, equalization, reverb and delay -- everything as subtle as possible. Hehehe, I couldn't help but step on those pedals. I couldn't stop myself from comping along either, so I decided to play one round and looped it so I could get on with the soloing right away.

I wanted to rename the title of this recording to "Victory Jam," but it wouldn't make sense to those who didn't know why. Anyway, my sincerest thanks to my high school buddies for introducing me to that strange form of music -- Efren, Chet., Joey, Rikki and finally Roland, who I last saw at one of our gigs way back in the '80s. This jam is for you guys ... and for the VICTORY!!! And for Mr. Black, who's now Black and Blue. Hehehe.

All the Things You Are - Linear Improvisation.mp3

[audio:http://axebox.i.ph/photo/d/345-1/All+the+Things+You+Are+-+Linear+Improvisation.mp3]

The Dominant Chord: Emily Remler's Approach

axebox — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 09:15:00 +0000

The late, great Emily Remler had a simple but very effective approach to improvising over a dominant chord. She didn't care which upper extensions created tension or dissonant tonalities. Rather, she thought of a chord as either static, which didn't go anywhere, or dynamic, meaning resolving to some major or minor chord.

Think of the second chord of the progression in the songs "Girl From Ipanema" and "Take the A Train." You will notice that from a tonic chord, the next chord is a dominant chord that just stays there. Emily would play a melodic minor scale (and of course all its related licks, intervals, sequences and arpeggios) a perfect 5th above. So if that chord was a G7 or any of its variants, she would use a D melodic minor approach.

Now if a dominant chord was part of a II-V-I progression, say

| Dm7 / G7 / | CMaj7 / / / |

-- when she got to the G7 chord, she would use the melodic minor a half step above, so in this case the Ab melodic minor (again including arpeggios, et cetera).

Simple enough, I agree, but the possibilities are endless. Go try it and have fun!

Before You Trade or Sell Your Ibañez GIO

axebox — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 19:28:00 +0000

I admit to having been disturbed by a pseudo article posted by one jerk or group of jerks known individually or collectively as Kenvai. What a stupid name -- sounds like "Can Buy," further insulting people from a lower rung of the social ladder who must put their money elsewhere than splurge on a single guitar. This person or group insisted that if you can't afford an Ibañez MIJ (Made in Japan, for those of you who don't know yet), better buy something else. I almost believed their distorted logic.

We're talking price range here, and if you have $300 to spare, Ibañez guitars -- albeit being MII (Made in Indonesia) or MIC (Made in China) -- win hands down (at least that's the way I assess it) over their counterparts Squire, Epiphone, Peavey, et cetera. Having owned an MIA (Made in America) Gibson, a number of MIJ axes (about 10 or so, mostly 70s and 80s models, including a yellow S540 that really took a beating), a pair of MIJ classical guitars, a 1989 Made in Taiwan Yamaha CG-110 classical that I own to this very day (but now modded), my two current MIC GSA370QM-TB and Artcore AF75-TBS, some China-made electrics and a couple of locally made guitars (RJ and Pampanga, I guess), I more or less can tell quality from crap with one look and touch. OK, so I was bragging, but don't take me literally though. I do need to make a careful inspection and play a guitar up and down the neck to come up with a fairly accurate evaluation.

Now here's a more credible Web site. It's Rich Harris' Ibañez Rules!! If you're wondering how the GIOs were priced at the 2008 NAMM, check this link out and look for the GIOs at the bottom of the page.

http://www.ibanezrules.com/namm/2008/fr_jtk_gio.htm

Just be wary of the fretwork as some of the Ibbys I've tried, including my own AF75-TBS, have sharp, unfinished frets on the high E string side. I got around the problem by first researching on the 'Net to make sure I knew what I was doing, then carefully filing the fret ends myself. I don't know if the Quality Assurance folks missed out on it or it was done intentionally to save on labor costs and give work to expert luthiers. Still, I love my Ibbys. Ibañez rules!!! Hehehe. Don't get me wrong. I love all guitars. I'm polygamous.

So before you trade or sell your non-MIJ (or even non-MIK) Ibañez, make sure you know what your guitar is really worth rather than succumb to those narrow-minded MIJ-only jerks or opportunists who would want to snag your GIO for a freaking Peavey Tele that costs roughly $100. After all, value is really subjective. Remember, it's those sick speculators that set the price of a barrel of oil soaring sky-high. So, a $3,000 axe could be worthless to someone who knows nothing about guitars. Besides, I'd rather take pride in the fact that I can play a guitar instead of the fact that I can pay for a guitar. 'Nuff said.

Brian Wampler's Plextortion

axebox — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:56:00 +0000

Brian Wampler has developed another pedal, and this time it's a Marshall JCM800 in a tiny box. If you're wealthy enough to own or lucky enough to use a Bogner Shiva, then this pedal will drive the Bogner's clean channel the way it should be.

Anway, go check it out here:

http://www.wamplerpedals.com/members/plextortion.htm

Mordy Ferber, Danny Gottlieb and Jeff Berlin Play "Solar"

axebox — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:46:00 +0000

At the 2004 NAMM, Mordy Ferber, Danny Gottlieb and Jeff Berlin get together and play the jazz favorite "Solar." I really like the way Mr. Ferber bops. So sit back, relax, and have a cold one. Or two.

[video align='align-center']http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciL9cwUQGdM[/video]