ADSP Chapter 25: God can be found inside many things: The sun, moon, and stars; a child’s simple wisdom; a lover’s kiss. And at one nightclub on one sultry summer evening in Southern California, god was in the fingers of Derek Trucks.
ADSP Chapter 24: The blues will never die. Here’s one reason: Audiences have a visceral response to the music, even if it’s done merely adequately. And when it’s done well, the audience reaction can be amazing. Either way, when somebody is playin’ da blooze it means that guys will be drinking and girls will be dancing. In other words, a good time will be had by all.
ADSP Chapter 23: When hired guns go solo, the results can be “meh” or “yowza,” but studio great Carl Verheyen (“ver-HIGH-un”) consistently wows the crowds. Los Angeles is full of guitar aces for hire and one of the best has a name you can’t pronounce. You have heard quite a lot of the work of Carl Verheyen even though you may not be aware of it.
ADSP Chapter 21: Some guitarists play at lightning speed but it’s the tone, the style, and the aura of magic that define the true heroes of the electric guitar. Joe Satriani. You’ve heard his work or you’ve heard his name, and he’s either the greatest thing since sex or he’s simply a technical master who goes through his shtick very well but has no true worth. (I look forward to your letters.)
ADSP Chapter 22: Blues guitar virtuoso Buddy Guy succeeds on every level from soul to sizzle to showmanship. Sitting in his trailer before taking the stage for a festival performance, Buddy Guy is philosophical about his place in the pantheon of blues guitarists.
ADSP Chapter 2 — God of Guitar: A Visceral Reaction to Jeff Beck — There are 6,189 seats in the Gibson Amphitheater and guitar players are in 5,133 of them. Girlfriends of guitar players are in the rest. The occasion is a rare appearance by Jeff Beck, a somewhat reclusive Englishman whose stunning fret-board work has influenced pop, rock, heavy metal, blues, R&B, and jazz-rock fusion.
ADSP Chapter 20: Life can be a bit of a crapshoot. For example, one never knows when a night on the town will bring you face-to-face with magnificent music. SONIA DADA — They played for 115 minutes and the crowd was panting for more. That just goes to show you what can happen when a great group sings terrific tunes. This delightful situation went beyond mere sonic pleasure and became almost cosmic because Sonia Dada has tapped into the primal force of life.
ARTICLE: Taking a ride on a cosmic wave of positive energy is a joy that special performers offer. Here are some notable examples of artists who provide transcendence within the forms of popular music. Some musicians seem to provide their own light. Larisa Stow is someone whose on-stage persona contains a million watt beacon. While her vocals are quite lovely, the force of her talent can make you think hers is the prettiest voice in the world.
ADSP Chapter 1: Rock music is fun and frightening, uplifting and unsettling, glorious and god-awful. For longer than may have been wise, I went to clubs at least three times a week, often catching three bands per night. Then I wrote about it. In this introduction, you will find a few highlights among the lowlifes.
BOOK SERIAL: ‘Secret Sex, A Book Alive Online,’ written and lived by John Scott G. Chapter 1 Your Place in the Universe. Much like you, I came into this world unable to type. That skill was acquired later, allowing me to take part in the highly-paid ‘word nerd’ thing enjoyed by swanky novelists, playwrights, poets, bloggers, and writers of auto dealership advertising.