One of the things I’ve done over the past year or so is hang up all of my guitars on the walls of my home office. I have accomplished this through guitar wall hangers by String Swing. I hadn’t planned on hanging my guitars up, but I was running out of space on the floor in my office and was looking for other options. I happened to be in a local music store looking around, and these wall hangers jumped out at me! Hanging the guitars up seemed like the perfect solution, and so far it has been.

I’m using the wood wall hangers by String Swing, but they also makes a metal wall hanger. I haven’t tried any guitar wall hangers made by other manufacturers, because I’ve been really pleased with the wood ones by String Swing. They are able to accommodate my electric guitars, my bass, my classical guitar and my acoustic guitar.

I really enjoy having my guitars up on the wall, as they serve as beautiful wall pieces, and they are quickly accessible to me whenever I want to grab one and start picking! If you’re thinking about hanging your guitars up on the wall, I’d highly recommend String Swing wall hangers. They are easy to install and seem to work great. String Swing wall hangers are also available for violins.

How do you store your guitars when you’re not playing them?

The Daily Swarm has recently linked to a post by Alan McGee, a blogger for Guardian Unlimited. The post is titled No one wants to pay for music anymore. McGee’s premise in the post is that people in 2007, himself included, do not want to pay for music. He states:

“Like lots of people, I’m a music freak: we all want music but nobody in 2007 wants to pay for it.”

I’m not sure I agree, but I’ll get to that in a minute. He goes on to say:

“This leaves the record companies stranded. They’re selling things people don’t buy any more. I wish I could feel sad for the record companies but I can’t. Their product was poor value – all filler and no killer.”

This I can agree with. By and large, the record companies have been playing it safe and putting out “safe” music. Very little of what’s played on Top 40 radio interests me, and I know I’m not alone. When you quit spending the time to develop artists, you’re not left with much to work with.

Finally, McGee states:

“Give away the music and build the business back up through live gigs and merchandise. The 80s and 90s are over – someone tell the music business.”

I may be wrong, but McGee seems to be implying in his post that the record labels deserve a portion of an artist’s touring income, which I disagree with. I agree that the industry needs to be overhauled, but I’m not sure his solution is the right one. By and large, I don’t believe that the labels assume much of the costs of an artist’s tour, so I don’t think that the labels should receive a portion of the tour revenue.

Furthermore, I think that people are still willing to pay for music. I know that when I buy a CD of an artist I like, I’m directly helping that artist. I work full-time outside of the music business, so I can’t get to every show that goes through town. Oftentimes, my only method of supporting an artist is by buying his or her music, and I’ll do so happily.

I do wish, however, that there were more avenues for hearing new music. The radio is largely failing at this, and 30-second clips on iTunes are not always enough to tell if I’m going to like an artist I’ve never heard before.

Are you willing to pay for music?

Twenty years ago on September 21, 1987 the world of music lost bass legend Jaco Pastorius. His death was a tragic result of a violent confrontation that occurred outside a Florida club on September 11, 1987, during which Jaco sustained critical injuries. Although Jaco had suffered health problems later in his life, he made a tremendous impact on the world of bass guitar, both as a solo musician and as a member of Weather Report.

I must confess that I’d never heard any of Jaco’s music until last week. I finally picked up and listened to a bit from his solo album, Jaco Pastorius, and Heavy Weather by Weather Report. I’m amazed at how good he really was. I see why he was called The World’s Greatest Bass Player. In addition to his solo work and his work with Weather Report, Pastorius played on many other albums, including albums by Joni Mitchell, Al Di Meola and Mike Stern.

Jaco was well known for playing Fender Jazz Basses. On one Fender Jazz Bass, he removed the frets in order to make a fretless bass. According to Wikipedia, he felt that frets were “speed bumps” that got in the way.

I encourage you to add Jaco Pastorius to your musical playlist this week in remembrance of one of the greatest bass players to ever play the instrument. Below is a video of Jaco Pastorius playing “The Chicken.”

* Photo credit: JacoPastorius.com

The New York Times recently ran an article titled The Music Man about Rick Rubin that discusses whether he can turn around the music industry as a co-head of Columbia Records. I find this to be a very interesting topic. Few people have the success and respect within the industry that Rubin has, so few people would even be able to attempt to turn the industry around. And, the industry definitely needs some help.

In the article, David Geffen does a pretty good job of summing up the problems that are plaguing the music industry:

“Only 10 years ago, companies wanted to make records, presumably good records, and see if they sold. But panic has set in, and now it’s no longer about making music, it’s all about how to sell music. And there’s no clear answer about how to fix that problem.”

I think this is indicative of the wrong focus that the major record labels have. Many musicians today are finding that they don’t necessarily need the major labels to be able to make and distribute music. In fact, this was borne primarily out of need because obtaining a major record deal was equivalent to becoming a professional sports athlete; only a small percentage of people ever accomplish the feat. Thus, musicians have had to learn how to create music on their own rather than depending on the large labels to guide the way.

Instead of focusing on how to sell music, the record labels should focus on how to develop artists and make it worthwhile to sign to a major label. Distribution is no longer a selling point that major labels can try to sell. In fact, if Rubin has his way, you will subscribe to music:

“You would subscribe to music,” Rubin explained, as he settled on the velvet couch in his library. “You’d pay, say, $19.95 a month, and the music will come anywhere you’d like. In this new world, there will be a virtual library that will be accessible from your car, from your cellphone, from your computer, from your television. Anywhere. The iPod will be obsolete, but there would be a Walkman-like device you could plug into speakers at home. You’ll say, ‘Today I want to listen to … Simon and Garfunkel,’ and there they are. The service can have demos, bootlegs, concerts, whatever context the artist wants to put out. And once that model is put into place, the industry will grow 10 times the size it is now.”

This is an intriguing scenario, but not one that I’m ready to buy into yet. And, after the rootkit debacle of several years ago, I’m not ready to trust in any DRM that Sony (who owns Columbia Records) decides to enforce. And therein lies the problem. DRM doesn’t work. It certainly doesn’t appear to be stopping the thieves from stealing music, and it makes things more difficult for those of us who have legitimately purchased the music.

I don’t know what the end result will be, but if anyone can turn the music industry around, I believe that Rick Rubin can do it.

This is a collection of links I’ve found interesting over the past week or so.

iPod Touch – The next generation iPods look awesome

Queen guitarist Brian May awarded astrophysics doctorate – that’s Dr. Brian May (via IG)

Gibson’s new ES-339 Guitar – A Les Paul sized semi-hollow from Gibson (via Electric Guitar Review)

Led Zeppelin Announcement Expected Next Week – Zep reunion rumors continue

The Musicians Corner – Information about Carlos Santana’s equipment (via IG)

Ticketmaster Faces a Full-Court Press – I’ve always hated Ticketmaster and their “convenience” charges

CD Review: David Grissom’s Loud Music – “Dave Grissom is a monster rock guitar player. His tone will drop you on your ass.”

GFA International Convention and Competition 2007 – The annual Guitar Foundation of America convention is just over a month away

The Museum of Musical Instruments – Interesting online collection of musical instruments, primarily guitars

Many of us have heard of the KISS principle: “Keep it simple, stupid.” It’s an old principle that reminds us that simplicity should be our goal. In many ways, the KISS principle applies to music, but I would modify it to say “It’s the song, stupid.”

For example, I was listening to some music the other day, and while the guitarist was playing great licks, there wasn’t a whole lot of music being played. There was no real song to back up the guitar playing; it was just a lot of wanking around. As a guitarist, it’s easy to get caught up in trying to master all of the scales and chords and playing fast licks, but our job is generally to play and support songs. That’s right. Songs, those pesky interludes between guitar solos.

Jimmy Page was an excellent guitarist, but he’s more well known to the general listening audience for creating and playing great songs. The same is true for Eric Clapton, one of the greatest guitarists to ever pick up the instrument. But, Clapton is also a great songwriter. In fact, I would argue that most of the best known guitarists are well known not only because of their guitar playing skills, but their songwriting skills, as well.

So, this weekend when you’re greasing up your frets so that you can play that legato lick at 160 BPM instead of 150, don’t forget to work on your compositional skills, too. You’ll gain a better understanding of the instrument, and you’ll probably become a better musician as a result. If you ever forget why you’re playing the guitar, remember “It’s the song, stupid.”

I’ve mentioned lala several times on this blog, and I’ve enjoyed trading CDs on lala. In the same vein, I thought I’d highlight another online service that I’ve really enjoyed over the past few years: Netflix. (Netflix is an online DVD rental service.)

Although most people are aware that Netflix carries pretty much all of the recent movie releases, you may not be aware that Netflix also carries a wide selection of music DVDs, including quite a few instructional DVDs. For example, I’ve recently rented Eric Johnson: The Fine Art of Guitar and Guitar Theory Basics. In addition to guitar-related instructional DVDs, Netflix carries instructional DVDs for bass, drums, banjo, piano, voice, harmonica, fiddle, and more.

There are also quite a few performance DVDs available for rent on Netflix. You can rent Stevie Ray Vaughan Live at the El Mocambo, Led Zeppelin’s The Song Remains the Same, and Eric Clapton Unplugged. Basically, any popular music-related DVD that’s been released over the past 5-10 years is available on Netflix, as well as many obscure ones.

In my area (Nashville), I usually receive a new movie from Netflix within a day or two from sending in the old one. Since we’ve been members of Netflix, we never visit our local movie store, which rarely had anything new in stock anyway, and they certainly don’t have nearly the selection available on Netflix.

I highly recommend Netflix, whether you’re looking for an instructional DVD for learning how to DJ Bar/Bat-Mitzvahs or the latest release from Paul Gilbert, Netflix probably has the DVD you’re looking for.

BusinessWeek Magazine recently featured an article about how the resurgence of heavy metal has helped some guitar makers. The article highlights several niche, unique guitar builders that make guitars typically used by heavy metal guitarists. The three guitar makers discussed are Halo Custom Guitars, Inc., Minarik Guitars, and B.C. Rich Guitars.

The common thread among all three guitar builders are that they create uniquely-shaped instruments, the type of guitars often used by heavy metal guitarists. They also name the guitars with names such as D-Spawn, Hellfire, Diablo, and Warlock. In addition to wild designs and names, the companies have added seven- and eight-string guitars to their product lines.

Even though these companies seem to be targeting heavy metal players, they realize that diversification is necessary. Marc Minarik of Minarik Guitars states in the article that:

“It’s a pendulum. It’ll swing back the other direction and hopefully we’ll have our line well padded with instruments that the other styles of music will find equally pleasing,”

Nowadays, I tend to play the more standard guitar models, primarily Strats, but in my younger days, I had an Ibanez Flying V-style guitar and played heavy metal music. In fact, B.C. Rich was big back then, and it appears as though they’ve made somewhat of a comeback over the past 5-10 years. I think there’s room for all of these guitar makers, and I’m glad to see that there are people finding and filling niches in guitar making.

Although not mentioned in the BusinessWeek article, Dean is another guitar maker that has been helped by the resurgence of heavy metal over the past decade. Specifically, Dean has been helped by the popularity of Dimebag Darrel, who famously played the Dean ML and turned a whole generation of metal-heads onto Dean Guitars.
What’s the wildest guitar you’ve owned/played?

Last week, specifically August 27th, marked the 17th anniversary of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s passing. Arguably, few other modern blues-rock guitarist have had the mainstream, and lasting, impact that Stevie Ray has had. Regretfully, I never had the chance to see Stevie Ray live, but, fortunately, he leaves a legacy of recordings and videos.

Recently, IG over at IGBlog recommended getting “on the Hendrix” budget and buying Jimi Hendrix music. Similarly, in celebration of Stevie Ray’s life and music, I would encourage you to pick an SRV & Double Trouble album you don’t have or haven’t heard and revisit one of the masters of modern blues guitar. There’s very little Stevie Ray music that I don’t like, but if you’re just starting out with SRV, I would suggest starting at the beginning and getting Texas Flood. After that, my favorite is probably In Step, then The Sky Is Crying. However, you can’t go wrong with any SRV music, in my opinion.

What’s your favorite Stevie Ray Vaughan CD?

Most musicians know that practicing can sometimes become tedious. However, few musicians realize how much practicing it takes to become a concert classical musician. More specifically, to become a concert classical guitarist. Glenn Kurtz knows the level of dedication that it takes to attempt to become a performing classical musician.

In his book, Practicing: A Musician’s Return to Music, Kurtz describes how he quit music after realizing that he was probably not going to become a concert guitarist and his subsequent return to playing the guitar after years of giving it up. I came across this book in a local book store and was intrigued by the cover, which focuses on the sound hole of a classical guitar. As someone one spent several years in a classical guitar program in college, I can sympathize with how much time and effort go into performing classical pieces on the guitar. Consequently, much of Practicing resonated with me. Several passages especially resonated with me:

Whether you’re an athlete, a surgeon, a hairdresser, or a circus clown, technique defines the scope of your ability. It is both the refinement in what you do and the barrier to doing more, doing it better. When you want to improve at anything, therefore, you must develop your technique. It is the battleground between your habits and your ideal.

As guitarists, we know how important technique is. It’s what we work on each day to get better. But, as Kurtz points out, it’s also what holds us back.

Later, Kurtz continues his discussion about practicing:

Practicing is a story. Sitting down with your instrument, you imagine yourself into the future better than you are now, having passed through a limbo of work that changes you. The story creates continuity in change, giving the work context, so that each day’s small step adds up to a journey. As long as you keep practicing, almost any goal seems attainable, a matter of time and effort. Each day, each moment, might be fraught with frustration. Still, the story of your practicing absorbs your work, good or bad, showing you the way forward.

Kurtz’s story is probably not unlike many musicians who dream of being a concert musician only to find the road much different than they had imagined.

Included in the back of the book are Listening notes, where Kurtz identifies classical guitar music that he recommends listening to. He also includes Reading notes, where he recommends several guitar methods, as well as other books about practicing music.

I enjoyed reading Practicing: A Musician’s Return to Music, and learning more about Kurtz’s story. I believe Kurtz’s journey would be interesting for anyone who has ever dreamed of being a concert musician.