Wheel

Magician

The Certificate Students hanging out before class

Searching for the Gold

Today I played with Kris Stipech, Phil Siems and Ryan Allshouse at Calvary slo. It was fun to play with those talented lads.

I felt a bit rusty today, I haven't played on stage much in the last few months. It took me a while before I felt like I was able to lock in.


It's funny how with certain styles of music it is all about getting the right sound, and not so much about the notes you play. The difference between the right sound and the wrong sound might be as small as the turn of a tone control or a tiny volume adjustment, but you know when it is just right because you hit that sweet spot and you can just feel it. It took me a while to get the right sound today, finding the right balance can be tricky.

For my sound today I was using a zvex booster, into a memory man deluxe, into a choral flange, then in a separate loop, I had an MXR distortion 3, into a tc nova delay, into a Electro harmonix Holy grail. All the pedals were on most of the time and I used my volume control to vary the amount of distortion,
Even when you are using a bunch of effects, you still have to focus on the way you project the notes and interact with the guitar. Today I found that I was able to get a better sound by turning my amp down abit and hitting the strings harder. That doesn't always work, I think you have to have and open mind in every situation, sometimes it sounds better to turn the amp up and play softly. It's like searching for that little bit of gold that is gonna get you inspired.

Playing a song with me old mucker Ryan Delmore

Learners lab description

Tuesday Night Music Club

http://www.modern-music-academy.com/guitar.htm
You never knew you could have so much fun with A and E.

Red Skunk Band

The Red Skunk Band just Finished there 2nd CD at MMA. These guys are great. So much fun working with them.

Snag Bends

Rock Improv Jam

Famous Rock Licks Medley

Here are some of the Licks we learn in the Rock lab.

I have always loved the sound and feel of a Stratocaster, there is something magical in that instrument. Here is my favorite one, it is a fender custom shop relic. I like to use the neck pickup for my clean sounds and the bridge pickup for lead sounds. In this clip i'm using a 'mxr distortion' pedal for the overdrive. It is a great little pedal and costs about $80.

Little Wing

Here are some Rock Improv lab students jamming on Little Wing

Singing to Reuben

Here is me playing some guitar for my new born son
Reuben Oliver

Rock Band Academy Students

Here are videos of some of the students from Rock Band Academy, Nik, Seth and I worked with these guys on saturday mornings over the last year.I am very proud of these guys it was amazing to watch them grow in their musicianship, performance and people skills.


Diminished Arpeggio

2 note Couplings (Acoustic Lab Material)

Dinah

Here is the solo from a Django Reinhardt song

Highway 61

Blues Licks in E (Acoustic Lab Material)

Here are some fun acoustic blues licks that show you how to add a few lead licks to a basic 12 bar.

Solo from Rock and Roll by Led Zeppelin

Before you Accuse me Intro (Acoustic Lab Material)

Here is the Cool little into to before you accuse me. It is a variation on the classic blues turnaround lick.

Major Pentatonic Run

Here is a cool pattern for the G major pentatonic Scale. It is a very simple pattern that repeats 3 times.

Still Time performing at Modern Music Academy

Here s a Clip of Still Time performing at Modern Music Academy. We had the pleasure of them coming and doing a Clinic for us on March 14th. They played some songs then talked about their approach to writing songs,arrangements and improvisation. They are all fabulous musicians and it was inspiring to hear them talk about their art. Nick Billich one of the band members, teaches here at MMA.

D Minor Lick (Rock Improv Material)

This Lick shows you how you take a simple eighth note pattern and surround one of the notes with a little burst of hammer'ons and pull-offs.

Jimi Hendrix Rhythm Techniques (Rock Lab Material)

This clip shows you how Jimi Hendrix would take a regular power chord and ornament it with slides and pull-offs. The great thing about this lick is that it will work over any major power chord.

Chromatic Approach Tones (Rock Improv Material)

This clip shows you how to take an A minor pentatonic scale and dress it up by sliding into the notes of the scale from a half step below.

Sliding Open Chords (Learners Lab Material)

Here some licks based around the 5 basic open position chords.