Eric Clapton and the Fender Eric Clapton Stratocaster

Eric Clapton with his famous Stratocaster "Blackie."

Eric Clapton - the original electric guitar "god."

The list of guitarists who play the Fender Stratocaster guitar is very very long. Wikipedia's page about the Stratocaster shows a picture of Buddy Holly playing one in the late 50's. Probably there were big names playing the guitar earlier than that; but to cut to the chase, Hendrix made the guitar iconic, then lots of others decided it best fit them and their styles of playing too. Eric Clapton is just maybe the guy who's spent more time playing a Stratocaster than anyone else, as he's never stopped recording and playing music since about the time he started; and since he's switched to the Stratocaster, he almost plays it exclusively.

Eric Clapton is a man so associated with the electric guitar at one time he was being referred to as "god," and so he's THE original guitar god; the phrase was even coined after him. "Clapton is god" predates Hendrix being known of at all. He'd also risen to fame and prominence before fellow countrymen like Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. While some refer to Clapton with euphemisms more sedate and sane such as "lord of the Les Paul, the sultan of the SG, the sovereign of the Stratocaster," Eric prefers to be called by his name, he's so famous and known internationally, and has been for so long he has no real need for the adulation, he mostly just seems to want to play his guitar. Mostly when he does play guitar, and he does so often, he is playing a Fender Stratocaster.

Eric Clapton with "Blackie." Blackie the Fender Stratocaster is now retired, Eric Clapton, is not.

Eric Clapton on the creation of "Blackie" his famous Fender Stratocaster

Blackie the Stratocaster is one of the world's most famous musical instruments, and easily one of the most famous guitars. It's right up there with Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstrat, and like that guitar, this one is also truly a frankenstrat as well. Blackie was built from parts of three guitars. but wasn't actually even Eric's first Strat, "Brownie" was. Clapton describes it as follows:

My first Strat was Brownie, and I played it for years and years, a wonderful guitar. Then I was in Nashville at a store called Sho-Bud, as I recall, and they had a whole rack of old '50s Strats in the back, going second-hand. They were so out of fashion you could pick up a perfectly genuine Strat for two hundred or three hundred dollars — even less! So I bought all of them. I gave one to Steve Winwood, one to George Harrison, and one to Pete Townshend, and kept a few for myself. I liked the idea of a black body, but the black one I had was in bad condition, so I took apart the ones I kept and assembled different pieces to make Blackie, which is a hybrid, a mongrel.

The conclusion of the masses and of Eric Clapton is his Strat has a terrific sound. He wore the thing out completely, and has had to acquire others to replace it with. You too can own an identical Fender Stratocaster to the ones Eric Clapton owns and plays.

According to some lists Eric has so far sold 79 million albums. He's an estimated net worthof two hundred and fifty million dollars, and isn't the slightest bit shy of giving back to the world where he's become such a big star. Eric is a very charitable man. He's also seemingly in great physical health, and very likely, lord willing, to continue recording and touring for years to come.

As with pretty much every guitarist, Eric owns a LOT of guitars. In his career he's played a lot of guitars. Facts are some of his most famous guitar playing was NOT done originally with a Fender Stratocaster; but after some time Eric settled on the instrument as his primary electric guitar. This, of course, doesn't mean the instrument was "better" than others, it means Eric liked it better for reasons of his own, and when a person finds the instrument that really feels right to them, they tend to play a lot better, and who can argue with Eric Clapton's playing?

Eric Clapton with one of his many Fender Stratocaster guitars

The Fender Eric Clapton Stratocaster

The Fender Stratocaster is a guitar so well known and loved, so famous, it has its own Wikipedia page, and a fairly extensive one. Well, the Eric Clapton Fender Stratocaster is also that notable, and has its own page as well. All as it should be.

According to the story we've Steve Winwood to thank for influencing Eric to use the Stratocaster. Quite obviously, Eric Clapton was rather well known as a master electric blues rock guitarist prior to this, and in fact, a lot of his most famous guitar solos were performed before he ever picked up the Stratocaster. If you're a younger sort like myself, and you've seen Clapton live a couple times, but only within the last 20 years, you most likely heard Eric perform a lot of his classic songs, and do his current interpretations of those timeless guitar solos, but you saw and heard him play them on a Fender Stratocaster, as the Strat is just a very very versatile instrument, fit for playing many a kind of music. Eric was never interested in having another Strat made until his famous Blackie was deemed completely worn out.

The Fender Eric Clapton signature Strat is readily available, but is unlike the standard Strats or other signature model Stratocasters in a lot of ways, these guitars are tailored to fit Eric Clapton, and Eric Clapton alone. One shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that simply because the love the sound of Clapton so much the guitar will fit them. Your hands aren't shaped the same as Eric Clapton's are, and you can't play just like him either. We're all unique; but if the guitar feels right to you, then by all means, it is the guitar for you!

 The Eric Clapton Stratocaster has a neck designed just for Eric and his comfort in playing. One should always play many guitars to see how they feel in your hands before purchasing, and the pickups in the guitar are quite different from other custom Stratocaster guitars as well, this guitar won't sound much like the Stevie Ray Vaughan Strat, or the Jeff Beck Strat; it's an Eric Clapton Strat, and they only truly are similar in a frontal photo appearance sort of way. The Fender Eric Clapton Stratocaster is not cheap, and neither is it inexpensive, it's a professional's or serious amateur's instrument, and that's what it will cost you, but you put your blood, sweat, and tears into the thing, you will get joy in return for it.This guitar is available in more colors than just black; but were I buying one, I'm going for the black one! Specifications are:

• Color:Black.
• Body Type:Solidbody electric.
• Finish:Polyurethane.
• Neck Wood:Maple.
• Neck Shape:Soft "V" shape with 9.5-inch radius.
• Body Wood:Solid alder.
• Machine Heads:Fender / Gotoh vintage style tuners.
• Fingerboard:Maple.
• No. of Frets:22.
• Position Markers: Dot inlays.
• Pickups:Three Vintage Noiseless Strat pickups.
• Controls:Master volume, one master TBX tone, one active mid-range boost control.
• Bridge/Tailpiece: "Blocked" vintage style synchronized tremolo.
• Pickup Switching:Five-position blade switch.
• Hardware:: Chrome.
• Case:: Vintage Tweed Case included
• Scale Length: 25.5 inches.

Jeff Beck and the Fender Stratocaster

The seemingly ageless Jeff Beck with one of his Fender Stratocaster guitars

Jeff Beck - One of the four pioneers of the new music which became hard rock, heavy metal, and more!

From the late 1960s the English speaking world saw the emergence of a new kind of music, a kind of music which would change popular music forever, and is nowhere near done doing so. This new music was based in the electric guitar, and primarily, there were four major individuals involved in it all - but of course there were also a lot of others. My perception of the matter is the four primary guitarists were Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. Of those four Hendrix is gone forever, but we've still got Clapton, Beck, and Page with us today.

The four guitarists, all from England save the black American one who dominated them all during his lifetime, all made music rooted deeply in African American blues music from the Southern United States, at least for a time. Hendrix died, the others lived on and their music evolved. Of the three, Jeff Beck evolved the furthest. Jeff Beck would go on to make music far removed from heavy blues. Jeff Beck would become a true fusion guitarist.

I'm incredibly jealous of persons such as Jeff Beck. I'll tell you why. A story on his Wikipedia page tells a tale of Jeff at six years of age hearing an early Les Paul song. He'd asked his mother what that strange sound was, and his mother had told him it was an electric guitar, and the thing was nothing but tricks. Jeff was reported to have said, "that's for ME." Well, it certainly was for him. How amazing to know what you wanted to do in this world, or be known for at a young age like that!

Jeff Beck with a yellow Fender stratocaster.

Jeff Beck switched to the Fender stratocaster, and now uses one almost exclusively

The Yardbirds wasn't Jeff Beck's first musical group, but it is the first significant one he was a part of, and most of the notable songs by The Yardbirds were written during Beck's tenure with the group. Jeff Beck wasn't a particularly happy camper with The Yardbirds, however, as he was then known to have an explosive temperament, and was forever bent on perfection with his playing. He didn't control the band, and didn't have as much influence as he would have liked, as he wasn't an original member, he wasn't even first choice to replace Eric Clapton in the band. Oh for a short while both Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page were both in The Yardbirds together. For a time Page played bass, and then for a time both Page and Beck were on guitar, and I bet those concerts were fun to see.

Only Jimi Hendrix was truly forever associated with the Fender Stratocaster as a guitarist. Clapton, Beck, Page, they all played both Fender and Gibson guitars at some point or another, and other makes of guitar too. Page mostly settled on the Les Paul, Clapton and Beck mostly settled on the Stratocaster, as Hendrix had. Oh some of Jeff Beck's most known and loved music was originally recorded on a Les paul, things like the album Truth, and Blow By Blow were dominated by Beck's Les Paul, but when Beck went into full on fusion with the Wired album, he switched to preferring the Fender Stratocaster forever.

Another of the great bluesmen, a true one instead of an English import, was Buddy Guy. Buddy Guy has been playing stratocaster guitars since before they were so commonly used. Buddy Guy and Jeff Beck will be touring together here in 2016. Expect a great musical evening, and go see the two legends while you still can.

Jeff Beck and the Fender Stratocaster

While Jeff Beck has never used the Stratocaster exclusively, the fantastic 1976 album, Wired, shows he'd switched to the instrument as his preferred guitar; and from there on out he'd most often perform and record using one. One of the more unique things about Jeff and his guitar playing came about at some point during the 1980s. Jeff stopped using guitar picks or plectrums, doing all the work with his fingers while still playing the same large body of songs and styles as before.

In 2007 Fender guitars honored the legendary Jeff Beck with their Jeff Beck Artist Signature series Stratocaster. This guitar features some specific specifications which Jeff uses to make the amazing variety of styles and sounds only Jeff Beck can seem to produce. You can still purchase a new Jeff Beck Strat, and of course there are some on the used market as well. This particular model of instrument is often in surf green or Olympic white, but it need not be, one can custom shop order the guitar in the color of their choice.

Fender Custom Shop Custom Artist Series Jeff Beck Signature Stratocaster Electric Guitar In Surf Green

The Fender Custom Shop Custom Artist Series Jeff Beck Signature Stratocaster

So what's special about the Jeff Beck Stratocaster? Well, it's different from the others in a few ways, ways which please Jeff Beck. The Jeff Beck Signature electric guitar features a thinner C-shaped maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard and a contoured heel for easier access to the higher registers, and Jeff often accesses those "higher registers."

 Further, it's wired with dual ceramic Noiseless pickups and has a 2-point synchronized tremolo with stainless steel saddles, LSR roller nut, aged knobs and pickup covers, and Beck's signature on the headstock. The Fender guitar kit includes vintage tweed case, strap, cable, truss rod adjustment wrench, and saddle height adjustment wrench. Further specifications for this fine Fender electric guitar honoring a great guitarist are as follows:

• Made in U.S.A. by Fender Custom Shop
• Custom Artist Series
• Alder body
• Maple C-shaped neck with satin polyurethane finish
• Rosewood fingerboard with 9.5 radius
• 22 medium jumbo frets
• 3 dual-coil ceramic Noiseless pickups
• Master volume, 2 tone controls
• 5-position pickup switching
• American 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo with 6 stainless steel saddles
• Fender/Schaller Deluxe cast/sealed locking tuning machines
• Chrome hardware
• 3-ply white pickguard
• 25.5" scale length
• 1.6875" (43 mm) nut width
• Contoured heel for easier access to upper frets
• LSR roller nut
• Aged knobs and pickup covers
• Jeff Beck's signature on headstock
• Includes case

Jimmy Page, John McLaughlin, Don Felder and the Gibson Double Neck SG, or the Gibson EDS-1275

Jimmy Page with Led Zeppelin, and his famous double neck Gibson SG

John McLaughlin and the Gibson EDS-1275

Jimmy Page and the Gibson Gibson EDS-1275, the double neck SG guitar, two musical icons.

It's one of the most iconic, most famous, most revered guitars in the world, right? Well, facts are, Jimmy Page used this guitar for so few songs it's hardly even notable in mentioning the thing insofar as his body of music goes. What it is, is a stage guitar, a damned good one. Page used THIS guitar every time Led Zeppelin played Stairway To Heaven live. No, Stairway to Heaven wasn't the only song page used the double-neck SG for, he also used it for The Rain Song and The Song Remains The Same.

If you ever thought about becoming an icon, a "god" of music; then Jimmy Page should sure give you some pointers on how to go about it. For starters, you have to be different. You've got to have your own thing going to where everyone identifies things with you. The Les Paul had been around for a long time, and Page was hardly the only person to play that instrument, but when he busted out the Gibson EDS-1275, the double neck SG; well, THAT thing was something which everyone identified with pretty much one musician, Jimmy Page.

The guitar itself is a 1968 Gibson EDS-1275, Page, probably the only person who served as a representative of the thing, an unofficial salesman, except I believe the amazing John McLaughlin had one too, and Page had taken guitar lessons from John once. It's not particularly important, but I own the magazine with the particular interview where it was discussed, it was Musician magazine.
MUSICIAN: "John McLaughlin gave you guitar lessons?"

PAGE: "He did, that's true. It was great. He could hear things which I
couldn't hear. He certainly taught me a lot about chord progressions and
things like that. He's fabulous. He was so fluent and so far ahead, way out
there,
and I learned a hell of a lot. I must have been about 20."

There's really no question as to who the most technically proficient guitarist is, It's John McLaughlin,Jeff Beck considers John maybe the world's best guitarist. McLaughlin is maybe the only guy who actually owned and played not just one double neck solid body, but two. He's also got a custom made one based on the design of the Gibson EDS-1275, you can read about it here. Page definitely took some lessons from John, so maybe Page got the idea to use this Gibson EDS 1275 SG double neck from John? I'd say it's very very likely.

Robert Plant and Jimmy Page at Madison Square Garden

When I was a kid, I thought of the members of Led Zeppelin as absolute gods of music. I've never been able to place exactly what it was about the music which captivated me so very much, but it's there, and though I'm quite a lot older now, I can still catch a glimpse of what I used to feel about it all sometimes. I never thought of Jimmy Page as "the best" guitarist, but I was certain he'd tapped into something in the spiritual realm or whatnot that I desperately wanted to be a part of, something very mystical, something timeless. I still think that way too. The only thing that has changed for me is I get some of those same feelings from very different artists and art forms too now.

Oh I'd watched The Song Remains The Same a hundred times or more. Loved it, but knew from things I'd recorded off of the radio it wasn't really an impressive concert for them, it was just the one that got made into a film. Their concerts were epic in scope and in length; and how drained they must have all been to have played so intensely and for so long on stage! Probably every concert after Led Zeppelin IV was produced included the usage of the double neck Gibson EDS-1275. When Houses Of The Holy was produced, well then, we've two more songs as reasons for the Gibson EDS-1275 to appear on stage, and it was good.

Musically, Led Zeppelin did a lot of very interesting things, and there were very few songs that ever sounded remotely like another song of theirs. Those four persons were and the three left now ARE highly creative musicians. The three songs Page used the Gibson double neck SG electric guitar for were all three very unusual songs; and there's little to anything you'll hear like any of them - although there are tons of Stairway To Heaven controversies. I'm not myself big into Led Zeppelin controversy, as I tend to believe all of it is based in jealousy of the band's success - and that no man or group of persons could ever own a chord progression.

Don Felder and the Gibson EDS-1275

Plenty of room at the Hotel California.

The Gibson EDS-1275 Jimmy Page

So what can we say about the Gibson EDS-1275? Guitar player magazine hailed John McLaughlin's use of one through a one hundred watt Marshall amplifier as one of the fifty greatest sounds in guitar playing history. Jimmy Page's EDS-1275 though, is a bit different from John's, and others which had been produced from 1963-1968, which was the first run of production for the instrument. When Page decided he'd need a guitar like the one in question, Gibson had stopped producing them, and so he had one custom made for himself. The differences between Page's guitar and McLaughlin's are Page's has two solid mahogany necks, whereas the production guitars from 1963-1968 had three piece maple necks. Page's guitar also had the tailpieces in a different position, and this supposedly increased the guitar's sustain, and he had his made with T-top humbucking pickups.

Besides Jimmy Page and John McLaughlin, other outstanding guitarists to play the EDS-1275 are none other than Alex Lifeson of Rush, and Eddie Van Halen. Don't forget Don Felder of The Eagles, when you hear Hotel California, that is the Gibson EDS-1275! In 2007 Gibson produced the Jimmy Page signature model, and only 250 of those were produced. The guitar is available, but it is not a production instrument, it requires a special order, and if you order one from Gibson, they will gladly make one for you. Both Epiphone and Ibanez make similar guitars. Here's some specifications for the instrument:
Body & Hardware
Period-correct solid mahogany SG-style body

Dark Cherry finish with walnut filler

Chrome hardware

Chrome ABR bridge with chrome thumbwheels

Schaller Strap Locks (chrome)

Period-correct 5-ply pickguard

Neck & Headstock
One-piece mahogany necks

20-fret rosewood fingerboard

Corian nut

Period-correct headstock style for 12-string

Page profile neck

24-3/4 in. scale length, 1-11/16 in. nut width for 6-string, 1.715 in. for 12-string

Push-in bushings, double band nickel plate tuners

Page fretwire

Electronics & Strings
Page pickups

Black speed knobs with dial

Glenn Danzig

 Everything below was written years and years ago. I used to be a huge fan of the music of Glenn Danzig. Rumors these days are he's going to do shows with the original Misfits band again. I hope that's true.

Glenn Danzig

Source

Heavy Metal Icon

Glenn Danzig is right there next to Ozzy Osbourne in terms of being an Icon in both heavy metal music, and American pop culture. His music is inspiring in it's uniqueness in both lyric and musical form and structure. Glenn has never been afraid to experiment with his image and his music, and if you buy into the image very much; you might think that Glenn's never been afraid of anything at all, Devils included.
While Glenn Danzig has never been a staple on American Radio, this has never been an issue for him in terms of music sales, concert tickets, and other merchandise sales. I've no idea how much money that he has; what I'm saying is that the man has a huge following of very loyal fans, and most everyone in the world seems to know who he is, despite only having exactly ONE song that I've ever heard played on FM.radio.
Glenn Danzig, like anyone with such an over the top image or persona; is also someone that you are likely to hear all sorts of rumors about, and some of them might even have a grain of truth to them. I think that it's important to note here that the IMAGE that Danzig has created is what is so intoxicating, and compelling. I'm positive that Glenn Danzig is a pretty cool guy, but I'm also reasonably certain that any time that you see him on a stage, in an interview on some cable television program, or in a magazine. . . .that what you are seeing is the Glenn Danzig IMAGE, not the real Glenn Danzig. He is, after all, a business man; and the world, after all - tis indeed a stage. I hope that made sense to you.

Years of Head Banging Experience

Glenn Danzig has been doing this a long time. He's basically been in the entertainment industry since the year 1977, and at that time he was a mere SIXTEEN years old, can you imagine being on stage, and a professional recording artist at SIXTEEN YEARS OLD? When I'd just got to the age that allowed me to legally drive in the state of Texas, Glenn Danzig, at 16, was in New York and New Jersey recording Horror Punk albums with The Misfits, my favourite punk metal, or Horror punk band of all time.

The Early Life Of Glenn Danzig

Glenn Danzig was born as Glenn Allen Anzalone in Lodi, New Jersey, the third of four sons born to a Protestant family of Italian, German, and Scottish heritage. Very typical of what we respectfully call an "American mutt," or even a "Heinze 57." From the proper birth surname I believe it's safe to say that Glenn is heavy on the Italian, and from the chosen stage and professional name, medium on the German.
According to Wikipedia, young Glenn actually started off in the music business at eleven years of age, as a rodie; or stage set up and tear down "man." It's debatable to me that that job should be considered part of the music business, but what can not be disputed is that young Mr. Anzalone was involved in music then; and how one could even be allowed to do much as a rodie at eleven years of age, I don't know; but suffice it to say that Glenn Danzig had started learning actual music as a child, on both the clarinet and the piano. While Glenn had never had any sort of formal voice training at all, he has always been recognized as an individual with spectacular vocal prowess and skill. The baritone of Johnny Cash, who he'd much later even write a song for, and Mr. Cash would record that song, comes to mind. Jim Morrison is another name that is is thought of when hearing Glenn's vocals; and I'd even read that Jim Morrison is Glenn's biological father, in one of those no account trash magazines that are in every grocery store. People have insinuated that Glenn Danzig had set off to sing and sound like Elvis Presley, but Glenn Danzig will tell you that he'd always enjoyed listening to, and imitating the vocals of another fine singer, Roy Orbison.

The Misfits

The latter part of the 1970s saw America and English heavy music and musicians, evolving from the blues based metal of bands like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple, into something that moved faster, seemed to contain more violence; and even anarchy, and this is what became known as Punk music. Though the many musical styles that Glenn Danzig would explore, and still explores in his career would also involve the older, and more traditional blues metal; the band The Misfits would be a decidedly punk band, and on top of that, Danzig and the other Misfits would create their own version and style of punk, and that is known as Horror Punk.
The music of The Misfits is mostly fast, very fast, furious; and crude. It is head banging, acid tripping, push ups and fighting music. I've blared it out of every stereo or computer I've ever owned or had access to. The lyrics are forever within one of two realms, and that is B Grade Horror and Science Fiction movies; and Kennedy era atomic political scandals. When Glenn Danzig set about to try to get a contract for his band, The Misfits, he was promptly told that he'd never have a career in music. But we've all heard similar stories about other artists, and Glenn Danzig's story is one where talent and persona won out; and I'm thankful for that.
Despite the tough guy image that Glenn was growing even then, and the almost un-printable lyrics to songs like The Last Caress (trust me on that, Google wouldn't like it) Mr. Glenn Danzig, on a night in 1979, so the story goes, brought an older, grandmotherly looking woman into the studio during a recording session. He was worried about her, and her son, Sid Vicious, had just died.
I've listened to The Misfits more than any other Danzig fronted band. I just love The Misfits. The first album by The Misfits that I'd bought, I bought the first of the two 20 song compilation albums on CD while going to Junior College at Tyler Junior College. I'd always known that Glenn Danzig was the singer of The Misfits, and I'd always heard of The Misfits, but I was unfamiliar with their music. I bought that album after the image intoxication that came after an acid trip, and the new live video of the song "Mother," off of the first Danzig album. Well, I almost threw The Misfits album into the garbage because I was so disappointed with it. It didn't sound anything like Danzig, the band, and it sounded like it was recorded in someone's New Jersey garage, and it probably was. I didn't see the beauty in it, and I didn't catch the vibe it presented. I didn't throw it away though, and two hits of some potent blotter later; I would seldom want to hear anything else.
By the early 1980s though, Glenn had outgrown the style of music and lyrics that The Misfits featured, and he'd wanted to both create a darker, and more experimental sound; and always, Glenn Danzig's bands feature ever changing sounds and styles, and soon, after meeting bassist Eerie Von, he would move on.

Samhain.

The ancient Celts celebrated the New Year on the first day of November, and that day of celebration, called Samhain, is a major influence on the holiday that is more likely to be celebrated here in America today, Halloween, on the preceding day. Comprised of members from various other punk rock groups, the band Samhain released it's debut album, Initium; advertising itself as a "supergroup," of sorts. Someone might have to forgive me here, but I'm not aware of any musicians involved in punk that could be called virtuoso musicians; but that doesn't take away from the intensity, and excitement of such musicians, and their music; in fact, it had always seemed to me that punk rock music was meant to be completely different from the album rock music era that preceded it.
Of course I own all three Samhain albums; and I especially enjoy Initium, and November Coming Fire; but the lyrical content and mood of the music is very dark and brooding, and often angry. It is music that is very different from the music by The Misfits, but there are some songs from the earlier group that Samhain would record.  My personal favourites from these albums are the songs Archangel, which is obviously about Lucifer and the Anti Christ, and In My Grip.  I find that scream therapy does me much good at times; and I think you all should try it too.

Verotik

• DANZIG | VEROTIK
  Glenn Danzig also draws comics, and this link goes to his mature themed comic book site. It's probably not very "comic" in the traditional sense of the word.

1987 Through 1994, the Danzig Classic Years.

It's pretty sad that it happened this way, and I say that because the first Danzig album came out in either late 87' or 88'; and so I should have already been aware of that music. Of course I was aware that the band Danzig existed, I just didn't know that I would love that music so much. I learned about all things Glenn Danzig while I was going to school at Tyler Junior College, in Tyler, Texas; a town so conservative that you have to have no throwing arm to speak of to be able to throw a rock in any direction, and not break out a window in somebody's church. It was a time of great growth for me, and the LSD shipment came in like clockwork each and every Wednesday evening. I shared a two bedroom two bathroom apartment upstairs in a complex called "Strawberry Ridge," with three other guys that I'd always know from home. We had cable tv, and I spent all of my extra money on beer, and compact discs, someone else bought all the weed; and if we weren't watching movies, then we were forever smoking, drinking, and listening to whatever music I'd just bought. I still passed my classes. I even earned an extra buck or twenty by writing papers for my apartment mates. . . .but I think all of them wound up dropping all of their classes altogether before it was over and done with.
So anyway, it was during this time that Danzig released an album call Thrall/Demonsweat Live, which is an album with an ep's worth of new studio material, and some live cuts. They made a video of some live footage, and played it behind the original studio version of the song, Mother, and that was a super huge metal video that year, and was played constantly on MTV, or "empty V," as I prefer to call it now. I bought the original, or first Danzig album, and a few hits of acid later we were all way into it; but when the song Possession played, we all got very frightened by the seemingly subliminal chants of "Incubus" that is there in the background of the tune. Oh, it's there even when you're not fried on acid, just give it a listen. It's not even too far back in the mix, we'd just the none of us ever noticed it before; and it was causing us to jump away from the speakers, as if some fallen angel might jump out of them, and abuse us on the spot. Fun times!
Concerning the first Danzig album, my opinion is that it is one of the greatest albums in all of heavy metal. My opinions are that it, and it's sound and style, completely unique, is only equalled by works such as Metallica's And Justice For All, Black Sabbath's Heaven and Hell, and Sepultura's Chaos A.D. And though the original line up for the group Danzig had such a tremendous sound, Glenn, as he is forever doing; changed the tone and the themes up for the Danzig II album, and he'd made that album to incorporate a lot more traditional blues styled metal in it, and even the wonderful ballad, Blood and Tears. If you watch the Blood and Tears video, you see all of those images of the latter years of Elvis, and of course, the implication is that Glenn is trying to sound like Elvis; but he's not, at least I don't think. I think Glenn was doing what any sane man would do, and working his image for some pu$$y, and can you blame him for that? I damn sure can't.
With the Danzig III album, Glenn would bring it back to a more Samhain - ish sound and lyrical mood, but he's still working the female dollar there too, with the female fan favourite, Sistinas. Also prominent on that dark, brooding metal album are the songs Godless, and Dirty Black Summer.  I've not a clue what Glenn's strategies and plans are with his image, and believe me, he's definitely spent some time working on , and selling an image.  What gets me, what I don't understand. . ..is that a lot of the music by The Misfits was just. . .you couldn't take the lyrics seriously at all.  It's crazy, it's art, it's fun, and it's wonderful; but you can't take it seriously.  The on to the Samhain, and everything is so dark, or trying to be. . .that you go, "damn!"  But when Glenn throws something as silly as the song Bodies into the mix in an otherwise pretty dark and serious seeming album like Danzig III; I'm just left scratching my head, and going, "What the fuck?"

Over The Top.

After the first several Danzig albums, and the super hit song Mother; the image of the man, Glenn Danzig just went over the top. Now, I don't know if it was something that was intentional on his part, and meant as a show biz strategy, or not; but that is what I like to think that it is. I can enjoy that, appreciate that; and respect that, however, if the image that has been created is something that Glenn really thinks of as his personal reality. . .then that is very sad. I can enjoy his head banging, fist pumping, screaming in anger; and I can relate to all of that, and work it out of myself in that fashion, and so should you should you be so inclined to do so. However, you can't take lyrics like those for the tune, The Last Caress, seriously, if you do take that seriously; you're soon for death row, and especially here in Texas. For that reason, I do declare Glenn Danzig as a very successful niche marketing and showbiz genius, with great taste in music, a tremendous vocal skill, and a fantabulous ability to create great music. I wish I could do all that, rather than just talk about it. But regardless, the next several videos will be for laughs, and I'll never forget that I've spent more than one night of my life in convulsive laughter with a friend as we'd watch the Danzig parodies over, and over, and over, and over again. Tis good for the soul.

Third Party Parody.

Trust me, the Third Party Parody, executed well, and by two hot chicks in a grocery store; it's rare. The Third Party Parody featuring Damn Hot Brunettes in a grocery store on your behalf is an honour that is so rarely bestowed in America; that only a threesome of the parody making brunettes ,and I, Wesman Todd Shaw, could top the original offering. Forget the fact that I'm not Glenn Danzig.

The Obnoxious Interviews, and the Knockout

Another of the many intricacies of the mighty Glenn Danzig legend, and these do not pertain to his music, but the persona; is the legendary obnoxious idiot that he appears to be in his interviews; and who could ever forget the time he got knocked to the floor by that giant fat guy?

Conclusion.

Glenn Danzig is a great American Artist, his art is not limited to his music, it overflows into his comic books; and indeed, his stage persona is a work of art. He's still creating these works of art to this day; and I hope that this presentation here today has gave you something towards understanding it.

Zakk Wylde and the Gibson Les Paul

Zakk Wylde with his number one "bullseye" Les Paul

 

 

We were all excited about it, as the expectations were very high. Zakk Wylde didn't disappoint us either. You see, when you get the job as guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, things are expected of you. Mainly, we expect you to be a monster guitarist. Zakk didn't disappoint any of us.

My entire life, and even before I was born, Ozzy Osbourne has been a big deal. He's still a big deal. Ozzy is one of the elder statesmen of heavy metal music. He's "the prince of darkness," or at least he used to be. Following up the distinctive and creative works of former guitarists who'd played alongside Ozzy, men like Tony Iommi and Randy Rhoads - that's not an easy gig. It wasn't too hard for Zakk though, Zakk Wylde was the man for the job, and he still is.

Zakk Wylde is the man with what is probably the most prestigious job in heavy metal music.Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt, Zakk's real name, was born in New Jersey in 1967. He's not JUST the guitarist for Ozzy either, he's a solo artist, an actor, a multi instrumentalist. He's got an official website, of course, and I just linked it for the interested persons.

Zakk Wylde and Four of his Gibson Les Paul guitars.

Guitar gladiator Zakk Wylde and some of his battle axes.

Zakk Wylde -Heavy Metal Guitarist

My idea of it all, this thing we call heavy metal, is that Tony Iommi created it; and almost by himself. Oh Ritchie Blackmore had a hand in it, he helped fill out the soloing ideals of speed metal, he kinda added that to heavy metal all by himself, Tony Iommi was the riff man, the man who defined the outline of the genre. Jimmy Page helped too, of course. Some could even figure Hendrix, Clapton, and even stretch it to where Jeff Beck played a role, I won't argue.

Replacing an underprepared Brad Gillis who had to jump into the least happy role in the guitar playing world, attempting to replace Randy Rhoads, the creator of neo-classical metal guitar; had to have sucked for Brad. Jake E. Lee wasn't a chump by any stretch, but he couldn't replace Randy either, he could replace Brad though. Finally filling the shoes, but without filling them at all, instead, doing his own also badass thing, was Zakk Wylde.

He'd greeted us on No Rest For The Wicked, a studio album where finally Ozzy had another guitarists that truly suited him. Ozzy'd found a guy who could not just fill the shoes left empty by Randy Rhoads, but do his own things with the songs Randy had made so legendary for lovers of the electric guitar, and heavy metal music.

Anyone likely to be reading this knows Ozzy isn't nearly the only outlet for music which the terrific Zakk Wylde has. Black Label Society is on tour at the time of this writing, and in South America metal music is quite popular. Zakk has made numerous appearances on the albums of other bands, and also numerous appearances on stage too. He's even appeared with the Allman Brothers Band filling the roll of Dicky Betts

The Gibson Zakk Wylde Les Paul

The Gibson Les Paul is Zakk Wylde's favorite model of electric guitar, and you can read an article I found where he talks about the five favorite Les Pauls he has. Obviously, Zakk has lots of guitars. Zakk's primary electric guitar is a 1981 Les Paul he refers to as "the grail," and it's the black and white vertigo paint job Les Paul one so often sees Zakk playing.

Zakk is sort of a Wylde man, and at one point he'd lost "the grail" in an not an auto accident, but the guitar, in its case, luckily, somehow or another had flew out the back end of Ozzy's tour bus while travelling down the road. Later on, Zakk managed to barter for his instrument in order to get it back. You too can own a Les Paul like "the grail," and in more than just black and white, you will suffer the vertigo, however.

This guitar is neither inexpensive or cheap. It's a five thousand dollar instrument; but if the looks are more important, and the money is just not available, there is a considerably less expensive Epiphone version. The Gibson Zakk Wylde Les Paul specifications are as follows:

• Color: Black and antique white bullseye
• Top: Carved maple
• Body: Solid mahogany
• Multi-ply black/white binding on top & back
• Gold hardware
• Nashville TOM bridge, stopbar tailpiece
• 3-piece maple neck, no finish
• 22-fret Richlite fingerboard
• Pearl block inlays
• Multi-ply white/black binding
• Rounded neck profile
• 24-3/4" scale length, 1-11/16" nut width
• Kidney bean tuners
• EMG-81 and EMG-85 humbucking pickups
• Controls: Two volume, Two tone, 3-way selector switch
• Brite Wire .010 strings
• Includes certificate of authenticity
• Custom Shop case included