Thursday, 15 May 2014

7 + 7 is

So you want to be a rock and roll star?
Then listen now to what I say
Just get an electric guitar
Then take some time and learn how to play

For obvious reasons, I was a little obsessed with 12 string guitars last week. After sending mine off to the repair shop on Thursday, Friday Night's BBC4 documentary and "Acoustic at the BBC" programme struck a few chords*.

Roger McGuinn was shown performing an acoustic Eight Miles High during the latter programme and for some reason I couldn't quite figure out what was going on. He was playing a six string but it sounded like a twelve string. A closer shot at one point made me think that perhaps old Rog was playing with a slightly more enhanced instrument than the rest of us have to hand**.

It looked to me like he had an extra peg at the bridge end. Here's proof at the end of this post that I wasn't a few miles too high myself. At least some musicians spend some of their hard-earned cash back into their art.

I understand from various sources that Mr McGuinn can be a curmudgeonly old bugger - well, who isn't? - but I thought he comes across as a bit of a laugh. Some nice playing there, Mr M. Shame about the camera work.

  * pun intended
** count the innuendos


3 comments:

Brendini said...

Even Liz thought it was an interesting documentary. I never thought that I would hear James Dean
Bradfield quoting Richard Thompson.

Dave Leeke said...

Interestingly, Brendan, John and I stood next to JDB in an acoustic guitar shop in Tin Pan Alley a few years ago: the man - like many other electric rockers - has an acoustic heart.

Dave Leeke said...

Interestingly, it's the same place where exactly a year before John and I bumped into Noel Gallagher contemplating a Martin guitar and where many years before I'd seen Steve Howe.

The latter left me staring at him for two reasons. One, because in the early 70s he was a guitar god. Two, he was ( and still is) incredibly ugly.