I’ll be honest: I’m not a huge fan of this solo. Mick Ronson was a great guitarist, but he doesn’t seem particularly inspired here. I prefer his solo from the Ziggy Stardust concert movie. There’s more varied melodic content, some really cool sequences, and the big, aggressive bends that people love about this solo are still there.
I prefer to use the bar, but Mick just rocked that bend for all it was worth. However you prefer to tackle it, just go all out. That’s what counts here.
I was tapped to sit in with Savannah Pope of SpaceCream for an acoustic set, this Friday at Sev Ven in Huntington Beach.
More details can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/899226940156110/
Fox & the Red Hares just finished up the final touches on our album (which will be released Nov. 5)
A huge thanks goes out to our producer/engineer Pete over at Planet X Recording Studio for making it all sound amazing. Once he’s finished with the final mix, we’ll be sending the tracks off to Shadowlit Studio in Miami for mastering.
We will be revealing the title/artwork/track listing/etc over the next few weeks leading up to the release party (November 5 at Mission Tobacco Lounge). Check back here or the Fox & the Red Hares website or our facebook page for updates.
Alright, last week I did Duane’s solo, this week it’s Dickey’s. Where Duane played entirely inside an Am pentatonic scale (with a few 9ths popping in occasionally), Dickey took a few more risks with some stuff that was deliberately outside. There are 9ths, tritones, both 13ths, even a couple major 7ths hidden in here. It feels at times like Dickey was scrambling to find his place on the neck and in the bar, but he always brings it back in.
Both of these solos present their own unique challenges, but I prefer Dickey’s for how far how he ventures from the minor pentatonic.
Give it a shot!
It’s ironic that after all the trouble that Johnny Winter solo put me through I get a Duane Allman solo. But it’s not a slide solo! It’s “Whipping Post”, and this solo rocks. There are lots of really cool pentatonic ideas in here, and the occasional inclusion of the 9th really gives it a unique flavor. Dickey’s solo uses a lot of the same ideas, but today we’re focusing on Duane’s.
Here’s how I make sure my strings stay locked on the post with a minimum number of windings and slippage (as little as .5 works)
If you don’t want to watch the video, I’ll just explain:
1. Pull the string straight through the post. Pull it taught and let it relax.
2. Start winding.
3. Pass the free end of the string UNDER the standing end as it comes around.
4. The string should be in tune before the free end comes around a second time, but DO NOT CUT THE STRING YET!
5. The strings will settle a little bit. Play for a few minutes, then check the tuning again.
6. When the free end comes around a second time, pass it OVER the standing end.
7. Cut off the excess string.
The concave shape of the post will force the two windings towards the center, where they will grip the end of the string quite tightly. The strings tend to lock in well before that second winding though. I usually only have a 3/4 wrap around with the E A & D strings, but I can’t remember the last time I had a string slip out of the post.
One of my students wanted to learn this song. He had already learned all the natural notes in first position, so I put together this arrangement that stayed in that area and introduced a few sharp notes.
It also stays almost entirely within the staff (he was having a bit of trouble reading the low E string notes, so I avoided them).
I’ll upload the notation/tablature later.
The Copycats just locked in a few more dates over the next couple months.
We will be performing at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, September 19th, possibly the 20th as well. I’m not sure if the event is open to the public yet, but I’ll report back when I do.
We also have shows at our regular spots: Shady Nook in Brea on 10/3, and Surf Dog’s in Huntington Beach on 10/23 and 12/11.
No, I didn’t give up or quit making videos. I’ve just been busy and this was a hard song… the hardest yet actually! I’m not a slide player, as I say several times in the video, so this was completely outside my wheelhouse.
I imagine it’s quite simple for seasoned slide dudes, just as “Kid Charlemagne” was quite simple for me given what I normally play, but this one was really tough. I made a couple adjustments to my guitar that helped out (raising the action, putting a shim under the nut, and playing some heavier strings) but I’m still not quite satisfied with the feel of it. I’m not sure if I need to tweak the guitar some more or if I just need to play slide more often.
In any case, it was really fun. Hopefully some real slide players will catch this and throw some pointers my way.
The second stop on Fox & the Red Hares’ “Red, White, & Brew” tour was the Inland Empire Brewing Company in our hometown of Riverside! We’ve been there several times before, but this time was special… they brewed us our own special signature beer! Red Hare Lager! The first batch sold out that very night, but there’s more on the way (and all their other beers are excellent too)