When I sit down to play the guitar, I will grab on of my electric guitars and play Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan music almost exclusively. On what? Either my Voodoo Strat, Eric Clapton Custom Shop Strat or my upgraded Mexican Strat. But you probably figured that out if you read my blogs regularly.

All you need to do is sit back, relax and enjoy some of the music that is pure therapy for me. Have a good weekend.

Jimi Hendrix \”Red House\” #1

Stevie Ray Vaughan \”Mary Had A Little Lamb\”

Little Feat \”Fat Man in The Bathtub\”

the Radiators \”Oh Beautiful Loser\”

Joe Bonamassa \”I Don\’t Believe\”

Please feel free to comment and make any suggestions to Guitar Players Center on how you feel about the artists represented and who you like to listen to. Enjoy.

Music Therapy Group

Music therapy is a real life form of treating and improving your health problems and falls under the category of guitarists health issues. It is not limited to guitarists only , read on…

What is Music Therapy?
Music Therapy is a proven treatment backed by extensive clinical testing using music to accomplish individual goals by a trained professional who has completed an approved music therapy program. It is an established health service much like occupational therapy and physical therapy and consists of using music to address physical, psychological and social problems. Because music therapy is a powerful and enjoyable medium, unique outcomes are possible.

How Does Music Therapy Make a Difference for Persons with Mental Health Needs?
Music therapy is a valid treatment for persons who have social, information gathering and communicative needs. The results and clinical experiences prove the worth of music therapy even in those who are not responsive to other treatments. Music is a
method of stimulating the senses and provokes responses due to the familiarity and feelings of confidence associated with the music choice itself. Music therapy for folks with mental health concerns uses musical interaction as a path of communication and expression. The aim of therapy is to help individuals develop relationships and address issues they may not be able to address using words alone. Music therapy sessions include the use of active music making, music listening, and discussion.

What do Music Therapists Do?
Music therapists use musical strategies, both instrumental and vocal, which are designed to
make changes that are non-musical in nature. Musical selections and certain active music making
activities are often modified for client preferences and personal needs, such as song selection and music type may vary. Music therapy programs are based on individual diagnosis, treatment planning, and ongoing evaluation.

What can be expected from a musical therapy?

1. promote wellness
2. manage stress
3. alleviate pain
4. express feelings
5. enhance memory

What Outcomes have been established in Music Therapy?

1. Reduced muscle tension
2. Improved self image
3. Decreased anxiety & agitation
4. Increased verbalization skills
5. Enhanced personal relationships
6. Improved group or band closeness
7. Increased motivation
8. Improved and safe emotional release
9. Better communication
10. Enhances physical rehabilitation.

Realistically speaking, musicians have subconsciously been aware of the benefits of music on the psychie for many years. Listening to my favorite music captivates me and takes my mind off everything else. Playing music is even more therapeutic because I go into another state of mind called the ‘zone’. Basically putting me in a spot where I’m only aware of what I’m doing at the time. Another benefit of ‘zoning’ is that my mind feels invigorated after a good session.

Electric guitars are not mentioned as an instrument used in music therapy, however classical music, which can be played on a classical guitar is a viable tool. Every patient treated with music therapy may respond to a different type of music, so we can’t rule out the electric guitar, since it has a positive effect on the people who listen to it and the guitar players who play it.

Most of us don’t realize how therapeutic a good concert or hearing a good band is. We noticed that when we don’t have music playing while blogging at Guitar Players Center the mood is quieter and there is less production and creative thinking happening, than when our favorite music is in the back ground.

How does music affect you? Leave us a comment on music therapy or feel free to Share It. Enjoy.

Mitch Mitchell, the legendary drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, died in his sleep on November 12th, 2008 of natural causes, US medical tests revealed.

Briton Mitchell, 61, whose fusion style allowed him and history’s greatest guitar player to feed off each other, was found early on Wednesday in his room at the Benson Hotel in Portland, Oregon.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience Band is gone. With the passing of James Marshall Hendrix September 18th 1970 and David “Noel” Redding having passed away on the 11th of May, 2003, the passing of Mitch Mitchell makes it final. Jimi would have been 67 years old on November 27th.

“The Experience’ Band is, if my research is correct, is the first ’60’s band to lose all of it’s members to the next world. When Hendrix arrived in England in September 1966 with his new manager Chas Chandler, they opened auditions to find him a backing band. Noel Redding was chosen for the bass spot. Even though he had never played bass before auditioning (he was a guitarist), Hendrix liked his look and attitude. Mitch Mitchell was a seasoned London drummer formerly with Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames who brought Jazz chops and a lead style of playing to the band. He would end up being Hendrix’s most valuable musical partner. The name The Jimi Hendrix Experience was coined by their business manager Mike Jeffery and is a bit confusing in that it can be taken as a group name, or just as a description of Jimi Hendrix’s performance.

While it wouldn’t have made that much difference who he chose to keep time behind him, he was fortunate to have found Mitch Mitchell. Hendrix went in so many mind blowing directions, in order for his vision to become a reality, he needed a special drummer with the chops and versatility to keep up with and complement him. Mitch Mitchell was the score. No rock drummers sounded like this, then. Keith Moon hit the ground running and, throughout the mid-‘60s, and reached the top with the release of ‘Tommy’. Ginger Baker kept the beat for Cream, one of the first super groups, keeping with Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton. But Mitchell never needed to evolve for his experience with Jimi Hendrix. Simply put, he came into the equation as a perfect match and compliment to Hendrix, fully formed and ready to contribute.

Mitchell named jazz drummer icons Elvin Jones and Max Roach as two of his primary influences. Mitchell, however, showed us how he blended his skills into the perfect combination, using the separately unique approaches of Jones and Roach. Roach’s nimble dexterity and Jones’s jackhammer pyrotechnics are blended and displayed on all of the Jimi Hendrix Experience recordings.

A couple of obvious examples: songs like “Hey Joe” and “Manic Depression” would be pretty complete regardless of Hendrix’s accompaniment, but there is no question that Mitchell’s passive-aggressive assault renders what is already whole and fully formed something a bit above and beyond. On the indelible “Third Stone from the Sun”, Mitchell is not just keeping time, he’s making time with inventive fills, and propulsive but never busy embellishment. On the other hand, “The Wind Cries Mary” is a clinic/drill in doing more with less.

Mitchell was able to bring the attack without exploding, or worse, trespassing on the considerable space Hendrix needed to clear for himself and enter the outskirts of infinity. Mitchell, had the uncanny ability to feel and compliment the unpredictable Hendrix providing perfect timing by keeping up his seamless beats and matching Jimi’s multitude of rhythms, even when Jimi made on the fly unscheduled change ups during a song. Realistically speaking, Mitchell was fast, he was clever, he was on the edge and he was original. He was the perfect engine for Hendrix’s uncopiable machine.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience was, out of all the ’60’s bands the act that changed music forever. Call it luck, call it brilliance, but it was a quirk of fate that united these three men from 1966 thru 1969 producing the band that set the model for three man bands. Every band since then can claim to have stolen something from ‘The Experience’ vibe.

Oddly it seems that once again they are together again. To be more precise, in the song ‘Voodochild’ Jimi says ” I’ll meet you on the next world and don’t be late”. I expect someday I’ll attend one of their concerts again.

Briefly, Noel Redding was a guitar player when he joined The Experience Band. He switched to bass to play with Hendrix. After Redding left the band in ‘69, he started a band called The ‘Fat Mattress’, where he went back to being a lead guitar player.

To say that Jimi Hendrix and ‘The Experience’ Band influenced my life and the way I think is a pure understatement. What makes an artist and composer great? Other than the obvious items mentioned in this article, the test of time is a good barometer. How long will their music impact us? Forever at Guitar Players Center.

Examining composers such as Bach and Beethoven proves that the vibes produced by that generation of geniuses stood the test of time, of course, what has Bach or Beethoven done lately? Ultimately, Hendrix has and will continue to stand up to this test as well, and will always be my favorite Experience forever, no matter what anybody says. Enjoy this cool multi course Video.

Wimp who steals articles

Well it happened again, another article stolen right from my website. No return links or credit given to the proper person, me. These thieves want you to believe they wrote the article. Don’t get me wrong, I’m honored that they like my writing. It is really easy to put a text link back to the authors site and give credit to the correct person.

This is a comment from my post on October 31st 2008, I call it Stealing. “Danny. it is plagiarism which is just a wimp stealing stuff s/he isn’t smart enough to write him/herself. Embarrassing!! But, an ironic compliment to you (And I used my bestest English to say that).”

With that in mind, most of us bloggers work our asses off writing this stuff. Generally we get paid next to nothing or nothing for this passion. However it takes a lot of time and research to write good articles. And that makes it all the worse.

I don’t believe in injustice. I was not raised to be a thief. It is the principle of it. I bet it is some network site being used to build rankings. Who ever it is has made me angry.

I’m done emoting about this. I have investigated this issue and I know this has happened to every one of my friends and lots of people I don’t know who have blogs. In fact it seems to be the trend to steal quality content for one’s own gain. Woops, emotion!

Anyway I believe I have found the correct way to handle this problem legally.. When this issue is corrected, I will pass it on in detail. I’ll say this, it is a lot more work to handle copyright infringement than to steal articles. I’m very tenacious, and you can bet that Guitar Players Center will pursue all thefts to the Nth degree.

Thanks to all who read my blogs. Keep reading, this won’t stop me from sharing my infinite wisdom with you!

Neil Young & His Green Machine

Without a doubt, Neil Young is one of the most important and influential rock composers and performers North America can claim. Time has proven this to be true. His signature nasal tone, guitar playing, highly personal and political lyric writing, and hippie cowboy stance have helped shape rock and roll as it has advanced from it’s earliest days until now. His experimentation with every genre, from folk to heavy metal to rockabilly, Young has created a sound and feel that is unique and his own.

Neil Percival Young was born November 12, 1945, Toronto, Ontario. His picking style, similar to Jerry Reeds claw method of picking an acoustic guitar and often quirky soloing on electric guitar are the anchors of a sometimes ragged, sometimes polished sound.

Realistically speaking, there is nothing I can say that is not already been written about Neil on his accomplishments, and contributions to society in other areas. The monumental amount of information is spread everywhere on the internet and most of it is very similar in content. I am not going to repeat what is accurately detailed so well in Wikipedia.

Most Neil Young fans have been obsessed with his brand of lyrics and his personal vibe from the start. One of the things a lot of folks don’t know about him are the guitars and equipment he uses. His passion is for second hand guitars, account for at least ten different models he has played on stage and in the studio. Mostly purchased directly or indirectly from some of his favorite artists, such as a Martin D-28—Nicknamed “Hank” after its previous owner, Hank Williams.

We saw Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in concert several years ago. The concert theme seemed appropriate and timely. It was very political. Especially against the war in Iraq and President Bush. The highlight for me was when they sang the protest song “Lets Impeach The President”. We all sang along (except for the Bush supporters), the words were posted on a giant monitor. Protest songs and politics aside, this is an assembly of some of the most prolific artists ever, either in solo or playing together as CSNY.

While it was hard not to hear Neil Young and or Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young ten times a day on the radio when I was a teenager, it still has the same values as it did 30 years ago, and there is still so much Neil Young has to offer. Guitar Players Center puts him right at the top of the list of great artists like Bob Dylan being one of the most high impact artists of our generation. Fortunately they are still alive and doing the deal.

FYI Biodiesel has powered tour buses for Neil Young, Bonnie Raitt, and Willie Nelson. Neil Young is transforming a 50-year-old Lincoln Continental into a plug-in hybrid biodiesel-electric that could cross the country on just a couple of stops at a filling station. When complete, the twin-engine car could get 100 mpg, using a hybrid engine that can run on a battery or burn biodiesel fuel. Pretty impressive for a 19-foot boat that weighs two and a half tons.

Says Neil Young, “By drawing on entrepreneurial companies’ advanced technology and good old American ingenuity, we intend to transform one of the largest and heaviest gas guzzling vehicles of our generation into a highly energy efficient vehicle, and demonstrate to the American public that we can re-power the American dream by demanding environmentally-friendly vehicles now,” Young said. “Our country is full of innovative entrepreneurs and advanced technology companies, like H-Line Conversions and UQM Technologies, who have the capability and drive to make big things happen.”

Lets make it happen. Enjoy

Rickie Lee Jones

Just the mention Rickie Lee Jones, born born November 8, 1954, in Chicago, takes me back a way, remembering her as far back as the time she cracked the music scene in 1977. We simply fell in love with her voice and songs. She always seemed to have the best musicians in her bands. I can’t list all of the who’s who of musicians that backed her in her first albums, it is really mind blowing, Buzz Feiten played the guitar for her in several albums if that is an indicator. Randy Newman on sythesizer and Dr John on keyboards. She also wrote “Easy Money” for the late genius Lowell George of Little Feat on his first and only solo album.

I would be B.S.ing you if I told you I kept up on her career after the ’80’s. The most accurate and un-biased description of her entire works and life is Wikipedia. Take some time to read about Rickie Lee Jones, she is quite an amazing woman.

Her first album was the bomb, every song was so excellent, it seemed like every song was my favorite song if I was listening to it at the time. The album was simply called ‘Rickie Lee Jones’ and the song that my wife and I liked the most was called “Danny’s All-Star Joint”, which was about her brother ‘Danny’.

If you read my blogs, you probably know that I owned and operated an automotive transmission repair shop from 1981 to 2006. We named it ‘Danny’s All Star Transmissions’. We knew that was the right name immediately, the name never got old and when people asked me how I choose that name, I had a chance to promote Rickie Lee a bit.

As I write about the great guitar players, musicians, singers and composers I find it interesting that most of them were in my age group, as Rickie Lee is. Funny that at the time It never occurred to me that they were my peers. Never did I consider that they were my age or only had a few years on me. FYI Stevie Ray Vaughan (RIP) would be 54 years old if he were alive today.
The Guitar Players Center’s staff (me) picked a couple of choice videos to watch and get to know her, please read about her in the Wikepedia link provided above either before or after you watch the videos. Let me know what you think. Thanks andEnjoy.

Johnny Winter

While Texas Blues was taking shape and a guitar player named Stevie Ray Vaughan was rising in fame and developing his own legacy, there is one Texas blues electric guitar player who seemingly dropped off the map.
Lets set the record straight, as far as electrified Texas blues is concerned a man named Johnny Dawson Winter III had already done that and been there a good dozen years earlier. Born on the 23rd of February 1944 in Beaumont, Texas, he ended up in New York City in 1968 and was involved in a bidding war between record company’s that filled the Texas gunslinger’s pockets with the largest advance signing bonus ever paid to a new artist, at that time. Columbia Record Company won the war.

His first release was called “Johnny Winter”, but it was the second album produced by Columbia Records that really put Johnny Winter on the map, called “The Progressive Blues Experiment”. A super killer live album.

Early on he began imitating early rock and roll recordings of Elvis, Carl Perkins, Little Richard and Chuck Berry. Before long he started picking up on the Chicago blues of Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, B.B. King while learning more about the Mississippi Delta blues of Lightnin’ Hopkins, Robert Johnson, Son House, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Leadbelly. This is where the influence tree starts for most blues guitarists. Mostly indirectly now, meaning that many younger players have little idea of who really inspired them.

Muddy Waters, who referred to J.W. as his son, was his mentor and they toured together garnering several Grammy awards, while J.W. was fighting serious health problems. However, the combination of guitar players mentioned helped shape the unique style of johnny Winter. As a big fan of Johnny Winter I spent hours downstairs rattling the floors listening to Johnny Winter. It is a wonder my parents did not kick me out of the house.

Nearly a year ago we saw Johnny in concert at real dump, not worthy of his presence at all. Since he is an albino, and blind for all practical purposes, it makes his achievements even greater. Another blues player named Jeff Healey was also blind, but did not live long enough to get the recognition he so deserved.
Back to the point, he was escorted on stage to his chair and then was handed his guitar, which I am sure was a Erlewine Lazer.

Erlewine Lazer

Custom built by Dan Erlewine himself, which features a single coil neck and humbucker bridge, and a boost toggle which is an absolute kick in the head. running through a fender super reverb this tone says very directly ‘i’m from texas. in your face.’

Johnny performed many super hits for about one and a half hours, playing his own style of Texas blues. One of the nice surprises was when he pulled out his slide guitar and reminded us that he is one of the best slide players ever. It took me back many years to hear the raw beauty of Johnny Winter. His extarordinary chops were still sharp and he showed us what started the love affair with the Texas blues and Johnny Winter.

We at Guitar Players Center know of no better way to get to know or revisit Johnny Winter than to watch a few classic videos. They represent several styles of play he incorporated. Enjoy them. Do you know johnny W.? What do you think of him and his style?

Around the time electric guitars became affordable in the ’30’s and ’40’s it seemed that Jazz guitarists popped up everywhere, but the most prominent name to stand alone was Aaron Thibeaux Walker. T-Bone is a manipulation of his middle name. Born on May 26th 1910 in Linden Texas. Perhaps one of the most influential blues guitarists of all time. I call it the inspiration tree of guitar players.
Among the first generation of great blues players he inspired directly are: Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, Magic Sam, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, Albert King, Albert Collins, Freddie King, B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Obviously his influence has indirectly affected future generations of blues guitar players, even if they don’t know it. I am one of them.

It was T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters who brought the electric guitar to the blues. They transformed acoustic country blues into the mainstream sounds of Chicago, Memphis and Kansas City into what is now the electric blues.

T-Bones’s style and musical intuition were sophisticated at the time and evolved for practical reasons. He was versatile as a musician and a master showman who worked and sweat hard on stage. He combined jazz harmony, string bending and he used ninth chords in a fairly sophisticated manner that his Delta blues comrades hardly recognized. His most famous song “Call It Stormy Monday” is one he really opened up, taking the blues to places other melodic players of the day had not been.

Watch the video, but more importantly listen to it. It is an amazing compilation of blues and some jazz chords mixed up. It is easy to then understand how much he influenced the style of the late great Stevie Ray Vaughan. Listening to SRV is a combination of Albert King, T-Bone Walker, Buddy Guy and Albert Collins with some Jimi Hendrix. Listen to your favorite blues players old and new, try to determine who influenced them.

Joe Bonamassa is a new breed of guitar player. He has his own style, but you can hear his influences such as SRV and other core blues guitarists too. Perhaps you know should know Jeff Healey as well. Take a few minutes to read about Jeff Healey and view the videos, it is easy to understand why Stevie Ray was so fond of him and enjoyed playing on stage with Jeff.

Walker was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980, and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Shedding light on the original blues guitarists, how they got there, who and what inspired them is a subject at Guitar Players Center that is of personal interest, but more importantly gives us a view of how guitar blues has evolved.

Thank goodness for good friends. During a week when the Redskin’s lose and then we have an important election the next day, my brain a needed a boost. Well I opened my email and low and behold I had an email from Allan that stimulated my mind. He found these pictures and sent them to me.

The Guitars of Jimi Hendrix varied in brand and style until he settled on the Fender Stratocaster as his instrument of choice. The gallery pictures above are of a Stratocaster he played at Monterey. The paint job on this model is an example of the originality Jimi displayed in terms of how he liked his weapons painted. It is important to note that he mostly played white Fender Srtatocasters.

Generally speaking he would have a painted guitar in his arsenal when he played a big event. Another interesting point is that many of his painted guitars he did himself. On the spur of the moment, depending on his emotional vibe at that time. For most of the performances these were the guitars that got set on fire and broken into little pieces at the end of some of his concerts.

This particular paint job is still available through Fender and a number of after-market company’s like Ed Roman. You know that Ed Roman the devil. He copycats more than few unique and expensive guitars, claiming they are just as good as the original for less money. Ha. When I get one I’ll call Fender and order it. Or I’ll call Allan and we will make it ourselves. Realistically speaking buying a guitar just because someone claims it is better, even if it cost less is not for qualified buyers. Qualified buyers know that #1. cheap is cheap, you get what you pay for, and #2. maybe you should play it first to make sure you like it!

I’ll guarantee that if Allan and I built our own Monterey Strat, we would not save a penny over buying a new one from Fender, not even counting the months of labor. The parts add up brother. Although, this is a worthy project that I may under take someday.

One last thing about Jimi, he could play any type of guitar he was handed. In reality he could make music on any guitar from electric guitars to acoustic guitars. Stevie Ray Vaughan said it best “Jimi did not just play the guitar, he made music”. Enjoy the pictures and subscribe for free to Guitar Players Center Blog so you can have our posts delivered right to your door.

I am not a PRS expert. My friend Allan is. He has been playing them longer than anyone I know. He has even been to the factory. But he is a busy guy, so I will do my best to vibe you up on PRS guitars. As far as I’m concerned, I would be honored if Allan can correct me or add to this article. I know all my readers thought I know everything about every guitar. Ha. Ha. That is far from the truth, so I have chosen to direct you to a couple of sites I have found that give the most realistic un-biased answers we could hope for.

The first site has plenty of information regarding the bulk of questions that were asked and lots more. I find it very refreshing to read un-biased content that gives the good and bad. It is a wealth of information that makes the choice of what PRS guitar suits you best easier. The first page is from Ed Roman Guitars . Ed has a mouthful to spit at us on how to identify the models, differences, parts and design changes or upgrades. He is obviously quite well versed on PRS guitars, as you will see.

There is more here that may be of interest to you. Read what the post has to say, and compare the PRS guitar line with a guitar line created by Ed Roman himself. He claims to have improved on what he considers to be the shortcomings in the PRS guitars. His line is called Quicksilver Guitars. I don’t have an opinion since I’m am strictly a Fender Stratocaster player. However I have played one of Allan’s PRS guitars and can testify that it is a superior sounding and highly playable guitar. If I was forced to choose another brand of guitar, I would choose a Paul Reed Smith guitar.

These are world class crafted guitars and have very precise details including, inlays, hardware and paintwork that will leave you speechless. It is worth a trip to GuitarCenter to play and experience one. I can’t afford one now, but that does not stop me from going to Guitar Center.

Here is a video of some of the great guitar players who use them discussing the finer details.

The consistency in construction and actually getting an instrument that exceeds your expectations is why Guitar Players Center would recommend this brand of guitar. Expect the best from PRS, in fact go play one. that is free. By the way, has anyone ever played a Quicksilver Guitar? Let me know what you think of it. Enjoy.