Aug
16
2009
The innovator, music legend and the man who of one of Gibon’s most popular guitars was named after passed away this week due to complications from pnuemonia. Les Paul is credited for the invention of multitrack recording and overdubbing as ell as tape elay and many other popular sound effects. Les Paul is one of the few inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with a permanent stand alone exhibit in his honour.
Les Paul died at 94 but hi legend will live on forever through the use of his pioneering playing and recording techniques and his namesake, the Gibson Les Paul guitars.
Jun
17
2009
Guitar Player’s Center has an interesting theory on the alleged murder which involves the CrossRoads theory we discussed earlier this year in a post called Devil in Music , in this post we learned about a guy named Robert Johnston who is said to have sold his soul to the devil at a place called the crossroads. From GPC:
Is the crossroads hypothetical ? Can we prove that the musicians who went to the crossroads all met the same fate? Was Jimi’s manager, Michael Jeffrey the devil himself? Only to die in a plane crash after he allegedly murdered the greatest and most prolific guitar player ever. Was that his due? It was well deserved if so…Read the rest.
The author published these remarks in response to comments surrounding the release of a book by author James “Tappy” Wright a former roadie. Rock Roadie is a book detailing many of Wrights’ personal experiences as a roadie. One such incident has been stirring a lot of contraversy outlines alledged details of the Murder of Jimi Hendrix by his manager, Micheal Jeffrey. In response to the article published on Guitar Today about this particular part of the book, a representative from Borkowski PR posted some quotes from a statement made by the book’s author, James Wright.
I knew what Mike Jeffrey had done and I kept quiet for all this time because I was terrified. It wasn’t just me and him involved – the Mafia were part of this and Mike owed them money. He was paying out $30,000 a month to pay back the money he’d borrowed
Wright also indicated that he didn’t go public with this story before because so many lives were involved with hiding the truth.
If I hadn’t kept quiet, you’d have been reading about me in the obituaries.
Read more of author James “Tappy’ Wright’s reactions to the blog posts here.
Jun
10
2009
“I had to do it. Jimi was worth much more to me dead than alive. That son of a bitch was going to leave me. If I lost him, I’d lose everything.” Micheal Jeffrey is quoted as saying in a new book by one of Hendrix’s roadies James “Tappy” Wright.
Wright says that Jeffrey confessed the crime to him a year after Hendrix’s death, during a drunken session at the roadie’s house. Hendrix’s manager is reported to have filled him full of pills and booze with plans to kill him and collect his life insurance plan of $2 million dollars, naming Jeffrey as the sole beneficiary. Jeffrey himself died in a plane crash years ago.
It is well known that Jimi Hendrix’s manager, Micheal Jeffrey cheated Hendrix out of much of his earnings. When he heard that Hendrix was planning on dumping him he alledgy formed the plot to kill Jimi. The official cause of death was documented as barbituate intoxication and vomit in Hendrix’s lungs. If his manager truly did pour wine and pills into his windpipe it would rhyme up with the coroner’s reported findings.
Was a rock legend truly assasinated by his own manager for money?
Jun
04
2009
In a recent interview with Mojo magazine, Trent Reznor had some less-than-kind words to say about Marilyn Manson.
“He is a malicious guy and will step on anybody’s face to succeed and cross any line of decency,” Reznor says. “Seeing him now, drugs and alcohol now rule his life and he’s become a dopey clown.”
Reznor’s criticism could be out of respect and admiration for the shock rocker and also could be a form of tough-love. It seems like Reznor is publicly trying to advice is former partner in crime.
“He used to be the smartest guy in the room,” Reznor said. “And as a fan of his talents, I hope he gets his shit together.”
Trent has been calling out a lot of musicians publicly lately though, even publicly slamming hitmakers like Prince and Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo.
“I’m not Prince or Rivers Cuomo, who brags about having hundreds of great songs,” Reznor said. “And to that I would say, ‘Prince, if you have a hundred great songs or a thousand, how about picking a few and putting them on your record that you’ve put out, because your last several have sucked.’ Same for you, Rivers. I say that constructively, you know.”
It seems to me like Trent Reznor is feeling pretty much ‘ten feet tall and bulletproof’ these days. For someone I had never even heard of before I started listening to Marilyn Manson… Nine in Nails have been a very musically succesful band, but taking Prince and Weezer, who each have dozens of hit songs to their name… How many top 40s have Nine Inch Nails ever had?
May
28
2009
A recently launched guitarist community and marketplace called Guitaraholic was brought to my attention. It is a place where you can keep highly detailed profiles of all the guitars in your collections. Every minute detail of your baby is accounted for. The site also offers a marketplace for guitar buyers and sellers. So when you’re ready to trade in or trade up, you already have an expansive detailed listing of the guitar you want to sell. Membership to Guitaraholic is free!
Guitaraholic launched on a limited basis at the end of 2008 to select members of the
guitar collecting community. The web site is now available to all guitarists. Numerous upgrades are planned
through the remainder of 2009.
