Bonnie Bishop Free Album Review

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This CD review was originally published in the November 8, 2012 edition of Blues Blast Magazine. Be sure to check out the rest of the magazine at thebluesblast.com

Bonnie Bishop – Free

Self released through Be Squared Records

7 tracks / 28:26

If you Google Bonnie Bishop you will find out that she is a country rock singer and songwriter out of Nashville, so you will be in for quite a surprise when you listen to her new CD, Free. This is not country music, but it certainly does rock in a soulful and bluesy way.

Bonnie earned her stripes in the Texas club scene and cut four albums before heading to Nashville to make a run at being a songwriter. She has developed into quite a good songwriter, and recently had one of her songs recorded by Bonnie Raitt (one of her inspirations, by the way). Her latest CD Free is really more of an EP, with seven tracks and a total play time of less than thirty minutes, but they are all original tunes and she had a hand in writing all of them. She is joined on this recording by Jimmy Wallace on keys, Steve Mackey on bass, Fred Eltringham on drums. The electric and acoustic guitars were played by Rob McNelley and Sam Hawksley. This tight group of musicians illustrates why so many artists choose to record in Nashville, where the talent pool is so very deep.

“Keep Using Me” is the first track, and we get a strong dose of Jimmy Wallace on honky-tonk piano and B3 and some tasteful bass work from Mackey on the bass, but the real star is Bishop’s voice. I have seen other writers compare her to Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt, and though I do not think she sounds like them I do think that she has the same energy and presence as these iconic singers. I do not know exactly how to categorize this song, but the backing vocals and the story of a woman done wrong tip it over into the realm of soul for me.

Next up is another song that is hard to fit into any one genre, “Shrinking Violet.” This one is equal parts funk and country rock. The distorted slide guitars on this one are brilliant, and Eltringham really keeps this one moving with his driving drums. There is continuity of the lyrics that carries over from the first song to this one, and you will find that Bonnie Bishop is not afraid to approach personal subjects and that she has quite a lyrical way of stringing words together.

The title track is a beautifully arranged ballad that slowly builds with piano, strings and a background choir. As “Free” starts out, we get to hear Bonnie’s voice with a lot of the background stripped way, and it is breathtakingly emotional. If a household-name artist had recorded this song, you would hear it every 10 minutes on pop radio, and tomorrow’s stars would be covering it on some reality television talent show. That is how good it is.

Halfway through Free the mood lightens up for “Bad Seed,” the only real country tune on the CD. This one uses the country music time-honored tradition of telling a story as a song, interspersed with a nifty chorus here and there. This is a super catchy tune, and with Bishop’s rip-roaring vocals it should also be very radio-friendly.

“World Like This” is a hopeful ballad that gets a dose of Hammond and choir to make this a fresh gospel tune. By slowing things down the listener a chance to hear the message of the lyrics, and to consider the context of love in today’s society. “The Best Songs Come from Broken Hearts” builds on this, starting slowly and gaining momentum with her voice sounds time-worn that adds an extra shot of honesty to this song. Free finishes up on an inspirational note with “Right Where You Are,” which is a lively tone with hammering drums and a rocking bass line. This song is soul, gospel and rock, and with the way it was recorded it almost comes off as a live track.

If she was looking for work as a songwriter, Free is the best resume that Bonnie Bishop could submit. The lyrics are personal and poignant, and the music is rich and catchy; it does not hurt that she has a great voice, a terrific band and good studio production. I am glad that she produced a shorter release with consistently good content rather than adding obligatory cover tunes or songs that were not ready for prime time. Free is a winner and you should give it a listen.

Mahalo!

World of Strings, 1962 to 2013

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This week I heard of the not unexpected demise of my favorite local music shop, Long Beach’s World of Strings. I have been patronizing this establishment since the 1970s, when my mom would take me there to get my cello worked on.

This has been one of my favorite local haunts ever since, and in recent years I had nothing but great experiences with the multitude of guitars that I took in there for repairs or set-up. Greg, Brian, Chris and Pharaoh always did me right, and I appreciate their luthier skills as well as their humor and friendship.

World of Strings opened up in 1962 on 7th Street in Long Beach, moved across the street in 1970 and was there until the day it closed. Of course they sold strings, but there was a lot more to their inventory. They carried guitars and amplifiers, but they also had a nice inventory of violins, violas, cellos and basses, as well as mandolins, ukuleles, dulcimers and more. They were a Marquis Martin guitar dealer and service center, and carried a lot of the major brands, which says something about a small store in a bad neighborhood.

The neighborhood and the dismal parking situation certainly did not help business, and combining the fiscal downturn a few years back with another insurmountable problem, I guess they could just no longer make a go of it. Now that World of Strings and Whittaker Music are gone, there really are not any good music stores left in Long Beach. The next best choice for classical instruments and service is going to be Morey’s Music in Lakewood, and if you are looking for guitars and accessories I guess you will have to head to the nearest Sam Ash or Guitar Center.

RIP, World of Strings, I will miss you guys.

Philip Kubicki -- July 12, 1943 to March 18, 2013

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I was saddened to hear today that Philip Kubicki lost his battle with cancer.

Phil was a luminary in the world of guitarists and luthiers, having worked for Fender before starting his own shop in Santa Barbara in 1973. He is the man who built George Harrison’s legendary rosewood Telecaster. Factor bases are his brainchild, and his lasting contribution to the evolution of the electric bass.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Phil a few times over the years, he always answered all of my dumb questions, and on one occasion he even sent me some nice comments about my blog. He was truly a gentleman, and I am sorry that he will no longer be among us.

Rest in peace, Phil

Save The Date: First-ever Guitar Center Musician’s Expo at Long Beach Convention Center

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On Saturday, April 6, 2013 there will be an event at the Long Beach Convention Center that should be of interest for Southern California musicians. The Guitar Center Musician’s Expo is an opportunity for us common folks to see a lot of the new gear that was introduced at the Winter NAMM show in Anaheim.

Guitar Center is the big daddy of music retailers, and I admire that they are trying new thing despite the crushing debt they are staggering under. Through their relationships with their suppliers and vendors, they will be featuring equipment from over 60 manufacturers, including Martin, Fender, Casio, Roland, DW, Bose, Pioneer and more. There will be company representatives on hand to answer questions, and the equipment will be out for the unwashed masses to touch and use. Most musicians are not able to go to NAMM, and I know they would like to see and play stuff gear that is not even at dealers yet.

Besides the gear there will also be artist and DJ workshops with a pretty fine line-up that includes Chad Wackerman, Allan Holdsworth, Jimmy Haslip, Mix Master Mike, Derek Sherinian, Stephen Perkins, Tony Franklin (my hero!), Rob Wasserman, DJ Qbert, and more. There will also be free group clinics, including group Recording Made Easy classes, guitar lessons and ukulele lessons. This might be kind of cool for the kids.

Rumor has it that there will also be a few notable instruments from Guitar Center’s collection on hand, including Eric Clapton’s "Blackie" Fender Stratocaster guitar and Gibson ES-335 as well as Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Lenny" Fender Stratocaster guitar. You probably will not get to touch these, though…

As I said earlier, the Guitar Center Musician’s Expo will be at the Long Beach Convention Center on Saturday, April 6, 2013. The show will be open from 10AM to 5PM, and admission is $5 if you buy your tickets from a local Guitar Center, or $10 at the door. Complete details should be available at guitarcenter.com

I hope to see you there!

Mahalo!

Peterson Istrobosoft iPhone Electronic Tuner App Review

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I travel a bit for work, and sometimes carry along a ukulele or my U Bass so I have something to kill time with in hotel rooms, and have until recently carried along some sort of clip-on electronic tuner. Well, I can leave those at home now because I have been using a kick-butt tuner app on my iPhone – the Peterson Istrobosoft app.

There are tons of guitar tuner apps out there and I have experimented with many of them, in general they do a pretty good job. But, I am a big fan of Peterson strobotuners; in fact the Peterson VSS-C Stomp Classic has replaced the trusty Boss TU-3 in my studio. So, when I heard there was an app version of the tuners I had to give it a shot. It is well-reviewed, and for only $9.99 it was a no-brainer.

Old-school mechanical strobotuners (which Peterson has been making since 1948) use a spinning wheel that shows different octaves and the strobe effect of the tuner will make one row of the wheel appear to stop for the octave that is being played, while the overtones for other octaves will move about depending on how far they are out of whack. The advantages of this are incredible accuracy (within 0.1 cent), along with an intangible coolness factor. This app simulates the effect with a nice bright display that is a little simpler to look at.

After downloading the app, if you are using an iPhone you should pretty much be ready to go. If you are using an iPod Touch you will need to plug in a microphone (also available from Peterson) so it can hear what you are doing. It can be hard for the microphone to pick up unplugged electric guitars, but there is also a $12.99 guitar cable adapter that you can purchase.

When the app is opened, it goes directly to the main screen. As soon as it hears sound the strobe will start moving, and the display will tell you what note(and octave) it hears and whether it is sharp or flat, and by how much (in cents). As the note gets closer to in tune the strobe display will slow down and then stop when the note is in tune. This tuner is supposed to be insanely accurate, to within 1/10 cent. I do not have any way to verify this, but when using it at the same time as my Peterson pedal, they react the same when hearing notes, so it does pretty well.

There are a few icons on the main screen that might make life easier for you. There is a noise filter that can be used when you are not plugging an instrument directly into your iPhone that will help isolate your sound and not pick up so much background noise. There is also an input boost that will boost all frequencies by 24 dB (in case your sound source is too quiet).

If you press the “I” icon you will find a menu that allows you to select tuner settings, calibration, and customization. In tuner settings, you can adjust your concert A from 440 to whatever you please. There is also a drop/capo feature that will transpose your notes by up to an octave (up or down). The calibration mode allows the tuner to be calibrated to an external source, and the customize screen allows you to change the colors of the various parts of the main display.

Like other iPhone apps, this will zoom to a full screen mode, so with a swipe of the finger you can make the main part of the display bigger so you can set the phone on the floor or music stand and still be able to see what is going on.

I have used the iStrobosoft app and have come away very impressed. With a touch screen, this is really easy to use and customize, and in this respect it is even better than my regular Peterson tuner pedal. I think they have a real winner here!

As I said earlier, the Peterson iStrobosoft app is only $9.99, and will work on most iPhones. It can also work on some iPod Touch models if you plug in the $11.99 accessory microphone. See the App Store for application details, and the Peterson website at www.petersontuners.com to order the optional microphone or guitar cable adaptor.

Mahalo!

Fender Japan Keith Richards Sonny TL67-70SPL Telecaster Review

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Here is another guitar from Fender’s Japanese affiliate that you will not see every day, a rare 1967 Reissue Keith Richards signature Sonny Telecaster, model TL67-70SPL. The serial number on this had an E-prefix, and it is marked “Made in Japan,” which according to Fender means that this was produced between 1984 and 1987. This is the earliest one of these that I have ever seen.

TL67-70SPL can be decoded as follows: TL = Telecaster, 67 = 1967 re-issue, 70 = original price (70,000 Yen), SPL = special build. This guitar is expertly crafted with a white ash body that has been sprayed with a 3-tone sunburst finish, so that the grain shines through. A single-ply black pickguard is mounted, and it provides a nice contrast. I am tempted to see how a tort guard would look, but it probably best to leave well enough alone.

The neck has a medium C profile with vintage frets and there is a late 60’s type logo on the headstock. Gotoh tuners are used on these Fender Japan Custom Shop models for their stability, although they look out of place on this guitar. A four-bolt F-stamped plate holds the neck to the body. The signature feature of this guitar is that the bridge is machined from a block of brass, with six solid brass saddles. It makes a huge difference in the tone of the guitar. I am sticking with normal tuning, not the 5-string open G that Keith uses, so there are still six saddles on this instrument.

Ah, the pickups. This one uses a Fender humbucker at the neck and a traditional vintage single coil at the bridge. The pickup used in the neck position has that Gibson PAF '57 reissue humbucker sound. Sweet!

The craftsmanship on this guitar is impeccable. The fretwork and nut-detailing are superb. The neck pocket fit is as tight as they come. There is a good reason that these guitars were not exported to the US, as they are a tough act to beat. Of course, this guitar is 20+ years old, so it shows some wear, but it is still quite handsome.

It plays as nicely as it looks, and I have it set up with 0.010 Slinkies. It is SO crunchy with the pickup selector in the neck position. And it plays as well as any Telecaster I have ever owned, even the US Custom Shop models.

Mahalo!

Pantages Theatre 2013-2014 Season

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I have really enjoyed out Broadway L.A. 2012-2013 season ticket package, so I was excited when I got the announcement letter for the 2013-2014 season at the Pantages. It looks like there is going to be a lot of good stuff going on there in the next year!

The Pantages is located at Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood California, and it has been a Southern California treasure since it opened in 1930. It started as a vaudeville theatre, but it has hosted all manner of shows, operated as a movie theatre, and was even the home of the Academy Award Ceremonies for 10 years. Rumor has it that when Howard Hughes owned the theatre he had his offices on the second floor. Creepy. Anyway, the theatre had a $10 million renovation in 2000, and it is still in marvelous condition.

The Pantages is the place to go for musicals in Los Angeles, and I had a blast at each of the shows I attended this season. The music, sets and acting were fabulous in each of them. This seasons’ line-up includes:

Book of Mormon -- starts January 21, 2014

The Lion King -- November 20, 2013 to January 12, 2014

Once -- July 15 to August 10, 2014

The Wizard of OZ -- September 17 to October 6, 2013

Evita – October 23 to November 10, 2013

Ghost – June 27 to July 13, 2014

The Music of Andre Lloyd Webber – June 3 to June 22, 2014

Optional add-on shows include War Horse and Green Day’s American Idiot.

If you do not want to buy the whole season, they will let you drop Book of Mormon and/or The Lion King. These are the most popular shows, so there is not really going to be much flexibility with the packages. For more ticket information, including show times and prices, check out their web site at www.hollywoodpantages.com

As usual, I will be writing reviews for each of the shows that I will be attending, so stay tuned to Rex and the Bass.

Mahalo!