Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 126 i Australian Guitar

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS A VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH GARY RYAN UK guitarist Gary Ryan is one of the world’s leading exponents of the instrument, and has won critical acclaim the world over for his exceptional technical control, profound musical insight and entertaining recital programmes. He is also well known for his highly innovative guitar compositions, and in May 2013 was awarded a prestigious Fellowship of the Royal College of Music in London, in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the international musical world. His acclaimed recitals take the audience on a unique and fascinating musical journey, coaxing an amazing range of sounds from the instrument and revealing the guitar’s full potential through performances of music across an incredibly diverse range of styles. He is currently performing with John Williams and John Etheridge…

Bluesfest itself is always a must-see event with a near endless parade of great acts to sample, but the Bluesfest sideshow experience is its own, equally special thing. Whereas festival sets are generally tailored to be broadly enjoyable for a big crowd who may not be familiar with every track, the sideshows are where you’ll find your favourites stretching out and playing solely for the fans. That can be especially true of Bluesfest sideshows when you’re talking about acts with an improvisational spirit: you never know what’s going to happen when an artist is given the stage time to stretch out in, and an audience who are receptive to them taking chances. Here are our three picks for must-see sideshows. WALTER TROUT For proof of Walter Trout’s standing in the…

British heavy metal heavyweights Iron Maiden have influenced generations of guitarists worldwide. They quickly attained the top position in the new wave of British heavy metal decades ago, whilst today, their live shows are mammoth productions that continue to inspire with new music. Their celebrated back catalogue has naturally spawned many tribute bands, which notably includes the Iron Maidens – the world’s only all-female version. Australian Guitar spoke to established guitarists Courtney ‘Adriana Smith’ Cox and Nikki ‘Davina Murray’ Stringfield about their impending (and fast-selling) tour that promises a unique presentation of a plentiful selection of classic Iron Maiden songs. What got you into heavy metal at the start? COX: My older brother was a huge metal fan, so I’d always hear him blasting his albums through the wall –…

After two years of fervent outspokenness on the back of their self-titled debut, it shouldn’t come as any shock that Camp Cope are upping the ante for their second coming. How To Socialise & Make Friends is immediately more intense in its virtue, pulling a grand total of zero punches with a raw, scathing assault on industry sexism in lead single “The Opener”. “It’s another all-male tour preaching equality,” bites frontwoman Georgia Maq in the scorcher’s pay-off; “It’s another straight, cis man that knows more about this than me.” The abundance of all-male tours and condescending gatekeepers is a tedious issue plaguing the current landscape of rock music in Australia. As such, it’s understandable that Camp Cope’s breakthrough banger has become somewhat of an anthem for the marginalised. “I just…

Nicholas Wilson wears a lot of badges in his producing and engineering roles at Rocking Horse Studios in beautiful Byron Bay. But even though he’s done a lot of work with electronic artists and genres of a similar ilk, he’s still very much a rock dog. Why? Well, back in 2005, Rocking Horse was looking for a temporary engineer to come in and cover a session for three weeks. The timing was perfect – Wilson was in town finishing off his audio education, so he decided to take the job. When he arrived, the band turned out to be none other than Wolfmother. How did you get your start in audio? I grew up in Switzerland playing and loving music. I always had a real interest in the technical side…

Bill Collings moved from the Midwest to Texas in the 1970s. After trying a few different locations, he eventually set up shop in Austin. By the mid-'80s, Collings was building flattop and archtop acoustic guitars on his own. His reputation for outstanding quality and meticulous attention to detail quickly spread, and by the '90s, the business was flourishing, Collings building his own designs based on American guitar standards. Indeed, The “SoCo” in this guitar’s name refers to the vibrant and bustling South Congress area of Austin. The "Iced Tea" might also be a cheeky reference not only to the guitar’s finish, but also a favoured beverage of Texans when they’re sitting down to a big meal of brisket and pecan pie. Collings sadly died of cancer in mid-2017, but his…

In this issue, we’re taking a look at the diminished scale. The diminished scale is an octatonic scale which contains eight notes, unlike the seven notes we usually use when playing the major or minor scale. A diminished scale is derived from a pattern of half and whole steps; the distance of one or two frets on the guitar. The diminished scale can start with a half step followed by a whole step, or vice versa. These two octatonic patterns have different applications, and in this issue, we will focus on the more common pattern of a half step followed by a whole step. The half-whole diminished scale is used to solo over dominant seventh chords. Because it is most often used for that purpose, it is also referred to…

Mia Dyson is jetlagged. The Daylesford-born singer, songwriter, guitarist and ARIA winner has just flown in from the States as she speaks to Australian Guitar – and boy, are her arms tired! She’s just completed a tour supporting longtime friend Jen Cloher, and is hugely enthusiastic about the shows themselves. “This was one of the most fun tours I can remember doing,” she says. “It ran like a dream.” She’s surprisingly tranquil for someone whose body is still running on a different timezone, but Dyson is adamant about getting through her interviews. “I need to stay awake until at least nine o’clock,” she laughs. “This is definitely helping.” It helps that Dyson is excitedly discussing her sixth studio album. With the lavish title of If I Only Said So Far…

In the last issue, I put together a version of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison” in a Chet Atkins-inspired manner. Given that it was challenging, I may have sidelined a few readers who are still getting their fingers around finger picking. So, today I wanted to do a simple, yet effective little tune that will push your technique a little more gently! All exercises presented were recorded at 120 beats per minute (bpm) for learning purposes. EXERCISE #1 If you’re attempting this piece, I’m hoping you have a grasp of the E, A and B7 chords listed. That would be a good starting point, so with that suggested, let’s get our fingers dirty. Holding an E chord using the correct second, third and first finger method, Exercise #1 doesn’t require any…

In the last issue, I talked about outlining chord changes by using arpeggios and emphasising chord tones, as opposed to just playing one or two scales over the progression. For this column, let’s explore this concept further by looking at the chord progression to a well-known song that you’re likely familiar with: the Jimi Hendrix classic “Little Wing”. EXERCISE #1 The ten-bar “Little Wing” chord progression is more complicated than it may appear at first glance. Whilst overall it’s in the key of E minor, there is a brief modulation to C major in bars #6-8, which is achieved via pivot chords (chords that are common to both keys). The harmonic rhythm also increases for these bars, with two chords per bar instead of one. Other interesting points to note…

Here’s a real surprise: a nylon-stringed guitar with a contemporary feel that’s easy to handle onstage. La Patrie Guitars, one of the brands in the Godin family, has a specific focus on nylon-stringed instruments. Built in the province of Quebec, Canada, in the small town of – you guessed it – La Patrie, a large part of the population is involved in the production of these guitars. Visiting the factory a few years back, it’s easy to see why these instruments are so good: they’re equipped with the latest in technology, an appropriate level of ‘handmade-ness’ and a really cheerful vibe throughout the whole facility. RESHAPING THE CONCEPT OF NYLON I first tried the Arena Mahogany at the distributor’s warehouse, and I immediately commented on the playability, the balanced tone…

All seemed pretty chipper for Marmozets when the math-rock rangers last hit Australia. It was mid-2015, and between viciously sweaty club shows and a lauded spot at Splendour In The Grass, the Yorkshire fivesome waxed lyrical of a follow-up to their 2014 smash hit, The Weird And Wonderful Marmozets. It would be out in early 2016, they declared, with a lofty world tour to follow. But then, like in the stunningly cheesy prologue of Final Destination 3, (a film we could easily see being improved with a Marmozets soundtrack) their rollercoaster ride to the top came crashing down in a catastrophic blur of pain. The incident that triggered it came right after the band crushed a set at that year’s Reading & Leeds. Rhythm guitarist Sam MacIntyre sets the scene:…

Everybody knows Papa Roach’s “Last Resort”, the angsty alt-rock anthem that announced them to an international audience, but you’d be surprised at just how many other hits you’d know and just how often they’ve been dishing them up. They’ve released another seven albums since “Last Resort” hit, the impact of which was seen when huge crowds swarmed in for their sets on the 2015 Soundwave festival run. So why has it taken them three years to return to our shores? “We’ve had a lot of people say they want us to come back to Australia,” explains guitarist Jerry Horton, gearing up for the first of two packed shows at Sydney’s Metro Theatre. “It’s obviously very expensive to come here. I think the biggest part of it is that we haven’t…

The NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Show is held every January in Anaheim, California. It’s where the musical instrument industry gathers to present their new offerings to dealers, distributors, media and artists. It’s also one hell of a party, where your favourite artists are all in town to meet with their endorsement companies, play shows and just basically hang out. There are product demos in booths, signature model launches, press conferences, autograph signings, live Q&A sessions and more free promotional picks than you could lose in a year. It’s also hard work: if you’re working at a booth, you’re on your feet from 9:30am to 6pm, all day for four days. If you’re there for meetings or as part of the media, you’re walking the length and breadth of…

Re-amping is simply the process of playing a previously recorded track back through an amp, speaker or FX unit(s), and re-recording the signal back to tape or into a DAW. The purpose is to enhance the signal in some way, in order to add colour, character or warmth to a track, or even to introduce an ‘organic’ element into the texture rather than relying 100 percent on digital emulation. Re-amping is nothing new. Abbey Road’s famous Studio Two reverb chamber was designed to add natural reverb to tracks by playing them through a speaker and re-recording them into the mix. With the rise of the home studio, this technique has developed further and become even more popular over time, largely due to the added flexibility and control in limited surroundings.…

While I was at the NAMM Show this year, I was privileged to be invited to a special breakfast with Eric Johnson, hosted by Fender Australia. Johnson showed us his new Thinline Stratocaster and we got to play it, pick his brain and hear him play for us. It was an unforgettable experience, and also a very educational one. To hear Johnson just stand there and play with no accompaniment was very revealing, because it never felt like a disconnected lead guitar without his band. Rather, he has a unique way of playing where he fills in the low-end in-between high notes, always giving harmonic context to his lead work. This is different to that Hendrix-y style of rhythm/lead where you alternate between a consistent rhythm on the low strings…

EAT YOUR HEART OUT Mind Games FEARLESS / CAROLINE It doesn’t take a uni degree to surmise that Australia has the best burgeoning pop-punk scene right now. Outfits like Trophy Eyes and Columbus have cemented their mainstay statuses with massive international breakthroughs, and the next kids in line to do the same are Fearless rookies Eat Your Heart Out. At a tight 20 minutes long, Mind Games is a solid intro to the Novocastrian easycore quintet. Guitars (courtesy of Andrew Anderson and Will Moore) are strong, if often forgettable: the two play to the strengths of pop-punk greats before them – cleanly produced, but with a toothsome chunk that punches through the mix – but rarely innovate or drive any truly stunning riffs. “Landslide” is a sharp exception, though, its…