Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 133 i Australian Guitar

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS A VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH CARL DEWHURST A leading figure in the improv music scene, Dewhurst can effortlessly slide across genres from pop to world, rock and blues, blurring them at will. His versatility and musicianship has seen Dewhurst become a much sought-after collaborator, recording, performing and touring with an international roll-call of jazz, rock, pop and world artists. Carl is a member of Korean-Australian ensemble Daorum, with whom he performed at The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York and Simon Barker’s Trace Sphere. He also plays with Scott Tinkler’s power trio DRUB, Band Of Five Names, and Stu Hunter’s Migration. Dewhurst is a longtime member of the Australian Art Orchestra, and was a regular member of the James Morrison Quintet for over 15 years. He…

JUNE Sat 8th Entrance Leagues, Central Coast NSW Wed 12th Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle NSW Thu 13th UOW UniBar, Wollongong NSW Fri 14th UC Hub, Canberra ACT Sat 15th Manning Bar, Sydney NSW Fri 21st Mojo’s, Fremantle WA Sat 22nd Badlands, Perth WA Sun 23rd Prince Of Wales, Bunbury WA Fri 28th 170 Russell, Melbourne VIC Sat 29th Barwon Club, Geelong VIC Sun 30th Karova Lounge, Ballarat VIC JULY Thu 4th Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide SA Fri 5th Brisbane Hotel, Hobart TAS Wed 10th The Northern, Byron Bay NSW Thu 11th Studio 56, Gold Coast NSW Fri 12th The Triffid, Brisbane QLD Sat 13th The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba QLD Sun 14th Solbar, Sunshine Coast QLD Tickets on sale via oztix.com.au…

Returning for its fifth year in 2019, the Melbourne Guitar Show is quickly making a name for itself as Australia’s answer to NAMM. It’s part conference, part convention and part concert, but 100 percent a celebration of the magic behind the world’s most versatile instrument. This year’s event is once again slated to crash-land at its regular home of the Caulfield Racecourse this August, its lineup boasting an impressive haul of local and international artists hosting information seminars, demonstrations, and live performances. That is, of course, in addition to the festival’s stunning slate of electric and acoustic guitars, effects pedals, amps and more – both home-grown and from around the world – all of which punters will be able to get their hands on for a test drive. Welcoming another…

In this issue, I’m outlining some ways to practice the major scale that will hopefully inspire you to practise and think about scales in a different way. By using major chords to harmonise each note of the major scale, we can come up with triad inversions and arpeggios. The I, IV and V chords of the major scale contain all seven notes of the major scale between them. I’ve attempted to explain what triads, inversions and intervals are, but each of these musical concepts doesn’t need to be understood to do the following exercises; of course, an understanding of what is happening will allow you to take these concepts and make them your own. EXERCISE #1 Exercise #1 outlines a one octave of the C major scale. Triads have been…

I’m sure most budding shred guitarists are familiar with sweep picking basic major and minor arpeggio shapes. Whether used independently or to outline chord progressions, sweep picked major and minor arpeggios are an invaluable tool for any metal lead guitarist. However, rather than only playing the notes of the chord (1-3-5 for major and 1-b3-5 for minor), it can also sound cool to insert some extra diatonic and non-diatonic (chromatic) notes to these triad arpeggios. ‘Outside’ chromatic notes (not belonging to the key) can help to ‘spice up’ the standard major/minor arpeggio sound. When combined with sweep picking, using half step chromatic movement in this way can add extra flair and colour to your usual triad arpeggio licks. In this issue, I’m going to show you an easy way to…

The model that I looked was a Honey Lemon Fade VOS finish, and by gum, it’s a gorgeous thing to comprehend. A beautiful exemplar of the Les Paul design, and a tremendous amount of detail has gone into the aesthetic presentation. For example, period-accurate dyes are used on the guitar body, and these products have a tendency to subtly bleed into the binding and fade over time. Ironically, some customers actually contact the company, thinking this is a defect. They end up being much more aware of how much thought has gone into reproducing the historical manufacturing process. Plugged in, this guitar will put paid to the stereotype that Les Pauls are bassy brutes. Make no mistake, there is plenty of rich and pleasing low-end to be coerced from the…

When I first saw the Cort Gold Mini, I thought it was a very nicely presented instrument, but couldn’t imagine why the world would need another travel guitar. However, in practice, some of these smaller guitars aren’t just for travel – many offer an real alternative in tone and feel. After all, none of the current travel guitars will fit into an overhead. And, let’s not forget that, for many hundreds of years, this size wasn’t small – it was normal. PUTTING THE RICH IN “RICH TONES” A closer look at the Gold Mini reveals a truly professional feature set, a professional feel, and a surprisingly rich sound. Its shrunk-down dreadnought shape offers all-solid timbers: mahogany back and sides, Adirondack Spruce top, mahogany neck, plus Macassar ebony bridge and fretboard,…

For an event only in its second year, the Australian offshoot of the Download Festival is way more enormous than it has any right to be. Even without a headliner – Ozzy Osbourne was forced to back down mere weeks beforehand due to health complications – the 2019 jaunt was ridiculous in scope, wall-to-wall legends shredding it up across five stages. It was still considerably smaller than the Donnington, UK archetype it’s modelled after, but that’s to be expected for a gamut of reasons the politics of which aren’t worth going in. Australian metalheads were spoilt for choice on this sunny Labour Day long weekend – as were punks, emos, goths and rockaholics – and by midday, the Flemington Racecourse was swarming with puppy-like excitement. Things kicked off on a…

It was mere hours before the final date of Frank Iero’s first ever Australian tour – a mostly sold-out theatre jaunt in early celebration of his ParachutesLP, set for release two weeks later under the banner of Frank Iero And The Patience – that he, his bandmates and their publicist were involved in a life-threatening altercation. The band were unpacking gear outside Twitter HQ when a bus sped headfirst into their van; Iero was dragged three metres down a crowded street in Sydney’s CBD, his life saved by one particularly well-placed rucksack (and the superhuman heroics of publicist Janine Morcos, who shot up from her own injuries to move the van). It didn’t stop the band from seeing out the Parachutesera – the record was an immediate hit, and spurred…

It’s often argued that the best records are those with backstories penned in hell: writer’s block, drug addictions, bandmate rivalries and producers who may as well moonlight as serial killers, all collaborating to incite these volcanic eruptions of creativity. It’s been proven by everyone from David Bowie to My Chemical Romance, and judging by sales alone, one could say that in-studio turbulence is a prerequisite in the pursuit of brewing up a masterpiece. Alas, the latest from Alex Lahey couldn’t be more definitive proof otherwise. Following the monolithic success of 2017’s I Love You Like A Brother, the Melbourne pop-rocker buckled down with acclaimed producer Catherine Marks (whose near-flawless track record includes LPs from The Killers, Wolf Alice and The Wombats) to scratch up The Best Of Luck Club. Lahey…

A few years ago, you’d be lucky to make it a week without hearing something about a new Periphery project – we’re not sure why you’d want to, either, so it worked out fine for most of us. In just over two years, the genre nonconforming djentlemen dropped close to three hours of mind-numbing metal mayhem, split between the Clear EP [2014], two gargantuan concept albums in the Juggernaut story [2015], and the third installation of their self-titled series, Periphery III: Select Difficulty [2016]. And then the lights shuttered off. Though still with the band as an in-studio collaborator, bassist Adam “Nolly” Getgood left the fold in 2017; the band dropped out of their partnership with Sumerian Records shortly thereafter, and suddenly, Periphery’s fanbase was rife with mumblings of their…

EPIPHONE LZZY HALE EXPLORER OUTFIT RRP: $1,699 • australismusic.com.au Welcoming Halestorm’s phenomenal Lzzy Hale to the Epiphone signature artist roster, the Lzzy Hale Signature Explorer Outfit features the classic Epiphone Explorer model in an Alpine White Gloss finish, and is powered by Alnico Classic PRO humbuckers, Grover Rotomatic machine heads, an Ebony fingerboard, and gold hardware. GIBSON J-45 STUDIO WALNUT BURST RRP: $3,499 • australismusic.com.au The Gibson J-45 Studio in Walnut Burst is hand built using walnut back and sides with a Sitka spruce top. The slim body depth allows for increased comfort underarm and the flatter fingerboard allows a finer playability. Finished with an LR Baggs VTC pickup for easy studio quality, the J-45 allows you to plug and play anywhere! ORANGE LIMITED EDITION WHITE CRUSH CR120H HEAD + PPC212OB CAB…

As guitarists, we hear a lot about muting, but usually it’s to do with creating the classic ‘palm-muted chug’ sound that’s so prevalent in metal and rock, and which can add bounce and percussive vibrance to blues and funk as well. But there’s another kind of muting that has nothing to do with going ‘chugga-chugga-chugga’ – the kind that’s all about making sure the audience hears the note you intend to present to them, and no unwanted or extraneous noises. I have two particular approaches to muting that I like to use, and they’re both borrowed from players who have inspired me over the years. The first partially based on an old lesson with Extreme’s Nuno Bettencourt which I read a very long time ago, and then built upon with…

Someone who has a real appreciation for the historical accuracy and heritage of this instrument will have a hard time not falling head-over-heels for this instrument. It sounds and feels amazing, and while it’s very pricey, there’s an intangible sense of specialness imbued into the guitar via the company’s keen sense of its own legacy. It’s hard to objectively outline this feeling of participation in an important story, but it will doubtlessly be an important factor for some buyers.…

Ibanez has been at the forefront of what we now know as ‘Superstrat’ design ever since they unveiled the Steve Vai signature JEM and its RG stablemate in 1987. The company had already been experimenting in this new genre, but the JEM and RG are where it all really came together. The RG has been a stickler of Ibanez’s lineup since, and its influence can been seen all over the guitar world. There’s virtually no modern rock- or metal-oriented guitar company who doesn’t offer what is essentially their take on the RG. But like all good guitar designs, the RG doesn’t just stick with the zeitgeist it captured in 1987: it’s continued to be refined and updated as new playing styles, musical genres and technological developments have come along. The…

Bluesfest delivered again, even if the weather didn’t. The rain couldn’t put a dampener on the 30th anniversary of Australia’s – if not the world’s – biggest and best blues and roots festival. Starting out way back in 1990, the festival has grown into a mammoth five-day extravaganza, attracting punters and artists from all around the world. You would be hard pressed to find a festival with such a wide range of punters, from grandparents to kids, to parents with their kids in little decorated buggies. Bluesfest has stayed true to a formula of booking world class blues and roots artists both known and unknown, and every year, they seem to top the previous one’s lineup. This year was no exception – Jack Johnson, Iggy Pop, Ben Harper, Tommy Emmanuel,…

Without sacrificing a gram of their staunch DIY ethics, dazzling artistry or rabid fiendishness for a good mosh, the Melbourne punks in Clowns have officially rebranded themselves as the most serious band in the scene. They have their own label for local releases – Damaged Records, where they’ll soon host a full roster of up-and-coming greats – a partnership with the iconic Fat Wreck Chords for the rest of the world, a new guitarist in the ridiculously talented Will Robinson, and… Their own hot sauce? No, seriously, Clowns actually released their own concoction of pepper-based poignancy to tie in with their latest LP, Nature/Nurture– it’s a Tabasco-style drop labelled May I Be Extinguished? (a riff on the Nature/Nurturecut “May I Be Exhumed?”), and not only is it bloody delicious, it’s…

The leap from sketchy, sticky-floored dive bars to sold out inner-city theatres is one that Polish Club were destined for. Amidst a clutter of mundane mumble-rap and painfully soulless pop, the Sydney duo’s rough and rugged, ‘50s flavoured punk’n’roll stood out like a sore (albeit deliriously catchy) thumb. Triple J crowds fell head over heels for the sultry strums of David Novak’s hallmark Epiphone Sheraton – not to mention his whiskered howls, or the seizure-esque drumming of bandmate John-Henry Pajak – and before long, the local legends graduated from opening slots at daylong festivals to stages otherwise reserved for international superstars. Where 2017’s Alright Already was a product of the band’s loose and lowkey origins, its follow-up – the bigger, brighter and more unashamedly brash Iguana – feels right at…

You may consider yourself a busy person, and truthfully you may well be right. Here’s the real question, though: Are you Jimmy Barnes busy? Here’s a brief highlight reel from the last four years: One new Cold Chisel album, a new solo album of soul covers, a collaboration with The Wiggles (resulting in an ARIA-winning children’s album and accompanying book), a cross-generational meme thanks to a cameo in Kirin J Callinan’s “Big Enough”, two best-selling memoirs, a documentary based on the first of those books, three national tours, and a partridge in a pear tree. How on earth Barnes found time to do anything, let alone write and record a brand-new album, is anyone’s guess. “I’ve always just liked to keep active and keep busy,” reasons the man himself, on…

With the the most popular show in HBO history rolling towards a much-vaunted finale, all eyes are on fantasy extravaganza Game Of Thrones. And let’s be real – the creators and producers are spending big to make sure you know the final episode is on its way and to have your eyes glued to the proceedings. The show that brought White Walkers to London is certainly not short on ambitious ideas, the latest of which is a brand partnership with the venerable Fender. Introducing: the Sigil Collection. These three “deluxe, one-of-a-kind guitars are built to order via the Fender Custom Shop and embody the true essence of Westeros’ most iconic families”, according to Fender themselves. The House Stark Telecaster, House Lannister Jaguar and House Targaryen Stratocaster are extremely upmarket instruments…

Creativity can be difficult at the best of times – particularly if you’re the kind of person that pours their heart and soul into their work. But most artists need a place where they feel completely at ease in order to really dig those emotional depths. In Jessicca Bennet’s experience, those spaces were few and far between for underrepresented groups in the recording industry. Women, LGBTQI+, gender non-conforming individuals and so on, would enter a session without knowing if it was a safe space, or a hub of outdated attitudes that would mess with their mental health and stem the creative process. These people needed a place where they felt safe and comfortable – thus, Love Shack Studios was born! Why is the safe space philosophy so important to you?…

Selecting and applying compressors is one of the most daunting yet creative tasks in the studio. It's daunting because there are so many possibilities, and because it appears to be such a technical process which is critical to ‘get right’. But on the flipside, any process with so many variables just has to be full of creative potential! This is part one of a two-part look at compressors and their various usages. In this one, we'll take a look at the types of units currently available to the masses – in the next edition, we'll discuss the wide range of potential usages in detail. Generally, it’s fair to say that most musicians tend to get the hang of EQ and reverb early on, as they are the most commonly found…

For this issue, I wanted to explore a blues passage in A with multiple options of the A7, D7 and E7 chords. I will lightly discuss the theory and hint at some of the technical elements, but at the very least, have a play through and understand that you are in fact only using the three chords I’ve mentioned in this paragraph, but from many different locales and arrangement on the fretboard. I would like to point out that this a favourite area of mine as a player, and I’m more than a little influenced by the likes of Ed Bickert, who passed away earlier this year. The Toronto dwelling Bickert was a master of chord assembly, and was known for his work most notably as a jazz guitarist for…

Let’s talk about Gibson Guitars – the company – for a moment. It's fair to say that the past couple years haven’t been smooth sailing for the guitar giant. Approximately 12 months ago, the 117-year-old enterprise filed for bankruptcy, its business saddled with plummeting financials and $500 million of untenable debt. The culprit was the ill-advised acquisition of a home and audio electronics business which was hemorrhaging cash. There was copious reporting of the company’s troubles, and in some corners of the internet, a sense of schadenfreude fueled by the notion that a big-boots business was getting its comeuppance. However one feels about that, what’s less well-known is that the company exited from Chapter 11 late last year with a clean balance sheet and helmed by a new CEO. James…

Mayson guitars are fairly new to Australia. In fact, since the company is only about a decade old, they’re pretty new to everywhere. Even so, the Mayson range is surprisingly extensive, typified by traditional shapes and sizes with stylishly clean lines. Tonally, these guitars are definitely up-market. This review instrument, the Atlas E Marquis Travel, is the baby of the family. But, like many ‘travel’ guitars, it has a lot more going for it than just a backpacker’s knock-about. In fact, the acoustic-electric Marquis Travel has a slightly longer scale (23.54-inches), making it more of a tenor guitar, but with six strings. The OOO body, proportionally smaller, and the cutaway make for a pretty inviting instrument. APTLY ROADWORTHY The Marquis’ production values are simple but elegant: solid Englemann spruce for…