Prince thinks this Epi's gigworthy

[Biddlin]

Prince, rockin an Epi Wilshire on Jimmy Fallon

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon - Prince: Bambi - Video - NBC.com

nuff sed

 

[javamagic]

Judging by the nice finish and stop-tailpiece I'm presuming that's one of the re-issues. Is it USA or Korean/Chinese/whatever? Regardless, the Crestwood is a cool guitar - especially in white. :)

 

[Biddlin]

Judging by the nice finish and stop-tailpiece I'm presuming that's one of the re-issues. Is it USA or Korean/Chinese/whatever? Regardless, the Crestwood is a cool guitar - especially in white. :)

Of course, a Crestwood . I might have to keep an eye out for one of those ! I'll have to have a damned good story for the missus, though, especially after the new...Oops, can't let the cat out of the bag,yet ...

BTW This should settle the question of Epi's being professional grade instruments !

 

[sgtbeefheart]

Foreigners apparently not allowed to see that vid,
though there's no message to say so.

 

[Col Mustard]

but not gig worthy enough

Prince is such a good player and writer... I enjoy listening to him if I don't have to look at him. If I have to look at him, I struggle with feelings of wanting to deck him with a 2x4... which wouldn't be like peaceable ole me. but still.

and I enjoyed watching him put his Epi through its paces, liking the sound of the mini hum buckers and wondering if it was one of the old Kalamazoo-made Epiphones or a replica like mine. I liked his all girl band, and liked his playing until he threw his guitar in the air and let it crash to the stage like it was a POS that he cared nothing about.

When I saw him do that, I crossed him off my list all over again. What a flaming anus he is, and always was. where's my 2x4? or maybe a rubber mallet.

 

[Biddlin]

... What a flaming anus he is, and always was. where's my 2x4? or maybe a rubber mallet.

But how do you really feel, Col. ?
I actually met and talked with him at radio station's promotional party when I was playing in the midwest in the 70s . He must have been about 16 or 17, I was all of 24, but in an incredibly deep bass voice, he asked about the Kansas City style that I favoured over the Chicago style with which he was more acquainted . We shared opinions for a couple of minutes and I found him quite charming, in that amusingly"serious" teenager sort of way . Later on, he did a rendition of "Midnight Hour" ,in that same bass voice,but with tons of showmanship, playing a white Strat with rosewood board, through a twin reverb .One of the other guys in my band, who I still see, said,"Nice kid, but too much of a Pilgrim to survive in the business ." I love rubbing his nose in that one .
Biddlin ;>)/

 

[javamagic]

I know Prince has had his "strange" moments, e.g. the whole "Symbol" period, but he's still an amazing musician and a great songwriter. I know they've just released another Hendrix album and I'm wondering what he, if he were still alive, would make of Prince's music. I reckon he'd be well impressed, not least by The Purple One's guitar playing.

... and I reckon it was a re-issue Crestwood. I don't think even Prince would wreck a vintage guitar for the sake of image.

 

[oldrockfan]

+1 Prince is an odd duck but hey the guy can actually play some mean guitar even though that performance wasn't one of his stronger efforts. I kinda think like col about it... I enjoy the music and try not to watch the person too closely. Oh and I also dig those crestwoods! Vintage or Re-issue... they are both cool looking and good sounding guitars.

something about those old school styled double horn guitars I really like. My favorite one is without a doubt this exact guitar...

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZMmV6xXYFw[/ame]

 

[Col Mustard]

interesting video... to me it's a comfort of sorts to see that even big stars get a bad mix.
and poor work by the lighting crew too. sometimes I'm mortified to listen to a show later and think, is that what we really sounded like? that's not what I heard in my monitor.

And I've done whole shows in the dark, and hardly thought about it, because the stage lights were set up for the night before where there was one main singer and not two. And nobody changed it... we thought they turned on the lights, and they did, but the spotlight was on the space between Davie and me, and nobody said anything, and we didn't see it until later... *laughs ...Humble pie don't need no doctor, they need a road manager to make sure the lights are on and the mix is better.

I couldn't hear the Epi at all... all the guitar work that I heard was from the guy in the dark playing the ES 335. so of course ORF liked it. But the Epi looks cool, even if the performer looks really stoned. That was a 'real' Epiphone, made in Kalamazoo by Gibson's ole ladies.

And as for The Artist Formerly Known as Prinz... well that last gesture throwing his guitar in the air and letting it crash down was just telling us all to
'GET F*CKED" ...and I say, fine, I will... but not by you any more.

 

[Biddlin]

What were Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townsend and countless others telling us, then ?

 

[Col Mustard]

hmm... "Oh baby that's what I like..." "Let me stand next to your fire..." "The kids are all right..." "We won't get fooled again..." "It's all over now, Baby Blue..." "Try a little tenderness..." "It can't happen here..." "Take it Easy..." "Shake, baby Shake..." "I won't do you no harm..." "Fly, sweet angel..." "Welcome to the Hotel California..." "People stay... just a little bit longer... Please please stay... say you will" "It's not unusual to be loved by anyone..." "Come on, COME ON, come on, COME ON...Please please me oh yeah" "I can't get no..." "Jumpin' Jack Flash, it's a gas..." "I know, it's only rock an roll but I like it..." Yes I do... "Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down.." "R-E-S-P-E-C-T... find out what it means to me... Sock it to me sock it to me sock it to me sock it to me..." "Take it out on Highway 61..." "do the Freddy..." "It was the Monster Mash... It was a graveyard smash... It caught on in a flash..." "Break on through to the other side..." "When the music's over, turn out the light..."
"Womp bappa bomp ba bompa bomp bomp Bappa bomp bappa bomp da dang dee dang dang dah ding dee dong ding Blue Moon..."
"All we are saying... is give peace a chance...' 'And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make..." "Teen angel, can you hear me?"
"You've got to play Pinball..." "Let's hide away and dance away..." "Layla, you've got me on my knees..." "War! What is it good for? ABSOLUTELY NUTHIN' Say it again..." "Come on baby do a slow float, you're a good lookin' riverboat, now ain't that sweet eyed blindness good to me?"

*grins 'Let it be..." lotsa coffee this mornin' ...can you tell? "Casey Jones you better watch your speed..."

are we having fun yet? ( "do the MUDSHah... SHARK" )

 

[Biddlin]

So it's OK for performers to break guitars and pianos as long as you like the message and it has a dance beat ?

 

[Tony M]

Bullshit!
Where's my shovel?
No, time to borrow a Caterpillar D-79.

Anyone who abuses a musical instrument that way
and feels they are "making a statement" is all wet.
It's right up there with killing puppies on stage.
Why would anyone be impressed or entertained by this?

"Wow, that was really cool the way he smashed his guitar at the end."
"Really? You're an even bigger a$$hole than he is."

Anyone....Hendrix...Townsend...Blackmore...These people
and others like them can play their asses off. They do not
need to deliberately destroy a guitar to prove anything.

I would be much more impressed by them donating those
guitars to a music department in a school near the venue.
That would make a much better statement.

 

[oldrockfan]

interesting video... to me it's a comfort of sorts to see that even big stars get a bad mix.

I couldn't hear the Epi at all... all the guitar work that I heard was from the guy in the dark playing the ES 335. so of course ORF liked it. But the Epi looks cool, even if the performer looks really stoned. That was a 'real' Epiphone, made in Kalamazoo by Gibson's ole ladies.

that guy in the dark playing the 335 in that humble pie song was Peter Frampton so yah... I liked his playing but ironic that the camera man didn't even give him a closeup during his solo. But to be fair, you could hear the lead singer playing, it was just getting overpowered by the lead guitarist. FUnny that still goes on at about 3/4 of the live shows I go to HAHA! Check the solo part and you can hear him banging out some solid rhythm on that very cool guitar. I also liked their drummer on that one and the bass player had some nice harmony for a live rock gig.

As for trashing guitars on stage... it is their gear and they can trash it if they want but generally I am not a big fan of that stuff. The exception for me is Pete... I never minded it with Pete as his band and their music was all about sticking it to the man and expressing their frustration with the system. I will date myself but I remember when The Who came out with The Kids Are Alright movie. It was actually released at the theater and the guys from the band I was in at the time all went to watch it. We were totally in awe of the music! What a great band they were

 

[Tony M]

Sometimes it's like when letters cross in the mail in here.

 

[Col Mustard]

Bid, if you told me that right before the TV show, a ChiCom Epiphone sales rep with a red star on his hat handed Prince that Crestwood and said, "we'll pay you $10.000 to play our guitar on national TV..." And that Prince took the guitar and the check and then did that at the end of his song as a gesture to the corruption of the BIZ... I would believe YOU and take back some of my hard words.

But I never could understand breaking instruments onstage, by anyone. And I was actually enjoying listening to the bastard until he did that. The sight and sound of that guitar flying up and Prince turning away not caring a fig where the axe came down... that felt like getting punched in the stomach by someone I had liked. Sorry to go on about it... but to me it was just sickening. made me feel bad. hell of a note. I'm very fond of my Epiphone, maybe because I only have one. I thought he got really good tone out of his, until the sound of it hitting the floor. I got mad. But I'm over it now.
I cheered myself up remembering all the cool statements that could be and have been made by performers. That was fun. Bloo bloo bloo bloo moon, dit didit didit... *laughs

 

[oldrockfan]

hehe, yep I think all musicians react to seeing guitars trashed. I will admit though that I secretly have wished I could muster up the skill just once to rip out a killer solo and finish it off with a guitar smash. Then I wake up and remember I am just a mediocre rhythm player and aging singer who can't hit the really high notes anymore

 

[Biddlin]

For the record, I'm not a big fan of gear bashing, but it seems to have been a big part of live rock and roll shows from the beginning . As a giggle I googled "piano smashing" and got 71,600 video results, along with references to records, like this:
Who holds the world piano smashing record?






Answer:
Four members of the Robin Hood Karate club Nottingham smashed a standard upright piano with bare hands and feet in 2 minute 53 seconds, all wreckage was passed through a nine inch hoop.

The current world record is held by a Scottish Bricklayer. In 1974 during the Kilsyth Civic Week held in Scotland - 20 year old local apprentice Peter Bell beat representatives from the Police, Fire Brigade and other competitors including World Champion boxer Joe Bugner by smashing a full-sized grand piano with a mallet, and passing it through a letterbox in 2 minutes and 7 seconds.
You couldn't beat Ali, either Joe !
Biddlin ;>)/

BTW Col, the several folks from "Gibson, China " who I've met are either occidental or quite westernised in their appearance and speech. I think the hats with red stars are reserved for parade days in the new Peoples' Republic of Debt Service .

 

[oldrockfan]

it struck me the same way Col but interesting thought that maybe the guitar rep did offer a wheelbarrow full of cash to play it on stage. Could have happened... I know a former Gibson rep and he told me about their policy to offer any guitar for free in exchange for national tv coverage as long as they get a closeup of the guitar out of the footage. We will never know what motivated prince to do that at the end but have to agree it left me thinking... what the hey???

 

[oldrockfan]

Biddlin... reading your comment reminded me of watching Jerry Lee in his prime on a piano... although he didn't beat them to death, I bet he made piano tuners cringe when they saw him play :)