Jonathan's Only Blog

Stanley Jordan - Stairway To Heaven Montreux Jazz Festival

2012-02-14T14:22:00.000-08:00

Mr Woodnote & Eva Lazarus 'Untitled'

2012-02-11T17:48:00.000-08:00

In Memory of Matt Altizer

2012-02-10T18:29:00.000-08:00

Today has been a genuinely horrible day for me. In not only terms of personal matters and arguments with someone I love, I also received news that my friend Matt Altizer and his family were killed in a car accident.

Now, I wouldn't post this on my blog in any other way but to show my genuine condolences to his family from this loss as this is a private matter but Matt was one of the nicest people I could call my friend. Matt was one of the most genuine people I'll ever have the privilege to call a friend and had an immense passion for his family and the game of tennis.

I remember the matches we played and the memories I gained from being around him and his presence on the court was that of sporadic energy and a happy spirit.

We would play long long sets of tennis and whether or not I won or loss was trivial, it was about the experience of playing with Matt that made everything fun and the moments we shared on the court or in the clubhouse. The way he would come to the courts in no time and be ready to play with anyone in any weather condition made him a joy to be around and his attention to people's feelings and well being stuck out in my mind.

He and his entire family will be missed and I all I can do in memory of him is dedicate my future matches in his name.

Rest in Peace Matt, you're name is forever etched in every tennis ball I'll hit

PS He was left handed, so playing against him was a nightmare. If you have ever played a lefty then you know what I mean.

Firehorse - Our Hearts (single)

2012-02-08T18:18:00.000-08:00

Bergamont GREENHOUSE Mountain Bike Race- GO GREEN!

2012-02-07T13:48:00.000-08:00

When you can't have what you want, then have happiness instead

2012-02-06T19:03:00.000-08:00

In times of need and when your lowest appreciation for the future becomes evidently apparent there are still things that make us happy and make use appreciate why were are still breathing. It's not always obvious but the signs are there whether you choose to see them or not.

Further more, happiness is more valuable than any economic value. It's what breathes love, strength, encouragement and tenderness. It's the power of happiness that has made this world take on scary problems at scary times and when everyone around you is happy, even in the face of uncertainty, it's the only trait that looks beyond a persons features and gets them the help they need through encouragement and friendship. A happy doctor goes beyond just being a medical textbook, a happy teacher doesn't just inform a student, they push them in the right direction and a happy parent is always the best kind of parent to hold your hand.

When I think of happiness it can come from old pictures of back home in the winters, or sharing a drink with friends, or taking new inspirations from all walks of life but happiness can also be very simple for me. When I look at the woman I love and it just dawns on me that anything could happen that could throw my day from being bad to worse but the moment I'm sitting beside her or holding her in my arms it all goes away and that's when I realize that this is what real happiness is, it's not forced and it flows from you, uncontrolled.

Happiness for you might be in the form of music, art, science, friends, lovers, family and chocolate. And nothing is wrong with that. But what you should never get out of happiness from some one's loss. People are so intrigued by violence and greed as a form of entertainment and now more than ever image means everything. If you don't have Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Tumblr then who are you, what do you do, how can I get a hold of you, how are you feeling?

Is placing your happiness on a thin wire and watching it break to make new friends worth it? Shouldn't you be concerned with how you express yourself and how you are appreciated?

Happiness isn't something you buy, bargain or lie for but it is something people have seriously fought wars over and died to pursue it in the moment. Happiness is found where you choose to be and the most important happiness is the quality of life you allow yourself to have.

Check out www.actionforhappiness.org

Explore the Ten Keys to Happier Living

Featured: Be part of something bigger

When we have a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives we tend to be happier, feel more in control, have less anxiety and make more of a difference to others.
Find out how

Do things for others
find out how
Connect with people
find out how
Take care of your body
find out how
Notice the world around
find out how
Keep learning new things
find out how
Have goals to look forward to
find out how
Find ways to bounce back
find out how
Take a positive approach
find out how
Be comfortable with who you are
find out how

Lastly, take a look at Matthew McConaughey in Butch Walker's new music video Synthesizers. Now that's a man who is happy when he's getting his groove on as a creepy character from Dazed and Confused.

The Tommy Franklin Story

2012-02-06T18:05:00.000-08:00

Ig IGNORE THE OSIRIS ADVERTISEMENT, THE STORY IS MUCH GREATER THAN THAT

UK's Guardian Reporter George Monbiot on Canada's Image

2012-02-01T13:42:00.000-08:00

Canada's image lies in tatters. It is now to climate what Japan is to whaling

The tar barons have held the nation to ransom. This thuggish petro-state is today the greatest obstacle to a deal in Copenhagen

George Monbiot
http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/georgemonbiot

Syncrude Oil Sands, Mine and Refinery, the world's largest oil sand operation producing crude oil at Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, October 20, 2001. Photograph: Greg Smith/Corbis

When you think of Canada, which qualities come to mind? The world's peacekeeper, the friendly nation, a liberal counterweight to the harsher pieties of its southern neighbour, decent, civilised, fair, well-governed? Think again. This country's government is now behaving with all the sophistication of a chimpanzee's tea party. So amazingly destructive has Canada become, and so insistent have my Canadian friends been that I weigh into this fight, that I've broken my self-imposed ban on flying and come to Toronto.
So here I am, watching the astonishing spectacle of a beautiful, cultured nation turning itself into a corrupt petro-state. Canada is slipping down the development ladder, retreating from a complex, diverse economy towards dependence on a single primary resource, which happens to be the dirtiest commodity known to man. The price of this transition is the brutalisation of the country, and a government campaign against multilateralism as savage as any waged by George Bush.
Until now I believed that the nation that has done most to sabotage a new climate change agreement was the United States. I was wrong. The real villain is Canada. Unless we can stop it, the harm done by Canada in December 2009 will outweigh a century of good works.
In 2006 the new Canadian government announced it was abandoning its targets to cut greenhouse gases under the Kyoto protocol. No other country that had ratified the treaty has done this. Canada was meant to have cut emissions by 6% between 1990 and 2012. Instead they have already risen by 26%.
It is now clear that Canada will refuse to be sanctioned for abandoning its legal obligations. The Kyoto protocol can be enforced only through goodwill: countries must agree to accept punitive future obligations if they miss their current targets. But the future cut Canada has volunteered is smaller than that of any other rich nation. Never mind special measures; it won't accept even an equal share. The Canadian government is testing the international process to destruction and finding that it breaks all too easily. By demonstrating that climate sanctions aren't worth the paper they're written on, it threatens to render any treaty struck at Copenhagen void.
After giving the finger to Kyoto, Canada then set out to prevent the other nations striking a successor agreement. At the end of 2007, it singlehandedly blocked a Commonwealth resolution to support binding targets for industrialised nations. After the climate talks in Poland in December 2008, it won the Fossil of the Year award, presented by environmental groups to the country that had done most to disrupt the talks. The climate change performance index, which assesses the efforts of the world's 60 richest nations, was published in the same month. Saudi Arabia came 60th. Canada came 59th.
In June this year the media obtained Canadian briefing documents which showed the government was scheming to divide the Europeans. During the meeting in Bangkok in October, almost the entire developing world bloc walked out when the Canadian delegate was speaking, as they were so revolted by his bullying. Last week the Commonwealth heads of government battled for hours (and eventually won) against Canada's obstructions. A concerted campaign has now begun to expel Canada from the Commonwealth.
In Copenhagen next week, this country will do everything in its power to wreck the talks. The rest of the world must do everything in its power to stop it. But such is the fragile nature of climate agreements that one rich nation – especially a member of the G8, the Commonwealth and the Kyoto group of industrialised countries – could scupper the treaty. Canada now threatens the wellbeing of the world.
Why? There's a simple answer: Canada is developing the world's second largest reserve of oil. Did I say oil? It's actually a filthy mixture of bitumen, sand, heavy metals and toxic organic chemicals. The tar sands, most of which occur in Alberta, are being extracted by the biggest opencast mining operation on earth. An area the size of England, comprising pristine forests and marshes, will be be dug up – unless the Canadians can stop this madness. Already it looks like a scene from the end of the world: the strip-miners are creating a churned black hell on an unimaginable scale.
To extract oil from this mess, it needs to be heated and washed. Three barrels of water are used to process one barrel of oil. The contaminated water is held in vast tailings ponds, some so toxic that the tar companies employ people to scoop dead birds off the surface. Most are unlined. They leak organic poisons, arsenic and mercury into the rivers. The First Nations people living downstream have developed a range of exotic cancers and auto-immune diseases.
Refining tar sands requires two to three times as much energy as refining crude oil. The companies exploiting them burn enough natural gas to heat six million homes. Alberta's tar sands operation is the world's biggest single industrial source of carbon emissions. By 2020, if the current growth continues, it will produce more greenhouse gases than Ireland or Denmark. Already, thanks in part to the tar mining, Canadians have almost the highest per capita emissions on earth, and the stripping of Alberta has scarcely begun.
Canada hasn't acted alone. The biggest leaseholder in the tar sands is Shell, a company that has spent millions persuading the public that it respects the environment. The other great greenwasher, BP, initially decided to stay out of tar. Now it has invested in plants built to process it. The British bank RBS, 70% of which belongs to you and me (the government's share will soon rise to 84%), has lent or underwritten £8bn for mining the tar sands.
The purpose of Canada's assault on the international talks is to protect this industry. This is not a poor nation. It does not depend for its economic survival on exploiting this resource. But the tar barons of Alberta have been able to hold the whole country to ransom. They have captured Canada's politics and are turning this lovely country into a cruel and thuggish place.
Canada is a cultured, peaceful nation, which every so often allows a band of Neanderthals to trample over it. Timber firms were licensed to log the old-growth forest in Clayaquot Sound; fishing companies were permitted to destroy the Grand Banks: in both cases these get-rich-quick schemes impoverished Canada and its reputation. But this is much worse, as it affects the whole world. The government's scheming at the climate talks is doing for its national image what whaling has done for Japan.
I will not pretend that this country is the only obstacle to an agreement at Copenhagen. But it is the major one. It feels odd to be writing this. The immediate threat to the global effort to sustain a peaceful and stable world comes not from Saudi Arabia or Iran or China. It comes from Canada. How could that be true?

Cop-Puter with Jennifer Beals & Adrian Paul

2012-02-01T11:54:00.000-08:00

Eco Friendly Companies

2012-01-31T11:37:00.000-08:00

Eco Friendly Companies

Mike Edel-Turn the Lights On Bright

2012-01-30T12:42:00.000-08:00

Special Memories

2012-01-28T13:36:00.000-08:00

Back!
Next destinations include: EURODISNEY, MIDDLE EAST (JANUARY), ISTANBUL (MARCH), ICELAND (JUNE)
Please email me your old pictures if you live there: backtothefuturepics@gmail.com

Riff Raff 1976 & 2011 London

Andy 1964 & 2011 Los Angeles

Lea B 1980 & 2011 Paris

Johannes 1994 & 2011 Hambourg

Maartje 1990 & 2011 Amsterdam

Juan Carlos 1982 & 2011 Buenos Aire

Fer 1981 & 2011 Buenos Aires

Daphne 1986 & 2011 Paris

The Zurbanos 1999 & 2011 Buenos Air

Christoph 1990 & 2011 Berlin Wall

Sonia y Laurita 1998 & 2011 Buenos

Carli 1990 & 2011 Buenos Aires

Sarah and Jim 1989 & 2011 Boston

Patrick B 1982 & 2011 Berlin

Campbell Twins 1976 & 2011 London

Carol 1960 & 2011 NY

Giorgio 1982 & 2011 Paris

Jackie 1990 & 2011 Buenos Aires

Lea T 1995 & 2011 Paris

Marcela 1970 & 2011 Buenos Aires

Evan 1957 & 2011 NY

Sole 1988 & 2011 Buenos Aires

Violeta 1981 & 2011 Buenos Aires

Alexandra 1970 & 2011 Paris

Maria Jose 1983 & 2011 Buenos Aires

Devoto brothers 1990 & 2011 Buenos

Patrick 1986 & 2011 Paris

May 1985 & 2011 Buenos Aires

Puna 2003 & 2011 Buenos Aires

Sander 1983 & 2011 Rotterdam

Seba 1986 & 2011 Patagonia

Diego 1970 & 2011 Buenos Aires

Top 20 WORST COMPANIES and my choices moving forward

2012-01-26T12:46:00.000-08:00

This is an excerpt from the Better World Shopper website

The list represents the 20 worst companies on the planet based on a comprehensive analysis of their overall records of social and environmental responsibility for the past 20 years.

Please take a look at this link below and make up your own mind when it comes to purchasing products.

http://www.studio7designs.com/blog/101-great-eco-companies/

I have made the choice to black out corporations of all the items I use as a protest against walking billboard advertising and the neglect of community development that many of the companies deface everyday including deceptive product description.

I can only think of Mountain Equipment Co-op, D'addario Strings and Northern Gold Granola from my personal belongings whom actually make an effort to support sustainable working and living practices. There are some great food companies that balance practical working conditions with sustainable products that I have always loved but on the flip side, I can't support ____,_____ and ______ anymore. (even naming them would be free advertisement)

I have chosen to black out my sports equipment, guitar logos, clothing and anything else with a symbol that I am not proud to represent around me. Which means my beloved guitar will have some sharpie on it but it won't mean I will be putting it down entirely.

Until companies work for the people with the people, then this is my form of fighting back. Non-violent, non- aggressive.

Research what companies you are buying from and their profits, their production methods and how much they sponsor a ridiculous amount of money towards an athlete for how little they contribute to society. Make the right choice. Choose what feels right to you. Does a company want what's best for you or what's best for them? There has to be a happy medium.

Why are you following a company like Vans, Adidas or Redbull like you follow rock and roll icons like The Rolling Stones? Placing their stickers on your skateboard isn't making you any more than a corporate billboard. Take for example the power of how many people see themselves as rebels or punk rockers through a product. Punk died in the late 70's and that made way for corporate punk fashion that sold leather and accessories to millions of teens and young adults. Punk isn't an outfit, it never has been, it's a lifestyle and the meaning of punk was lost and it still is lost. You (punk) and only you are fighting to stay away from trying to change the world by buying and acting how people want you to live, that's one idea of the punk movement. John Lennon and Mahatma Gandhi are symbols of Virgin mobile as leaders and revolutionary and indie and cool. So does that mean if I don't buy the stores records or their cell phones that I won't be cool like those two? What about my originality?

Political messages try and push this idea that you as the buyer have the power. Democracy is the brand name of IKEA , for instance, Naomi Klein brought up the issue that "you are the architect of your furniture" which is suppose to mean you are empowering and controlling of your life, but you aren't, you still followed the arrows all the way through the store till you checkout . Another example from Klein is Starbucks as the place where people gather rather than being a coffee company. Their slogan is basically summed up like this: Get cozy, it's not your work space or home, don't worry about the outside world, pay attention to us. Hell, do your homework here too!

Factory workers become a huge issue with manufacturing goods. The majority are generally woman from destinations 8 hours away from the factory. Why? Girls who are from far away get scared and are unstable having been taken away from their families which means they can become a controlled worker much easier than someone who knows the area well. Not only are woman auctioned for their skills, countries will auction themselves over other ones in an attempt to get Nike, Reebok, Adidas and other brands to come and abuse the people and the land for little money. These companies that come into poor countries do not own factories, they rent them. What does that mean? They can leave without caring about the people who lose their jobs as quick as you can snap your fingers.

You have the story of globalization in your hands with the item you bought or the store you shopped at. It's likely that shoe or shirt has been to two or three other countries before it landed at your store and it's been hiked up to a 400% profit increase at store level. Activism puts companies on ease and opens their sores. It's about the food you buy, the clothing you wear and the message you are promoting. So what do you want to say to the rest of the world? Who do you want to become? Where do you want this movement to go? We are stronger than any company. It's not about HOPE anymore Mr. Obama, it's about saying Nope. Nope, I'm not gonna let you walk all over me, sell your product on my body and lie to me over profit.

Buy in bulk where you can, support local stores and initiatives and grow your own food!
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Remember the future comes one day at a time.

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude."

Maya Angelou

Darrell Abbott's tone beyond his Dean ML

2012-01-24T17:02:00.000-08:00

Darrell Abbott, also known as Dimebag or Diamond Abbott was the lead guitarist for the heavy metal band Pantera. From a teenage prodigy in the 1980's to a 90's icon in music, Darrell made heavy metal music cool again in the 90's and brought the groove of his tone and writing to the forefront, making him a recognizable icon for his killer bee tone as well as his approachable and friendly attitude offstage.

Unfortunately, Darrell was shot and killed onstage in 2004 and we are not able to witness his skills live anymore but his memory will forever be remembered as the legendary metal guitarist he was, the Dean/Washburn ML fan he became and the most genuine person I've ever had the pleasure of getting an autograph from.

Dimebag has been synonymous with the Dean ML guitar as well as using the Bill Lawrence XL500 pickup/Floyd Rose combination but what made his signature sound jump beyond his guitar setup.

Darrell used the Furman PQ4 parametric equalizer, a rack mounted device, from roughly 1990 to about 1995 (from what I can see on rig pictures) and he then switched to the PQ3 until his death. The parametric equalizer allowed Darrell to scoop out his mid sounds and amplified his gain (the opposite of that sound would be something I like to call the Van Halen rumble) in his chain of tone which enabled an extremely tight yet aggressive sound and enriched the harmonics he manipulated with his whammy bar. Along with his EQ rack mounted device, Dimebag used a 6 band MXR Graphic Equalizer pedal which further enhanced the quality of his gain and allowed the precision of his playing and his pickups to articulate rather than hiding it behind a wall of artificial bass and gain effects like many metal guitarists do.

Darrell's legendary whammy bar squeal's were a work of art and it brought a new direction to guitar playing through the use of a flanger on top of his lead channel. This would have been the role of the MXR 126 that doubled a chorus/flanger effect that drove his unique playing style to the front like in the songs Flood and Revolution Is My Name. These minimal effects allowed Darrell to have a strong uninterrupted signal running from his strings, to his Digitech or Dunlop Crybaby Wah into a Rocktron Silencer (which did a massive amount of feedback control) and then into his Randall RG100ES or Century 200 Heads.

Lastly, Darrell was an incredible alternate picking machine along with his amazing stretched runs which made his hands look like water on the neck. Darrell's accurate and steady picking hand coupled with a strong attack on the strings gave him the ability to drive the sound instead of letting the amps gain take over his playing. He never hid behind a barrel of effect pedals and because his tone was so clear both on albums and live, Darrell gave the impression that playing guitar was as easy as he made it sound.

Darrell Abbott's legacy is no fluke and he will live on through music history as a powerful performer and artist. His incredible ability to come up with riff after riff coupled with solos that went outside of the box gave him the edge over many players and he stood out in a time when metal was really lacking in the mainstream.

As a fan foremost, Darrell inspired me to play music that had a strong pulsating groove and to appreciate music beyond its borders. As a guitarist, he helped me figure out where tone really comes from, your heart and your hands.

Get your pull.

Soldering Guitar Pickups-Basic Tips

2012-01-22T20:54:00.000-08:00

Soldering (pronounced SO-DDER-ING) guitar pickups have always been a task given to those with steady hands, a patient heart and a passion for surgical procedures on your beloved guitar.

Soldering is used not only on guitar pickups but for professional trades such as plumbing, electrical and heating to computer wiring and SMT circuit boards.

Soldering can be for anyone from a hobbyist to a professional but no matter what the application, soldering is a useful skill that not only creates working equipment but improves your dexterity and problem solving processes as well as shaping your attention and understanding of how electrical wiring works.

I will pass on some advice (not step by step instructions) to beginner soldering enthusiasts as well as include a soldering equipment list for purchase in the end of my post once you feel you are ready to practice your skills and to step into physically applying your knowledge.

Step One- Understanding Soldering as an important LINK

You must understand that the guitar cannot function without a secure and proper solder of the pickup wire to the tone and volume pot of your guitar (there are solder less pickups on the market now as well). A connection of this magnitude has to be clean and functioning because any frail or faulty solder attempt will cause the guitar to screech, skip and alter its tone beyond the intended sound it was made for. If you are however going for this type of sound as an artistic en-devour than all I can do is applaud your drive.

Soldering is the process of heating and melting a metal alloy to join one piece of metal to another, generally for the purposes of sealing in the plumping industry and for connecting wires to interfaces and other metallic objects with the purpose of a solid uninterrupted connection as well as having an area that won't oxidize and rust. Links can be broken easily if you do not take the time needed to repair them.

As with any trade, the tools you use are as important as the knowledge in your head, in soldering, you use a soldering iron to apply the alloy (stick with 60/40 lead/tin) like a pen to paper, which requires a strong concentrated mind and a steady hand. Soldering Iron's are extremely hot so when applying your alloy, be gentle and quick. Taking too long and applying too much pressure will result in a damaged circuitry and pot which would require a new piece and wasted time. However saying that, experience is your best teacher and by messing up the job once, you tend to learn quickly what works and what doesn't.

Try to purchase 30 watt irons with a station. If you cannot find a station, a simple soldering pen found at most electronic equipment outlets will be sufficient, rest the pen so the metal shaft and tip are off the edge of the table so you do not burn anything of value. 100 watt irons are for the professionals in mind as they are extremely hot and you need to be very efficient around them in order for any kind of productivity to be met. Remember that a shiny tint on your soldering job means it was within the correct temperature.

Clean your Iron

Cleaning of a soldering iron is quite simple and can save you money and time. Get yourself a wet sponge and place the hot solder iron on it, squeezing the sponge to completely cover the iron and rotate to completely clean the iron. You will hear some hissing and see light smoke but repeat the process until there is a shine to your tip.

Last tip: Tin your Iron

A lot of people assume that a soldering iron is ready to be used straight from the box. You have to realize that any type of equipment needs prepping before it can be used repetitively. One thing that all soldering jobs need is a good tint before you are to solder anything. Tinting is the process of applying a small amount of alloy to your iron's tip as a light coat which helps start the process of soldering as well as a great promoter of conductivity.

Here is a list I found online for ideas for Soldering kits.

Welding Station
Tips
Iron
Solder Sucker
Solder Wick
Helping Hands- Holds your soldering pieces in place
Safety Glasses

Fish & Bird in Montreal

2012-01-18T15:12:00.000-08:00

And the Giraffe - Underground Love (Official Music Video)

2012-01-16T20:52:00.000-08:00

Active vs Passive Humbucker Pickups

2012-01-16T17:11:00.000-08:00

Debating whether or not an electric instrument pickup is better than the other comes down to personal preference. Quality of a pickup however is generally universally accepted as being given to a company with many years of experience. Seymour Duncan, Dimarzio, Bill Lawrence, Fender, Gibson, EMG, TV Jones and Lace Sensor are the most well known and respected pickup companies in the market. There is a reason that these companies are famous and it has to come down to two things. Personal preference on sound and the quality and consistency of the pickup brand.

Whether you are a serious player or an amateur, finding your own sound is as enjoyable and informative as finding your first guitar. Every pickup has its own flavor and every guitar bonds with a pickup in a different manor. Depending on how many pickups and what electronic controls will be attached to each pickup, you can have a plethora of sounds at your disposal or just one consistent tone. Whatever you are looking for in a sound, there isn't a pickup that won't help you on your way to achieving your perfect tone.

This post will talk about the match up between an active pickup and a passive pickup and what are the benefits and negatives from each. Hopefully I will help you narrow down the sound you are looking for and give you some insight into the market of pickups.

A passive pickup is a magnetic pickup directly sending the signal from your string, through the wood, into the pickup and into the amp which creates the most dynamic, organic sound you can produce. Many artists prefer a passive pickup to be able to have a "breathable" sound coupled with using their volume knob enables a plethora of tones without adjusting gain or treble on the amp. The negative issues however with a passive pickup are it's feedback especially when gain from the amplifier is introduced as well as a magnetic pull on the strings can cause intonation problems as which reduces the sustain of the guitar overall. A single coil pickup found on stratocasters and telecasters generally produce a large amount of feedback and hum which is why the humbucker was invented to increase power over a single coil sound and add in a noise reduction in the process. Jeff Beck, Eddie Van Halen and Jimi Hendrix are prime examples of passive pickup users.

An active pickup is powered by a separate battery stored on the guitar enabling higher output and overall balanced frequency. Many artists who are looking for a consistent sound such as in metal music use Active pickups to achieve a powerful and consistent tone. Player's like Kirk Hammett and Kerry King use active electronics which enable them to push their amps all the way to 10 and still retain a tight and focused clarity in their sound. The negatives of this style of pickup is the need to replace the 9v battery as well as being sterile by critiques. An active pickup will generally sound the same no matter if the guitar is of solid body, semi hollow body, string through or with a vibrato bridge.

So why is there a debate over pickups at all? It all boils down to preference as I was saying before. Pickups are just one part of the chain that links your guitar to your amp and eventually the sound coming to your ears. My advice is to try out an active pickup and passive pickup in similar built guitars and to shape your own opinion on the debate. Find out the different makes of each type of pickup through your local music store and build an wall of sound that defines the player and personality that is you.

Here is a link from Springfield Music's YouTube channel explaining in detail the difference

Until then, see you next time!

Can we Change?

2012-01-11T03:04:00.000-08:00

Are we on the right path to a more sustainable future and can we as a society change to substantially improve our environment? Can we become more reliant on local foods and products, rather than from foreign production?

It's an interesting topic that isn't examined enough.

North America consumes so much that our landfills are becoming bloated, our stores aren't able to keep up the demand for production and our population has increased by 5 billion in the last 130 years. An interesting thing to note is that we as a species are the only ones that overuse what we have around us. No other animal uses more that what they need for the basics of their life.

Values of environmental progress are kind of like a teeter totter. Some years are given huge press and publication for improvements in which the world has accepted. In Europe, trains are a huge transportation importance and this helps cut the C02 gas pollution as well as make life better. You experience more on a train then in a car. You can go through areas of a country that show you the real personality of the country.

And then there are some years where it seems we have forgotten what we need to do to better this world. Gas companies take siege to our soils and yet we remain neutral. Pop culture gets behind a celebrities car, clothing line or their lifestyle choices and we forget that it's not actually very important on the whole of things.

Am I optimistic of the human kinds ability to make changes for the better? It's 50/50 to me. Somethings are getting better, and somethings are getting worse. People start to believe that all I have to do is change my light bulb and I'm making a difference. That's not good enough. You need to remember that there's more to it. There's a connection you have to see.

The light bulb is made by some corporation that is all about capitalism so even though it says environmentally friendly it's always good to research what you are buying. Where you buy your food is another important factor in helping change. Buying from a big box store may save you 20 dollars, but where everything you bought is from either a 3rd world country or a large factory. When you buy locally, and set a rule like nothing beyond 250 km of where you are from, then you are choosing to support the farmers who really give back to the community you live in.
Can you live in this planet without doing hardly any or no harm at all? Yes you can. But you can't do it without doing homework first and you can't do it just once a week. It has to be a lifestyle and a change that you make gradually.

People's lives are compromised because of the cars we drive, the land we destroy to farm the animals needed to live, the asthmatic rate from pollution and the consumerism market driven by fashion, music and sports. Our society forgets that taking too much time in buying material things forces us to forget the ideologies of what really makes us livable and enjoyable humans.

What I am getting at is the fact of the matter of questioning what is really important. Is it important to buy big ticket items and toys for which we escape reality with? Or is it more important to spend time with love ones, to get outside and seek adventures not yet sought and to minimize our grid use?

I want you to think about it. Think about what you can do to change.

I didn't write this to protect the polar bears, or the people on small islands who will be affected by the rise in oceans. But I will point out I am concerned for both. I'm writing this because of the basic principle that just because we have the money or the manpower, doesn't mean we need it.

We don't make an impact by shutting down one company or thinking about stopping world hunger the next day. It's individual changes that lead to individuals realizing what's out there that's good and bad for this planet. Engaging is the word I'm trying to use.

We need more mass transit in North America, we need smarter cars that don't gobble gas and we need our systems in our lives to be sustainable. We need the buildings to run on solar panels, we need food stores and restaurants to donate their unused food to homeless shelters and communities in need and we need to become more community based instead of buying cheap goods from China.

Go out and recognize something about this earth that you haven't before. It's big and it needs help for it to continue to sustainably grow us. Optimism is the greatest political threat. Believe in change.

Jeff Buckley - Grace (BBC Late Show)

2012-01-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

Purchasing a guitar

2012-01-08T00:58:00.000-08:00

As the first guitar specific post of many to come, targeted as an educational tool for guitar players and enthusiasts, this will be something I will be most proud to explain when someone asks what one of my hobbies are.

As the first edition, I thought I'd go back to basics and explain the process of purchasing a guitar regardless of skill level. What to look for, what to ask and what's the difference from one style of guitar to the next?

So let's begin with what the definition of a guitar is. A guitar is a stringed wood instrument which is plucked with your fingers or a plastic tool called a pick and is played either acoustically with a sound hole as the main source of audio output or electronically plugged through an amplification device which reads the vibration of the string and translates it into a sound. Guitars generally are made of Alder, Maple, Mahogany, Basswood or Ash wood. Each wood can be used entirely through the guitar building process but it is mainly used in contrast with another wood to produce a unique sound. A guitar can be constructed from a single neck and body bolted together at a joint, glued together or constructed from a single piece of wood running through the body and up the neck to the headstock with two pieces of wood glued at the body to fill out the shape and supply mass to the instrument.

There are two types of guitars I will go into detail which are very separate and yet have similar alterations. An acoustic guitar is entirely reliant on producing sound through vibrations in its solid sound hole design with exception to acoustic guitars with built in pre amps which allow it to be played through an electric amp. Acoustic guitars are harder to play for a beginner due to their larger neck size, tighter string tension and overall body shape. The acoustic guitar is a portable instrument which requires humidifying control in order to maintain quality and consistency. As a piece of wood, it has the natural ability to dry out even when it's applied to various lacquers and stains. Even being stored in its hard shell case does not guarantee protection from weathering but having said that, an acoustic guitar can remain stable and reliable for many years.

The Electric guitar is much easier for a beginner guitarist to learn on due to its smaller size, neck shape and the ability to modify the string height with relative ease. The electric guitar relies on pickups controlled by a selector switch which are magnets screwed into the body of the guitar that gather string vibration as information and send it through the guitar cable plugged into the side of the guitar to the amplifier which reads the signal as a sound. Generally, the harder the wood used for an electric guitar, the higher the pitch of the sound will be. Alder and Maple produce a 'twang' like sound sought by many country and reggae guitarists. Mahogany is softer resulting in a consistent middle frequency sound with a mix of highs and lows creating a 'gut' sound that most rock guitarists lean towards. The electric guitar has the ability to control the volume of the guitars output as well as the tonal shape from adjusting knobs located below the pickups. Electric guitars are easier to mass produce in a large factory and come in various paint schemes, shapes and price points.

Guitars use frets on the neck of the instrument as guides for note location along the net. Frets are metal wires with various thicknesses that protrude over the neck's front flat profile and enable you to control the string's vibrato and pitch. The bigger the fret the easier it is to bend that string which in turn raises the pitch of the instrument for a desired effect. Along with the frets is the radius of the guitar neck or curvature of the frets is an easier way of remembering it. The radius determines the playability of the instrument. A high radius number in inches means the frets will be flatter over the fretboard (the flat surface on the neck) which in turns makes the instrument easier to bend notes, the lower the radius number equates to a much more playable neck the is easy to grasp and move around on.

Now that you understand the electric and acoustic guitar a little bit better. I'm going to talk about what to look for with an instrument in the store and why.

1. Have an idea of how every different guitar in its respected price point feels in your hands, you'll notice generally that the more expensive the guitar, the better it will feel and the easier it will play. Notice the weight of the guitar and its balance. Is it body heavy or neck heavy? Is the body or neck shape too bulky? Would you be able to play long hours with this guitar without it fighting back at you?

2. Do not buy a guitar because of its price. This is a huge error when looking at guitars. Buying a guitar because it's a few hundred dollars more than another one doesn't mean quality, longevity and comfort-ability of the guitar goes along with it. Research different companies and their customer satisfaction records. Make sure to ask about warranties and returns for the instrument at your local store and try everything out before you buy. You'll be putting in time into this instrument so don't just settle for the sake of settling, this is suppose to be a fun experience, not a 5 minute rush.

3. Purchase from a local shop instead of a big chain store. Sure you might save money and there's generally more of a selection on hand without ordering in the end but there's no sense of community when you are purchasing from someone who works off commission and looks to you as a sale rather than a customer. Local shops will work with your guitar company to make sure you are satisfied, they usually offer great discounts to loyal customers and will include tuners, strings, cables and picks in your first purchase. Make sure that when you are buying your first guitar, you aren't pressured into buying but given the time and information needed to make a healthy choice and more importantly, a relationship that is lasting with your local store.

4. Don't be afraid to ask. This isn't something you are expected to master all it's technical know-how before you enter the store. Guitar stores love questions and they love to talk about instruments because it's not just a job, it's a lifestyle for them. That's what it means to me, I would love to work in a music store because it's already such a huge part of my life so try and find stores that have the same passion no matter if they are on shift or walking down the street. Make sure to ask about maintenance of your instrument, string gauge, the differences of scale length on a guitar, recommended companies and the process of bringing the instrument in for repair when the time comes.

5. What do you mean by guitars for different styles, Jonathan? Well, some guitars have a specific purpose to their craft and other guitars are built to be able to play many different genres in one. A heavy metal guitar player generally looks for an instrument that is very durable, very comfortable and easy to play and has pickups that are high output, which creates a strong thunderous tone and a lasting sustain. Jazz guitarists look for instruments with rich tone, high quality woods and pickups with high levels of bass to them to produce a buttery smooth sound. Rock musicians and blues musicians need a guitar that can have shimmery highs and powerful lows so when they play a clean or distorted passage, their instrument can be versatile at the right time and be able to hold their note as they tend to play with passion and emotion along with their lyrics. Dynamics are very key in the sound of a guitar.

Acoustic guitars generally produce richer tones as the size of the body increases. Acoustic guitars with cutaways in the body for accessibility to higher frets lose the tone that is needed to fully develop the notes and therefore it becomes a game of sacrifice between playability and tone. Depending on the style of music from classical, to jazz and from country to rock each guitar has it's own flavor so therefore trying out 5 or 6 different types will not hurt your overall decision.

In the end, the guitar is an extension of who you are, so don't buy something you wouldn't love as much as yourself. If you are planning on just trying out an instrument and seeing if you like it, then rent from a store first or ask about the return policy after purchasing. If you are however planning on taking the instrument on as a hobby, then put the time in to understanding everything about it. Playing music has so many benefits but you only get out what you put into it. You must put time into practicing your instrument because fundamentals are key to being able to explore the instrument fully. Practicing the guitar and jamming with other musicians are one in the same thing but you have to be willing to learn and to put time into developing your own style on your own time alone. There's no easy way around hard work and by developing proper technique, you are able to develop a clearer picture to why the guitar is such a beautiful instrument.

Home - Walk off the Earth + Street Pharmacy (FREE Mp3)

2012-01-06T14:30:00.000-08:00

Yeasayer - Tightrope

2012-01-06T10:07:00.000-08:00

Poetry for your Wednesday

2012-01-04T12:31:00.000-08:00

Breathe
In and out
Up and down

Examine my hands
In and out
Up and down

Absorb my words
In and out
Up and down

Relish my energy
In and out
Up and down

Release
Vie amoureuse (love life)
Si vous me faites confiance, je mourrai heureuse (If you trust me,I will die happy)

Andrew Bird - "A Nervous Tic Motion..." - Live at Bonnaroo

2012-01-04T05:16:00.000-08:00