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July 2010
Jim Campilongo - The Virtual Woodshed Interview
When multi-Grammy Award winner Norah Jones drafts you for a major project, that’s a pretty good sign that things are going well. Such is the life of Jim Campilongo, the man who is pushing the limits of what is possible with a Fender Telecaster.
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April 2010
Old Soul - Julian Lage talks to Virtual Woodshed
MEET NON-CONFORMIST, Julian Lage. Though he is commonly seen in public with his Manzer archtop, Julian actually feels most at home on a Martin D-18, a guitar most often associated with Bluegrass music. On his electric guitars, he plays roundwound strings, instead of the normal flatwounds. He plays Fender tube amps instead of the Polytone solid state combos favored by most jazzers. Where most of his contemporaries play delicately, Julian’s approach is decidedly less subtle.
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January 2010
Marc Ford – Guitars and Most of the Bits Called The Solo
Three minutes and one second. That is precisely how long it took the world to meet Marc Ford. In 1992 The Black Crowes released their sophomore effort "The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion” and for a couple minutes there, it sounded as if they were headed in largely the same direction as their debut album “Shake Your Moneymaker.” But three minutes and one second into the opening track “Sting Me”, it became blatantly apparent that the Crowes had a new secret weapon, and this album was not going to be the same. The secret weapon of course, was guitarist Marc Ford.
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December 2009
Once In A While Dreams Come True
If you asked a jazz drummer to name three mandolin players, he might be able to come up with one… and it’s probably going to be Sam Bush. Known the world over as “The King of Telluride”, Sam is probably the most recognizable picker of the eight-string alive today. He’s been a front man, a side man, a session man, a band leader, a singer and a songwriter, but through it all, his inimitable sound has remained the common denominator.
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October 2009
The Dichotomy of Genius: An Enlightening Conversation with Tommy Rodriguez
Antonio Torres. John D’Angelico. Giuseppe Guarneri. Antonio Stradivari. James D’Aquisto. Jose Ramirez. Leo Fender. Lloyd Loar. All of these noted luthiers have one thing in common: they were all known for being exceptionally good at building one type of instrument. You see, in the complex and convoluted world of lutherie, it can take a lifetime of study to become even mildly proficient at building just one kind of instrument. Stradivari for example worked his entire life to perfect violin design and according to legend, he still felt unsatisfied with his work at the end of his life. Jimmy D’Aquisto spent most of his life figuring out how to build a better archtop guitar, and his designs were still radically evolving at the time of his passing. So then, it’s almost inconceivable that one person could actually become a master at building two completely different types of instruments…
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September 2009
Hot Rods, Harleys, Humbuckers and Hanky Panky - a glimpse into the world of Lindy Fralin
Virtual Woodshed recently caught up with legendary electric guitar pickup winder Lindy Fralin on the phone from his home in Richmond, VA. If you dig serious guitar tone, you already know that Lindy is one of the last great experimenters and innovators in electric guitar pickup design. And while he’s too modest to brag, Fralin’s client list reads like a who’s who in contemporary electric guitar. Players like Keith Richards, Brad Paisley…
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August 2009
Interview with Charles Wheal - Part 1
We are incredibly fortunate here at Virtualwoodshed.com because one of our favorite blues guitarists happens to be one of our instructors. Charles Wheal is a remarkably authentic blues player who currently lives and gigs in the San Francisco Bay area. Charles has gigged and/or sat in with virtually every significant blues player you can name.
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July 2009
Five Critical Slide Guitar Albums You Must Own
OK, so I readily admit that this post is going to anger some folks. But let’s get one thing straight: this is not a “best of all time” list or any kind of garbage like that. It’s simply five classic albums that have influenced my slide playing more than any others. It should also be noted that these are “rock” albums and not “blues”, “Hawaiian”, or any other genre. This explains the absence of Elmore James, Robert Johnson, etc.
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