Guitarist's guitarist; Author of Book of Modes & Modal Patterns; Justin Kalk's original guitar teacher; Musician, songwriter, performer, producer, music instructor, writer & Philosopher at large on music, life, and everything in between.
Indeed! I realized how to get a great vintage tone out of a modern Strat: I simply turned down the volume and tone controls on the guitar, because modern pickups are so much hotter than vintage pickups!
You're in for a treat! Glad you liked the video. I filmed the entire concert except for the 1st song. I haven't had time to post anything else yet, but I will in the next few weeks.
We weren’t just a guitar band. This was a fun song to sing and play on. Sean did the lead vocals and Lead guitar (panned to the right). I was the supporting guitar (panned to the left). I really enjoyed playing the “thump-thump” riffs in the 2nd verse. Another great example of 2 guitars working well with each other without getting in the way. I sang the lower backing vocal response to Sean’s voice, and Mark hit the higher notes of the harmonies. (Sean’s voice was dead Center, while mine was slightly to the right.) Nice and tight, short and sweet.
This song always had great meaning for me, and I consciously inserted a “Watchtower with a princess keeping the view” at the time I drew it. That gave me the idea to make storyboards out of my drawing.
The original artwork in the video is a drawing of mine from Spring of 12th grade, 50 years ago, while recovering from the flu. It started out as a psychedelic doodle (in the upper left corner), which I often did to stay awake in class. It turned into multiple layers of vignettes transitioning into each other, peppered with optical illusions, revealing a glimpse into my imagination at the time.
In the final analysis, my tone got better over the years, especially when using a Strat and better amps, and though I might have learned some of the riffs more precisely over time, the unbridled raw energy of this performance is one for the books.
In later years, I would perform this as a Power Trio, playing both rhythm and lead, and usually singing it, too. In order to do that, I had to be even more selective about where to insert the fills while keeping the rhythm intact.
Yeah, it seemed a perfect vehicle for the idea! I tried to stay true to the original syntax, concept, lyrics, rhythm and rhymes, wherever I could, while still expressing my original ideas. Words have always come easy for me - check out some of my other original songs, like: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-65-2W2tc0p8.html or ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-buA-Iobzbdo.html or ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XAu4nJNrvBw.html for example. Good luck with your lyric writing, Dave! Thanks for the comment!
@@davemiller4721 You can always share my version, if you like! Also, if you're stuck on the lyrics, and have the music completed, feel free to borrow my words - just give me the proper writing credit! Good luck, and happy upcoming birthday!
@@Modewarrior My attempt is lacking in many ways, including being a single take (I ran out of time). I'm going to keep my day job for now. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NIECnEhjx2g.html
Thanks, Bart! Do you remember Justin, You, and I , jamming to this about 4 or 5 Xmas' ago, at Allen's house in Sugarloaf? It might have been the last Xmas there.
@@brucesanderson9006 Great memories! The guitar in this video is the same one I brought over your house in Feb of 1973, when Roger, Arn and I came over for a jam. At that point it was less than 2 months since I had bought it...
Thanks so much, Larry! (I didn't see this until today - LOL.) I couldn't believe the tone I was getting! I actually was sounding like Carlos for a minute there!
Just found this. You must be a family member, eh? This one is head and shoulders above Western Maryland. If he hadn't played there in '15, I never would've become aware of him.
Yes, I'm Justin's great uncle, and I took him under my wing when he was 13. He's evolved a lot on his own since then. He is naturally gifted, and one in a million.
Considering that my phone kept shutting down as it was filling up, I managed to get some great moments, in the early part of their set. Justin Kalk is one of the most dynamic and exciting performers on guitar you will ever see. Enjoy!
Thanks! I'm using a Gibson 335 on the bass pickup, a Fender Stage 100 w/ 4 12's, distortion gain on about 4, a tube screamer, a Cry-Baby Wah for the most part, and a Boss slap-back delay pretty much on the whole thing. It makes the fast notes echo, and makes the sustained notes a little thicker.
Hey, thanks for the compliment! My Tele has no whammy - it's all done with the left hand bending of strings, and I'm using a Cry-baby Wah. Glad you loved it!
Harry is from my hometown Bedford Pa. and played J.B.'S Saloon in Cumberland Md. in the 70"s. I have a lot of fond memerories of that magical time in my life thanks for the post!!!
Dear John & Ethel, Hope this rendition will help cheer you. We're all so sorry to hear what you are going through... We miss you and think of you often... Wishing you a peaceful & safe holiday season, Gunars and Kathleen Lelis
Saw these guys @ Dragon Park in Nashville yesterday and they flat blew me away. I wish I'd recorded the event, since I could have patched straight to the board. I didn't realize there was such a dearth of clean-sounding cuts of them on You Tube. I'm looking forward to seeing them again here in Music City!
I really like this! As a guitarist I have to say I really liked the soloing and also think the drums were played really well. Bass was solid and consistent and that made a great cover. Well done guys!
Awesome, now this is my kind of groove! Let's see some boogying! Cool song. I'll have to look into one of their CDs. Check-out our fine fine videos when you have an opportunity
Hey, thanks Dude! Your point is well taken, my man, I probably should have called it "Improv" instead of "Solo". I called it "Solo" because I didn't post the complete song - just the Solo... Thanks for the well wishes re my fingers - I'm still playing, not letting it get me down, and I'm getting better - or perhaps just learning how to compensate for the defect. Good luck with your playing, Dude! I look forward to seeing your video response!
At the time I was using an ART T2 programmable preamp in conjunction with the Gain/drive on the Music Man (+Reverb), and then the Master Gain on the Marshall. The Marshall has no built in reverb or effects loop, so all the "coloring" is done with the Music Man & T2 presets. The Marshall provides the overall "clean bottom". Check out "The Ultimate Guitar Solo" for a different setup using my Gibson 335 & a Fender Stage 160 - also a killer tone... Glad you like what you hear...
What are you using for overdrive? It sounded Creamish and then Santanaish. It's cool how you guys sit around and play cool stuff. It sure beats spending money at the bars and driving drunk.
@1971SuperLead Glad you liked it! I have the whole 16 minutes of it - I have yet to post Part 2... Justin is playing through my rig - a Music Man with 1 12" speaker and a 100W Marshall with 2 12's... Check out "Birth of the Tunisian Druid" if you want to see how the tone compares with me playing my Les Paul.
