Chantel McGregor
I just discovered this fantastic young guitarist from England by the name of Chantel McGregor. She really has the blues style down, covering songs by Jimi Hendrix, Robin Trower, and others.
Quoted from her website, "Now described as a "prodigy", a visit from a major label soon followed and at fourteen she was told "great voice, but girls don't play guitar like that!" by the head of their A&R. Their advise to change styles because boys would be intimidated was met with an attitude of "that's their problem! I'm not changing!" Singing and playing on national television and radio soon followed."s
Now Chantel is the leader of the Chantel McGregor Band. She has many videos on YouTube that showcases her singing and great guitar playing. Chantel is the kind of artist that you hope encourages girls to take up the guitar. Anyone who says tbat a women can't play guitar on a par with men is an idiot!
Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster
Squier keeps coming up with
high quality, inexpensive guitars that can fit anyones budget.
The Classic Vibe series has been around for a few years. Recently, they expanded the Telecaster offerings to a guitar I have long wanted - the early 1960's Custom, with
a sunburst finish and double bound body. From the Squier
website: Squier is proud to introduce two exciting new versions
of classic Telecaster models in early 2010, both of which deliver great Squier
look, sound, feel and value.
Custom and Classic Vibe Telecaster Thinline guitars—are based on a pair of classic Telecaster designs from the
1960s that were prized among rock, blues, country and jazz players alike. I do not have much to write about these days - busy with work and trying
to stay warm during this cold snap. Howev, I have been enjoying the website,
LASTFM.com for the last few days. If you are not familiar with the site,
it features thousands of artists in all styles. There is a radio station
for each artist and a feature that links to similar artists. A few of the
bands I have found are:
Flunk - from Norway.
I heard one of their songs, Play, in the PBS series, Carrier.
Excellent band if you like female vocalists in the style of Bjork. I like
the guitar work - simple and effective.
Hope Sandoval - one of the most
low-key, shy singers around. I enjoyed Mazzy Star back in the day - still
do - and found that she has a new band, Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions.
She has one of the mose angelic voices around. Most of the new music is
acoustic. Steve Roach -
Always a favorite ambient artist. Close your eyes, put on headphones and
transport yourself to another place. Long time fan, although some of his
music leaves me cold. Regardless, I love this kind of music for relaxing
and inspiration. Utopia - a went back in time to visit one of my favorite bands of the late 1970s. This band was the brainchild of Todd Rundgren. It was great to hear
"The Last of the New Way Riders'" again. I absolutley have to rebuy these releases. It makes me feel 15 years old again, when I did not wake up every morning
with a sore back. Purr Machine - longtime Betsy Martin
fan going back to her first band, Caterwaul. Purr Machine is more electronica.
Betsy has a very unusual voice that may annoy some, but I love it for that
very reason. Caterwaul rocked in the day, but were not successful. Shawn Lane - one of the most gifted, influential
and unknown guitarists ever. Shawn died years ago, but his music lives on
here, with much of his catalog on the website to enjoy. Shawn was a legend,
who played in Black Oak Arkansas when he was all of 14. He was a music prodigy,
who also played piano and drums. Shawn played ALL of the instruments on
his Powers of Ten CD. Late in his life he was heavily into Indian music
and was very popular in India. He died too soon. Bjork - I love Bjork. Her listing on LastFM
features recordings of her as a young girl and as a singer in 1982, before
the SugarCubes. What a voice. I did not care for the Sugarcubes only because
of the annoying guy who insisted on talking instead of singing on many of
the songs. I was glad to see her go solo. She does things her own way, experiments
in different styles of music and singing. Her song Birthday is fantastic.
The video for All is Full of Love is very good, as well.
Last FM.com Favorites