Golden Smoghead

domo arigato, mr. rowboato

Anybody recommend any luthiers in the greater DC area? I have a 1961 Gibson Les Paul my uncle played on the Opry back in the 60s that has been mistreated. I think the big thing it needs is actually just a new set of tuners, but I'm pretty afraid of the wood condition / don't really feel comfortable swapping them out myself. I think I'm afraid the wood will all just disintegrate in my hands as soon as I lay a wrench on this sucker.

This makes me think... Surely there's a forum of indie filmmaker dudes out there somewhere who are wondering where they can get cool, lo-fi recordings... Imagine how cool it would be to somehow pair up indie musicians with indie film makers. I know I'd definitely give away plenty of music for just the promise of "if we make a bazillion dollars somehow, we'll pay you a cut then."

That SX gets rave reviews, i couldn't find one available when I bought my starter lap steel. I picked up one of those Rogue deals on Musician's Friend. Super cheap so worth it for me, I've put steel parts on scads of songs since I got it. But it is a serious pain in the butt to get in tune. Whatever model you go with I say start with a lap before you invest in a pedal steel, I think it's easier to eat $80-$250 then the couple-thousand a mid-level pedal steel will run you. Edit to add: a lot of times I see what seem like good deals on this forum: bb steel guitar "for sale" forum The

Hahaha. I have that exact same Artisan console lap steel mention above. It's a motherfucker to tune, but I think it sounds pretty great with the right mix of reverb, compression, etc. It's still $60 nowadays, too. Usually stays in tune for a few hours, don't get me wrong, but I'm really thinking about swapping out the tuners so I don't have to waste 20 minutes tuning every time I sit down to play.

I'll randomly add in here that I took about a 2-month hiatus from songwriting -- not totally by choice, kinda fizzled a bit -- and have come back pretty strong. Four songs in three weeks including my first boy-girl duet, w00t! What triggered the new inspiration for me was a new instrument. A fairly-cheapo 12-string guitar given to me for Christmas; should note that I hate 12-string guitars for the most part. But I just think different instruments have different songs inside of them asking to be let out, because none sound exactly the same. You hear that new instrument's voice and it sing

Interesting thread guys, thanks for the info. Sucks though! I thought this might be the year to buy a new mid-level Fender amp. I'm slightly nervous about buying one used but I think that's got to be the way now.

Way back in 2008, I opened for a really great NC band called American Aquarium. I was stone-cold convinced they were going to play Wilco covers but instead it was good Flying Burrito Brothers -style originals.

I agree that that dude looks like Glenn.

You guys are good people, here's to hoping for more of the same in 2009!

Just b/c we're on this topic, I found this advice from Martin, which I totally am forced by circumstance to ignore. They are perfectly describing how I hang my guitars, which are suspended on an outside wall, about four feet above an electric heater vent (which points away from them, but still):

I suspect the reason April didn't get a lot of attention is b/c if you came in atGhosts , it really is something of a letdown. Ghosts had that Yankee Hotel Foxtrot thing going on where you suspect there's more to all these noises and the catches of lyrics you pick up on, everything feels heavy with the Midwest and old tv shows, and by comparison April just seems needlessly overproduced or something. I'm not smart enough about this kind of thing, but it really seems like something slipped, engineering-wise, on the path from Ghosts --> Tiny Cities --> April. I'll give these both anot

Weird, dude. I have a Takamine (guitar I learned to play on) that developed a crack on the soundboard, running from the part of the cutaway closest to the soundhole all the way to the soundhole. In my case, it slightly raised the action and is VERY EASY to see, though I suspect it started smaller. Actually that is the guitar I have in Nashville High Tuning as discussed in another thread on here somewhere, sometimes I play it as a dobro with that high action. Any idea what year yours was manufactured? Mine was circa 1990 or thereabouts, I'll try to take a picture and post when I get up so

You guys remind me of a more-ballsy Mark Kozelek (Sun Kil Moon / Red House Painters) crossed with the Gourds or something. I like it.

OK, despite my fear of combining my nerdy obsessions and causing a Ghostbusters-style overload of my brain... On the bungie.net website today there's a Q & A with the line "Like Wilco, let's begin here." Is that a Wilco-the-band reference? Some song I'm dialed out on? Bueller? Maybe "Hate it Here"?

No I don't think they're asking if you changed climate, but if you're living in a different apartment / house and the humidity could be different. It'd make sense that this wouldn't happen until now-ish as it gets colder out and the heater becomes a serious factor.

It's really hard not to fall in love with the myth of Gram Parsons. But the fact is, a lot of his songs are great enough to overcome that weight. ... and, really appreciate this thread.

Hahahaha! Too funny that he actually rehearsed those crappy moves.

So because I don't think Arcade Fire is Americana I didn't give it a chance? OK. I can inform you that I have given Neon Bible a shot (not as much as Funeral though) and YET do not enjoy it at all, nor think of it as the category in my head labeled "Americana." Shocking, I know! I'll admit I may be misusing the term Americana though. I use it to mean more like American-folk-associated-roots-rock, or something. AF to me is nothing like that at all, but again apologize if I'm abusing a term. ...... and, I apologize for suggesting they should be drowned. I just thoroughly dislike the

I disagree wholeheartedly with these posts criticizing The Rising, D&D and Magic! Best Boss albums since BITUSA imo. I love the shit out of D&D in particular, I think Maria's Bed is one of the coolest tracks in the last 10 years. although should caveat, I think I run a little more Americana-y than the rest of this board these days. (E.g., I think Arcade Fire should all be drowned in a tepid bath, and that the Smithsonian / Folkways is pretty much the best label of all time.)

That was a pretty great interview! I am loathe to summarize an hour-long interview with a guy who worked with Dylan, the Stones, John Hyatt... But worth your time if you are into this sort of thing.

I think your feelings toward Halloween Head and Magick are basically a barometer for how much you can stand RA's lower-end lyrics if they're paired with decent music. I find those songs equally meh, and occasionally really annoying if I'm having a bad day.

I agree with everything a.miller said -- except that ProTools is easy for a novice. I found it really tough. Not a vote against, just a word of caution that you may need to have someone help you or buy a book or watch some youtube video lesons something.

helo pop tods do u have a band if so pls post linkz Seriously dude good luck. And ANYONE IN DC can catch me Monday at Galaxy Hut in Arlington, 9:30! hahahaha Actually, may not be the worst thing in the world to have a random thread for vc'ers to post their own upcoming shows, i know there are threads about them every now and then. I for one would probably participate.. but then i'm not in a band that gigs every week or something. And I suppose then maybe we'd get random crapheads who don't ever post here just show up promoting and stuff. Dunno, just crossed the mental webs and thou

You have to give beards time, they grow on you but it takes awhile.