Maverick

Jeez this is a tough one. Either one would beat just about anyone else. Making them go head to head this early seems a bit unfair. I had to go with Larry Carlton because he is just phenomenal. The guitar solos on Kid Charlamagne alone are enough to get my vote. But man, Di Meola is also phenomenal. He recently did an acoustic version of Norwegian Wood like only he can do it, and it was just amazing.

The Garden

I got a pair of Maui Jim sunglasses probably 15 years ago.

My account vanished, and I can't sign in!

Jeff Watson also played on the song Cut To The Chase on The Steve Morse Band's album Southern Steel.

I don't know how it happened, just that he passed. He was a great, melodic hard rock guitarist. RIP John.

It is a new guitar. It is made to 1959 specs, but it was made this past year. My 1986 Les Paul Custom has gold hardware, and it looks every bit of 38 years old.

Absolutely great guitar. The only issue I have with it (and I knew about it going in) is the VOS finish. It's not gloss, not nitro, and not satin. It was actually a little gritty to the touch when I got it (again, I knew it would be) but I also knew I could mitigate it thanks to some YouTube video I had seen. The fix was to get a roll of Viva brand paper towels and rub the rough surfaces with it. So I did it yesterday and it really makes a big difference. I'll probably continue working on it, especially when change the strings and can get to certain areas better. This issue is just on the body. The neck and headstock are finished in satin. Otherwise, it's a great guitar. This is an Epiphone collaboration with the Gibson Custom Shop. So all the electronics are Custom Shop level, including the pickups, which are Custombuckers. The fretboard is ebony, the inlays are real mother of pearl. It has CTS pots, orange drop capacitors, and Switchcraft output jack and selector switch. It's the closest thing I'll probably ever have to Lifeson's ES-355, and if that's the case, I'm more than happy with it. And for some reason, the fact that the headstock is a true Gibson shaped open book headstock with the split diamond inlays really tickles me. It goes great with my Les Paul Custom that has pretty much all the same appointments.

NGD (a few weeks ago) - Epiphone 1959 ES-355

I have a pair of New Balance cross-trainer/off trail shoes somewhere.

Skechers and Saucony

1) Porcupine Tree 2) Opeth 3) Mastodon 4) Gojira (because I've never heard anything by them. I could like them more than Mastodon, but probably not more than Opeth or PT.)

Close to the Edge Let the record show that Bill Bruford is the drummer on two of these three songs. And he played in all three of these bands.

Paul had a huge reach advantage over Tyson at 76" to Tyson's 70". I think his strategy was to land a few punches every round, keep Tyson from getting close to him, and only really go after Tyson if Tyson kept charging in. It's a viable strategy if you don't want to look like you're trying to beat the shit out of someone who is 31 years older than you. Paul beat Tyson without beating him up. He took what Tyson gave him and got the win by decision. Tyson looked old and slow. I really don't know if he wanted to be there doing that. But $20 million is hard to turn down for a few months of training and sixteen minutes of boxing, especially if you know your opponent is just going for a win by decision, and not by knockout. The women's fight was the best of the night, followed by the second men's fight. Serrano should have won. Taylor is apparently known as a dirty fighter who headbutts in every fight. And the sportsmanship and respect of the two men in the second fight was exemplary.

Damn straight!

Unless it is set to dotted 8th note repeats. Then sign me up for forever!

I don't think it's about the music necessarily. They're a bit too preachy. And waking up one morning with their new album forced into my iTunes catalog didn't help matters.

And he just had a signature Friedman IR-J pre-amp pedal come out like the day after he got shot, or maybe even the same day.

That's enough internet for today. (And it isn't even 8:00 a.m.)

Happy Anniversary!

A brief but very memorable role that was the perfect end to the Pickle the Beast saga.

The voice of Darth Vader and the star of many other movies has passed away, He was 93.

You got very tiresome very quickly.

Ok. And who's the woman standing to the left of Joni Mitchell?

Who were those two women to the left of Neil Young?