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People have
visited my page!
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"I have learned that there lies dormant
in the souls of all men a penchant for some particular musical instrument,
and an unsuspected yearning to learn to play on it, that are
bound to wake up and demand attention some day." - Mark Twain
Hi, my name is John and I
live in England. Welcome to my web site.
My site tells you a lot about my lifelong
passion for music as well as passing on some some (hopefully) useful
information. In my spare time I write and record songs in my home
studio, play guitar and sing in a band with some friends, and I also like to
read: my favourite subjects being Oscar Wilde and Billy The Kid, and I also like target
rifle shooting, as well as DIY around our Victorian house.
Site updates/News
October 2008:
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New guitar added to the 'My Guitars' page.
You MUST take a look at this one - a reproduction of Eric Clapton's fabled
'Fool' psychedelic Gibson SG!
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Revised, remastered version of 'Start Again' on
the My Songs page. I'm about to give that page a long-overdue update, so
please come back soon!
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May 2008:
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New song, 'The Gates of Hell' added to the 'My
Songs' page.
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An old bass-playing friend, Denis, found this site
and I've added a photo and updated his entry on the 'My Music Journey' page.
Great to hear from you again Den!
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May 2007:
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Exciting news: Emma Wilkinson, winner of ITV's
'Stars In Their Eyes' grand final in 2001, has joined our band as lead vocalist.
We're very pleased to have Emma on board and have begun rehearsals in earnest to
make the most of this great development.
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Emma performing as Dusty Springfield on 'Stars In
Their Eyes' in 2001
From photo shoot for Emma's 2002 CD 'Son Of A
Preacher Man'
April 2007:
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New page added: 'My Photo Gallery' for
miscellaneous photos of interest.
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'Autumn Blues' MP3 added to 'My Songs' page.
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'My Guitars' page amended - one deleted (sold!)
and one new one added!
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November 2006:
At the 'Music Live' show at the NEC Birmingham I
shake hands with the legend that is Jim Marshall. He's a real gentleman,
and typical of the man, he apologised for being seated, explaining it was
because of the stroke he'd had. But his failing health and 83 years don't
stop his devotion to meeting and greeting the many fans of Marshall
amplification that wish to shake the hand of the great man himself. I
think the lady in the picture is Victoria, Jim's daughter, to whom he's now
handed over day-to-day running of the company.
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I just discovered that an old friend of mine whom
I've known for twenty five years or more, bought a very special guitar back in
1981 and kept it in a cupboard, unused, ever since. I think he gave up
playing guitar a long time ago and had no idea he owned - wait for it - a Tony
Zemaitis metal front electric !!! My friend lives in the hills of Wales
now and declined when I asked if he could bring the guitar with him if he came
to visit his in-laws near here at Christmas: due to understandable insurance
concerns he won't take it outside the house. Today he sent me two pictures
instead, so here they are below for your delectation. The top is the work
of Tony's master engraver Danny O'Brien. The guitar is available for sale,
offers above £20,000. I wish I could afford it!
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If you're not aware of the work of Tony Zemaitis
then you're not a guitarist! Famous owners include Eric Clapton, George
Harrison, Ronnie Wood, Bob Dylan, and so on. Sadly Tony died in 2002 at
the age of 67. Read more about the man and the guitars at the
Zemaitis Guitar Owners Club.
October 2006:
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A local newspaper, the Coventry Evening Telegraph,
has picked up on my web site and published a full page feature in its 'Backbeat'
column! These weekly articles are a labour of love by
Pete Chambers,
Coventry's aficionado of the rock boom of the 60s and 70s. Pete works
painstakingly and single-handedly to chronicle the pop music boom of that era
and to profile the people in this area who lived the dream - some more
successful than others. Those that did make their mark in a big way were
the 'The
Specials' and
'Selecter', both mainstays of the groundbreaking
2-Tone record label. Keep up the good work, Pete.
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Thanks again to the magic of Google, an old
musician pal from way back has just emailed - Brian Meredith. Brian was a
superb drummer who played with me back in 1974. I'll be updating 'My Music
Journey' accordingly!
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Incredibly rare photo added to the 'Billy The Kid'
page under 'My Other Interests'. It shows Pat Garrett's posse posing for a
photograph after capturing Billy at Stinking Springs in December 1880. You
have never seen this one before!
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Under the Home Recording page I've started a
general Help page for new owners of the Roland Fantom X6 who are climbing a
steep learning curve like myself! Hopefully it will prove helpful.
If you don't own one but are thinking about it, pop in anyway.
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September 2006:
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The tutorial on the Home Recording page on
how to load soundfonts in a
Creative Soundblaster card is now complete.
I hope it proves useful to novices trying to get their soundcard sounds up and
running properly.
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Added some more photos to the
'My Music Journey' page that have only just come to light - pics of Sugarcane in
the recording studio. It can't be nearly thirty years ago, surely?
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In progress: a page for the Roland Fantom X
containing tips and tutorials!
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August 2006:
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Added recent photo of band member from way back,
John Rushton, and updated his entry in the 'My Music Journey' saga.
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Started a new page under the
Home Recording section on how to load soundfonts in a Creative Soundblaster
card. Still under construction!
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June 2006:
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Excellent BBC Radio interview
with Paul White, Editor In Chief, Sound On Sound! Lots of inside info on
recording techniques! Reverb, compression, phasing, microphones, and lots
more. Have a listen now - click
here.
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