Posts tagged acoustic guitar

Check out Hudson Taylor, two singer-songwriter brothers from Dublin. The duo, who first came to fame via their Youtube channel as Harry & Alfie performing covers and original songs, have since moved to London to pursue music full time, which is good news given their solid lyrics and Marcus Mumford level strumming.

It’s the little things you miss when you’re 1900 miles away for Medical School in the Caribbean. I’ve had my Fender American Special HSS Strat a.k.a. “Leroy” and my Martin LXM Little Martin a.k.a. “The Imp” with me here in Dominica for the past 7 months which has been awesome and kept me sane, but my brain could totally go for some decompression via overdriven Les Paul cranked to 10 right about now…Only 40 more days until finals and my flight home.

When I get home my plan is to add a Greven 50’s-style tortoise pickguard—and possibly undersaddle pickup—to The Imp. Then I’m going to strip out the guts & neck from Mary and put them into the new string-through Alder Tele body I’ll be finishing from scratch in nitro Butterscotch Blonde. #Luthiering101

1. “Jules Winnfield” - Epi LP Standard
2.  Epi Pro/FX LP w/ Floyd Rose
3. “Fionna” - Epi LP Special II (GFS Mean 90/Dream 180)
4. “Mary” - Squire Affinity Tele (project guitar)
5. “Leroy” - Fender American Special HSS Strat
6. “Martin” - Martin DCME
7. “Stella” - Martin D12X1 
8. “The Imp” - Martin LXM
9. “Taylor” -Taylor 110E
10. “Alvy” - Alvarez RD8 
11. Lanikai LU-11 Ukulele

More singer-songwriter tunes, this time around from Howie Day. I remember seeing Howie a few years back at a solo acoustic show and being blown away by his use of the Line 6 DL4 Digital Delay Loop Pedal. He’s still one of the best I’ve seen with it. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, check out this video at around 4:30 in.

If only the DL4 wasn’t $250…

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In an effort to break out of my guitar playing plateau I went back and tried listening to songwriters from a writing perspective. After years of not “getting it,” Bob Dylan finally clicked for me. I have been listening to Dylan nonstop since last night.

Here’s a clip my buddy Richard shot of me and Krystal performing at DeChamps’ open mic night on one of our rare nights off from studying. We started the set with an 80s, 90s, 2000s medley that included Journey, Backstreet Boys, and Adele (listen here), before going into an acoustic version of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” and then ending with T-Pain’s “Buy You a Drank.”

I’m playing the Martin LXM “Little Martin” sent to me by Dick Boak, head of Artist Relations and PR for C.F. Martin & Co. with an “artist discount” since I wasn’t able to take my full sized Martin dreadnaught with me to medical school. If you haven’t heard that story, it’s pretty awesome.

Me: Watch this
Me: Tim Reynolds Stream HD
Anooj: Are you asking me to play like Tim Reynolds?
Anooj: Think about what you just said…
:: 4 minutes 30 seconds later  ::
Anooj: He must be an octopus because I saw a lot going on.
Me: He has 14 hands.

This song will never get old. Here’s Dave Matthews with a solo performance of “Crash Into Me” from the Abbey Road studio in London. Crash is probably my favorite song of all time as well as the leading cause for my love of the acoustic guitar.

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Zach Williams is most definitely the next big singer-songwriter. Hailing from Georgia, Williams has been making a name for himself since 2004 with his soulful, penetrating vocals and honest lyrics. Here’s “Fears” off his album Story Time. You’re welcome for this one.

It’s the little things you miss when you’re 1900 miles away for Med School.

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For the second time in two days I’ve heard this song playing while out and about and both times I reacted with the same way: looking around thinking “Are you people not hearing this? Are you deaf? It’s DAVE!!!”

If you haven’t listened to Scottish indie rockers Frightened Rabbit, you should. Led by talented singer-songwriter Scott Hutchinson, Frightened Rabbit is a band that casual fans of indie music will certainly enjoy but for whom fans of lyrics will wear down the “play” button on their keyboard. Emotive, heartfelt, and raw, Hutchinson is the kind of songwriter who makes you feel like he wrote every song about your life.

You can pick up their 2010 album The Winter of Mixed Drinks or check out their free 2011 EP which you can pick up just for signing up for their mailing list—features three tracks including, “Fuck This Place.”

Released September 28th, the self titled debut album by Fences is definitely worth checking out. The band is the latest project by Berklee trained singer-songwriter Christopher Mansfield and features Sara Quinn—of Teagan and Sara—at the helm on the production end.

Mansfield, who has been labeled an Artist to Watch, over at SPIN, has a knack for crafting songs that are at once charming and self-deprecating; that balance patience and urgency. The lead off single, “Girls With Accents” has a chorus and hook that, while not radio friendly—“I’m fucking up, I’m fucking up, I’m fucking up everything,” croons Mansfield—is sure to resonate with listeners with it’s honesty and maybe even take them back to a time when they, too, were their own worst enemy.