The Rock and Roll Archaeology Project does it again.
By Tom Rizzuto
The electric guitar is an amazing instrument. Sure, there’s nothing that sounds quite like it, but it’s deeper than that. No other instrument captures our imagination like the electric guitar. No other instrument taps into that quintessential human compulsion to create and recreate. To innovate and deconstruct. To tinker and engineer.
It fulfills our desire for art. It fulfills our desire for expression. It fulfills our desire…for toys.
The Wah-wah Pedal, the Fuzz-box, the Phaser, the Whammy Bar, the Humbucker, the E-Bow: All testaments to man’s desire to wrestle with the power of sound by harnessing the power of machine!
Electric guitarists, perhaps more than any other group of musicians, covet their gear. As any young man who’s ever plugged a $98 guitar into $400 worth of pedals knows, you can make almost anything sound good with the right equipment.
For their latest episode, our good friends and generally awesome guys over at The Rock N Roll Archaeology Project podcast are serving up some of the finest gear-related information the music world has to offer.
Fans of the podcast will note that Episode 9: The Medium, The Message, The Music is a departure from their normal format. Rather than digging into a particular story or cast of characters from the history of Rock and Roll, the guys explore some nonmusical influences that helped shape the cultural phenomenon, namely LSD and Technology…among other things.
While the influence of drug culture on the music of the 1960s is undeniably interesting and important, it’s the technological angle that really made the episode for me. As a guitarist, I especially appreciated the respectful homage to Seth Lover. Lover, who’s name has often been overshadowed by innovators with more brand-recognition like Les Paul and Leo Fender, was instrumental in refining and shaping the sound of the electric guitar in Rock and Roll. Learning more about his inventions is reason enough to download this episode.
If all that wasn’t enough to inspire you to listen to this podcast, there’s one more thing you should know. Yours truly, Tom Rizzuto, was given the opportunity to add my voice to the production. You can hear me speaking the words of writer Peter Ames Carlin towards the end of the episode. I am honored to have my voice be a part of such a great show.
The Rock N Roll Archaeology Project is doing important work out there, America. I’m proud to support them by listening and doing my part to get the word out, and you should too.
Tom Rizzuto is a freelance musician and writer working in New York. He has also taught guitar and music history at several local universities. Listen to this podcast. Come on. Why wouldn't you?
EMAIL [email protected] | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | OTHER POSTS BY THIS AUTHOR
Recent Comments