Stone Axe - Best New Band, 1974 - Tony Reed, MVP

I still remember the first tune I heard from Tony Reed's post Mos Generator brainchild, Stone Axe. I was literally aching to hear something new that didn't make me pine for the past and feeling a bit starved for some fresh hard rock, so who would have figured that what pulled me out of my funk would be a complete throwback to the seventies? There'd Be Days was a cut on a Classic Rock Magazine compilation entitled, Heavy Blues, which the magazine described as, "A multi-coloured, mind expanding sampler of contemporary drug-rock, a smattering of buzz-peddlers from all corners of planet rock with one intention: to take you higher."

That was in August of 2009, and almost three years later, I'm scratching my head and wondering why Stone Axe aren't flying to gigs in their own 747, when I wake up and realize that the times have changed a good deal.

Stone Axe - Captured Live! Roadburn Festival 2011 has just been released on the Ripple Music label, and while it isn't as overdub slick as the best remembered live records from the mid '70s, it is an amazing slice of in-your-face rock and roll. In fact, if it had been released in 1974 instead of 2012, Stone Axe would be flying from gig to gig in a jumbo jet with their name on the side, and Tony Reed would be a household name and worth a fortune.

T. Dallas (Tony) Reed is the band's guitarist, but more than that, he is Stone Axe to a large degree. He writes the songs, he plays all the instruments on most of the band's first two albums, sings lead on some, and the idea behind the band is solely his conception.

"It would be one thing to do a bunch of seventies styled tributes, but the thing is to do them with soul, to get the the feeling and the vibe right," Reed explains. "A song like Turned To Stone, well, some people might think that it might be too close to Procol Harum, but I think it works perfectly - it could have easily fit into that period."

He's right, the song is clearly meant to recapture the vibe of Whiter Shade of Pale, but more than that, it easily could have been the follow up single, and it would have greatly added to Procol's legacy, and that is what Reed is gunning for - not just to recreate the sounds, songs, and bands of rock's golden era, but to actually create music that takes the trip a little further, to keep alive the sound of great rock and roll. When I heard Stone Axe's cover of Cream's SWLABR it was so eerily reminiscent of the original that I had to listen to both back to back. Reed had nailed it. I was especially impressed by his drumming, which is brilliant. In fact, if I have a quibble with the live album, it may just be that Reed is a better rhythm section on the band's studio work.

He states, "I sometimes record covers just to learn, as an educational process. I record everything, so I can see how to capture tones, play drums, sing the right parts - it's very instructional. In fact, I'm currently working on an album of cover tunes from the seventies, and I hope to find a label to put it out, maybe later this year."

Reed has just returned from a very successful tour of the UK and Europe with Stone Axe, and he's already deep into several recording projects. The guy is tremendously prolific - after Mos Generator went on hiatus in 2009, Stone Axe has been his main thrust, keeping extremely busy by releasing two long players (each with great Deluxe versions that include copious extra tracks, and live gems), a multitude of splits with other bands, EPs, and singles, and now the live set from the Roadburn Festival 2011. In addition to all of this, Reed is also working on an as yet unnamed country rock project with his outstanding Stone Axe rhythm section of bassist Mike Dupont and drummer Mykey Haslip. Vocalist Dru Brinkerhoff, a singer who is obviously quite comfortable in many guises, is an integral part of the Stone Axe equation.

"I always knew Dru could sing, from when I had recorded his band The Swinos. They were kind of punky and fast, so a lot of people didn't know he could actually sing, but he's great." Reed said. "Stone Axe would not be what it is without him. He understands every direction I am coming from, and adapts perfectly!"

Brinkerhoff's vocals are raggedy edged, and full of passion and feeling as he brings back memories of Stevie Marriott, David Coverdale, Bon Scott, and Paul Rodgers within moments in some of Stone Axe's catalog, but he still menages to stand tall as his own man. He covers a lot of familiar territory, but more often than not he sounds like someone you may have missed in days gone by as opposed to a mere copyist. His contribution to the band can't be discounted - he's certainly a star in his own right.

His performances throughout Captured Live... indicate that had the band came along 35 or 40 years earlier, Stone Axe would have fitted quite comfortably next to Bad Company and Humble Pie. Between Reed's encyclopedic knowledge of classic rock guitar playing, and Brinkerhoff's wailing, it is easy to shut one's eyes and imagine a day when such a band would be selling out hockey arenas, and collecting platinum records. From the set opening instrumental, Stonin' straight through to the set closer Nightwolf, neither this band, nor this record ever stops, or even comes up for air.

The band sounds like they've eaten and digested the entire catalogs of AC/DC, Bad Company, and Humble Pie with a chaser of Southern rock, and a small dessert of progressive rock. The prog portion of the meal is small, coming in the band's affinity for creating tunes with changing landscapes, and structures. Reed throws in more interesting twists and turns in an hour of rock than most writers do in a career.

I thought that my hearing some prog influence may have been misguided until I recently heard Reed's as of yet unreleased cover of the King Crimson classic, In The Court of the Crimson King. It is an incredible performance, and truly shows exactly how gifted the man is in the studio. Huge keyboards, soaring electric guitars, sublime acoustic flourishes, thunderous drums, and some great vocals (including harmonies).

The most commercial project Reed has worked on in the last year may be his production of the first Saint Vitus studio album in 17 years, and the first to feature vocals by Scott (Wino) Weinrich in 22 years. Titled Lillie: F-65, after the powerful and once popular barbiturate, the album was lauded by Sputnik Music: "The record is as doomy and dark as Saint Vitus can get. A great return to the music scene, each song on the record is heavier, more pessimistic, and bleaker than the previous, making this a must have for 2012." Part of the beauty is Reed's passion for recording on tape. Twenty four tracks down to two, all on glorious 2" tape.

Reed also plays guitar on, and produced the new album by Texas legends, Blood of the Sun, tentatively titled, Burning On The Wings Of Desire. A release date has not yet been announced, but it is still expected out this year.  There's also HeavyPink, another side project that has Reed starring in all roles as an experimental noise rock Phil Spector. If all of this were not enough, a new Mos Generator album is on the stove as we speak.

If this seems like a case of artistic overload, I submit to you that Reed is keen on keeping high quality a major goal, and has succeeded heroically thus far. He's talking about a return to Europe later this year, possibly as an acoustic proposition featuring just himself, and Dru Brinkenhoff on vocals - mostly given to the high cost of carrying a full band and equipment back across the puddle. The economic realities of the recording industry are currently such that in order to afford trips across the ocean, Stone Axe must play a bunch of Stateside shows to pay the tab. It says more about the financial instability of the music business (look at the number of cancelled festivals occurring in the UK this summer, and the large layoffs at Roadrunner Records) than the quality of product, or talent on display at Tony Reed's studio in Port Orchard, Washington. He's issued more quality rock in the last couple of years than have most of the big four record companies (yeah, that's right, there are four major labels left).

Oh yes, then there is the newest venture out of the Stone Axe stable: Stone Free - Stone Axe Perform The Music of Free. The band played several shows in England last month paying tribute to one of the greatest British blues rock outfits of all time, Free, the legendary combination of Paul Rodgers, Paul Kossoff, Andy Fraser, and Simon Kirke. I happened to mention that to Tony that Joe Bonamassa had done some work with Paul Rodgers last year, and I had subsequently suggested to all involved that there should be one more Free record with the three remaining members plus a guitarist to stand in for the late, great Paul Kossoff. I thought, and still think it a brilliant idea, and Reed agreed. Andy Fraser's manager seemed to think it a great idea as well, but that's another story for another time.

Tony Reed, "Oh yeah, that's a wonderful idea, God, would I love a crack at that! We spent a lot of time getting the Free set just right, and it was a lot harder than you would think. A lot of what was great about Paul Kossoff was what he didn't play. Vibrato, air, and silence were a huge part of his sound. We took a lot of time working up those songs, and the sets have been just great."

Another Stone Axe song that I've not been able to go a day without listening to is off of the album, Stone Axe II. Those Were The Golden Years may be the best Thin Lizzy sound-alike I have ever heard. I told Reed that if the current Thin Lizzy can come up with material this compelling, it would be a fabulous thing, as the guitarist has set the bar awfully high. It is a tune on which he plays and sings every note, and it is stunning. I am a huge fan of Thin Lizzy old and new, and I fully expect that their new material will be superb and worthy of their great name, and legacy. Still, this tune takes me straight back to 1976 in a way that few songs, if any, before it have.

There are tons of tunes I haven't mentioned here, because I would have ended up with another couple of thousand words. I would highly recommend that you buy the complete Stone Axe discography, and anything you can find with Tony Reed's name on it. He, and they are well worth it, and you'll be glad you did. 

Stone Axe has a credo: "Outta tune - outta time - a long way from home & outta our minds." I'm only buying half of it. They are as tuneful as hell, and as steady as a Swiss watch. They might not sell, but they can't be bought - they are uncompromising in their personal pursuit of rock and roll.

Long live Tony Reed and Stone Axe.

Great thanks to T. Dallas (Tony) Reed, Stone Axe, and John Rancik at Ripple Music.

Europe - Bag of Bones - Rock and Roll's First Prequel

Europe has succeeded in doing the nearly impossible. They have made a great album that makes you forget what made them so irresistible in the first place. Bag of Bones, the band's new album is out this month on earMUSIC, and it flat out kicks major rock and roll ass. That there are no chances of this record being labeled 'melodic rock,' or having their classic hit The Final Countdown mentioned, happens to be, in this case, a huge benefit - one that makes little sense at first glance, but let's look deeper.

Bag of Bones is a stripped down, rough and ready rock record in the best British tradition. Its swagger and strut will have you remembering the halcyon days of the hammer of the gods. Singer Joey Tempest and guitar star John Norum have assumed the mantle, and they're taking no prisoners. Memories of summer days listening to Black Dog, and Burn will come back to you, as they have done for Tempest, as you listen.

"I recall the best days of my youth, when we first heard Led Zeppelin doing Black Dog, or Deep Purple doing Burn, and that's the vibe I hoped to return to with Bag of Bones."  the singer recalls, "That's why we recorded the album using a warm old Neve recording console, and all analog gear. All the compression, the EQ, everything was '60s and '70s gear."

The band also made an inspired decision when they hired super producer Kevin Shirley, the man who seems to have the modern day Midas touch - maybe the last of the great hard rock producers.

"Kevin was great," Tempest states,"He brought us back to recording in a way in which we had not done for many years. We would actually play the songs together in the same room, so we reacted to each other very immediately. We would do three or four takes of a song, and Kevin would listen to them, pick the best take, and then maybe we would add some overdubs, but much of the record is live takes. Even some of John Norum's solos were first takes, and they are great!

"We would finish a song completely before we moved on to the next. That made it so that every song had a different feel and sound, you could go, 'Well, what are these lyrics about, how should the guitars sound' - things like that. It made for a very dynamic sound."

He's right. Riches to Rags kicks off the album, and I actually stopped and looked to be sure I had the right CD in the computer. I admit that I expected a huge swell of synths, and rack mounted guitar tones. Instead, I was greeted by a swampy, bluesy swagger that had my feet tapping and my ass moving. Written at the end of a long tour, it has the very classic sound of a guy who's dragging himself onto the jet for one more flight, one more show in one more town. It kind of nails the downward spiral that saw great bands worked to the point of exhaustion, drugs, and despair in the late seventies. Thankfully, the days of record companies overtaxing their golden geese are gone.

Now, we have a band that has been on a steady climb since they reunited in 2004, peaking with the release of 2009's Last Look at Eden, an album that had Classic Rock Magazine exclaiming, "One of the few bands around still making thrilling records."

Photo: Michael Johannson

The album's first single, Not Supposed To Sing The Blues, makes me smile in a way that I haven't since I heard the 2010 debut of Glenn Hughes and Joe Bonamassa's supergroup, Black Country Communion. Joey Tempest has never sung better, nor written in a more concise, direct fashion. This is great rock. By the time you get to John Norum's wah drenched solo, you've already been to a splendid rock and roll nirvana, but his solo is a biting, crying, howling beast of six string mastery. I hope that the band has the moxie to load their setlist with these tunes when they hit the European festival circuit this summer.

Tempest and Norum have at last become the equivalent of those great singer/guitar partnerships they loved as kids, when at 14 or 15 year of age, Tempest heard Norum play, and thought to himself, "I have to be in a band with this guy." Both have risen above their past accomplishments to truly become a great team.

Firebox is another soon to be classic, and this moody, mid-tempo thumper features some wonderfully dynamic keyboard riffing from Mic Michaeli - this is one of several that takes its cue from the incredible Mediterranean/Indian influenced arrangements of John Paul Jones. Middle Eastern modalities have always worked well with great guitars and drums, and Europe has applied just enough to satisfy the listener. Michaeli's playing is perfect across the whole of the album, as is the bass work of John Leven (who contributed some fine writing, as well). The secret weapon would seem to be drummer Ian Haugland - his tub thumping is simply smashing. When I think of great drummers in the realm of loud rock, my brain goes to Bonham, Cozy Powell, and Ian Paice, and for almost 30 years, Haugland has been equal the stickman. Time and time again, I am riveted by his flashy fills, and thunderous support. Go straight to the track Demon Head, and prepare to be amazed.

Producer Kevin Shirley knows how to get a performance out of a band, and he has again done a sterling job. Drink and a Smile features a very off kilter, though brilliant vocal from Tempest. Acoustic guitars spread across the mix, some well placed hand percussion keeps things moving, and again Europe produces brilliance while side stepping their pomp past. This is bluesy, emotive songcraft at its best. I know Shirley is famous for keeping the whole band engaged and involved from beginning to end, and there is no question as to his effectiveness - he doesn't just get great sounds, he makes great records. He is the only producer I can think of whose name alone can get me to buy a record.

I told Tempest that this record sounds more like a debut than an album from a band with a deep catalog, and his response was perfect.

"That's funny! Our manager said that this album could almost be a prequel! We were listening to young bands like Rival Sons, and Joe Bonamassa, and with Kevin's approach we ended up with an album that we are really pleased with. We had been listening to Bonamassa's Ballad of John Henry backstage before shows, and we really thought the song was fantastic, but equally cool was the production. We thought it would be great to work with Kevin, but it turned out even better than we had hoped."

Photo: Fredrik Etoall

My Woman, My Friend sidles in softly with a bit of piano, and a very dark shade of purple vocalizing from Tempest before kicking into a bottom heavy riff (courtesy of John Leven) that would not sound out of place on a Heaven and Hell record. It's heavy as hell, but it never gets weighed down in its own groove, and the vocals keep it bluesy and emotional enough to never suggest metal. Joey Tempest achieves a tone and texture that evokes the true greats of the genre without ever being too derivative - he has truly become his own man on this album.

Seldom do I say a singer has achieved greatness, but Tempest has continually grown as both a singer and a writer, and great he has become. He states, "I went back to the singers who originally moved me - Zeppelin, Deep Purple, but also Phil Lynott, who could do so much with his lyrics and his voice, and also UFO's Phil Mogg."

Requiem - Merriam-Webster tells me, is "a mass for the dead." It is also the title of a 29 second musical interlude that lays to rest the band's past. In fact, in Tempest's words, "It was originally titled, Requiem for the '80s, but we tamed it down to just Requiem. We finally have achieved expressing ourselves with no restraint, and so far the notices and reviews have been great! We really feel like we will get people on board. I feel like with this record, we could even go on the road with a blues band in America, and go over very well!"

John Norum has always been an exceptional guitarist. He always shined during his time with Europe (he was out of the band for six years in the late '80s/early '90s), and throughout a stellar solo career, but his playing has never been as brilliant, or shone as brightly as it does on this album. His lead playing is world class, and his riffing is exemplary. His tones are complex and varied, an obvious salute to Shirley's demand that the band start fresh with each tune and staying with each song until its completion. Every song has its own sound and the sound is always Norum leading the charge, with a new found sense of urgency and passion.

An autobiographical ballad, Bring It All Home closes out the album, and it sounds like an invitation for the band's fans to join them on the next leg of their adventure, as well as a heartfelt thank you.

Europe has indeed beaten the odds and made their finest album, many years after most of their contemporaries have hung up their boots, or turned to relying on past glories. Joey Tempest and the band have reinvented themselves as a seriously sleek and strong rock and roll machine. This is Europe's finest moment, regardless of how you look at it. They are going to blow some minds when they hit the festival circuit, and with a bit of luck they may just get to cross the ocean and unleash some of this rock and roll glory upon the Americas.

Bag of Bones will be released on April 18 in Japan, and April 30 in Europe and the UK.

My thanks to Joey Tempest, Europe, earMUSIC, and Peter Noble at Noble PR.

Edited by Libby Sokolowski.

Walter Trout's Blues for the Modern Daze - Top Shelf

The press release for Walter Trout's great new record, Blues for the Modern Daze, states that the album is his 'first pure blues album in 23 years as a bandleader.' So, you can maybe understand my surprise when I put on the CD and the first track sounded like a cool, lost outtake from Beck, Bogert, and Appice. This record rocks. It may be his 21st long player, but Trout sounds like a kid with something to prove, albeit a kid with 61 years of wisdom and experience.

"Well. you know, I played in a great power trio with Tim Bogert, and Bill Ward, the drummer from Black Sabbath back in '86 and '87," Trout states, "We played a lot at a bar right near my house in Huntington Beach, and I still have a great recording of a show we played together in Long Beach. We were called Blue Thunder, and for a while it looked like we might become really big, but...."

I knew that Trout had played with some of the greatest names in blues history, names such as John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton, Lowell Fulsom, Joe Tex, that he had joined the original Canned Heat in 1981, and then landed the ultimate blues guitarist gig - a slot in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers before going solo in 1989. I knew that famed BBC disc jockey Bob Harris had named him, 'the world's greatest rock guitar player,' in his book The Whispering Years, and that he had placed sixth on BBC Radio One's list of the Top 20 guitarists of all time. I hadn't realized that he almost went rock sensation with two of the most influential rockers in history.

"I had so many amazing jams with Tim, he was such a great, great singer and player," Trout said. "We did so many great old tunes, like Goin' Down, Howlin' Wolf tunes, Chuck Berry stuff, some really great times."

Blues for the Modern Daze is Trout's 21st album as a solo artist, and may just be his best. It defines everything that Walter has done over the last 23 years. His legendary six string gymnastics sit well amongst a diverse package of tunes that cover the gamut of blues for the twenty first century.

Saw My Mama Cryin is the albums opening cut, and it flat out rocks. Recorded with his basic stage rig (a dependable Strat and a Mesa Boogie MK V), Trout's tones are huge, as are his lively licks, and his passionate vocals. This is the blues - but it's the blues as the blues exists in 2012, like Walter says, "I think that if Blind Willie Johnson was alive today, he'd have an electric guitar,  a bassist and drummer, and it would sound a lot like this."

Produced in North Hollywood by Trout and long time engineer Eric Corne, Blues for the Modern Daze features Trout's touring band of drummer Michael Leasure, bassist Rick Knapp, and keyboardist Sammy Avila, and they provide the guitarist with the perfect palette on which to paint his masterpiece.

"This record is the blues - just in the way that I interpret them. When I went solo, I tried a lot of different genres, experimented with many styles and approaches. I mean, the blues is a very wide umbrella, and this is my interpretation of the genre. The blues hasn't, and doesn't need to remain stagnant! The old stuff, well, I love all that stuff, but I don't feel the need to copy that. This album is like everything I have ever written and recorded - it's not an exercise in songwriting, it's personal, it's topical and timely."

Indeed it is - Lonely, the second track is a slow blues tune for our time. It tells the story of Walter standing in Starbucks, listening to the crowd talking all too loudly into their cell phones, but with no sense of connection. Topical and timely? You bet. Trout relates some good advice on blues songwriting given to him by a somewhat drunk and disturbed female friend some 35 years ago:

Walter relates,"She said that there were two things that I must, must avoid if I were to write blues songs. There were two themes I must absolutely avoid. First, I had to avoid, 'my baby left me, and I'm bummed out.' That was the first. The second, that was, 'I'll buy you a Cadillac, baby, if you'll sit on my face!'

"I've tried my best to stick by that, but really, I broke them both on this record! My wife is continuing her education and is pursuing a PhD. Well, she was somewhere at a seminar in Texas, and I did miss her, so I sat down and wrote, Blues for my Baby. Then I experimented with a Willie Dixon-esque take on the housing situation in this country for Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. It's kind of a take on the whole 'great big Cadillac car' story! So much for the rules."

In keeping with the theme of modern problems, I asked Trout how his career was being impacted by the state of the recording industry and a world that downloads in lieu of purchasing. His answer was typically philosophical and measured with the wisdom of great experience.

"I have seen some changes over the course of my solo career," Walter states, "We used to do shows to advertise our records, in hopes of seeing big royalty checks from the record company. Today, we make records so we can then go out and do shows, and sell tickets. I just saw that Amazon is selling the new record for $9.99 - I don't make shit off of that. I try to explain to my kids, how vital it is to support the music they love by buying their records, but I know that a lot of downloading goes on. I think  that I am fortunate - blues rock fans are a bit more mature, and they enjoy getting to touch and see the records they buy. We've done a really nice job of packaging for this album, and I think the fans will really enjoy it, and it is a great value - nice photos, a cool booklet. This genre has really great and loyal fans!"

"I just did see something interesting on iTunes - it was a cover of a Led Zeppelin song by me that I knew I had never recorded. I bought it, and it was some terrible Led Zeppelin tribute band, and it totally sucked! I sent the record company several e-mails, but they haven't taken it down. It's not worth hiring a lawyer, and the way I look at it is that I worked awful hard for a long, long time, and I'm finally bootlegable!"

Trout comes across as a fellow who has worked hard, played hard, payed a great many dues along the road, and has lived to smile and tell the story.

I asked him about the obviously personal nature of the song, Recovery.

"Some would say that it's an overdone topic, I know I get a little tired of reading every other week about another celebrity that has written a book about how they lived through their addictions and came out the other side, but it's a true story. Recovery lasts forever. I was a heroin addict, I've been through it all, believe me - I've been sober for over 25 years, and I look at it every day, and still think about all the many friends I have had who didn't stop - they're mostly dead. I hope it might inspire people who are going through the same thing.

"When I get ready to do a new record, I often have a brief period where it's hard to get started - I get a little despondent, and think maybe that the ideas have dried up, that I can't do it. Then I hear the voice of my mother saying to me, very clearly, 'You are a musician. You make music, and it comes so easy and naturally to you.' After being on the road for eight or nine months, I'll take about a month off, then my wife reminds me that it's time to make a new record. I wrote this one in about three weeks, but I had worked out many of the lyrical ideas and concepts before that. Like Lonely - I had written that on a napkin while in line at Starbucks."

There are a great many other great songs on this album. Every tune is a memorable riff, a hummable melody, and several thousand great guitar licks that Walter Trout makes sound easy. I'll leave it to you, the listener, to get it and check it out for yourself. There are a great many treasures to be discovered, and I'll let you discover it in the same manner that I have.

Blues for the Modern Daze is the best blues rock record that has found its way into my world thus far this year, and I would highly recommend you place your orders now. The record is full of great songs, Trout's always incredible six string wizardry, his gutsy vocals, and a boatload of great riffs and songwriting. He's about to embark on another year of touring, and doing what he does best.

I get it now. This is a blues record, it's just not an out of date replica of some old schtick. This is the blues as it lives and breathes today, and Trout is one of the finest bluesmen on the planet. If you've been a fan, you know of what I speak. If you're not, get this record and get on board.

Thanks to Walter Trout, Steve Karas, and Peter Noble.

Jim Marshall - A Brief Remembrance

I'll never forget the first chord I played through a Marshall amplifier. I was working in an industrial plating factory just after graduating from high school in 1977. A friend was buying the amp, and it had been delivered to this small factory by its owner. This was not just any Marshall, it was the half stack that had been used for Ram Jam's huge hit, Black Betty. It still had the Ram Jam logo stenciled upon it, and that amp was magic. I turned the amp up to five, and hit an open A chord, and it ricocheted through that brick cracker box of a building in a way that still gives me goose bumps when I recall it. It was a wide, broad, and brawny tone - thick and rich, but with a singing high end. When you muted your strings and chunked away on an open E, the walls trembled with fear. I was hooked.

Mind you, I had heard many Marshall amps before I actually experienced playing through one. The first I saw and heard belonged to Robin Trower, on tour with a hit record, Bridge of Sighs, opening for Frank Zappa and The Mothers at Dayton's Hara Arena back on November 20, 1974. Trower's tone was huge, sounding like a wild jungle cat, drenched in Univibe and fuzz. Then a year later, KISS annihilated The Palace Theater in Dayton with a whole wall of blaring Marshalls. I heard Tommy Bolin fail miserably through his Marshall stacks in February of '76 as he succumbed to his chemical demons.

1978 was a tremendous year to hear thunderous Marshall tones as Eddie Van Halen stopped in Dayton on March 11 to show exactly how he was going to change the guitar world. Later in the year, UFO opened for Aerosmith at University of Dayton Arena, and Michael Schenker handily stole the show from the stoned remnants of Perry and Whitford's vintage Fenders, and MusicMan stacks. Van Halen had stolen the show earlier that year with a signature Marshall tone that became not only known as the 'brown sound,' it became the most sought after tone of a generation of guitarists. That March night, Van Halen ran rough shod over the top of two great, great players, Neal Schon of Journey, and Ronnie Montrose. Surely, Eddie's licks were at the fore, but it was also the huge slabs of tone being generated from his variac'd Marshalls that paved the way.

It was about this time that I decided that a Marshall amp was the way to go. Not being an incredibly savvy buyer at the time, I opted for the first Marshall I came across. A friend had come upon a used Marshall, but he needed something he could play at home, so he traded me straight across for my MusicMan HD 130 212 combo. It turns out that what I had unwittingly acquired may have been a bit much, the loudest guitar amplifier ever built, the 200 watt Marshall Major.

I found a used Marshall 412, and I plugged it all in - good Lord. I had never heard anything like it. It was louder on two than had been the earlier Ram Jam Marshall, even at its full volume. And, no matter how I tried, I could not get it to distort, not a bit. No matter how loud I turned it up, it retained the same sound. Now, mind you, the sound it delivered was glorious. Its tone was not terribly unlike that of a Fender Twin Reverb, except that it had a much thicker midrange, and the low end was almost beyond description. This was many, many years before guitarists starting tuning their instruments down to get fatter tones, but this a vastly superior low end to what I have ever heard from dropped tunings. It was unbelievable. It was also too loud.

I played two shows with my monster rig, and even with the volume on two, I was unbearably loud. It was the greatest sound I had ever heard, but it was simply too much. Marshall's worst mistake was still a brilliant piece of equipment. I have not heard better tone from an amp since I sadly traded away the beast, and it may have been my biggest gear mistake ever. It was a sound that I have never stopped looking for, and have never found.

The list of great rock guitarists who have used Marshall amps at one time or another is basically the list of great rock guitarists, period. There are very few who did not at some point plug into a Marshall. Many of the greatest tonemeisters, such as Eddie Van Halen, Billy Gibbons, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Ace Frehely, bands such as Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, and many, many others owe much of their signature tones to their Marshall amps. I heard Gary Moore play incredible hard rock, and wonderfully emotive blues through his career and his constant relationship with Marshall - there was even a signature Moore model in development at the time of his death, and no sooner are we past a year since his death that we are now saddened by the passing of the amp's father, builder Jim Marshall.

I first met Jim Marshall in the mid '80s at various Guitar Center functions. He was a true gentleman - he had never met a stranger, had never heard a dumb question, and seemingly never tired of talking about his company, his amps, and their legacy. His passing marks the end of an era, he was one of the last living of the original manufacturers of the instruments that forged the sound of rock and roll. You can be assured that Leo, Les, and the boys appointed a new member to the big board of directors up above today. God bless, and thank you, Jim - you will be missed, loved, and remembered.

Rest In Peace, Jim Marshall.

The Tale Of A Holy Grail - The 1942 Martin D-45

I recently had the rare privilege of being witness to the discovery and re-emergence of a pre-war Martin D-45, and its subsequent sale. The guitar is one of only 91 D-45s built by Martin before the model was discontinued due to the demands and limitations of a nation at war on two fronts in 1942. Subsequently, the D-45 has become the most sought after, and highly valued acoustic guitar in the world.

This is how the story began, back in late May of 2011, with a listing on eBay:

“Up for sale is an authentic Martin pre-war D-45. The 1942 Martin D-45 is well known as the Holy Grail of acoustic guitars. This guitar has been authenticated by George Gruhn of Nashville, a well known authority on these rare pre-war Martins. He described it as being in, “Exceptionally fine original condition”.  It has also been authenticated and inspected by Joe Glaser, a Martin historian and master luthier. He is one of the leading authorities on WWII era Martins. The 1942 Martin D-45 is admittedly the rarest and most highly prized steel string guitar in existence. Only 91 were produced from 1933 to 1942. This is one of 12 produced in 1942 and it is in extremely fine original condition. I am listing this for a friend who wants to remain anonymous.”

“This guitar was bought in 1942 by my grandfather. His hobby was string instruments and he played in a band for tips. My grandmother was not at all happy when he came home with this guitar because it was a very expensive guitar, even by 1942 standards. As a matter of fact, she was not at all happy for several days. He was able to keep it and played, it in his band.  He passed 10 years ago and this guitar has been in a closet ever since. Recently we got it out and realized what it was, so we took it and had it appraised. It appraised within the last week for $375,000. This could be your last chance to ever own one of these, especially one in this condition. We have had other offers and we have deals in the works to purchase this guitar. We reserve the right close this auction at any time if one of the other deals works out. Attached is the copy of the appraisal and several pictures. E-mail me with any questions and I will get them answered as soon as I can.  The buyer will deal with the owner of this item directly. The winning bidder will pay a $50,000 deposit in the PayPal account. The rest will be paid at delivery. Good luck!”

I have held this guitar, and it is absolutely gorgeous. Its Brazilian rosewood back and sides are beautifully bookmatched, and the guitar’s incredible abalone inlays along the top, back, sides, around the edge of the fingerboard, the soundhole, the neck heel, and the butt (by the endpin) are the result of endless hours of handicraft performed by Martin’s artisans. The headstock is adorned with a vertical C.F. Martin logo in mother of pearl. The hexagonal pearl fret marker inlays are offset remarkably by the ebony fingerboard. Every inlay on this particular instrument is in outstanding condition – truly stunning. The Adirondack red spruce top is unmarred, and in magnificent shape.

The guitar’s serial number is 80745, and coincidentally, it is the only pre-war D-45 with a serial number that ends in 45. It is, as George Gruhn states in his appraisal, ‘in exceptionally fine original condition.’ The only alterations are a replaced end pin, and a shaved bridge saddle.

Gary Dick, one of the world’s foremost authorities on fine vintage instruments, is the dealer who ended up buying the guitar. He has operated Gary’s Classic Guitars since leaving the corporate world behind in 1993 to dedicate his efforts to merchandising the absolute finest in vintage and rare guitars for musicians, collectors, and investors from around the world. His inventory is an incredible walk through the history of the guitar – the best pieces, in the best of shape. Every guitar is in top flight condition, and plays like a dream, even the notoriously difficult Gretsch and Mosrite guitars play incredibly well – I’ll credit this to Gary’s attention to detail, and his full time luthier.

When Peter Frampton lost some of his prized instruments in the tragic Nashville flood in May of 2010, one of the dealers he turned to was Gary Dick. Jackson Browne and his band dropped by Gary’s in their tour bus to shop and see firsthand some of the most amazing guitars in the world under one roof. Tom Petty and Mike Campbell bought some vintage amps later the same evening. The best players seeking the best guitars often find their way to Gary’s Classic Guitars.

A couple of months ago, Gary was contacted by someone in Atlanta, Georgia who knew of a 1942 Martin D-45 that had just come up for sale. I asked Gary about the D-45 that somewhat mysteriously came and went from eBay in May.

“Well, the guitar you are talking about was up on eBay for a few days.” Gary recounted, ‘It got pulled because we bought it!”

“Tony, just to refresh your memory, this guitar walked into a large guitar shop in Georgia from a local Atlantan. It was his grandfather’s, who gave it to his father, who then gave it to his son. The guitar has actually been sitting in a closet for 30 plus years - literally unused, not played, nothing done to it, and no clue as to what it really was. According to the seller, he said that he had the guitar, and was trying to clear out some space – he knew it was a Martin, and that it was nice, but he had done no research and he had gotten a friend of his, and told him the model and serial number. His friend then did some research, and said, ‘What did you say that serial number and model was?’

“He (the seller) then went from zero to a thousand in a millisecond, because he did not know that what he had was so incredibly, incredibly rare! And the preserved state of the guitar – not even cleaned up at this point, and it’s so unexpected – I mean just totally unexpected, to find this in the year 2011. It is almost something that should not exist, but there it is!”

Gary Dick was a relative late comer to the bargaining table, as the guitar had first come to the world’s largest instrument dealer, who hired Joe Glaser, one of the world’s finest guitar repair technicians, to examine and authenticate the guitar. After Glaser had been through the guitar, it then ended up in the shop of George Gruhn, founder and owner of Gruhn Guitars, one of the original and best known vintage guitar stores in the world. Gruhn, in conjunction with his partner Walter Carter, wrote an appraisal for the instrument that gave a value of $375,000.

Bidding on a rare vintage guitar, especially one as rare as a pre-war Martin D-45 (remember, only 91 were built by Martin between 1933 and 1942), is a fascinating thing. This guitar went through the hands of two of the world’s best known and best heeled dealers before it found its way to Mr. Dick. Either dealer certainly had the wherewithal and the desire to own this literal white buffalo. I have only been able to find one other pre-war D-45 currently being offered, and it has had significant repair work done, and is not quite as pristinely original as is number 80745.

The authentication of such a guitar can be exhausting, and is beyond the scope of many instrument dealers. There are those in the world who go to tremendous lengths to counterfeit such works of art. The job of verification is not one for a single person - several sets of eyes, and many years of experience are required for such an undertaking.

Gary Dick, “We put the guitar under a black light to be sure that the lacquer is undisturbed, and there is absolutely no disturbing of the lacquer. The interior has been closely inspected by me and my staff, even after having been seen by Gruhn, Glaser, and Walter Carter. It is extremely clean in terms of its braces, and its bridge plate – the scalloping of the braces is exactly as it should be – it is what it is. You just have to be absolutely certain when you’re talking about this kind of money.”

What kind of money are we talking about here? Well, the guitar had a ‘Buy It Now’ price of $325,000 on eBay, and the Gruhn appraisal was for $375,000, but the actual price is a matter of fact that shall remain between Gary Dick and the guitar’s buyer. In reality, the price is somewhat a moot point – you can’t go out and buy another at any price - this is as unique as a woman, or a painting by Pablo Picasso.

The mystery remains in exactly who ends up with the guitar, and how that comes to pass. Everyone agrees that each player offered what Dick calls, “Crazy money.” Any of the prospective purchasers clearly could do whatever was necessary to procure such a piece, but only one could walk away with the prize, and in this case it was Gary Dick. Was it a few dollars more? Was Dick just more charming, and convincing? This is all speculation, and of little difference – sometimes things just happen for reasons unclear.

Gary Dick, “You want to have corroboration. Honestly, I have seen virtually every guitar that has ever been made, every model. There are some amazingly skilled people out there who can build stuff to look like other things, and some things can be repaired 40-50 years ago, and you may not know about it. You just need multiple sets of eyes. To see something of this ilk – like I said, the guitar was brought to Gruhn, and he and his entire staff, and Walter Carter inspected it, and George tried like hell – even offered the same kind of crazy money that the other dealer had, but we bought it.”

The guitar itself is a beauty. It has not been cleaned, polished, or restrung. These things are being considered, as well as Gruhn’s appraisal noting the possibility of the guitar needing a neck reset. Gary had this to say on the guitar’s current condition, before he showed me the guitar:

“One of the big questions, before I bring it out, that we have in our minds - and we talked about this the other night as you’ll recall, is whether we leave it alone - should we leave it exactly as it is, should we clean it and put new strings on it, if it does need a neck reset, should we be involved in doing all that stuff, or should the guitar be preserved in its current state? This is something I’ll be talking to some other people about, and your input is important as well.”

“There is great difficulty in doing a neck reset with such intricate inlay work that you do not want to disturb. The condition is so pristine – virtually every old Martin on the planet has a crack between the pickguard and the bridge, because Martin did something very interesting, which was a mistake. When they sprayed the clear lacquer over the guitar’s top, they also sprayed it over the pickguard itself, and the pickguard shrinks at a different rate than the lacquer, and this causes the wood to crack. Astonishingly, this guitar has no such crack!”

After giving this issue some thought, I can only conclude that the guitar should, if at all possible, be returned to playability. I am certainly not a museum curator, but I am a guitarist, and one who knows that there are very few pre-war D-45s that do not sound fantastic. If only occasionally, this guitar deserves to again be played. Its serial number denotes that it is a sibling of Stephen Still’s “Darling,” which has a serial number of 80743 – just two away from 80745. I believe that given the skills of the available repair people, if it is possible, restoration should be complete.

Gary’s love and reverence for this instrument is palpable. He gently laid the case across the arms of a luxurious chair, and slowly undid the latches, deliberately and with great care. He lifted the lid, and I would have almost sworn that light shown from within. I have never been so awestruck by the first sight of a guitar. I gasped. Why the D-45 is considered the grail is certainly no mystery. I felt as if I were in Egypt viewing a great secret from an unknown past. This was a thrill of a lifetime for me.

When Gary handed me the guitar, I was even more stunned – it weighed next to nothing, feather-light, yet it felt as solid as a rock. There is no real comparison to holding or playing such a brilliant and rare guitar. I had the opportunity just weeks before to hold and play Joe Bonamassa’s 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, and there is just nothing like the vibe you get from connecting with these modern day Stradivari. Many manufacturers, Martin included, build fantastic replicas of their classic models, but to hold the real thing is an experience quite apart from that of playing a new instrument. Even without strings there was no mistaking that this was something very, very special.

This is not the kind of thing that one sees every day. In fact, it is something you rarely see, even if you are a Gruhn, Gary Dick, or Guitar Center. I have seen thousands of guitars, yet I had seen nothing quite like this. The pre-war Martin D-45 is, as George Gruhn himself stated in Vintage Guitar Magazine:

“The Martin D-45, offered by the company from 1933 through 1942, is well-known as the Holy Grail of acoustic guitars. While players and collectors may argue whether it is the absolute best guitar ever made, in terms of value, it easily outdistances any other acoustic model in the vintage market.”

So, it happened almost imperceptibly - a few days on eBay, a few posts on various guitar forums around the Internet, and an interruption in the lives of a few of the biggest vintage guitar gurus on the planet. In a small, brief struggle amongst industry giants, the rarest of all acoustic guitars comes out of a closet after a rest of some 30 years, and regains its spot as the king of kings in the world of modern stringed instruments.

The guitar’s new owner knows what he has, and is well aware of the responsibility that comes with the stewardship of such a rare and distinguished instrument. This bodes well for future generations, who will get to see and enjoy the remarkable artistry and craftsmanship that went into the building of this glorious guitar.

The real winner here may well be the guitar itself. After sitting in stillness and in the dark, biding its time for over 30 years, it is once again being loved for what it is. Long may it reign.

Great thanks to Gary Dick of Gary's Classic Guitars.

Ariel Bender/Luther Grosvenor - Jeckyl or Hyde?

"On our first tour '73 a guy came up to me and said, 'Jesus Christ, you are a dead ringer for Luther Grosvenor from Spooky Tooth!' I replied, 'So they tell me!' I think sometimes it has given me two identities, and sometimes two personalities. Some of my closest friends do not like Ariel, and often tell me to put him back in the box!"

They say it's a mighty long way, down rock and roll, and never was this more true than in the tale of onetime Mott The Hoople guitarist Ariel Bender, AKA Luther Grosvenor. 

In the late '60s and early '70s, the guitarist had found relative fame and fortune as a scorching hot lead guitarist for the legendary Spooky Tooth, whose playing had been described as, "Unhinged genius."

Bender laughs, "Really! I just played how I felt! Well, the solo on Evil Woman was 9 minutes long. I think some of the playing on Ceremony was like, that out of control."

You often get the sense, as you watch Grosvenor/Bender recount his storied history that two personalities do co-exist inside the English six-stringer. Grosvenor is a calm, relatively mild mannered blues rock musician who is given to thoughtful reflection and deep consideration, whilst Bender is a besotted madman, capable of not just taking over, but potentially dismantling, piece by piece, any stage on to which he steps.

The strange tale of his transformation from blues rock wizard to glam rock demon is one of rock's most enduring, and charming tales. His passage from the intellectual cult following of Spooky Tooth to the screaming minions on Broadway with Mott The Hoople is a story book tale of rock and roll.

After five years, and as many albums, Spooky Tooth had folded. Grosvenor was then recruited into Stealers Wheel, replacing lead singer Gerry Rafferty, who had written and sung on the band's first album, which included the monster hit, Stuck in the Middle with You. The tune then climbed to #6 on the American Billboard Top 100 singles charts, and #8 on the UK Singles Chart in 1973. As the song catapulted up the charts, Rafferty was convinced to return to the fold, leaving Luther without employment once again.

It was about this time when Mick Ralphs decided that his time with Mott The Hoople had come to a logical conclusion. Mott had endured many years of great live success, and very little success at the business of selling records. They had decided to pack it in after yet another exhausting set of European concerts, and in the wake of it all, bassist Pete Overend Watts had sought out David Bowie thinking that perhaps the singer could use another shiny haired, high booted band member. 

Bowie, of course, had no such need, and in fact had a different notion about the future of Mott. A hit single and album later, the band had found an audience, but lost a guitarist. Mick Ralphs had had his fill of playing first fiddle, but being second fiddle when it came to song writing and creative control. Ian Hunter had emerged as a superior songwriter, and star level frontman, leaving his guitarist unsatiable, and in search of Bad Company, which he founded with ex-Free vocalist Paul Rodgers. Much has been made of this over the years, but to see it as anything except inevitable is folly. Bad Company made Ralphs rich beyond his dreams, and gave him the ability to write as he pleased - who could wish him more? As for Mott The Hoople, their best days lay ahead.

Bender states, "I was already with Chris Blackwell at Island records with Spooky Tooth. I already knew Mick Ralphs. Therefore it was a natural crossover. I had at that time finished with Stealers Wheel, so to join Mott The Hoople at that time was a really big job for me!

"It was easy, as I said before. I was already with Island, I knew Mick so it was not as though I was joining a band I did not know, although I had not played with them. It was a breeze. I met with Ian Hunter for a drink in a pub in London. I did not think for one minute that they were going to ask me to join the band."

There was one rub. Being well wrapped in the glitz of the times, and the sensationalistic world in which Mott now moved, having a guitarist named Luther seemed a bit parochial, even if that Luther was an amazingly well respected guitar player.

Luther adds, "Ian said, 'We do have a problem. I know you already have a great name, Luther James Grosvenor.' Well, we have just come up with a name for our guitar player. Ariel Bender. How would you feel about that?' I said just call me Ariel!   

"Joining Mott gave me the chance to let live, and let rip on the guitar in a way that I had not been able to do within other bands. Mott gave me license to be myself. When you hear the live version of Walking with a Mountain, there was something like a 20 minute solo, and although it was sometimes crazy, or over the top, it was structured. I guess what I am trying to say is that, as out of control as it was, I was totally in control."

Luther Grovsenor was thus thrown head first into a whirling miasma of limousines, Trans-Atlantic flights, and sold out American concerts, giving birth to the legend of Ariel Bender.

Mott The Hoople had always been first above all, a superior live rock and roll band. They made their bones on endless tours of the UK, and Europe, selling out venues that far outranked their status as hit makers, which they decidedly weren't. However, with the insertion of the machinery that had made David Bowie a star, the band now were at the top of the British charts, and were finally becoming stars in the arena they most sought, the United States.

Bender brought something to the band which Ralphs could have never provided, star presence. While the Ralpher was a brilliant guitarist and writer, he was never cut out for the guitar god role. He was a humble worker, ever providing chunky riffs, and tasteful leads, but a larger than life stage presence, he was not, and that is just what the band needed to crack America, and Bender seemed born for the role.

Time has gotten things rather crossed, as it often will. There was not much argument from the fans over Ralphs departure, and Ariel's joining - that is something created later by those who must sell sensational stories after the fact. Indeed, audiences loved the change, and The Hooples were poised to becoming world beaters, the band that couldn't fail.

Bender recalls, "I think I joined Mott The Hoople at their biggest and most successful time! The band was much more successful when Ariel was in the band! It was never a problem being compared to Mick, as we were friends. Mick couldn't give a damn if people said that Ariel was better, and Ariel couldn't give a damn if people said Mick was better! No one would have refused to walk into a band that was just about to set off on huge American tours.

"Oh yes, whoever takes anyone’s place in a band will always have comments for and against, it was never a problem for me, as I knew that it would happen. You are always going to be compared.

"It was gigs first - straight to America. I then recorded the Hoople album, although as I said, it was a breeze joining Mott The Hoople. It is when you record that you really feel part of the band."

This is where history gets a bit, shall we say, shitty. One of my qualms with music journalism is its tired propensity for drama. There always has to be a good guy, a bad guy, and blame to be slung about.

The amazing juggernaut that was Mott The Hoople just couldn't last. Mostly, because its leading force, Ian Hunter, wanted no part of what was about to happen. He had become less and less comfortable with the trappings of pending superstardom, and had no appetite for the constant and incredible pressure that came with the territory - so, he blew it up. 

The band had been forced into going on the road, with the barest of rehearsals for their new guitarist, and was then sent immediately into the studio to record what would become their swansong, 'The Hoople.' In retrospect, much has been made of the lack of creativity on the part of Bender, but a closer look reveals a situation in which the new guy caught some blame for whatever shortcomings may have been felt at the time. In retrospect, 'The Hoople' is as fine a record as the band ever made. Much was said at the time, but let’s remember, this was a band that was imploding from the top down, and everyone felt a bit burned.

On the recording of 'The Hoople,' the guitarist said, "It was quite a mixed album. Marionette, pretty with Pearl and Roy. I played lovely guitar on Alice. If you are a builder you build to plans - it is the same with music. Not everybody can be manic and then controlled. I think there are strokes of genius on Alice, a pretty little ditty!

In fact, if you give the album even a cursory listen, Bender shows himself to be extremely creative, fiery, and inspired. Never had Hunter's proclivity for combining ornate keyboards, stabbing horns, and dirty rock and roll guitars been better realized. Ariel's slashing solo on The Golden Age of Rock and Roll is terrifying and exciting, all aquiver with wild tremolo and bends. Great, great stuff. On Hunter's greatest pop opus, Marionette, the guitars shriek and howl magnificently, and this surely didn't miss the consciousness of listeners such as Queen's Brian May, a huge Bender fan.

Luther recalls, "When Mott The Hoople chose Queen to be the backup band, and we did the UK tour first to gear it up for the American tour, I think everybody was kind of, I know everybody was kind of on their toes. When we went to sound check, we thought, 'Fuckin' hell, these guys are good!' But we got on with them like a house on fire, and we did 'em every night, just as Ian has said, it wasn't a problem.

"I think Queen learned a lot from Mott The Hoople. A lot of nights, they'd always watch us on the side of the stage. They weren't like a support band that would go back to the hotel, or whatever after their set. More than not, they'd stay behind and take it all in. And they were great, great guys, they were amazing. Brian May, his technical ability, he'd blow me straight to smithereens, but he used to say to me, 'Luther, how is it that you do what you do?,' and I'd say, 'Well, how do you do what you do?' I mean, I'm not a purely technical guitar player, I'm more of a play as I feel sort, but I have the ability to do both, sweet and sour. Oh, I like that, sweet and sour!"

Luther then fondly recalled Freddie Mercury coming down to play table tennis backstage, and proceeding to wipe the floor with everyone.

On May 8, 1974, Mott The Hoople became the first rock and roll band to play Broadway, doing an extended run at The Uris Theater. Combined with a show recorded months earlier at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, the resulting record, Mott The Hoople Live, remains one of the most exciting live concert albums in history. The band's enduring legacy is largely built upon the fact that when these shows were documented - with Ariel Bender serving as Ian Hunter's foil and main musical weapon, Mott had become one of the best live rock and roll bands in history. Bender's remarkable performances define rock and roll guitar as well as any ever has, to this day. The record stands proudly beside KISS Alive as the record that probably sold more guitars to more young upstarts than any other of the era. Whether it was Queen's use of drama and musical bravado, or The New York Dolls retooling Mott's aggressive stage show and costuming to literally invent punk rock, the legacy of Ariel Bender and Mott The Hoople has endured.

Looking back on his role, Grosvenor says when asked if he had been scripted by the band, "No, down to me completely free agent. On tour, I grabbed center stage, and tormented Ian by saying it’s my show not yours, and he pulled and pushed me across stage. After the show we said well that worked and we kept it in. The audience maybe thought there was a problem, but no problem at all, just great fun. There was no set play, or structure, just a do what you have to approach."

Nothing lasts forever, and so it was such with Mott The Hoople. After 'The Hoople,' and the Live album, the band was again on the verge of collapse, and Hunter chose to briefly bring ex-Bowie sideman Mick Ronson into the band, perhaps seeing an ultimate exit strategy and stepping stone to a less stressful solo career. Once again, the stories told are more dramatic, and filled with villains and sinners than reality remembers.

Bender sums it up rather neatly, and with a hearty laugh, "Ian had always had a nervous disposition, especially before going on stage; me being the new guy, I felt he was more nervous than me. I never really witnessed the band come apart, I had already departed. Ronno was an amazing guitar player! Then, they did only go another 6 months after my time. Part of me would like to think it was because I left!"

And, so it was. The tale of Luther Grosvenor one day stepping out of a pub, and into a phone box, emerging a Superman, emerging one Ariel Bender - a stupefying, exciting, and brilliant guitarist who truly made the children laugh and cry. At the end of the day, we can ask no more than that of our rock and roll heroes. In his brief sojourn out of his calm, if somewhat unhinged glory as one of Britain's best ever blues rockers, Luther Grosvenor created a character as English as Dickens, as rock as Jimmy Page. He invented Ariel Bender, and for that, we remain forever in his debt. He gave us something bigger than himself, and bigger than our dreams had been. God bless Luther Grosvenor, and God bless Ariel Bender, the both of them.

But I couldn't quite let go. I had to ask Luther/Ariel about being sadly left out of the glorious Mott The Hoople reunion shows in 2009, and what was next for rock's greatest Jeckyl and Hyde.

Ariel had this to say, "At first I did not know anything about it, then I thought I would have been included. I was upset at the time but did understand that they wanted to do it with the original band members. I think it would have made for a better show more wholesome to have included the later members. There has been a lot of feedback from fans who were disappointed that Ariel was not included.

"Ariel always thought that Ian thought that Ariel might steal the show again!"

Luther on the future, "I might record with a couple of the band members of Mott The Hoople who I keep in contact with, who knows! My careers not over yet, there's still plenty of mileage in the Great Ariel Bender!"

Let us know, Luther. Another dose of Ariel Bender wouldn't hurt a bit!

My greatest thanks to Anne Carpenter who made this interview possible, and conducted the proceedings. And, of course, thanks to Mssrs. Bender and Grosvenor, without whom we would be so much more the less.