In this day and age it’s rather common to order a guitar online and have it shipped to your home. Even in the shop where I’m working people often ask for a ‘new’ guitar from the warehouse when they’re finished trying the guitars that are hanging on the wall. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I’mContinue reading “Guitars”
Author Archives: Johnny G. Smith
Food for thought
I bought this little guitar in St. Petersburg, Russia. At the beginning of my trip with the Transsiberian Railway. It was the summer of 2005, a completely different world compared to todays crisis. But even before the lockdown of the world, just a few weeks ago, it was very different back then. It was stillContinue reading “Food for thought”
Rockin in a Free World
Back in the day, before Facebook and Instagram there was MySpace. An online platform where as a band you could share your music and build a fanbase.Now it’s long gone, but even back then I wrote little stories. Going through the archives I found one that’s still relevant. So here it is. Money for NothingContinue reading “Rockin in a Free World”
Review: Postpakketjes van Overzee
What can I say. I just finished the book ‘Postpakketjes van Overzee’ by Dewi Deijle. It roughly translates to ‘Parcels from Oversea’. It’s a story about her, but also about me and over 3000 others. So it’s also a collective story. It’s about us, the +3000 parcels that were shipped to the Netherlands all theContinue reading “Review: Postpakketjes van Overzee”
The love-hate relationship
I’m not talking about the kind that involves people, but the one you have with certain objects. For me it’s the Fender Stratocaster. I always liked the sound and most of the artists that are known for their signature Strat sound. Hendrix, David Gilmour, SRV, Clapton, Jeff Beck and many others. Although I love theirContinue reading “The love-hate relationship”
Recording
I’m old enough to have witnessed and experienced the days of analogue recording. There is something about recording on tape. Luckily analogue recording and playback is slowly making a come back these days. Slash recorded his debut album on tape, Foo Fighters recorded their last album on tape. And a lot of bands have theirContinue reading “Recording”
Chords: part 1
You can look at chords as the building blocks of a song. There are lots of different chords and you can try to learn them all. But to have an understanding about the way they are built can make it easier to memorize them or make your own chords and voicings and to use themContinue reading “Chords: part 1”
Sing a long
As I stated before I don’t think I’m a very good singer. If I try my best I can produce something ear pleasing, depending on the key or the song. But it’s not something I feel confident about. Just consider yourself lucky that you won’t ever hear me sing in public, except for the occasionalContinue reading “Sing a long”
Heroes: Slash
When I just started playing guitar my biggest hero was Slash. Not only did I wanted to learn every riff and solo he played, I wanted to be like him. I tried to dress like him and even my stage performance was similar to his. He’s the reason the Les Paul model is still myContinue reading “Heroes: Slash”
Rock n’ Roll guide: The Gig
So finally after all the hard work; mastering your instrument, writing songs, getting your sound together, get a band together, record a demo, have your pictures taken for the promo, figuring out a band name and lots of other stuff you never thought of in the first place, you managed to get a gig. TheContinue reading “Rock n’ Roll guide: The Gig”
Johnny G. Smith 