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#GuitarGirl guitargirlmag.com
MonaLisa Twins
Acquisition Syndrome
Tish Ciravolo
Gear
Guitar Girl Magazine Cover Artists
smashes the MI glass ceiling with Daisy Rock Guitars
Guitar Players and Gear
Reviews
TARA Talk GUITARGIRLMAG.COM Vol 1, Issue 1, JANUARY 2018
Welcome to Guitar Girl Magazine and our debut of the digital/print magazine version of our popular music blog featuring girls that love to rock, interviews with inspiring singer-song writers, gear reviews, and so much more! Our followers know that I started the music blog geared toward female guitarists over five years ago with the vision of providing women a forum to not only be seen and heard, but to help them gain insights from other female musicians on how they overcame the many challenges a new artist faces in the competitive landscape of popular music. At first, I was concerned about keeping a constant flow of content to keep readers engaged and coming back for more, but I soon found that there was a huge void where this type of publication could not be found. Artists from all over the country, and soon the world, came to us via their publicists longing for media exposure and to be taken seriously as a guitarist – not just a “pretty face” or the “she’s good for a girl” comment. Music fans, both female and male, found this unique coverage of female guitarists enlightening and entertaining. The fusion of these two realities launched Guitar Girl Magazine and it has been growing rapidly ever since. Now, in the pages that follow, I am so proud to introduce you to some outstanding talent and take you into our world through multiple platforms including online, digital and print! This marks a key milestone in our development as a first-rate publication with rich content that is sure to please young and old, male and female, professional and novice, and lovers of music who want to see women excel! This is our inaugural publication and we will be expanding and growing and adding more content as we go. I am so ready for this to begin…and if you are ready to join me, let’s go!!
Tara Low
Contributors: Guitar Gabby Lisa Lim Caroline Paone Alison Richter Sasha Vallely Ché Zuro
Editorial Requests may be submitted to info@guitargirlmag.com Advertising Requests may be submitted to media@guitargirlmag.com Subscription Requests may be submitted to info@guitargirlmag.com Comments may be submitted to info@guitargirlmag.com Mailing address: The Low Group, Inc. d/b/a Guitar Girl Magazine 12195 Highway 92, #114-210 Woodstock, GA 30188 (866) 364-4828 (Toll Free) Guitar Girl Magazine ©2018 Printed in the USA All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of Guitar Girl Magazine is prohibited. GuitarGirlMagazine @guitargirlmag +Guitargirlmag Front cover: MonaLisa Twins Photo credit: Rudolf Wagner
~ Tara Low
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Founder/Editor:
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@GuitarGirlMag guitargirlmag
Contents Features »» First Annual Guitar Girl Magazine Calendar for 2018 05 »» Guitar Players and Gear Acquisition Syndrome - Do you have G.A.S.? 07
Interviews »» “Not Bad For A Girl”: Tish Ciravolo smashes the MI glass ceiling with Daisy Rock Guitars 10 »» Inside the Industry with The WiMN Founder Laura B. Whitmore 18
Gear »» Gear: New 24 »» Gear: Reviews 25 »» BOSS Acoustic Singer Live 25 »» Orange Fur Coat Fuzz/Octave Pedal 27 »» Fender Duo Sonic HS Electric Guitar 28 »» Yamaha AC3R Acoustic Electric Guitar 29
HEALTH/WELLNESS (Coming soon) Lessons »» Girls Got Rhythm: Constant Flow 31 »» Sheet Music (Coming soon)
TIPS »» Handpick the Perfect Pick: Serve your Playing 37 »» #GuitarGirl 30 »» Mind Game and Trivia 33-34 »» Music Releases 35 »» What We’re Reading NOW! 40 »» Fun Stuff 42 »» Mind Game and Trivia answers 43
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GGM COMMUNITY We want to hear from you! Questions, comments, suggestions, road stories, and, ...well, anything else you may have on your mind!
Send them directly to: info@guitargirlmag.com GuitarGirlMagazine @GuitarGirlMag @guitargirlmag guitargirlmag +Guitargirlmag guitargirlmag.com Guitar Girl Magazine 3
Meet the Team Tara Low, Editor
Guitar Gabby
Lisa Lim
Caroline Paone
Alison Richter
Sasha Vallely
Ché Zuro
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FEATURES
First Annual Guitar Girl Magazine Calendar for 2018
We are proud to release our first annual Guitar Girl Magazine 2018 Official Calendar featuring some very talented women that we have had the pleasure to showcase throughout the years. Gracing the cover are the extremely talented twin sisters from the United Kingdom, Mona and Lisa Wagner. The MonaLisa Twins’ love for the ‘60s and
the sounds from that era has influenced them as musicians with an emphasis on rhythm, lead guitar, and a great back beat from the drums. Their sound is unique in today’s music landscape, but bears a striking resemblance to the sounds of perhaps the most influential decade of our past- the 1960s. Their recent album Orange was released last Fall to rave reviews. www.monalisa-twins.com
The next twelve months feature artists across all genres from blues, rock, soul, pop to Latin pop/reggae. Meet the women of Guitar Girl Magazine’s 2018 Calendar. guitargirlmag.com Guitar Girl Magazine 5
FEATURES
January
March
WILDWOOD
Daria Musk
WILDWOOD is an American indie/pop artist based in Nashville, a multi-instrumentalist, and a third generation Carter. She’s chosen the moniker WILDWOOD as an homage to her family’s 1927 song. She recently released a remake of “Ring of Fire” which she says: “Recording my cousin June’s song “Ring of Fire” live in the studio gave me chills. I felt her spirit in the room and could imagine her huge smile looking down on me. I only knew her when I was a kid, but the short time I spent with her left a lasting impression, and every time I sing her song, I feel her presence.” Prior to embarking on her musical career, WILDWOOD graduated from Harvard, was a diplomat at the US Embassy in Paris, worked with Governor Haslam creating the Tennessee Promise program, and founded a non-profit organization in Nashville that serves refugee youth. www. sheiswildwood.com
February Malina Moye With a blend of rock, funk and soul, Malina Moye has been named by Guitar World Magazine as one of “10 Female Guitarists You Should Know.” A lefty and inspired by Jimi Hendrix, she learned to play the guitar upside down. She’s played with legendary blues rock guitarists Pinetop Perkins, David “Honeyboy” Edwards and Hubert Sumlin, as well as performed on the Experience Hendrix Tours at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s tribute concert for Chuck Berry and honored the Queen of England. Her 2014 record Rock & Roll Baby garnered three Billboard charting singles on various charts in the Top 40, so we’re excited to hear her new album Bad As I Want To Be due out in March. www.malinamoye.com
Daria Musk describes herself as a Musician, a Millennial, and an Artistpreneur. She discovered it was much easier to sing to an audience on social media rather than lugging her equipment from venue to venue, so she started live interactive online concerts and became an overnight success singing to global audiences. She has taken that success and translated it into speaking engagements, TED talks, and a consulting business to tech and entertainment companies. Daria’s an “Artispreneur” to watch as she will be launching a new album and online video series to inspire a whole new generation of people to make what they love what they do! www.dariamusk.com
February’s inspirational quote is from an interview we had with Tish Ciravolo back in 2012 when we first started our venture. “You just have to practice. You’ve got to find your sound. You’ve got to find out who you are. You have to practice, and just practice, practice, practice. It’s the only way, and it’s such a simple answer. I wish it was a paragraph, but it just isn’t. It just comes down to finding what’s inside of you that needs to get out. And you can only do that if you’re practicing.” ~Tish Ciravolo, Also included inside are inspiring quotes and advice from female guitarists Nancy Wilson, Lisa Loeb, Lita Ford and Jennifer Batten, as well as from women business owners Tish Ciravolo of Daisy Rock Guitars and Laura Whitmore of the Women’s International Music Network taken from interviews with Guitar Girl Magazine. The calendar is 8.5″ x 11″, stapled binding, pre-hole punched for hanging, with a UV high gloss cover. All major U.S. holidays are noted, as well as religious holidays. The calendar can be purchased on our website and on Amazon. Stay tuned for our next issue showcasing the artists for April, May and June. GGM
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FEATURES
Guitar Players and Gear Acquisition Syndrome Do you have G.A.S.? My Journey Dealing with the Syndrome!
By Lisa Lim
I
t’s that time of the year, well, for the music industry that is, where the biggest trade show on earth, Winter NAMM, is held this month in Anaheim, California! The National Association of Music Merchants (aka
known as NAMM to us musicians) showcases the latest and greatest music equipment all under one roof in the Anaheim Convention Center. This year, it all begins on January 25th.
friend, who also plays guitar, and halfway into the conversation she said, “You have G.A.S.!” I said, “Excuse me?” She said, “Yes, you suffer from Gear Acquisition Syndrome!” Really!
And that just happens to bring this thought to mind. I spent one day recently chatting it up with a good
She explained the definition- “G.A.S.” is a term used to describe an urge to acquire and accumulate lots of music
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FEATURES gear. This term is commonly associated with guitarists who tend to acquire guitars, amplifiers, pedals, effects processors – just accumulating extensive quantities of gear over an extended period of time. Well, my guitar playing pal was right! So that brought up another valid question. Where did it all start? I found myself reflecting over the years all the gear I had acquired and that had come and gone. Visuals of my studio with every corner filled with, well, you know, gear! For me, it started with the beater acoustic guitar my dad brought home one day after work and gave to me. It was true love! I played it for hours, developing massive blisters on my left-hand fingertips, but still kept at it like some mad scientist! A few more acoustic beater guitars entered the picture after that. Then, entered the desire for acquiring an electric guitar and guitar amplifier. So, with a couple of trades and a little bit of extra cash, I had my first electric guitar and guitar amp! True love again! Who says you can’t find true love twice? I couldn’t put it down. Not for a minute. I scored a practice amp with two knobs- one for volume, the other for tone. Of course, both would get cranked to level 10 and my strat-style electric would get kicked on the bridge single coil pickup position a lot of the time, doing everything I could to make the guitar scream and wail! There’s no doubt my family wanted to strangle me. Sigh. But, I loved rock ‘n’ roll! And, I was on that quest for a wicked overdriven sound. How to do that? Well, I’m sure I blew the speaker in my poor practice amp out within the first month, but I wasn’t too concerned because it screamed distortion! The only other gizmos I had acquired at that point were a tuner, capo, extra strings, string winder and wire cutter, guitar picks, guitar slide, guitar strap, polish, a soft-shell case, and extra instrument cables. So, after about six months, absorbed, reading all of my guitar magazines, every column, even studying every single advertisement, I had learned about every effects pedal under the sun. A whole new chapter was about to unfold in my gear acquisition. I wanted a distortion pedal. Sigh. So, I went out and scored an MXR distortion pedal. Came home, plugged it in, and a whole new dimension of screaming overdrive and feedback came to life! Cool! I’d been developing my guitar chops, immersed in my Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton records, listening for hours every day after school, and picking out lick after lick those guys played. Dissecting them. Sitting right beside my record player, moving the needle on my turntable back to the same place a thousand times, listening, absorbing, determined to pick out each amazing phrase and chord progression. I was playing so many styles of music. Rock, jazz, blues, country. At this point, I was just 13 years old and still jamming
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I was playing in garage bands, freelancing occasionally with regional bands, still taking guitar lessons, and continuing to learn about all the cool gear that was constantly coming out and being reviewed in guitar magazines. Yes, guitar magazines, an excellent source for G.A.S.!
on my first electric guitar. Then, one day leaving a guitar lesson, there it was hanging on the wall to my right as I’m walking out of the music shop. What? A cool guitar! Yes, I stopped and picked it up. The salesman said, “Wanna plug it in?” Well, of course, I did. I just had to figure out how I was going to be able to afford to purchase that guitar, being a preteen with a small weekly allowance. I started adding together my allowance, along with money I had saved up, and then the “beg your parent ‘til they can’t take it anymore” trick thrown into the mix! The rest was pretty much history. I had a new guitar! Another love affair sparked. I actually purchased it around my birthday, so I spent the good portion of my birthday gathering playing for my family and friends. I loved that guitar. Well, time marches on and at that time, I was playing in various rock bands playing in standard, alternate and open tunings. At this point, I had saved up more money and I wanted, yes, an extra electric guitar. Nothing fancy, but something that would be fun to bounce back and forth with. Scored! So you can see the pattern forming, right? Up to this point, I have just reflected on some early guitar acquisitions, and there have been quite a few since I acquired the syndrome at around the age of 10. As you can imagine, it is a miracle that my practice amp had made it this far so, of course, I begin the quest of investing in another guitar amplifier. I remember scoring a Peavey Bandit 112 Solid State Guitar Amp. Man, that amp wailed. It had more tone controls, highs, mids, lows, built in overdrive and reverb! Watch out! Reverb! Addicted instantly. I ran that amp into
FEATURES the ground. In fact, I smoked it! Onward! I then decided I needed to get a guitar amp half stack. 100-watt head, solid state and a 4 12’s cabinet. Why? Well, why not? Did you ever watch Headbanger’s Ball on MTV or go to a concert? Well, there were stacks and stacks of guitar amps across the stage! Being a rock guitar player, how could you not want that? Rock on! But now, I need pedals. Ah, a BOSS pedalboard with a BOSS distortion pedal, chorus pedal, equalizer pedal, tuner pedal, and a power pedal to power up all pedals on the pedal board. Yeah! Next, a Cry Baby Wah Pedal. It was quite the wall of sound coming out of my bedroom, under my parents’ roof, as a teenager. Summer days, windows opened, and I played for all to hear. Luckily, my neighbors were incredibly understanding with the rebellious teenage girl living next door cranking up her half stack! Slightly rebellious, huh? I was playing in garage bands, freelancing occasionally with regional bands, still taking guitar lessons, and continuing to learn about all the cool gear that was constantly coming out and being reviewed in guitar magazines. Yes, guitar magazines, an excellent source for G.A.S.! Oh man! The ultimate guitar revealed itself one day, when I was leaving a guitar lesson. Sound familiar? Yes. It was an American Kramer Pacer Imperial. The guitar was built after Eddie Van Halen’s designed specs for his Kramer at the time. Locking Floyd Rose Tremolo, Seymour Duncan double humbucker pickups, maple neck, medium jumbo frets, 3-way pickup switch, and a custom body finished with killer graphics. It was sitting in an enclosed display case, hanging
on the wall at my favorite local music shop. Of course, a big price tag was hanging on it, too. I had to play it. It was the most amazing guitar I had ever laid my hands on. How many times have you said that? Well, I drove myself insane trying to figure out how I was going to buy this guitar. This guitar was so unique and played like butter. The Floyd Rose Tremolo was tantalizing. The guitar was set up for speed. Once again, a big price tag. Sigh.
I’m a musician. I’m not rich by any means, at least when reviewing my monthly banking statements. I’m a musician by choice. I have no regrets. I love what I do. So, yes, guilty as charged! I have G.A.S.! And being that the Winter NAMM trade show is this month, we can all assume there will be more musicians with G.A.S.!
I went home and went through all my gear deciding what I absolutely could live without. This was a major investment. I had money saved up. Gear to trade in. So, after parting with two guitars and $800 in cash, that guitar was mine. And I’ll have you know, after all of these years, I still have that guitar! That one was truly a keeper! I jokingly tell my husband to bury that guitar with me when I depart this amazing world. He just shakes his head, but knows I’m serious. That guitar has brought me so much joy over the years. It’s played hundreds of gigs, traveled across the country touring, and been through the best and worst of times. Oh, the stories it could tell. Whew! At this juncture, it really needs a fret job. That guitar survived hundreds of gigs. These days it stays stored most of the time in its hard case close by in my studio. And on occasion, I break open its hard case, take it out, and go down memory lane with it. Fast forward to today. So much gear has since entered the picture. Now, it’s tube amps, boutique amps, and more effects pedals. Solid body and hollow body electrics. Teles and strats. Resonators, Floating trems and Bigsby’s, stop tail bridges, D-Tunas, various single coil and boutique guitar pickups, recording gear for laying guitar tracks, computer apps. Custom built guitars. Microphones for my guitar amps. Guitar stands, guitar amp stands, guitar amp road cases. Guitar road cases. And the whole amazing world of acoustic guitars with all of the choices and options that exist there. So much gear! With today’s technology, there are so many outlets for acquiring and learning about gear. Just about every music gear catalog is accessible online, you have guitar forums, online lesson companies, eBay, YouTube, every music product company has its own website with lesson portals, and just about every music magazine is accessible online, too! Wow! So many resources to tap into! Fact. I’m a musician. I’m not rich by any means, at least when reviewing my monthly banking statements. I’m a musician by choice. I have no regrets. I love what I do. So, yes, guilty as charged! I have G.A.S.! And being that the Winter NAMM trade show is this month, we can all assume there will be more musicians with G.A.S.! True gear head signing off at Guitar Girl Magazine! Pick up your guitar and play! GGM
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INTERVIEWS
“Not Bad For A Girl”
Tish Ciravolo Smashes the MI glass ceiling with Daisy Rock Guitars By Alison Richter
When Tish Ciravolo launched Daisy Rock Guitars almost two decades ago, it wasn’t to get rich or capitalize on a particular demographic. Her intention was a natural extension of the challenges she had faced as a woman and bassist: finding a properly sized and weighted instrument that would fit comfortably in her hands and around her neck, and a company that would nurture instead of patronize, and encourage rather than condescend. From NAMM shows to stages to music stores, Ciravolo witnessed and experienced gender bias that left women of all ages feeling excluded, trivialized, and uncomfortable. She was determined to fill that void with specialized guitars and basses, as well
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as a welcoming online presence where women could gather and connect.
changed the world for young women who aspire to play.
The Daisy Rock prototype was simple: a daisy drawn on paper by her daughter Nicole when she was 18 months old. In Ciravolo’s mind and hand, the stem became a neck and a leaf became a headstock. She presented the idea to her husband, Michael Ciravolo, president of Schecter Guitars, and an instrument was born. Initial response to the first Daisy Rock booth at NAMM was predictable: the guitar was “cute,” but it would never take off, at least not according to countless men who viewed it as a curiosity or a one-off. Millions of instruments sales later, Ciravolo is enjoying the last laugh — and the satisfaction of knowing that she has
Last year brought changes to Daisy Rock. A 14-year distribution partnership with Alfred Music Publishing ended when the company, under new leadership, decided to focus solely on books. Ciravolo signed a global distribution and licensing agreement with KMC Music, which saw the reintroduction of twenty Daisy Rock models at the 2017 winter NAMM show. This year, Daisy Rock is presenting a ukulele line, and some new guitar designs are in the works for late spring/early summer. Ciravolo is optimistic about what’s ahead for Daisy Rock and its role in bringing more women of all ages into the music industry.
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INTERVIEWS
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INTERVIEWS Daisy Rock debuted in 2000. How has the company grown and what steps did you take to grow it? When I started the company, nobody believed me. That was my first impression. The first thing I did was the Rockrgrl Conference in Seattle in November, and I met Courtney Love and she signed my first sample guitar that now hangs in the NAMM Museum, because I was inducted into the Museum in 2006. I did my first NAMM show and I had a 3×3 area. I was a division of Schecter at that point, and a thousand times people would walk by and say, “Oh my gosh, that’s so cute,” and every guy would say, “That will never work. Girls don’t walk into music stores and buy guitars.” So I started my company doing consignment sales. I would say to dealers, “I know there’s nothing like that on the market. I know you’ve never seen a pink flower guitar before. But if you put it in your window, I will let you sell it and then pay me for it.” Which is unheard of in the music business, but I was convinced that there were girls out there who would walk into music stores who had never walked into music stores before because they were not an inviting place for girls to be prior to 2000. I started getting immediate success doing consignment sales. Musician’s Friend was one of the first companies who jumped on board with me. So, it took a handful of guys in our male-dominated industry to say, “This is important, and it’s about time somebody did something for the girls in this scenario.” Immediately I started having a press impact. In 2002, Newsweek called me. The reporter said, “I don’t really believe in this brand, I don’t think it’s important at all, but if you have somebody famous that can talk to me and tell me that it is important, I’ll write an article about you.” The only person I knew, that my husband knew, was Robert Smith from The Cure, and he thought the brand was fantastic. We had Robert Smith and the reporter from Newsweek get on
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the phone together. They had an hourlong conversation and he said, “Of course it’s important. It’s important to get more girls to play guitar and get into the music business.” So Newsweek did a little paragraph about it, which I thought was huge. Because Newsweek did a piece about it, Time magazine called me. They did an article about do more girls need to play guitar, and they did a quote from me and a paragraph about the company in a full-page article. Because Time magazine called me, People magazine called me. People did a photo shoot and a full page about it’s time to let the girls rock, it’s time to get more girls rocking. Then I did the Today Show with Katie Couric.
WHY IS THERE A GIRL GUITAR? WHY IS THERE A FLOWER GUITAR? So, there was this press impact that happened that really played into why the guitars started selling, because people wanted to understand what’s a girl guitar. Why is there a girl guitar? Why is there a flower guitar? Why is there something in the marketplace that has never been there before? Over the course of 17 years I’ve heard the same stories all the time, like, “I can’t believe nobody did this before you did
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this. I can’t believe nobody ever thought of it before you thought of it.” The only reason I thought of it is because I lived it. I was a musician in the ’80s, playing around Los Angeles, and the first time I went to buy the first bass that I wanted to buy, my boyfriend and the guy behind the counter decided what bass I would play because girls didn’t go to music stores. There was just no community feeling. As I started playing out in clubs, I was dealing with “She’s not bad for a girl,” and “We don’t soundcheck the girl bands.” All of a sudden, I started realizing this is an old-school boys club, and it’s not so much the guys in the bands, because they were open to just having good players. It was the people that surrounded the bands, the sound people and the club people, who were discriminatory. When I got this bass, I had to take it back because I couldn’t play it. It was like trying to play a baseball bat. I went back to the music store and played every bass on the wall until I could find something I could play, which was a Yamaha BX-1 with a smaller neck. When I met Michael, he built me a couple of basses. I just need the neck to be thinner so I can push on the strings, and I don’t need it to be so heavy. So, it took all these organic things that happened to me as a female musician until I started this company and designed the first girl guitar with this idea that it needs to be lighter in weight with a thinner neck profile. What was the market like at that time as compared to now? What changes have you seen, good and bad, over the course of almost 18 years? Financially, between 2000 and 2008, I continued to grow in sales. I started small, I got up to the $3 million market, and then the 2008 crash happened. Since 2008, it’s been a recovery. Of course, I’m recovering really well now, but just thinking about what the MI industry has been going through, that’s the financial implications of what we’ve all been going through,
INTERVIEWS and that’s nine years later. On the other side I saw this change. When we started, we did all this intense market research about how many girls play guitars and go into music stores. We took all that information from magazines and from warranty cards we’d get back, and we determined about 4 percent of the population was female in 2000. I would say that’s closer now to 26 to 28 percent. That is largely in part because I started my company, but it’s also society. All of a sudden there was this change where it was socially more accepted for girls to play guitar. It started in the early 2000s, and now everywhere you look, it’s so common and normal to see a 7- to 12-yearold girl playing guitar in a movie, a show, a commercial, and to see all the mom bands having a good time on the weekends. I just had a commercial with Rocket Mortgage playing a Daisy Rock bass. It’s been a cultural shift, and I think that’s affected our industry. After I started my company and I had a pink guitar on the floor at NAMM, when I came back there was an array of pink guitars everywhere. I had the big guys go after me and think they could come into the business with a marketing plan that they were just going to take a guy guitar, paint it pink, and have a girl guitar. Well, that’s not what works, that’s why it didn’t work for them, and that’s why I’m still the only girl guitar company in the world. Because it wasn’t a marketing plan of “How can I make more money?” It was a marketing plan of “How can I answer a problem that girls are facing?” So financially I was growing a lot, and then 2008 happened, and of course changing distributors was a hiccup, but there will always be a new girl out there that wants to learn how to play guitar, and Daisy Rock is the only guitar that’s out there for her. You’re almost a year into the global distribution and licensing deal with KMC Music. How did that come
about, why KMC, and what has the partnership accomplished to date? I knew I was going to bounce out of Alfred, and Alfred was very helpful in trying to find a new home for me. I had some friends that knew people at KMC and talked very highly about what they did. I had a couple of companies I was talking to at the time. I thought KMC was professional and knew how to distribute guitars. I had been with a music publisher for a long time, so I was really interested in trying a company that did nothing but sell musical instruments and knows how to sell gear. You see companies that are trying to bring themselves into the new millennium and selling stuff to millennials, and you can see that they’re trying to understand it and they want to grow with it. I thought KMC was being very progressive with how they were going after the marketplace, and they wanted to be in the business of girl guitars. They want to help me grow the business back up again. What is the international market like for Daisy Rock? I’ve had a great international presence. At one point I was in sixteen different countries. I think a lot of countries want girls to play guitar and they understand what Daisy Rock is. We were really present internationally a few years ago. That went away for a couple of years, and I want to push that again. We just signed with a distributor in England called JHS — John Hornby Skewes — and they’re amazing. They’re really behind the brand, and so I love them.
I had the big guys go after me and think they could come into the business with a marketing plan that they were just going to take a guy guitar, paint it pink, and have a girl guitar.”
How large a part has the Internet played in your numbers? It’s over 50 percent now. What’s so funny is to go back to 2000, when my webmistress was like, “You really have to put
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INTERVIEWS the guitars on the website,” and I said, “I don’t think anyone is ever going to buy a guitar over the computer.” Seventeen years later, here we are, and who doesn’t buy everything from the Internet? I want to support the mom-and-pops, I want to support the chains, and I want a place for women to go and pick up a guitar and learn how to play. I want all those places to still exist. But I think we’re all dealing with this behemoth of the Internet. You mentioned the number of times you heard the word “cute” at that first NAMM show. Suddenly, Jimmy Page had one of your guitars in his hands, men began playing them onstage, and everything changed. Yes, and the sad part of that conversation is how many guitar goddesses are there? You have a handful, and then you have all these major guitar gods. Having Jimmy Page say, “I love Daisy Rock” — I was 15 years old all over again, going, “Oh my god, Led Zeppelin!” It’s an outof-body experience. They’re not even my peers. They’re people I admire so much, and they all wanted to play it. Pretty amazing. Mark Mothersbaugh from Devo was one of the very first supporters I had, and Josh Klinghoffer from the Butthole Surfers, and of course Robert Smith. I could go on and on, all these idols, and of course I love them all. Less Than Jake just sent me a picture of them playing Daisy Rock in the studio. Would the response have been different if your husband had debuted the guitars as part of the Schecter line? Would he have heard “innovative” and “entrepreneur,” instead of “cute”? The reason Daisy Rock worked is because it came from an organic idea and need that I was fulfilling for myself. It wasn’t a marketing plan. Anyone who said, “I’m going to make money” — it hasn’t worked. I think the backlash would have been the same for Schecter. It would have been, “Michael Ciravolo designed this guitar for girls. Wait … he’s a guy.” People are smart. They’re not going to fall for that. That being said, he
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helped me design the guitars. He knows how to design incredible guitars. He has the luthier to do it. He knows the business. I learned the business from him from the ground up. There is an article from USA Today [December 15, 2009] in your 2011 press kit, in which Andy Rossi, who at the time was senior vice president of global sales and marketing for Fender — a company that, we should note, marketed a pink Hello Kitty guitar — was quoted as saying, “With all due respect to Daisy Rock, creating an instrument that is specialized for females is pandering, insulting, and not what females want. Is there a female violin? No. Is there a female piano? No. There’s no such thing as a girl’s guitar.” Andy Rossi called me and apologized after that article came out. He says he was misquoted. I think he’s a typical guy who put his foot far down his mouth. To me, that was an attack, and a lot of people that support me called him and said, “What are you doing?” He called and told me, “I didn’t realize it was going to come out that way, they misquoted me, of course I love Daisy Rock and what it stands for, you’ve gotten so many more girls in the business than ever before,” and blah blah blah. I was like, “It would have been really nice if you had put that in the article.” So yeah, it’s unfortunate. What’s coming up for winter NAMM? I finally got a company in KMC that’s going to come out with ukuleles. We were trying to do it so much with Alfred, and it never successfully happened with the factory people they dealt with. So I’m super-excited about 2018, because I’ve got three new ukulele designs. I wrote a book called Girl’s Ukulele Method, so I’m excited. I’m coming into the ukulele market a little later than a lot of other companies, but we’re Daisy Rock and we’re going to do something cool. We’ve got a couple of guitar things, but they won’t be at NAMM. I think you’ll see something from us closer to May/June 2018, a couple of
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new electric guitar designs. I’m trying to come out with something fun, like a rockabilly-style guitar. I want to see that market open up more. Wanda Jackson is one of my endorsed artists and she’s the queen of rockabilly, so I would really like to see a nice rockabilly guitar out there for the girls. There’s so much emphasis on the colors and designs. Let’s talk about what’s behind all of that — woods, pickups, bindings. It’s always challenging to get some lighter wood. It’s hard to make guitars out of mahogany and have them be light, so we’re always looking. I love to say that Daisy Rock is unique, because it is, but in reality, a guitar is a guitar is a guitar. We’re all using basically the same parts. The difference with a Daisy Rock is the neck width, and all the accouterments on a Daisy Rock are the things people gravitate toward. We use the same things as everybody else, with the exception that we don’t do the abalone anymore, because obviously that’s bad for the environment, and we’re having a problem with rosewood, just like everybody, through CITES because of the problem with decimating the forests, and we want to make sure that we’re always giving back and rebuilding the forests. Of course, we’ve got the Daisy Rock pickups, and sometimes we use Seymour Duncans and sometimes we use EMGs. I’m not a company like Schecter that would use twenty different styles of pickups. We’re more of an acoustic guitar company and we have some electric guitars. We bring something to the table that no one else is doing. What part do customers play in your design strategies? Do you experiment at the risk of a model not selling, or play it safe and go with what worked in the past? It’s changed over the years. We used to do a lot of R&D. With Alfred I had a staff of 200 people at my disposal, so we were constantly running things up the flagpole to see what the girls thought. With KMC, when we
INTERVIEWS come out with samples and we have different things, they run it by their staffers in Connecticut and see what everybody likes and doesn’t like. I also see the comments I get on Instagram and Twitter, because all I have to do is put something up and say, “What do you think?” and I usually get a flurry of responses. I don’t think I have a gigantic social media footprint — 12,000 or 14,000 is not the biggest — but the people that read my social media, and the girls that play the guitars and support the brand, are the ones that have this voice about what they’re looking for and what they want to see. So, I’m keen to understanding when people say, “I’d like to see this,” or what I’m missing, or what I don’t notice in the marketplace, and I do have people tell me and send me these great ideas. What is your vision for Daisy Rock in the coming year? It’s really growing the company again, because I feel like there is a little bit of a dip. It’s the best time of the year for us, because all of a sudden after Christmas I get flooded with all these little girls who found a guitar under the Christmas tree. There is no better feeling. There is nothing in the world, besides the feelings I have for my family and the things I do with my family, that comes anywhere close to sitting down one day, taking a drawing my daughter did, and making that into a piece of wood that has changed these girls’ lives. A girl that wakes up on Christmas, sees a guitar, and thinks, I can play guitar, I can be a rock star — can you imagine what we’re going to be in 20 years if this continues at this rate? Just think about how different the world’s going to be in music. It means everything. It’s why Daisy Rock can never go away. It’s not because “Lo and behold, I’m making a ton of money.” That’s not the driver, and my husband will tell you. The driver is the life-changing moments these girls go through, and knowing that there is a support system. We have social media, we have the website, you have a question, you want to know how to play a song, get
in a band, get a manager, get an agent. I just did a call-out for America’s Got Talent. I’ve put artists on shows. I’ve put artists in movies. I am a conduit to put all these girls’ lives out there and help them live their dreams. That’s what I’m doing with Daisy Rock. Yes, it matters what kind of wood, the strings, the shape of the guitar, the color. All of that does matter, but in the end it’s that girl that’s going to play that song that’s going to change everybody’s life. That’s what matters. How do you reach your target demographic, keep the products affordable, and make the company profitable? You’ve got to pay for the costs, but we have guitars under a hundred bucks. What’s our most expensive guitar now, $349 max? I know that people are living on $20,000 to $30,000 a year incomes, I know those are the struggling ones for Christmas, and that’s why we have the Jr. Miss and Debutante and Pixie series, because they’re $100, $120, $150. And I wrote a book, the Girl’s Guitar Method, so that girl who gets that guitar doesn’t
Wanda Jackson is one of my endorsed artists and she’s the queen of rockabilly, so i would really like to see a nice rockabilly guitar out there for the girls.”
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INTERVIEWS sit down on her bedroom floor and feel lost. Ron Manus [CEO] at Alfred saw that need before I even saw that need, because that was his world. So you have to cover your costs, but that cute little guitar for that little girl has to be at a price point so that her parents will say, “OK, it’s not that much money. Let’s get her this.” Look at the economy. I’m in tune with why you have to have guitars in Wal-Mart at that price point — so you have the masses be able to buy your product and not just the select few rich people. There was a time when women were almost nonexistent at NAMM shows, with the exception of “booth babes” and the occasional administrative person onsite with an instrument company. And then, one year, it seemed there were women everywhere. When did you notice the change in gender demographics? It used to be a total sausage-fest. I think I have a really good vision on how this happened, because I was the first Schecter booth girl in 1996, and fast-forward my life five years and I’m working at the Schecter booth with the Daisy Rock line, along with the Jagermeister girls, who are in bikinis and passing out shots of Jager. So I’ve seen it from both sides. I was also at NAMM as an endorsed artist by ESP Guitars in 1992-1993. So I’ve been to NAMM for a long time. My concept was, “How do you make it — just like the music store — how do you make it inviting for the girls?” Well, what you do is create something that’s for them. As soon as there were pink guitars on the floor and a Daisy Rock booth, all of a sudden, the guys who came to NAMM felt comfortable bringing their daughters, sisters, wives, and whoever was in their life, because there was a place for them. Before Daisy Rock, there wasn’t a pink explosion of stuff for girls to go hang out at. I did that very successfully with my NAMM booth. In seventeen years of doing it, that has changed NAMM. I think NAMM has said, “OK, 50 percent of the buying population is female. Let’s
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I keep saying i just want to live another 10 years because I’m going to be sitting on a porch somewhere with my grandkids saying, “Oh, back in the day, the girls weren’t even there.”
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get them in the door.” And I think music companies have done the same thing. We have more female executives. We have the She Rocks Awards, which is 5 years old this year. I was the first recipient with Laura Whitmore. Now there’s an awards ceremony for women in the industry. Where was that 20 years ago? That didn’t happen. Have people become overly sensitive about “booth babes” and models posing with guitars in print ads? Sex sells. Unfortunately, that’s our society. If that weren’t the case, there wouldn’t be Playboy. I think it’s so much better today than it has been in the past. We don’t see quite as many magazines with the girl getting out of
INTERVIEWS the swimming pool in a bikini, talking about how she just loves a certain kind of cable — which happened for years. A shift happened. Has the needle gone all the way to the other side? My standing joke has always been, if I want to go to my NAMM booth, and I want six guys in g-strings to carry me out over their heads, and then work my booth in gold lame g-strings, handing out girl guitars, then the needle’s gone the other way. But I can’t do that because it’s me doing exactly what we don’t like the guys doing. You want a respectful balance, especially in this sexual misconduct history that we’re going through right now. I think this NAMM will be the least sexually mistreated NAMM that you’ll ever have experienced, because every guy who’s ready to slap the ass of that girl at the booth is going to think, Oh sh-t. Not that the idea of slapping her on the ass is going to change. It’s just that the intention might, because of how much the spotlight has been on how wrong that is. We are in a maledominated society, we have a maledominated business that we are all in at NAMM, and in 2018, that needle is farther toward females than I have ever seen it, and I’ve been going since ’88, so I can’t wait. I keep saying I just want to live another 10 years because I’m going to be sitting on a porch somewhere with my grandkids saying, “Oh, back in the day, the girls weren’t even there.” So it’s very exciting to see. It’s a time of change. You toured, played clubs, auditioned for labels, worked for a label [A&M], managed a club, waitressed at the Roxy, attended concerts and NAMM shows. “Hashtag” you too? Oh yeah, oh yeah. I like to be humorous, and there are ways to get back at men that sexually mistreat you in this industry, and there are ways that are very funny. I would always try to be creative with how to do payback, but the fact that you have to do a payback says how bad the industry has been. I’ve dealt with it all: not getting a record deal because I didn’t
sleep with somebody, not having a guy produce the album because he was sleeping with our drummer and our singer and they both found out about it. It’s so prevalent. When I worked at the Roxy in the late ’80s, and being in an all-female metal band, it was just unbelievable the amount of sh-t. But at the same time, I think what people forget or don’t understand today is it was so normal that to say anything or raise a flag, except to protect yourself, or say, “Hey, stop smacking me on the ass,” didn’t mean I was going to write an article in the L.A. Weekly about how this guy was smacking me on the ass all the time. Because this was just something we dealt with. Go back to the ’50s. It’s just something we’ve all been dealing with, and thank god the spotlight has happened, thank god there’s a media presence about how this is not the way it should be. Finally, that’s happened. I don’t even know if I would, but I have stories where I could say this happened. But there’s so many. That’s the thing — there’s just so many. Does a company like Daisy Rock offer safe haven? At the same time, what does it say that we still need safe haven in 2018? I think a girl’s not going to e-mail the president of Fender and ask, “How do I play the first couple of chords in this song?” That’s intimidating. I relate to that with younger girls. I want a place where any question is OK, from “How do I put on a strap?” to “How do I change a string?” to “How do I become a rock star?” Anything that I can help in that scenario, I want to be that place, and I have been for 17 years. I still don’t see a lot of women that have stepped up and said, “I want to be that safe place for girls with questions about guitars and being a musician.” Unfortunately, I see bands like St. Vincent, who say, “Why do we have to stand up for the girls in this guitar thing? We’re all just equal.” I don’t know if you saw that whole attack she did on me, but I didn’t appreciate that at all. Her whole thing was, “Finally I came out with a guitar
for a girl that’s a real guitar and not a flower.” And I thought, Why would you do that? Even if you feel that way, why would you turn on another girl in this industry where it’s so hard to get recognition? What are your words of wisdom, encouragement, and caution for young women who want to work in the music industry? One of the things I did when I started dealing with Guitar Center was I began talking to them about safe haven kinds of places. As a female musician, I can’t tell you how many times I ended up in the middle of the Valley, by myself, on a Tuesday night at 8:00, dragging my gear to some poor rehearsal room with a room full of guys. It’s such an unsafe place to be. I’ve always said “beware” for girls that are musicians. They’re just as vulnerable in any kind of situation. Just because you’re in a room full of guys that think they’re cool because they’re musicians doesn’t mean it’s any more safe. It may be worse. I like the idea that Guitar Center started doing rehearsal rooms inside the stores, and having the studios inside the stores, because that’s a safer place to be, rather than the dimly lit corporate parks that I ended up in. My words of wisdom are, if you’re a girl and you’re going out auditioning, be very careful with what you’re doing. And on top of that, my idea, always, as a female bass player was to know what I was going to play extremely well. The worst thing is to show up unprepared. And totally be real about what it is that you like. It doesn’t necessarily mean that what they want is the best. It’s what you want to do, and what you like, and what you’re feeling, because in the end it’s the personality, it’s getting along with other people, it’s supporting other girls, it’s being part of your community. All of those are really important. And then finding your muse, finding your voice, being that original voice and that unique thing that you are that are talking through your music. Those are some wonderful things to hear. GGM
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INTERVIEWS Inside the Industry with The WiMN Founder
Laura B. Whitmore By Alison Richter
When music industry veteran Laura Whitmore founded the Women’s International Music Network and its accompanying She Rocks Awards, she did so with a specific goal: to create an online community to unite women in all facets of the music and audio industries. Easier said than done, it would seem, but six years later, the WiMN is thriving and growing. A graduate of Hofstra University, with degrees in marketing and music merchandising, Whitmore’s career began at CBS Records. She spent 20 years at Korg USA before launching her own company, Mad Sun Marketing, in 2008. There, she provides public relations, artist relations, marketing, event production, and much more for music and audio companies. She is also a singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Over the course of many years in the music business, Whitmore has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. She knows all too well the challenges that women face in a longstanding maledominated field, and what it’s like to repeatedly hit one’s head on a hard, thick, often impenetrable glass ceiling. That is why she started the WiMN. The organization has grown into a news center, database, and outreach system, offering information, opportunities, contacts, workshops, and of course the annual awards ceremony that takes place every year during the winter NAMM show.
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Laura Whitmore spoke with Guitar Girl Magazine about the WiMN’s beginning, its milestones, her hopes and plans for the coming years, and why the organization is important to her, both professionally and personally. You founded the Women’s International Music Network in 2012. How have you grown both the network and the She Rocks Awards? When we came into existence in 2012, it was right before we launched the first She Rocks Awards. Our idea for the Network was to bring women in the industry together, and have the awards as a focal point for the conversation about women in music and audio. Since then, we’ve done a few things to grow the organization and the people that we reach. Number one is we’ve interviewed a woman in the industry every week for the last five years. We have almost 300 interviews on our website, and that’s been a great way to share stories, bring people to the
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site, and let them know what we’re doing. We’re super-active on all the social media sites. We have people that handle that for us and share articles, things that women in other organizations are doing, and tips. We also have a lot of other events. None are as big as the She Rocks Awards, but we host panels, we do workshops, we host showcasing events where female artists can perform at bigger events. We have an advisory board that is a team of incredible women and men who have put their brains together to help us reach even further and do even more. That’s been fantastic. That was just put together [in 2017]. We relaunched our website so we can share more news and events and things that are happening for women in music. It’s more of a news site now. Regarding the She Rocks Awards, the first one was in January 2013. It was a breakfast at the Marriott Hotel and had about 200 people attend. Since then, we’ve moved it to an evening event, and it’s got about a thousand
INTERVIEWS
As women in business, and in a creative field, we get bombarded with a lot of negativity. guitargirlmag.com Guitar Girl Magazine 19
INTERVIEWS people that come. It’s a multi-media extravaganza. That whole thing has really blossomed. The industry support for it has been fantastic and needed, and people want to be involved. This year we are moving it to the new House of Blues Anaheim. It’s very close to the Convention Center and hotels. We’re bringing our silent auction back live. Last year we did it online. This year we’re doing a hybrid of online and in person. We’re going to have fantastic awards, more performances, an amazing house band, and all that stuff we do to make everyone walk away feeling inspired. When did you notice that the event was growing, and what do you think contributed to that growth? There’s actually a very significant event that happened. The first two years we did were breakfasts. After the second year, as we started to plan for the third awards, NAMM came to us and said, “We love what you’re doing. Would you like to use our ballroom on Friday evening?” With that invitation came a significant cost increase in producing the event — five times as much as we had been paying — but the room was amazing, and it was already outfitted with the stage and lighting, so I took a leap of faith that year and said, “If I don’t take advantage of this opportunity, that’s a mistake. It may never come again.” I always feel like you don’t know what you’re capable of until you’re challenged, and that year was, “I don’t know if I can get enough support to pay for this, but let’s try.” Obviously, we were successful, and I think that’s when the industry’s eyes opened to the event and the awareness level shot up. We had almost 800 people come that year, and we saw a significant increase in production level and participation. I think that was the year Colbie Caillat was there, and we got some great names to participate, so it was definitely the right move.
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You mentioned that there are 300 interviews on your website. Is there a common thread in the stories some of the women are sharing? I wouldn’t say that all of them have similarities, but a lot of people talk about how they had to take a leap of faith in their careers. They had to put away the naysayers and not let them control their paths and their thoughts about themselves. As women in business, and in a creative field, we get bombarded with a lot of negativity. I do see a lot of these women saying that in order to be successful they had to push through that negativity and say, “If you don’t like it, that’s OK, but I’m going to do this thing that I feel is me and is the right thing.” Whether they’re business people, musicians, engineers, or whatever, a lot of them had to go through those challenges.
to exclude them. I think some of the things they have to share and can do to help us are important. But the majority of people on the board are women. We take advice, and if we want to do it, we do it, and if we don’t, we don’t.
A lot of women that are successful in our society are more aggressive personalities because you have to put up with a lot as a woman. For better or worse, you can’t be a shy violet. It doesn’t work. You can’t be afraid to put yourself out there and say, “This is what I need,” or “This is what I want,” or “I’m doing this and I think it’s good.” I’ve been in the music business my whole career, and there are a lot of things I had to deal with working with men and even with other women, just thinking, This is a little bit terrifying, but I’m going to do it anyway because it feels like the right thing to do. A lot of women we speak to have gone through that.
Another thing that has come up as we talk to people is, “I didn’t know anybody that was a woman that had my career.” So we’ve talked a lot about how do we reach young women as they make career choices, encourage them to participate in the music industry, and give them some tools to be successful in that path. That’s one thing we’re working toward.
The advisory board is made up of women and men. Why was it important to bring men into the Network? I don’t want to do the opposite and exclude men from the conversation. If there are men who want to contribute who have power and influence and can help us reach our goals, why not include them? There are three men on our board, and they’ve all been super-helpful in locating resources for us and presenting ideas. I don’t want
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What is your vision for the Network and Awards in the coming year? We have a few initiatives that we worked through that we are developing for the organization as a whole. One of them is the idea of creating a database, and creating video, audio, and information that shares women and their careers in the industry, so that when young women are trying to figure out, “What do I want to do with my life,” there’s a resource for them to see all these women working in the music industry, their backgrounds, and what they do.
We are getting involved in some newer and bigger events. We’ve typically done things like showcasing at the ASCAP Expo, both NAMM shows, and Digital Hollywood. We’re talking about doing a significant event at South By Southwest, and some other partnerships we have. For example, one of our board members is head of artist relations for MAC Cosmetics, and she’s brought us into a bunch of other events that MAC is participating in. Our main focus is to create awareness of the inequities in the industry, provide opportunities for women in music and audio, and to foster this conversation, so we’re always looking for new opportunities to do that. And also to help expose what other women’s organizations in
INTERVIEWS the industry are doing, so we feel like we’re a hub for information and events that other organizations are putting out. As far as the She Rocks Awards, we continually try to bring something fresh to the event. We continue to try to grow the event and bring in other, larger entities to help spread the messaging that we’re pushing out regarding the event: “Look at all these inspiring women. They are role models for other women in the industry.” So we’ve been partnering with bigger brands, for example, this year we have Monster Energy, we are working with Parade magazine, we have MAC Cosmetics, and Paul Mitchell that we’re going to be doing a project with, so it gears up the opportunities to raise that platform to a new level where we can have a bigger voice for women in the music industry. That’s something we’re continuing to work on, with that event as the focal point to bring that messaging to more and more people. What the event is going to look like years from now, I don’t know. I’m imagining it’s going to be fabulous! To me, it doesn’t need to be bigger. I just want it to reach more people, so I’m focusing on ways to do that, whether it’s through a livestream or other interactions that we can do. The list of nominees and honorees is always diverse. How are they chosen? It’s a challenge. We are very aware of keeping that diversity, and part of our mission with the event is to honor women from all walks of the industry. We invite people to nominate women, and that is important in helping us identify potential nominees. This year we got more nominations than ever before, which is great. My staff and I, which is four or five people, go through all the nominations, and all the people that our board members bring up, or people we know, and we think about, We want somebody who’s running a nonprofit, somebody who works in the record industry, somebody
who is in audio. We think about all the different categories. As far as the musical elements, Fanny are trailblazers. Their names have come up multiple years. This year, three members have a new group called Fanny Walk The Earth, and they’re coming out with their first album in decades, so this is the perfect year to honor Fanny because we can bring them out, Fanny Walk The Earth is going to perform, and it will be a special moment for them, I think. So there’s no scientific process to it. It takes a lot of thought, and sometimes we have to reach out to a lot of people because people are busy, but we are thoughtful about how we select the honorees list.
I was working for Korg USA at the time, in the marketing department. I did notice it a lot when I went to AES. It was even more male-focused, and I felt really out of place when I was at a show like that. I guess I focused a lot on women in the industry starting in about 2010. That’s when my awareness level shot up about, Look, there’s a female demonstrator. That’s unusual, that’s very cool, we need more of those. I do see companies making an effort to bring more women in that are doing more than marketing. I’m not poohpoohing marketing, because that’s my area, and I think there are a lot of great women and men who are working in marketing in our industry. But when you go outside of that, it’s fantastic
...it’s fantastic to see companies bringing in more female sales people, more female demonstrators, more female product developers. I still think there’s a long way to go, but I do feel that there’s a shift in being more open to having a female perspective in those areas, and I’m happy to see it.” You have been attending NAMM shows for decades, and I’m sure you remember them being 99 percent male for most of that time. Suddenly a shift took place and there were women in attendance and within some of the companies. When did you first notice that change? It’s funny, because I’ve been in this business for over 30 years, so my first NAMM show was a really long time ago. I think I was a little bit oblivious to it in the younger years of my career. I just went, and did my job, and it didn’t occur to me that there should be more women here. I was just doing what I loved to do, and what I wanted to do.
to see companies bringing in more female sales people, more female demonstrators, more female product developers. I still think there’s a long way to go, but I do feel that there’s a shift in being more open to having a female perspective in those areas, and I’m happy to see it. Sometimes we hear complaints about events and publications with “she” or “women” or “girls” in their titles. What is your response to that? This is my philosophy on the whole thing. In a perfect world, men and women and anybody of any gender or whatever walk of life would be treated
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INTERVIEWS equally and acknowledged equally for their skill and creativity and whatever it is they do in an amazing way. But the world is not perfect, and until that time, the only way for women to have a voice and create awareness is for us to do things that focus on our group. We’re not the only group on the planet that does that. It’s an effective tool to bring people together and create a bigger voice. That’s why I think it’s important to do that. Do you take issue with companies hiring “booth babes”? Yes. I went to a trade show in a different industry, a computer tradeshow or something, they had booth babes, and I thought, Really? They still have those?
of money for marketing. We would do amazing campaigns. When I was at Korg, we had big parties, we had fantastic photo shoots and campaigns, and the marketing budget was very healthy. Now I feel it’s so guerilla. You are pinching every penny, and every time you do a campaign you have to reinvent it into something else. It’s very fatiguing. I feel like it fosters a different creativity. Marketing budgets have been decimated, and that makes things difficult. There’s obviously a lot of new technology that wasn’t around when I started my career. We didn’t even have desktop computers at school. I used a typewriter. Then you got DOS and a
We had the opportunity to be really creative and do things that I thought were great and innovative, so I never felt that I experienced a lot of the discrimination as a woman. Were there occasional things that happened that were very disappointing? Yeah. I have a #MeToo on my Facebook somewhere. But for the most part I enjoyed working with all the people in my career, including all the men, and I am glad that women feel more empowered, and have more voice, and continue to grow. I love being a part of that conversation, so I’m going to keep going. You mentioned #MeToo. The music industry hasn’t come out much about
Music is a really intimate piece of you when you make music, and to have a safe place for people to create and share is important.” I think it’s a cheap shot. If the product doesn’t stand on its own two feet, do you really need to have a sexy woman there to draw people into it? Your marketing people aren’t finding the right way to attract. You have worked in marketing, writing, editing, public relations, artist relations, at a record label, and as a musician. What was the market like when you began your career? What are the changes you’ve seen, both good and bad? When I entered the industry, my first job was at CBS Records, and the thing I noticed is people had a ton
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PC and a laptop, and you’re expected to work 24 hours a day. Running my own business, I am pretty much on call all the time. I do let myself take a vacation occasionally, and I have a great staff that backs me up, but when I was on my own, it was hard, because I had no breaks. But that has affected a lot of things: the way people make music, what they buy, how they pay. I was very fortunate because my first job in the musical instruments industry was at Korg USA, and I ended up being at that company for 20 years. I felt like I was part of a fantastic team of people that respected each other.
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this, and in fact has often enabled, encouraged, and applauded bad behavior. Musicians were often held up as heroes, as cool, when they told “road stories.” The stories from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s weren’t a secret. I don’t think all of a sudden we’re going to find out about a rock star. I was watching a Rolling Stone documentary, and they were putting plaster molds on rock stars’ penises. [Note: the Plaster Casters.] That was stuff people did back then, and it was part of the culture, you’re right. There have been some things in recent years, like Kesha, but that’s different because that’s abuse.
INTERVIEWS I think women were accepting of that rock star culture back then. I’m not saying it’s good or bad, I’m not making a value judgment, but I think going forward that kind of behavior is not going to be acceptable, and it could definitely hurt people’s careers if some of that stuff came out. My son is 17 and he listens to a lot of hip-hop. Those lyrics are so horrible and misogynistic! How is it OK that that stuff is on the radio? I don’t understand why there is that whole genre of such blatant sexism out there. It blows my mind. I’m hoping that something comes up about that so that it can be talked about more. You launched a network and awards for women, and your son listens to misogynistic lyrics. I know! I yelled at him before: “How can you listen to that? Don’t you know what I do every day?” He says, “Mom, it’s just music!” “No, it’s not just music!” But I know a lot of those songs, and some of them are good. They’re not all like that. I just interviewed Tish Ciravolo, and among the many things she discussed was that she wants Daisy Rock to provide a safe haven for women in the music industry, but at the same time what it says about our industry that women still need a safe haven. Why do so many women still feel out of place? I even still feel out of place in a music store! Maybe it’s because of my past. I went to college on Long Island, and I would go to a certain chain and they were the worst. They were so dismissive, and it was such an uncomfortable scenario. There are still music stores that are dismissive or disrespectful. I think when anybody walks into a music store, they expect you to know a lot. In other stores, an example I’ve used is buying my son’s skis. I didn’t know anything about skis, but I didn’t feel uncomfortable when I walked into the ski shop. The guy was
educating me, he was asking the right questions, I felt respected. You don’t see that happen, or you didn’t, in a music store. I think it is getting better. I go to music stores and play guitars, and I haven’t had a bad experience in a long time, but occasionally I will go into a shop and think, I’m not a good enough player to pick up that guitar. Maybe it’s that way for guys too. You feel like you’re being judged on your skill. So it might be a general thing. I feel like the retailers in our industry have a much better awareness of this issue. I have had a lot of conversations with Guitar Center about it, and I know they’re working on it. I know it’s a big issue for them that they want to solve. I’m glad that this conversation is happening, and happening more frequently, and that the awareness that this is not OK is building. That’s how we grow stronger together. So if there’s a place where any woman can feel like she’s understood and respected, and it gives us a platform to grow that conversation, I think that’s how we create change together. Is it ideal? No. Like I said before, in a perfect world we would all be together and feel respected, and everybody would be kind, but there is so much negativity in the world that I think it’s a great thing that women and girls have the opportunity to connect now more than ever. When I first started the Network, before I formed the WiMN, I did this event I called the Women’s Music Summit. I brought together women who were artists, musicians, performers, and I had name musicians come in. Meshell Ndegeocello and Malina Moye were there, and other people. We had workshops, panels, performances, it was a three-day event in upstate New York. Afterward, the women were like, “This changed my life. To be in a situation where I was able to learn and perform and communicate with
just women was such a relief.” It was so lovely and nurturing, and it blew my mind. It was what springboarded me to do even more in this avenue, because I was surprised. I didn’t realize how lifechanging it would be for some people, and it illustrated to me how you can create a safe space for nurturing art. Music is a really intimate piece of you when you make music, and to have a safe place for people to create and share is important. What are your words of wisdom, encouragement, and caution for women who want to work in the music industry? One of the things I realized in my career after I left Korg was that I was in a place where I let other people define me, and what they thought I was capable of, and what they thought was successful. I would caution people about letting other people define their success. Once I got out of that was when I came into my own. So I would say don’t be afraid to explore. And not being so rigid in your definition of what your personal success is — that is important. As you said, I have done a lot of things, I continue to do a lot of things, and I enjoy the things I do every day. Part of that is because I let go of the idea that I need to do “this” or I’m not successful. So there’s that side of things. I do feel that there are more resources than ever to be able to take the reins of your own career, so I would also say empower yourself to learn and understand, and don’t expect somebody else to say, “Here’s your path.” You have to figure it out for yourself. Sometimes that’s scary, but it leads to the most fulfillment. There are a lot of people out there who are willing to give you advice, myself included, so examine those things and have conversations with other people in the industry. There are a lot of people who are willing to give their time, if you are thoughtful about how you communicate with them. GGM
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Gear
GEAR: NEW
Martin Guitar has announced they have reimagined and refined, and the outcome is remarkable, their Standard Series from styles 28 to 45. “I challenged my coworkers to help me with the significant task of modernizing guitars whose origins go back to the 1930s (and earlier),” said Chris Martin. According to the company, those challenges were met with updates to include vintage appointments, including aging and open-gear tuners; and for a more comfortable playing experience, a modern high-performance, thinner neck. Not only are there external updates, internal updates to the bracing systems have been developed depending on the guitar style that will include scalloped and forward-shifting top bracing. The reimagined and refined Standard Series will be on display at Winter NAMM this month. www.martinguitar.com/standard
NAMM will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA from January 25-28 with gear manufacturers from all over the world showcasing their latest and greatest innovative products. www.namm.org Stay tuned for our special NAMM Edition to see what new guitars and gear were offered at this year’s show!
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Another new model to be introduced by Martin Guitar this month at the Winter NAMM show is the D-45 John Mayer Custom Signature Edition acoustic guitar. Crafted of Guatemalan rosewood back and sides and Engelmann spruce top with aging toner, this new model will feature the forward-shifted Adirondack X bracing. The D-45 will have the full thickness neck with hexagon inlays, bone nut and saddle, and gold open gear tuners. John Mayer was very involved in the design and creation of this guitar and will personally sign the limited edition of 45 guitars priced at $14,999. www.martinguitar.com/guitars/customsignature-editions/d-45-john-mayer
Gear
GEAR: REVIEWS
BOSS
Acoustic Singer Live By: Sasha Vallely
BOSS recently introduced their new Acoustic Singer Amplifier series, a new line of amplifiers geared towards acoustic singer/ songwriters and duos.
This amplifier serves as both an acoustic guitar amp and a vocal PA rolled into one featuring an effects processor that has a looper and a harmonizer. There are two models in the series- the Acoustic Singer Live and the Acoustic Singer Pro. I tested out the Acoustic Singer Live with my Fender acoustic, a Shure microphone, and a Roland GA-FC and BOSS FS-6 foot controllers (sold separately). The Acoustic Singer Live is the smaller of the two amps, being a 60 watt instead of a 120 watt; but other than the low/high frequency driver sizes, they both have all the same features. It has two channels and is very compact and not too heavy. I recently
decided to play some solo acoustic shows and many of the venues I played required you to bring your own PA system. I have a small PA, but with the stands, etc., that can take up a lot of space which you don’t always have for the smaller gigs. Sometimes you have to just go directly through a small amp with vocals and the sound quality of that is never that great. I was eager to test this out as it would save a lot of energy and space having your vocal effects, amp and PA rolled into one. I also recently downsized my car, so I don’t have as much space for equipment as I used to, not to mention the load-ins and outs from the shows. Sometimes there are a lot of up
and down the stairs while wearing something that’s aimed at making you feel and look nice, not necessarily for you to be your own roadie. Although I reviewed the smaller version which might not pack as much of a punch as the 120-watt pro, I thought this amplifier might be ideal for small restaurant or coffee shop shows and practicing at home. On the back of the unit, it has phantom power and a direct out of both channels which can be dry or wet, a 3.5 mm auxiliary in for use with an external audio player, and 1/4″ jacks for foot controllers. There is also a USB 2.0 jack.
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Gear that if you hit the mute, it will also cut the vocals as well. You can change channels by using the foot controller, turning the boost, mid boost, loop and reverb, and if you buy the extra expression pedals, you can also change the drive value and volume. The channels are programmable, so you can tweak which settings you want for different songs and switch between them fairly easily. I would definitely recommend buying this pedal if you want to use the acoustic amp live.
The controls on the front panel are arranged in two rows. • The first channel is the mic channel featuring the switchable phantom power of 48V for use of condenser microphones and an XLR 1/4″ input with independent controls for volume and a threeband equalizer for the bass, middle and treble. It also has an anti-feedback control and its own delay/echo and reverb effects, and a really good vocal harmonizer. • The second channel is the guitar channel featuring a 1/4” instrument input and an acoustic resonance effect, independent controls for volume and a threeband equalizer for the bass, middle and treble. It also has an anti-feedback control and its own chorus and reverb effects. There is a tweeter attenuation button to take out some of the high frequencies and a mute button. It also has a looper which can be controlled from the amp or through a footswitch which is easier for live performances.
to crank up the volume a bit. There was a wide range of tones you can create from the amp. Using the EQ, you can create rich, warm tones or brighter ones for solos, etc. using the acoustic resonance. I liked the chorus effects and the reverb had a nice range to it for creating hall like sounds if needed. I would have liked the looper to be a little longer if needed as 40 seconds is the maximum amount you are able to use and there is no volume control for the loop. I used it with a BOSS FS-6 footswitch (not included). Like my other BOSS looper pedal, you have to double tap to stop the loop which I find difficult and annoying, as it’s easy to mess up the loops because of this which are challenging enough for me to do in the first place. Also, you have to press and hold to clear the loop and that gives you a moment of your previous loop before the pedal realizes you are trying to clear it which could be annoying at a live performance. A workaround with the clear function is to hit “mute” on the amp before holding down to erase. During a performance, keep in mind
I found the Acoustic Singer pretty easy to work with, and I liked the antifeedback controls for when I wanted
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One thing that really impressed me was the vocal harmonizer. I have a BOSS VE-20 that I have been using live for a while, but I have never tested out a VE-8 Acoustic Singer pedal, which apparently is what is used for this amp. It adapts the harmonies of your vocals to whatever guitar chords you are playing, then picks out the appropriate live high or low harmonies for you. It sounds surprisingly real and a lot less “digital” than my other vocal effect unit which was one of the downsides of using that pedal. I am now considering an upgrade, though I mainly use mine for loud rock and roll shows, so I’m not exactly sure how it would handle it at those levels. It also has a cool double vocal layer effect if you want to get that double-tracked effect. All in all, I think this amp paired with the FS-6 footswitch, is an affordable and useful tool for performing singersongwriters and I would consider adding one to my collection for the smaller solo shows I sometimes play, as it certainly saves time and effort and won’t break your back or your bank. Both the acoustic singer Live and Pro are a true bi-amped design. GGM BOSS Acoustic Singer Live www.boss.info/us Price: $499.99
Gear
Orange Fur Coat Fuzz/Octave Pedal By: Sasha Vallely
I always love to test out new pedals, so I was pleased to hear about Orange’s new line- the Fur Coat and the Getaway Driver. I am familiar with their other pedals- the Two Stroke Boost and Kongpressor compression pedal, so I was excited to give their new Fur Coat Octave Fuzz Pedal a try.
or an octave fuzz sound. With other octave fuzz pedals, the sound cannot usually be switched on and off, so this was a huge bonus and it allowed me to create some different tones. The actual octave is adjustable, too, as it adds octave up as you increase the octave control.
Orange Amplification has always made good quality rock sounding amps; I myself own a Tiny Terror, so I was interested to see if this quality would translate to their line of pedals.
The pedal can be used with a clean amp or a more over driven amp for more of the “Fur Coat” sound, and the higher up in the chain you use the pedal, the more distorted the sound you get.
As you might have guessed from the name, the Fur Coat is an octave fuzz pedal. Orange says that it is “loosely based on the vintage Foxx Tone Machine” creating a sound reminiscent of the fuzz pedals of the ‘70s and is their only true bypass pedal. Weighing in at a little over a pound and measuring approximately 3 ½” x 2 ½” x 5”, the pedal features two foot switches (one for octave and one for fuzz) and four control knobs: Volume, EQ, Octave and Fuzz.
My only disappointment with this pedal is that the octave cannot be used alone- it can only be added to the fuzz; however, for me, this was the only downside. This is actually the fuzz pedal of my dreams, and I have been searching for a long time! I have always had a love-hate relationship with fuzz pedals. I love the sounds and dirty boost they create, but have had a difficult time finding one that is easy to control in multiple settings and can create the exact tone I’ve been looking for. I can get that super ‘60s gnarly bee fuzz sound I have been trying to find from numerous other pedals. Some have come close, but I’ve found them difficult to control with screeching feedback if they were slightly off
After giving this pedal a try, one of the great features I like about it is that the octave can be switched on and off with a foot switch, while the fuzz is activated, creating just a fuzz Orange Fur Coat Fuzz/Octave Pedal
Price: $155.00 www.orangeamps.com
setting. This was not the case with the Fur Coat. There are a lot of positions that you can use by tweaking the EQ or tone knob to create different but controllable fuzz sounds. It still retains your guitar tone whilst adding fuzz rather than layering fuzz, so that the original sound doesn’t get lost as can happen with a lot of fuzz pedals. Aesthetically, it is very pleasing with vintage colors, a cute little skeleton girl, a nice little handle bar, and blue light which changes depending on whether you activate the octave function or just the fuzz function by itself. It is a little on the large and heavy side, but not much more than most boutique pedals and is smaller than a full sized ElectroHarmonix Big Muff or other largersized pedals. The Orange Fur Coat will make a great addition to my already “overpopulated” pedal board and I definitely intend to add one to my collection. I will still keep some of my other fuzz pedals I already own for different sounding fuzz tones, but the Fur Coat will definitely become a big part of my fuzz sounds, more so than the other pedals I own. I highly recommend this pedal if you’re looking to experiment with fuzz/octave tones. I am stoked that I finally found the sound I have been looking for and I look forward to seeing what Orange’s Getaway Driver pedal has to offer! GGM
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Gear
Fender Duo-Sonic HS Electric Guitar By: Guitar Gabby
The Fender Duo Sonic HS is one of those guitars that is lightweight, compatible with all styles of music, and easy to rock with. In my early years of playing guitar, I was not a major fan of Fender. I always felt like they sounded good with one style of music or styles particular to the design of the guitar. I always strayed away from Fender guitars, however, not too far, as I am a major fan of Fender amps. Every now and then, I would go into a music store and pick up a Jaguar modeled after one of my favorite people in the music industry, Kurt Cobain. Now, years later, I have the pleasure of playing Fender’s newest reissue of their Duo-Sonic model which was originally released in 1956- the Duo-Sonic HS electric guitar in a beautiful Canary Diamond finish with a pau ferro fretboard. When first plugging it in to play, I was not sure what to expect. But upon playing it at home, in band rehearsals, and even for a few shows, I was pleased to experience this guitar and what it gives off. By nature, I am a rocker. My band is a rock band, so I have always played guitars that are built for rock. The main thing I love about this guitar is how lightweight it is. Originally designed by Fender as a student guitar thanks to its shorter 24” scale length, it has been a guitar of choice among beginner guitar players and players with smaller hands. When you are wearing it on stage or even sitting with it on your lap, it does not feel like you are even holding anything. These Duo Sonics were built to not feel like a burden; instead, they were designed with players like me in mind. The versatility of the sound is in the body build and the evenness and smooth playability of the neck. The humbucker and single coil pickups allow for the player to switch to a solid guitar foundation that allows playing with pedals and sounds to not be muddy, but creates a smooth and exciting time when playing. I used this guitar in three different atmospheres to test its ability to deliver evenly in every arena. When I played this
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guitar at home on my Facebook live (Gabby Logan or Guitar Gabby), I loved the guitar’s fresh and clean sound even with light distortion. I played out of my mini Line 6 amp with a little reverb and it sounded heavenly! When I was in rehearsal, I used this guitar in drop D tuning for one of my songs to test the flexibility of the guitar’s sound put up against an entire four-piece band. I loved the brightness the guitar gave me, which allowed me to still stand out when it was time for my solos. In my rehearsal hall, I play out of a Vox half stack, and I always play clean out of this amp and run my other sounds from my pedal board. Last, but not least, I played this guitar at one show in downtown Atlanta out of my Crate 50 amp and this guitar provided me with the perfect agility when in the midst of songs being played back to back. I did not feel the need to change guitars during my set as I sometimes will do for certain gigs. All in all, this guitar has won me over with the ability to be everything a musician may need all in one. Would I play this guitar again or add it to my family of guitars? Absolutely! I love it and would not mind having it as part of my guitar family. GGM
Female guitar players that play a Fender Duo-Sonic: Warpaint - Warpaint Talks Music, Inspiration, Fender Offsest Guitars, and Quirky Style (Source: www.guitargirlmag.com) Liz Phair – one of her main guitars is a now-faded white ‘60s Duo-Sonic. (Source: Wikipedia) Patti Smith – plays a Duo-Sonic and has featured her guitar in song lyrics, for example in “Radio Ethiopia/ Abyssinia” from the Radio Ethiopia LP. (Source: Wikipedia)
Fender Duo-Sonic HS Electric Guitar Price: $524.99 www.fender.com
Gear
Yamaha AC3R Acoustic Electric Guitar By Ché Zuro
Never really playing a Yamaha acoustic electric, I looked forward to trying out this AC3R to see how worthy it was. And right out of the case, this vintage looking guitar was impressive. The design of the body and the thinner neck makes it easier for a smaller person to play, although a beginner may still have a difficult time playing bar chords. With a solid Sitka spruce top, solid rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck and ebony fretboard, this beauty boasts a single cutaway style that was key for me as I like playing chords on different frets, especially high up on the neck. The action and feel of this guitar made me almost forget that this was an acoustic guitar! Along with volume, bass and treble controls, Yamaha’s SRT2 system allows you to blend between piezo and SRT2 preamp signals for a personalized sound. Playing this live was amazing, with NO feedback and a crisp, clean, yet full sound where every note resonated. Being from a rock background, I work my guitars hard, and the AC3R really does the job! Deciding to play it at a club for the first 30 minutes of my gig, I ended up playing the entire night with this guitar, performing soft ballads
and heavy-handed rock tunes. The guitar did not disappoint. (Actually, I was sad to have to send it back to Yamaha!) From finger picking to light strumming to full-on hard chords, the sound of this guitar remained beautiful. Each note rang with clarity. Even when tuning down to double drop D or another alt tuning, along with playing hard, the Yamaha completely stayed in tune and sounded great all night. Set up with the Elixir 80/20 Bronze light strings (0.12-0.53) with NANOWEB coating, it was easy to play up and down the neck with crisp tones and resonating sound. (These strings were also impressive, since I have not tried Elixir for years due to not being able to get that high-end jangle out of them. Now I LOVE them, especially on this guitar!) The AC3 would be a GREAT addition to any folky, country music artist, rock artist, or even the person who wants a beautiful sounding guitar for writing. Or just to have a beautiful, great sounding acoustic in their collection. GGM
Yamaha AC3R Acoustic Electric Guitar Price: $899.00 www.usa.yamaha.com
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Every month, GGM selects several guitarists from Instagram that have tagged themselves with the hashtag #GuitarGirlMag to be featured on our website and here in our magazine! So, head on over to on Instagram and tag yourself. You may be next!
Meet this month’s lucky winners: Ph
oto Cre About Me: My dit :C name is Satarra Troutman. ou rtn I’m a singer songwriter and bas ie G sist url from Atlanta GA. I’ve performed ie internationally across stages in Europe and the US, and I’m currently writing and performing back in my hometown. My Music: My original music is defi nitely soul music, but with funk and rock influences. I’m also playing bass with The Txlips band which is an all-female Rock and Roll group that’s a ton of fun! My Inspiration: I’m heavily inspired by Cree Summer, Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, and Lenny Kravitz. My Gear: I play a Fender Jazz four string bass with DR Neons currently, but I also love Dunlop Super Brights. My favorite rig is def a Little Mark 3 bass head running through two Aguilar 2x10 cabs! Big fat sound!
n
ma
lo kG
About Me: My name is Victoria Watts and t: C i d I’m a California girl turned full-time cre o t musician in Philly. I create my own unique mix o Ph of pop & rock, and will always chase the impossible! huc
My Music: Indie pop/rock (website: Victoriawattsmusic.com) My Inspiration: Life experience and storytelling inspire my music. My Gear: I’m a Telecaster girl all the way! I have one Standard American Telecaster and one Mexican Telecaster (shown in the attached picture) that’s modified with a Humbucker pick-up in the neck pick up. For an amp, I use a Fender Blues Deluxe reissue, and have the following pedals in my main set up: Friedman BE-OD overdrive pedal, Electro-Harmonix Soul food, Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Reverb, MXR Carbon Copy delay, and Boss TR-2 Tremolo.
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LESSONS
Girls Got Rhythm: Constant Flow By Lisa Lim Dream of being a solid rhythm guitar player? Constant motion in your strumming hand equals amazing rhythm guitar playing. It equally applies to your soloing chops as well. Holding a guitar pick with a relaxed grip and keeping the pick parallel with the strings, tip of the pick sweeping across the strings. Using a thin or medium gauge pick with some flex is great to start out with. This will
all factor into you developing solid rhythmic guitar chops. Your strumming hand is a built-in metronome. Constant down-up motion… never stopping, even when the pick doesn’t have to connect to the strings on that particular part of a rhythmic pattern. I’ve found this to be the downfall and shortcomings of some guitarists, when they do not allow that
constant flow. Starting and stopping, hesitating. This will inevitably throw your timing off. A very vicious cycle any player can fall into. Conditioning your strumming hand to be steady and constant is essential. You’ve got to start with the basics and be realistic about doing this at a reasonable tempo. I encourage you to tap your foot, as well, when you
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LESSONS practice. Every time your foot hits the floor, that’s the beginning of the beat, the downbeat. Every time your foot comes up off the floor, that’s the offbeat. Start with down strums while fretting a basic chord. This is a quarter note rhythmic pattern. Quarter notes are one beat each. Count in 4/4 time. Four beats per measure. On each count - 1, 2, 3, 4 - strum a down strum. Down, down, down, down. Now, think about it. Your strumming hand has to come up before it can strum down again, even though it doesn’t make contact to the strings currently on the upstroke. Seems basic, right? Even and steady strokes, only connecting on each down stroke or on the beat, foot connecting to the floor, when tapping. Do this at a slow tempo, then gradually increase your speed, maintaining the constant motion, without hesitating. Now, let’s continue in 4/4 time and try an eighth note rhythmic pattern. Eighth notes are a half of a beat each. Strumming a down strum on counts 1, 2, 3, 4 and an up strum in between on what’s called the offbeat or the “and” of the count, when your foot is coming up off the floor, as its tapping out the beat. Counting “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &”. Constant motion, starting at a slow tempo, gradually increasing your speed as you become comfortable in doing this. Basic stuff, but, it’s so important. I see it all the time. Players hesitating, putting their brakes on. This throws their timing off and makes it difficult; next to near impossible to execute more advanced rhythmic patterns. If you can condition your strumming hand to maintain that constant motion, I assure you, any and all rhythmic patterns you encounter down the road in your learning process will come more natural to you. The stopping and
hesitating when strumming, is a vicious cycle you want to avoid, if at all possible. Let’s look at another rhythm in 4/4 time. Now, dealing with an eighth rest on the beginning of each beat. Missing on your down motion, when your foot is hitting the floor, while tapping out the beats. When encountering a rest in music, you have silence. So, an eighth rest is a half of a beat of silence in value. We’re going to strum and connect on the offbeat; the “and” of the count, connecting on an up strum, while your foot is coming up off the floor. So, your rhythm will be, rest, up, rest, up rest, up, rest, up. Counting “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &”. Missing on the down strum, connecting on the up strum. Constant motion established. Note that your fretting hand will have to assist by relaxing its fingering, leaning slightly over to mute strings on the beginning of the beat, where the eighth rest takes place. This is a great example of a basic reggae rhythm. Remember, start slow and gradually increase your speed as you become more comfortable with the rhythm. Onward, to sixteenth notes incorporated in rhythmic patterns. A single sixteenth note is a fourth of a beat. It takes four sixteenth notes to fill in one beat or to be equal to the value of one quarter note. Strumming, down up down up, down up down up, down up down up, down up down up, to fill in a measure of four beats with sixteenth notes. Counting “1e&a 2e&a 3e&a 4e&a”. Establish a slow tempo, tapping your foot. When your foot hits the floor, you’re strumming down up. When your foot is lifted off the floor, you’re strumming down up. Practice slowly, maintaining that constant down up motion and counting, being aware of how you’re fractioning out each beat and filling in each measure.
To view in more detail, check it out on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=l7MtVrxViKg
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Here’s an extra exercise you could try as you’re settling into quarter, eighth and sixteenth note rhythms. With your fretting hand resting lightly on the fretboard across the strings, strum a constant down up motion. Now, attack with more force with your strumming on certain strokes. Do you hear the unique rhythm you are establishing? Now, grab a basic chord and on the part of the pattern you are adding more emphasis on, make sure your fretting hand is pressing down. On the parts you’re strumming normally, relax your fretting hand and let your fingers lean just a little bit to muffle the sound. After doing that for a bit, then try the same pattern. But, this time, no muffling, just more attack in the same places of the rhythm where you initially applied it. It’s endless, the possibilities! You’ll have a blast experimenting with this, the more you explore it! We’re just getting started! There’s so much more to come! Establishing this constant motion, will make for an excellent foundation for your rhythm guitar playing. The possibilities are endless, what you are able to play on the guitar. Remember, this will equally be a benefit to your lead guitar playing, soloing capability as well. These are some very basic examples I’ve shared with you. Practice these and this will prepare you for more slicing and dicing of the beats, incorporating quarter, half, whole, eighth, sixteenth notes and rests, plus tied notes combinations and dynamics! You will actually have a lot of fun with this, after you’ve gotten over that initial hump of establishing what your strumming hand needs to be doing! Constant Flow! Pick up your guitar and play! GGM
MIND GAME AND TRIVIA
Mind Game
Mind Game answers found on last page.
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MIND GAME AND TRIVIA
1 When did Daisy Rock Guitars introduce their first guitar to the market?
5 Name one female musician that plays the Fender Duo-Sonic.
2 What was the inspiration for the first Daisy Rock Guitar?
6 True or False: The Orange Fur Coat Fuzz/Octave Pedal is Orange’s only true bypass pedal (as of this writing).
Trivia answers found on last page.
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3 Female business executive Laura B. Whitmore founded what organization to bring women in the music industry together?
7 What is the BIG convention being held in January in Anaheim, CA related to music?
4 The Yamaha AC3R comes set up with what strings?
8 Martin Guitar reimagined and refined what series of their guitars to be showcased at this year’s Winter NAMM show?
Music Releases
RELEASES Mare Wakefield & Nomad Time to Fly Genre: Folk Release Date: 1/26/18 www.marewakefield.com
Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin Stones Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin Stones Genre: Rock Release Date: 1/26/18 www.hannahwicklund.com
Jessie Chris In It For You Genre: Country Release Date: 1/5/18 www.jessiechris.com
Muriel Anderson ECLIPSE Genre: Harp-guitar Release date: 2/2/18 www.murielanderson.com Sarah McQuaid If We Dig Any Deeper It Could Get Dangerous Genre: Folk Release Date: 2/2/18 www.sarahmcquaid.com
Jane Lee Hooker Spiritus Genre: Punk Blues Rock Release Date: 1/26/18 www.janeleehooker.com
Pauline Andrés Fearless Heart Genre: Americana Release Date: 2/2/18 www.paulineandresofficial.com
Jennifer Lyn Badlands Genre: Blues-Rock Release Date: 2/2/18 www.jenniferlynmusic.com
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Music Releases Caitlin Canty Motel Bouquet Genre: Country Release date: 3/30/18 www.caitlincanty.com
Raven and Red We Rise Up Genre: Americana Release Date: 2/2/18 www.ravenandred.com
Brandi Carlile By The Way, I Forgive You Genre: Country-Rock Release Date: 2/16/18 www.brandicarlile.com
Erica Blinn Better Than Gold Genre: Rock Release Date: 2/16/18 www.ericablinn.com Leilani Wolfgramm Live Wire Genre: R&B infused reggae Release Date: 2/23/18 https://www.facebook.com/ Leilaniwolfgrammfl/
Rachael Cantu Love Rush Genre: Indie Pop Release date: 4/13/18 www.rachaelcantu.com
Malina Moye Bad As I Wanna Be Genre: Funk, Rock and Soul Release Date: 3/23/18 www.malinamoye.com
Sue Foley The Ice Queen Genre: Blues Release Date: 3/2/18 www.suefoley.com
Michelle Malone Slings & Arrows Genre: Rock Release Date: 3/2/18 www.michellemalone.com
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Tips
Handpick the Perfect Pick By Caroline Paone
Whether you’re a little-bit country like Bonnie Raitt, or rock ‘n’ roll like Lzzy Hale, a pick should fit your signature style. There are numerous pick manufacturers offering many options and styles to explore.
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Tips As you may know, the teardrop-shaped pick has transformed significantly along its journey through music history. It’s morphed into various shapes and sizes, and took on a variety of textures, too. You could say it’s the unsung hero of musical gear; a small thing that can make a big difference in your playing and sound.
Slender Thin picks are popular for acoustic players going for a bright, clear tone (or a somewhat trebly quality). A thin pick offers a good amount of flexibility when navigating the strings and strumming. However, thin picks can wear down easily or even break.
Serve Your Playing For a guitarist or bassist, the aggressive plucking and strumming of strings can be rough on the fingers, especially when an artist is new to her instrument. Tina Weymouth of the Talking Heads recalls having blisters and “bloody fingers” early in her career. Surprisingly, it was punk legend Sid Vicious who suggested she use “a plectrum.” Weymouth later used a combination of fingers, plectrum, alternating fingers, thumb–whatever got her there. Like Tina, feel free to experiment with what serves your playing best. In reading this article, it’s helpful to note that creating music is an individualistic process, so don’t be afraid to embrace what type of pick fits your personal style and phrasing best.
Nonetheless, if a slim pick provides you with the best results, such as a percussive, or a lighter sound, keep a pile of back-up picks nearby during a practice-session. You may also want to try using a pick made out of nylon, which is known for its durability.
Natural Selection Selecting the right pick involves a bit of trial and error. The thickness, shape and texture of the pick can all affect your strumming, grip and tone. Picks come in a variety of forms and substances from tried-and-true plastics to exotic gemstones. Take the time to find a pick that’s comfortable to hold and appropriate for your type of music and sound. Consider exploring the following tips when evaluating picks. First, check out the different sizes available on the market. Gauging Thickness Picks range in thickness from extralight and medium to extra-heavy. A pick gauge is measured in millimeters, such as gauges 0.44 to 1.5mm (and beyond that to 3mm).
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Medium Next up are medium. This sized pick will offer you a nice solid glide. L.A.based acoustic player Tom McLehose prefers medium picks. “Light are too flexible,” he says. “I’m a pretty energetic player and have a tendency to strum pretty hard, so the bounce in the light picks just doesn’t cut it for me.” The Classic Fender Medium has long been a standard in the industry. It’s made of celluloid and suits players looking for a traditional feeling pick that still offers versatility. The “351” as it is known, is timeless. Heavy When it comes to rock and metal music, a heavy pick is befitting for aggressive players. Thick-gauged picks are also used frequently by jazz guitarists and bass players going for a solid attack. A lot of electric guitarists lean towards heavier picks (typically gauges beyond .80mm). A heavy pick helps to bolster your control during rhythmic strumming as well as playing leads, and Pete-Townsend-style power chords. Change it up If your repertoire varies, expand your pick arsenal according to song and sound. There are manufacturing
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companies that sell variety packs with different gauges, such as Ernie Ball’s mixed thickness nylon picks. Or change gauge “on the fly” with Grip Tip picks by Dava Guitar Picks. They come in delrin, nylon and poly-gel and designed with a unique over-molding process. Perfect your sound in a pinch with Dava’s innovative multi-gauge flexibility. Explore Textures Plastic, please There are many popular plastics used to create picks, including celluloid, acetal (Delrin), acrylic, lexan and nylon. At one time, tortoise shell was popular for making guitar picks until it became illegal to use; but, replacement materials are on the market such as delrex. Nylon is the go-to material for guitarists who like a pick that softy glides across the strings. It’s also nice in the grip department and if you’re going for a vintage tone. Members of the band Evanescence use nylon picks by Dunlop, such as the Tortex Pitch Black 488 for playability. Celluloid is a man-made material used by a wide range of manufacturers. It was the popular material used for early pick production. When picks are made with this substance, they are known for offering players a natural feel and a warm tone. Over the years the varieties of plastics have broadened. For instance, Planet Waves by D’Addario relies on Duralin, Delflex and Cortex for picks made for durability, flexibility and note definition. Rockin’…hard! At the other end of the spectrum are picks made of wood, metal, stone, copper and even glass. Some of these alternative substances are a little rare in what’s commonly used, but there are bold players who do explore them.
Tips Stone, ceramic and exotic: Gemstone picks made of (agate) stone are known for their beauty and the unique sound they provide. You can find stone picks at StoneWorks and PickBoy. PickBoy’s ceramic Pro Pick is made with a combination of ceramic and nylon that rocks a raised, grip pattern. A growing area for the company is their exotic series, including picks made from tropical hardwood, bone and horn in a variety of shapes and gauges. Metal-tones & more: Ice Pix incorporates an assortment of materials in manufacturing their picks. The copper Flex pick provides a sharp attack and its ridge-cut design makes it easy to hold. For those who wish to experiment more with sturdy textures, they offer a metal sampler, which includes copper, brass, stainless-steel, and steel flex picks. If you’re playing calls for a stronger edge, or you want more muscle, there are metal picks like Dava’s Rock and Master Control models. The “master” features a nickel silver tip with a plastic grip. Fashionable and Eye-popping Hit your best notes in style with fashion-statement picks. HotPicks has a line of contemporary picks that go from funky to fabulous. Gothic, peace, and girls rock designs mix style with functionality. Want to attract attention? Ernie Ball’s eye-catching Pearloid and Super Glow (glow-in-the-dark picks) are fashionable and fun. For players who want to stand-out, their mixedcolor packs include statement shades like psycho red and slinky pink. Next, a true expression of art meets music: Henry Heller designer picks. Made with quality materials, they possess original edgy artwork.
Shape up! The classic teardrop and rounded triangle shapes are the standard for some, while others like jazz guitarists prefer picks with pointier tips. Alternative-shaped picks can offer certain benefits, from sound to attack. If you’re looking for something more signature, some manufacturers offer specialty picks like smaller jazz models and even round picks.
images and unique qualities can be nice for a vintage-inspired studio or for displaying.
If you’re a speed-picking kinda girl, Planet Wave’s Black Ice pick has an over-shaped design that will give an edge to your playing.
Nita Strauss, former Iron Maidens member currently with Alice Cooper and her own band We Start Wars, has her own line of picks displaying her signature and photos.
V-Picks offers a wide variety of picks that will work well if you play a small guitar or if you’re a jazz player. Their pointed models offer a bright, but fullbodied tone. Designed with a special blend of acrylic, the grip is excellent, so you can play fast but precise. A cool twist in guitar playing comes by way of the SnakePick. The coil design easily wraps around your finger and keeps the pick from slipping. It’s available in four gauges as well as different coil sizes, too. We love the sleek style, but creator Paul Slingsby had a functional purpose for designing this pick: “The SnakePick was created to help students place more focus on their fingering and to humanize guitar picking. It allows the plectrum hand to relax and avoid cramping up,” said Slingsby. Remember, the possibilities are endless… Lastly, from a playing perspective, continue to experiment and broaden your techniques and pick selection. With so many picks on the market, you’re sure to expand your options, look and sound. It’s all about finding what you love and what works best for your sound. Now, get pickin!
Likewise, Jimi Hendrix-adorned picks (by Dunlop) are retro cool. Albumcover artist John Van Hamersveld lends his legendary concert posters and album covers to these iconic picks. The Jimi Pick Tin and Frontline picks will awaken your inner voodoo child.
The Internet is a goldmine for picklovers. Sites supporting guitarists and collectors are popular from eBay and niche pages to musical enterprises. GGM
Early Days: A Bright Idea History calls it a “plectrum” (derived from the Greek plektron, pleg: meaning to strike), but the modern pick was born on the streets of Manhattan in the 1920s. A creative salesman purchased sheets of tortoise shell-colored (cellulose nitrate) plastic and began making heart-shaped decorations. Luigi D’Andrea repurposed the hearts as picks and sold them to music stores for mandolin and guitar players. (Source: D’Andrea USA) Today, modern manufacturing relies on a host of man-made and natural materials for mass producing picks.
Collectible and Artistic Picks also serve as coveted items for collectors. Picks with band logos/
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Book Reviews
What We’re Reading NOW! By Tara Low
Leo Fender:
The Quiet Giant Heard Around The World By Phyllis Fender & Randall Bell
This is her tribute to the man that we all know as the genius that amplified a solid body guitar, impacted the sound of music, and became a household name and iconic figure in the music industry; but, to her, he was simply her husband, my “Leo.”
Leo Fender: The Quiet Giant Heard Around the World is a lovely tribute from Phyllis Fender to the simple, yet complex man that impacted the world of music. The reasoning behind the book? In the introduction, Mrs. Fender explains that there’s a plethora of books on the market today behind the iconic Fender guitar, but she wanted the world to learn more about the man behind the guitar.
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Co-written with Randall Bell, Ph.D., he and Mrs. Fender spent countless hours at Polly’s Pies in Fullerton, California sifting through documents and photos; researching and making notes of the memories they both shared from their time spent with Leo Fender. Dr. Bell grew up in the same neighborhood as the Fenders and his father led the R&D department for Fender, so he was very familiar with the life and times of Leo Fender. This treasure of work walks us through Leo Fender’s life from his birth to his ultimate demise
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in 1991 as told by his second wife, Phyllis Fender, through the memories and stories Leo shared with her. From his meager beginnings and upbringing on a farm in Fullerton, California, to persevering through physical disabilities, and his relentless desire to pursue an education and to learn about anything mechanical. He took a chance at opening his own radio repair shop after being laid off from several accounting jobs; and through his hard work and determination, he ultimately became the inventor of some of the finest amps and electric guitars in the world- a company that would dominate the music industry for years. He was simple, humble, unassuming, a smart business man, entrepreneur, inventor, workaholic, world-renowned individual, award winner, husband and
Book Reviews father, and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Recipient, but it was his relentless pursuit of perfection and his deep love for music (and the angels that brought us that music) and his guitars that catapulted Fender to its iconic status that lives on today. Phyllis Fender lovingly refers to Leo Fender throughout the book as “my Leo.” The book is not all about the guitars. It’s about Leo Fender the man. It’s easy to read, full of history, and features
photos depicting the Fender Radio Repair shop in Fullerton, symbols of the Fender name throughout Fullerton, photos of the Fender plant, his family and vacations, his office at the G&L plant which is exactly as he left it, and rock stars with Fender guitars. It ends with what they refer to as a “driving tour” of Fender’s life showing the schools he attended, the modest homes he lived in, and even his favorite “Sizzler” restaurant.
Reading this book, being involved in the music industry, and having lived in Southern California, I thoroughly enjoyed the photos and history of Fullerton. I even had to take a trip to Fullerton on my last visit to California to see some of the sites myself! I recommend the book for anyone wanting to learn more about the man behind this iconic brand. (Leadership Institute Press; 2017; $14.99)
We Were Going to Change The World: Interviews with Women From The 1970s & 1980s Southern California Punk Rock Scene By Stacy Russo
Librarian, educator, poet and writer Stacy Russo of Southern California brings us a collection of interviews and photographs from women immersed in the Southern California Punk Rock Scene during the ‘70s and ‘80s. What makes Russo’s publication interesting is this fact that the subjects interviewed were not just the musicians from that era, but the photographers, writers
and fans which provided another perspective.
the first place. Where are they now? So, it began.
The foreward is written by bassist Mike Watt best known for his work with rock bands Minutemen, Dos, Firehouse, Big Walnuts Yonder, Banyan, and The Stooges. He speaks of those days with his buddy D. Boon experimenting with music and how they stumbled upon the punk rock scene. He attributes his inspiration to pursue his musical career in this genre to the women he witnessed on stage performing- in particular, one woman, Alice Bag.
After countless hours of research, conducting and editing interviews over several years, and some self-reflection, Russo delivers an informative, moving and empowering resource about the life and times of the women involved in the punk rock movement in Southern California. What drove their desires, their passions, their angst?
The inspiration behind Russo’s book? She was struck with the idea after attending an oral history workshop by the social justice organization Voice of Witness. She herself grew up in the Southern California punk rock scene during that time and knew how it had impacted her life. She wondered how it had affected others like her and what attracted them to the scene in
The book contains 37 interviews, photos, and a glossary. Several influential musicians from that time will include Exene Cervenka, who was featured in the exhibit “X: 40 YEARS OF PUNK IN LOS ANGELES” at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles late last year, as well as Alice Bag, Kira, Phranc, Johanna Went, Teresa Covarriubias, and Jennifer Precious Finch. Many other musicians, writers, photographers, DJs and fans are also included. (Santa Monica Press; 2017; $16.95)
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Fun Stuff It’s said that coloring can help reduce stress, so grab some color pencils, along with your guitar and notepad, and de-stress…
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Mind Game and trivia Answers
Mind Game Answers
Trivia Answers 1) 2000; 2) daughter’s drawing of a daisy; 3) Women’s International Music Network; 4) Elixir; 5) Warpaint or Liz Phair or Patti Smith; 6) True; 7) NAMM; and 8) Martin Guitar Standard Series.
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SIGNING OFF…
WHAT’S NEXT Bonus Issue
Winter NAMM 2018 due out March 2018
The Low Group, Inc. DBA Guitar Girl Magazine
March Issue
The Mighty Uke and the Girls that Play Them
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