“There are a lot of things that can go wrong on the road. If you get sick, you still play, but people think you are losing your edge. If you have half a house, people don’t feel that they are part of something. If you don’t have a great crew, your shit doesn’t sound right. If you don’t have the best equipment, your show may not sound as great as the last one or the next one. If you have a reputation, it’s on the line. If you forget what you’re doing, it shows up on YouTube. If you remember what you’re doing, it shows up on YouTube. If you do something new that isn’t ready, or old that you screw up, it is on YouTube. If snot comes out of your nose while you are playing the harmonica & slithers down the harmonica rack onto your T-Shirt, it is on YouTube. If you say something stupid…” Neil Young

A lot of people may not know this about me, but my favorite hobby is woodwork! My old man taught me everything I know before I was 10 years old! I followed him around in the garage with a nappy… apparently?! Anyway… I bought this desk from a Hospice Charity Shop, planed, sanded, hand sanded, stained, waxed & sealed. Also fitted it with rad new drawer handles:

I always admired Classic Motorcycles. From the day I saw a photo of my old man’s bike in Birmingham, England from the 50′s, I had an eye for a classic motorcycle. More recently, I started scouring the Internet for images of classic bikes; Triumph’s, Norton’s, BSA’s & Royal Enfields. I fell in love with all of them. Their ‘post-war’ styling, classic British heritage & appeal drove me crazy. For weeks I stared at these things, with the same adoration that I have for guitars.

I did some research & purchased a brand new Royal Enfield Classic 500 in Black. Commuting is no longer a task, instead I get to be apart of my surrounds whilst traveling from A to B. I’ve only done 200km’s roughly, so my ‘biking’ days are still ‘but a puppy.’

One things for certain, I will not be doing breakfast run’s to Hartebeespoort, nor joining a motorcycle club. But I will enjoy the freedom that this affords me, & I will travel our beautiful country, & others.

‘It’s better in the wind’

Photo by Rudi Jeggle

“Today’s young artists have grown up thinking that being famous is the goal, not to be respected – not to be dangerous” Billy Corgan.

It couldn’t have been said better! Billy Corgan recently ranted this at SXSW, in Austin, Texas.

I wish to be respected, to be dangerous…

Read the rest of the article here: Billy Corgan Rants about ‘Posers’ at SXSW

Somebody directed me to this article, which is such an interesting read! I’m not here to agree or disagree with his stance, but look how well Nick Cave wrote this & hear his conviction & adoration of his musicality! Read his letter that he wrote to MTV way back in ’96 here. Food for thought much?!

http://www.nick-cave.com/mtv/mtv.shtml

A new Telecaster to add to my collection. Every year, the Fender Custom Shop, take the most requested specs of the year and put them all together in one guitar: The 2011 Telecaster Pro. It has a 100 Year Old Pine body & a large ‘C’ shape neck of quatersawn maple. It’s got two Fender Custom Shop pickups, one of which is a ‘Twisted Tele,’ the other a ‘Master Design’ by Paul Waller. It has a Closet Classic finish, but most of all it just sounds good!! It has amazing feel and a little bit of its own distinct ‘mid-range’ sound while still been fully capable of taking the enamel off your teeth, as a Tele should;)

I have a pretty decent guitar-boner now;) A huge thank you to Fender and Music Connection for this!!!

The sweetest sounding guitar amp ever made?! Man alive I love this thing…with pedals, without pedals, soft or deafening, Full-Power or Half-Power…it just sounds amazing! Just like a real Plexi but better; check out the specs:

Dr Z Remedy
Power Output: 40 Watts/20 Watts switchable
Output Tubes: 4 – 6V6
Preamp Tubes: 3 – 12AX7
Rectifier: Solid State
Controls: Volume High, Volume Low, Bass, Middle, Treble

I love Telecaster’s so damn much!!! These are my favorite of what the Fender Custom Shop in California is currently offering: (the ‘Boracha’ is technically a Jazzmaster, but is inspired by a ‘La Cabronita’ Tele® & has the headstock;)

Limited Wildwood “10″ 1959 Relic® Telecaster® Custom

1967 Relic® Telecaster®
Limited Relic® Bigsby® Telecaster®

Limited Edition La Cabronita “Boracha” Jazzmaster®

Someone asked me today, “how come i’m 25 years old and i work in a coffee shop?” The answer is simple really. Or not. I am a musician, a barista, a video editor, and a studio/producer manager. I would not want to give up any one of my above ‘loves’ to be confined to one thing! Being able to play music all the time, is something which i am truly honored to do. Being able to work in a coffee shop/deli and enjoy the finer things in life, like amazing coffee and fine food, whilst meeting some of Joburg’s most interesting people is so much more than rewarding! Being able to create, edit, distort and recreate reality in an edit suite, has taught me patience, and a love for a medium which i knew little about. Managing a professional recording studio, means I get to be directly involved with other like minded individuals on a daily basis, who are passionate about creating & sharing music, in an environment that is a business, however a creative business, a business of creative thought. There are no boundaries as to what I am prepared to do, to live and enjoy my life. So my question to you, Anonymous, is: “Why are YOU, NOT working in a coffee shop at 25?”