On our series called “First Axe” we ask members of Tilted Axes to tell us their electric guitar origin stories. This time, we’re talking to guitarist and composer Christoph Götzen, who is based in Dusseldorf, Germany. Raised on punk rock but studying and experimenting with jazz, Christoph is also organizing a three-day festival in honor on International Strange Music Day on August 24th.
For more on Tilted Axes go to tiltedaxes.com.
On our series called “First Axe” we ask members of Tilted Axes to tell us their electric guitar origin stories. This time we’re talking to Howie Kenty, who’s a faculty member at Kaufman Music Center, where he teaches music tech, composition, and theory. But his early guitar days were marked by the sounds of grunge, cassette recordings and questionable taste in stage-wear.
Tilted Axes: Music for Mobile Electric Guitars is an orchestra of guitarists and percussionists led by composer/performer Patrick Grant. They perform original music with mini-amps strapped over their shoulders, moving through public spaces in museums, parks and city streets. Its roster of musicians can change from performance to performance, city to city.
This time, on our series called First Axe - stories about first guitars - we’ll hear from the founder of Tilted Axes: Music for Mobile Electric Guitars. That’s composer, performer and producer Patrick Grant. He’ll take us back to his teen years in Detroit for the brief but noisy life of his first department store axe.
Be sure to check out upcoming performances and the rest of what Tilted Axes is up to at tiltedaxes.com. You can also follow @tiltedaxes on all the socials.
Thanks to everyone who’s been listening to the Strings and Things podcast! We really appreciate you spending time with us and our talented guests while we do the glamorous work of changing our gummy guitar strings. But, we want to let you know about another project we've wrapped up here at Peppergreen Media:
It’s the new Tilted Axes album!
You may remember we’ve met some of the guitarists on the podcast through Patrick’s project, Tilted Axes: Music for Mobile Electric Guitars. It’s both a processional event and an ensemble of electric guitarists. They use portable amplifiers strapped to their sides as they criss-cross the urban landscape and play music for unsuspecting audiences. Anywhere from 9 to over 40 guitarists have performed in a Tilted Axes event, playing compositions that Patrick’s written specifically for the group, the project’s host city, or various cultural occasions.
You can listen to the Tilted Axes album at Soundcloud and Spotify or download a copy at Bandcamp, iTunes, or wherever good digital music is sold. Thank you!
A Colombian-born, New York City composer brings in his custom Strat and looks back on his earliest musical influences.
Daniel Reyes Llinas, co-founder of the Parias Ensemble takes us back to his first 10 dollar guitar and traces his evolution as a musician through some of his favorite genres: classical, pop, new wave, metal, jazz and progressive rock. Then he’ll tell us what he’s making when he’s not onstage or in rehearsal. Join our host, composer/performer Patrick Grant, on the Strings and Things podcast, where guitarists come by to change their strings, tell some stories and play music. Look us up on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play or visit our website at stringsandthingsshow.com.
On this episode of Strings and Things, Angela Babin drops by to work on a Melody Maker that hasn’t been out and about in years, while host Patrick Grant restrings his studio-weary Les Paul.
Angela has been performing live since she was 13 years old in many different venues, from Folk City and CBGBs, to BAM and the Berlin Jazz Festival. She entered the downtown New York music scene playing with Off Beach and the Ordinaires while she was a teenager, and has played guitar, tres, and bass on recordings for many varied musical projects. Currently, Angela is gleefully playing guitar with the Gotham Roots Orchestra.
Find out more at stringsandthingsshow.com.
A 1963 Melody Maker comes out of retirement for a much needed tune-up when Angela Babin, guitarist for The Ordinaires, Homer Erotic and The Gotham Roots Orchestra drops in on the Strings and Things podcast. She'll describe some of the musical games she played with her father, who was himself a child prodigy, and she’ll tell us how her fascination with numbers inspired her current musical project.
Join our host, composer/performer Patrick Grant, on the Strings and Things podcast, where musicians come by to change their guitar strings, talk about things and play some music. Look us up on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play or visit our website at stringsandthingsshow.com.
This week on the Strings and Things podcast, Brooklyn native Randolph Hudson III is here to work on a limited edition Veilette-Citron guitar, while our host Patrick Grant restrings a favorite Danelectro. Randy’s going to tell us about the history of the EBow and where you’ve heard it before, and we’ll hear about trying to be an environmentally conscious guitarist when you also have a jones for tube electronics.
Find out more about this episode at stringsandthingsshow.com.
The next Strings and Things podcast will come at you LIVE from Leeds...well, sort of.
Briton Anthony Mullin, dynamic guitarist for the hard rock band The Blackfires will be here to discuss the finer points of re-stringing his Gibson Custom Joe Perry Les Paul. We'll ask him about the songs and albums that first inspired his call to musicianship, and he'll make amends for a youthful outburst.
This is Strings and Things, the show where players come by to change their strings, talk about things and play some music. Find out more at our website at stringsandthingsshow.com.
On this episode of Strings and Things, we have the prolific composer/guitarist Nick Didkovsky, founder of the rock ensemble Doctor Nerve, and an agent of destruction in the grindcore outfit Vomit Fist. While changing the strings on his B.C. Rich Stealth guitar, he tells our host, Patrick Grant, how he uses the programming language HMSL to compose music, and explains the virtues of his single humbucker pickup. Then Nick and Patrick plug into some Vox Amps for an electrifying duet.
Strings and Things is a Peppergreen Production for Headstepper Media. Find out more at stringsandthingsshow.com.
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On the next Strings and Things podcast, guitarist, composer, and programmer Nick Didkovsky drops by to work on his B.C. Rich Stealth guitar, and explains the virtues of its single humbucker pickup. He ponders the mysteries of humankind's ability to constantly throw common sense out the window, and then amps up for a duet with our host, Patrick Grant.
This is Strings and Things, the show where musicians come by to change their strings and talk about all kinds of things. When the turning and tuning are done, the new strings are shown no mercy in a special performance with our guest.
To find out more, visit our website at stringsandthingsshow.com.
On this edition of Strings and Things, the versatile electric guitarist Matt Grossman works on an iGuitar and host Patrick Grant attends to a Les Paul Standard. An in-demand soloist in New York City, Matt describes how he finds his role in different kinds of ensembles, from jazz to R&B, and rock. He relates the story of a particularly alarming performance, and then amps up for a funky duet with Patrick.
Strings and Things is a Peppergreen Production for Headstepper Media. Find out more at stringsandthingsshow.com.
On the premiere episode of Strings and Things, composer/guitarist Tony Geballe stops by to change the strings on his custom-built Nelson Fidelis TG1 electric guitar, while our host Patrick Grant re-strings his Rickenbacker 330. Tony tells us about his first guitar hero, and how he started playing in a Progressive Darkwave band. Then the Vox amps come out and they perform an excerpt from Tony's score for a stage version of Faust.
To find out more about Tony Geballe, visit his webpage.
Strings and Things is a Peppergreen Production for Headstepper Media.
At some point every guitarist has to do it, so why not hang out with some friends and have fun while you're at it? This is Strings and Things, the show where musicians come by to change their strings, talk about all kinds of things and make some music. We hope you'll join us for the new Strings and Things podcast, a Peppergreen Production for Headstepper Media.