| Author |
Topic: Rob Ickes On Cover of Guitar Player Magazine! |
Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
|
Posted 13 Jul 2011 8:24 am |
|
Rob Ickes is on the cover of the August Issue of Guitar Player and billed as "Resonator Radical."
I picked up the August issue at the supermarket the other day, and read the Rob article and interview. It's pretty comprehensive, but I wish it were twice the length.
I love the way the man thinks. He is obsessed with constantly breaking new ground for himself on the instrument.
This is huge for the dobro world - having Rob pose on the cover of Guitar Player with his Scheerhorn. Along with the subscribers, this mag is on the rack every day in thousands of retail stores across the U.S.
Typically you see guys like Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, Steve Vai, Eric Clapton, Kirk Hammett, Zak Wylde, Brian Setzer and the like on the cover.
Now we have Rob. For those of us whom first took up the instrument in the olden days (mid 1970's for me), many probably never thought they'd live to see the day that a dobro player would be on cover.
What's next: You guys remember Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show? Maybe "The Cover of the Rolling Stone!"
_________________
Mark |
|
|
|
Joey Ace
From:
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
|
Posted 13 Jul 2011 1:29 pm
|
|
Way Cool! Gotta get me one.
Pete Drake, and his Sho-Bud were on the GP cover in 1973.
Every 40 years, or so, it's worth buying a copy. |
|
|
|
Terry VunCannon
From:
Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
|
Posted 13 Jul 2011 5:02 pm
|
|
| I remember David Lindley on the cover in April '82...another big day for steel... |
|
|
|
Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
|
|
|
|
Frank James Pracher
From:
Michigan, USA
|
Posted 13 Jul 2011 8:49 pm
|
|
Wasn't Ben Harper on there not to long ago?
_________________
"Don't be mad honey, but I bought another one" |
|
|
|
Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
|
Posted 13 Jul 2011 8:53 pm
|
|
And Robert Randolph was on there a few years back.
But we're talkin' dobro here.
_________________
Mark |
|
|
|
Mike Neer
From:
NJ
|
Posted 14 Jul 2011 4:13 am
|
|
It's nice to hear this news, good for Rob, although Guitar Player is just a shadow of the magazine it once was (which makes this all the more surprising, I guess).
_________________
Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
|
|
|
Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
|
Posted 14 Jul 2011 8:27 am
|
|
You know, that's kind of the standard line these days among some long-time guitarists, but I have picked up a few issues in that past year and I have found the magazine to be pretty good these days.
I guess I should go out to the garage and comb through some boxes that contain old music magazines and see if I can compare the current issues to a couple from 20 years ago, but I've enjoyed some issues of Guitar Player recently.
_________________
Mark |
|
|
|
Joachim Kettner
From:
Germany
|
Posted 14 Jul 2011 8:56 am
|
|
Off topic, but I just remembered how I paid for a one year suscription of Guitar Player Magazine in the eighties. I didn't receive not one copy! That made me angry. Please go on with the topic.
_________________
Fender Kingman, Sierra Crown D-10, Evans Amplifier, Soup Cube. |
|
|
|
chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
|
Posted 14 Jul 2011 9:25 am
|
|
| mark..rob's playing is exciting.i played with buddy craig from bolinas for awhile...his 'midlife chrysler' album was beyond belief to me. the dobro playing by rob was so good i never tried to accompany buddy on my dobro..just steel. you might have known buddy. |
|
|
|
John Rosett
From:
Missoula, MT
|
Posted 2 Aug 2011 12:55 pm
|
|
I saw that in the store today, and I was really thrilled to see a really good musician (AND Dobro player) on the cover, I just couldn't bring myself to shell out $6.50 for a magazine that's 75% ads.
_________________
"it's not in bad taste, if it's funny." - john waters |
|
|
|
Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
|
Posted 2 Aug 2011 1:55 pm
|
|
So which magazines are you buying that aren't 75% ads?
_________________
Brad’s Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
|
|
|
John Rosett
From:
Missoula, MT
|
Posted 2 Aug 2011 1:57 pm
|
|
Sadly, none.
_________________
"it's not in bad taste, if it's funny." - john waters |
|
|
|
Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
|
Posted 2 Aug 2011 4:48 pm
|
|
| John Rosett wrote: |
| I saw that in the store today, and I was really thrilled to see a really good musician (AND Dobro player) on the cover, I just couldn't bring myself to shell out $6.50 for a magazine that's 75% ads. |
I think it's a much lower percentage than that if one is to take the statement literally. Or you could do like I sometimes do - grab a copy at a store like Borders, sit down in one of those nice black leather chairs and read the article or two that you are interested in and not buy.
It's a bummer that Borders is going out of business...probably because of guys like me. 
_________________
Mark
Last edited by Mark Eaton on 2 Aug 2011 4:54 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
|
|
Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
|
Posted 2 Aug 2011 4:53 pm
|
|
| chris ivey wrote: |
| mark..rob's playing is exciting.i played with buddy craig from bolinas for awhile...his 'midlife chrysler' album was beyond belief to me. the dobro playing by rob was so good i never tried to accompany buddy on my dobro..just steel. you might have known buddy. |
Chris , I did not know Buddy Craig personally, but I saw him play I think twice over the years, and he was seriously talented. It was a shame when I heard about his suicide a couple years back, very sad.
One thing Rob has done over the years when he's out here combining gigs with visiting family and old friends is that he will book some regional sessions.
It gives one instant credibility to have a dude like that on their no label/indie label project and it helps Rob to pay for the travel expenses.
_________________
Mark |
|
|
|
Gordon Hartin
From:
Durham, NC
|
|
|
|
Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
|
Posted 3 Aug 2011 7:20 am
|
|
I have not personally tried a Blue Chip yet, but a bunch of guys have and posted about them on www.Reso-nation.org and they swear by them. Jerry Douglas has been using them now over the past two years, and below is a post I wrote on his forum, in italics are Jerry's comments and as far as I know he is not an endorsee of the product:
| Quote: |
Ted, JerryD started a thread on Sept. 17, 2009 about these things and he is on the program. I haven't taken the plunge because I'm bad about losing picks - but I suppose if I paid $40 for one I'd be pretty careful with it. I am intrigued by Jerry's comment below regarding better tone and how it "moves across the string in a way plastic never will."
I think the majority of people whom have invested in Blue Chips are happy with them, but not 100% across the board, Several have written between here and Reso-Nation that they couldn't get a great fit with their thumb.
Here is what Jerry wrote:
"I have never used a thumbpick like this ever before. Always shied away from any metal banding and multi-material picks until now. I saw some of my friends moving from tortoise to these picks and that got my attention. Usually, I wear out a pick, Zookie, Golden Gate, Slickpick, National, I've tried everything, in one hour of playing. I have been using the same Blue Chip JD(Crowe) thumbpick for more than a month. Through the Elvis Costello tour where we played at least 35 songs per night, and all shows since. I have never had a pick long enough to actually form a relationship with it in the way guitar players I know, Dan, Tony, Bryan can have. This stuff is incredible and has better tone and moves across the string in a way plastic never will. I am amazed! They are costly I know, but see what you think if you get the chance to try one. You better get two. I haven't bent the pick in any way since I first picked it up and slid it onto my thumb (I wear a large). I have used two picks since May 20th. Usually I would have gone through at least 20 Zookies by now and had to get use to slight changes in each one. I'm finished with that. My hat is off to Matthew Goins at Blue Chip. Now I'll get down off my soapbox." |
_________________
Mark |
|
|
|
Steven Pearce
From:
Port Orchard Washington, USA
|
Posted 3 Aug 2011 8:16 pm
|
|
Speaking of Dobros, and maybe its just my ears but it seems like there is a real difference between resonators with wood bodies vs metal bodies. 
Thanks for any help.
Steve Pearce
_________________
http://www.fentonstwang.com/fr_home.cfm |
|
|
|
Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
|
Posted 3 Aug 2011 9:11 pm
|
|
Well, if you think about it, all dobros derive a fairly high percentage of their tone from the resonator cone and the parts which come in contact with it, but it's the wood which seems to sort of take the metallic edge.
With the metal bodied dobros there isn't anything to take away any of that metallic edge -since except for the neck on most of the guitars, there's no wood to be found except in the bridge cap material.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
But for whatever reason, and maybe because it sounds a bit "mellower" with the wood influence, I bluegrass and country, I have a difficult time thinking of anybody that plays for a living that chooses a metal-bodied lap style resonator as their first instrument. I'm sure the exceptions will start trickling in now that I've posted this.
Bob Brozman maybe?
But the guys whose "home base' is bluegrass and country like Ickes, Douglas, Auldridge, etc. - wood bodied guitars.
_________________
Mark |
|
|
|
Olli Haavisto
From:
Jarvenpaa,Finland
|
Posted 3 Aug 2011 11:04 pm
|
|
Also, more often than not, wood guitars have different resonators than the metal ones. Spiders on wood guitars and national-type cones on metal ones.
Exceptions of course exist...
_________________
Olli Haavisto
Finland |
|
|
|
Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
|
Posted 4 Aug 2011 6:41 am
|
|
I should have been more specific in my post, but I sort of assumed Steven's question was in regards to if they had the same design - as in a spider bridge guitar that can be made from either metal or wood, as opposed to a biscuit bridge guitar or a tri-cone, since the thread is about Rob Ickes and spider bridge resonator guitars.
_________________
Mark |
|
|
|
Olli Haavisto
From:
Jarvenpaa,Finland
|
Posted 5 Aug 2011 12:49 am
|
|
I wasn`t implying that you`re not aware of the cone differences Mark, I know you are...
I don`t know if Steven knows that or not.
_________________
Olli Haavisto
Finland |
|
|
|
Steven Pearce
From:
Port Orchard Washington, USA
|
|
|
|
