guitar

Riff Rafting

by Ed Rawlings


I love guitar riffs. Great riffs encapsulate the chords, melody, and feel of a song. They are a force that propels the songs forward. A good song also tells a relatable story, but a great guitar rock and roll riff can draw people quickly into that story.

Sometimes, riffs are memorable guitar melodies, like The Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” or  Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.” I particularly like riffs that are part chord, part melody, and are often as memorable as the lyrics, or maybe more so – like Chuck Berry’s opening riff for Johnny B. Goode – one of the classics of rock and the inspiration for many riffs to come.

Continue reading →

Reflections in Reverb

by Gonçalo Pereira a.k.a. Diamond Gloss


It was a cold but sunny winter day. I was sixteen, and I only wanted two things in life: football and playing guitar. Period. I had just gotten my first electric guitar, a cheap Strat-style guitar, and a little 15-watt combo amp with a tiny overdrive button. Every time I wanted to switch to distortion, I had to stop playing to press the button, as I had no idea what a footswitch was back then.

Continue reading →

If I Were To Have A Daemon, It Would Be A Squirrel

by Liv Luce

Liv Luce


Writing music has been a constant in my life. I was the kind of kid who sang constantly to myself, my friends, my parents, stuffed animals, anyone, anything. For a while, I had a pen pal with whom I’d exchange song lyrics. I’m pretty sure there was one about a baby swallow I tried and failed to nurse back to health in my parents’ attic.

I began taking piano lessons around the age of nine. Being an introvert, I spent many a school break in the music rooms playing and composing songs. Then, aged 12, I plucked up the courage to approach other musicians about forming a band. It was then that Suzie (guitarist in my first band, Caliber) introduced me to Radiohead and Nirvana. I learned bass and have been in bands ever since.

Continue reading →

Prairie Flowers

by Dante Reynolds a.k.a. MiG-29

MiG-29


MiG-29 is the dreamy, blood-covered, creative outlet of Prairie Flowers(Dante Reynolds). Born and raised in the San Jose Bay area in the late 90s, Flowers was blessed to be surrounded by some of the best rap music from the era. Pop-punk, hip-hop, and R&B are all styles that have made an impact on young flowers. At about 14, the flower was ready to blossom.

Continue reading →

Unused Songs And Their Potential To Make You Sick

by Loic J Tuckey

Loic J Tuckey


Whether you’re professional or amateur, tour-famous or bedroom-idle, every musician has them. They hover around like a foul scent and rear their ugly heads each time you’ve forgotten they exist. If you’re a music type, I’ve no doubt you’ve got a batch lying around, too.

I’m talking about unused songs and recordings you have no idea what to do with. A jam you tracked one night but never finished. A memory you should probably try to let go. Move on with your life, buddy!

Yet, now and then, you pull one out and give it a listen. Each time, the reek of unfulfilled potential makes you sick to your stomach. You like the tune enough to vouch for it, but know it’s never getting uploaded to Spotify. It’s regrettable because, given the right resources, you believe it had the potential to be an absolute belter.

Continue reading →

About a Musician

by Gerrit Walter a.k.a. The Song & Dance Brigade

Gerrit Walter


I am kindly asked to write something about my musical life, which has now spanned several decades. No one had ever asked me that before. Well, I have been making music since I was 13 years old. My mother taught me how to play the guitar, at least the rudimentary playing she mastered. That was when I was thirteen.

Since then, I’ve been playing the guitar. It’s the instrument I desire in terms of beauty, sound, and challenge. In school, they told me I couldn’t sing. I did it anyway.

Continue reading →

Borrowed Voices

by Tim Oestmann

Tim Oestmann


Greetings! My name is Tim Oestmann, from Adelaide, Australia.

Music is such a gift. It is a community event. Many of us are influenced by others’ gifts of a song or a tune, and hopefully, we can provide a tune in return. None of us makes music in a vacuum.

My background is as a guitarist and bass player in a number of local bands. I was fortunate enough to perform for a few years in front of live audiences, which was often a privilege. I also learned a lot from playing to an audience that gave instant feedback if you were hot, or not, they would let you know. I also did some roadie work for other performers, and so heard a lot of live music.

Continue reading →

Music is my poetry

by Mila Cloud

Mila Cloud


Music is something very intimate and personal, so it’s not easy for me to write about it. On the other hand, it is essential to me; it is something I want to share and what I want to talk about.

To describe this experience, the language of poetry would be more appropriate. On the other hand, such a language would be too hermetic and, as a result, incomprehensible. Besides, I can’t write poetry. Music is my poetry.

Continue reading →

Singing to Survive: From “Skin and Bones” to “A Fully Educated Man”

by Paul Kameen

Singing to Survive: From 'Skin and Bones' to 'A Fully Educated Man' by Paul Kameen width=
“I sing because I’m happy. I sing because I’m free.” I like those lines from the famous gospel song “His Eye Is on the Sparrow,” especially as sung by The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, who convey in both their instruments and voices all the hardship and pain that often precede or surround the moments of happiness and freedom that singing can create, the way one really depends on the other to achieve its full impact.

I create a lot of different kinds of things. Singing is the one among them that always gives me more back than I put into it, leaves me feeling happy and free. Whether it’s dark or light in my life at that moment those sounds are being made, I always feel that a good eye is still on the sparrow.

Continue reading →

Lo-fi post-rock electric guitar & beats

by Marcelo Badari (Looming Flames)

Lo-fi post-rock, electric guitar & beats by Marcelo Badari (Looming Flames)
My name is Marcelo Badari, and I am a musician from the southeast region of Brazil. Looming Flames is my instrumental solo project since 2011.

The idea behind Looming Flames is to create music with an electric guitar, a loop pedal, and some effects pedals in a minimalistic way. I also use a Boss SP 202 sampler in my guitar chain. With it, I can have sampled acoustic drum beats, played by me, in my compositions. I have some electronic beats and some noises sampled in the SP 202 as well.

Continue reading →