Dual Posting Time. A court link and an artist profile; a double dip for the ages. And, boy, do I have a cool link for you all tonight.
There are a select few acoustic guitar masters and Igor Presnyakov is certainly one of them. The Russian born guitarist/composer has been playing the guitar for around 35 years – according to his website – and that has given him a diverse range of guitar experience. He also plays a Russian 7-string guitar, a type of guitar that was popularized in the 19th century. He is one of the few to play it on a professional level.
The invention of the “Russian Guitar” is attributed to Andrei Sychra. It was popularized in the early 19th century and actually remained the popular standard until a strong interest in underground music (including that of Western music like The Beatles) brought the 6-string guitar prominence.
Anyway, back to the 7-string guitar playing of Igor Presnyakov. Here is Presnyakov playing his acoustic version of Lady GaGa’s “Telephone.” Yes, this is very real and very cool.
I am going to take you on a mini journey for this installment of Court Links. First, off to the just finished festival in Glastonbury.
Matthew Bellamy from Muse performing at the Greek Theatre Los Angeles, California - 19.07.06 Credit: (Mandatory) Aaron D. Settipane/WENN
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, the largest open-air music festival in the world, was supposed to feature U2 as a performer on their expansive list of acts. But, because of Bono back surgery, U2 could not participate in the festival. But, U2 fans at the festival got a special surprise when the Edge came out to help Matthew Bellamy and Muse perform the U2 classic, “Where the Streets Have No Name.”
Bellamy and the Edge, both bathed in red stage light, provide an excellent vocal, guitar combination and a wonderful harmony when the Edge provides his backing in the chorus. The fans certainly seemed to enjoy the performance and it is hard not to. Kudos to the Edge for joining Muse on stage for the encore.
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Now, on to the more obscure “Vampire Blues.” This, of course, unless you are a Neil Young fan. Then, you would understand that we were going to explore the actions of the always liberal-minded 64-year-old folk musician. But, for this journey we must enter the world of the interweb.
On Thursday, at 6:17 p.m., Young expressed his computer literacy, by giving his 416,628 fans who like his Facebook page a special treat. He typed, “I have been thinking about adding Vampire Blues to my show but I would rather do it with a band. This is my first posting. Thanks for being there.” The post stirred over 11,000 likes and over 3,000 comments from excited fans, many beckoning Young to write more. Who knows if this is actually him or simply a publicist trying to spark some excitement. But, let’s be real, it is probably Young and that’s just awesome.
There is something about Paul McCartney and John Lennon that makes them music magnets. Could it be that they were members of the greatest band to ever release an album, take the stage, talk, walk, sing and eat? Maybe. Or, could it be that Paul’s infectious personality intertwines with his limitless musical talents and John’s magical aura that surrounds his memory still provides listeners with a sense of attachment? Whatever this fascination may be caused by is pretty much unimportant. What is essential is that McCartney and Lennon still remain a tremendous force in the music world today, and this is most definitely reflected in today’s Court Links.
Paul McCartney often finds his way on Music Court’s links posts. The 68-year-old superstar (who celebrated his birthday on June 18) is not just a shoe-in because of the lore that surrounds his name. McCartney finds his way onto these posts because he is constantly diversifying and honing his trade (even at 68) and these endeavors are most definitely news worthy.
Recently, McCartney was asked to write music for a ballet (nothing is known about the ballet or who commissioned McCartney to do it) and, in typical McCartney fashion, he agreed.
“I’m interested in doing things I haven’t done before. That offer came up and I love writing music, the two went together and I said, ‘Yeah,’ so I just accept things before I even know what I’m doing,” McCartney said. “I don’t really know that much about it yet. I’m just writing music for it, but it’s a switch!”
I think this is just wonderful. It is exciting to see McCartney, sharp as ever, still producing various types of music. He seemed to have accomplished everything a musician can dream to accomplish (and more). And, who knows, maybe Paul McCartney can become like the Beatles of ballet writing. Oh wait!
The Holy Grail of lyrical efforts (Photo: De Souza/AFP/Getty)
In other news, John Lennon handwritten lyrics to “A Day in the Life,” which is often regarded to as the best overall Beatles’ piece ever, sold on June 18 at Sotheby’s in New York. The price tag. A modest $1.2 million. Frighteningly, this does not beat the record for highest-priced Beatles’ sheet music. That crown belongs to the hand-written lyrics to “All You Need is Love,” which went for $1.25 million.
The sheet originally belonged to Beatles road manager, Mal Evans, and they represent the song as a work in progress. Yes, surprisingly John Lennon did make initial writing errors. His work was not innately inerrant. Shocker! I am not surprised the work went for that much. Wait, yes I am; that is $1.2 million. Oh my goodness. What a price. Well, I guess in some skewed way it is totally worth it. I think I will stick to listening to the song on my vinyl player
Billy Gillespie, frontman for the band Primal Scream, has announced a one-night-only supergroup called Silver Machine that will take the stage at London’s 1234 festival in Shoreditch on July 24. The band consists of Gillespie, Zac Starkey, who plays drums for The Who and, if you do not know, is also the son of one Ringo Starr, Sex Pistols’ bassist Glen Matlock and Primal Scream guitarists Andrew Innes and Barrie Cadogan.
When Silver Machine takes the stage they will immediately be in the pool of one-off collaborations competing with The Dirty Mac for best one-time rock combination. The Dirty Mac consisted of Starr’s bandmate John Lennon, guitarist Eric Clapton, Rolling Stone’s guitarist Keith Richards, and Jimi Hendrix Experience’ drummer Mitch Mitchell. They played at the The Rolling Stones’ TV special entitled “The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus,” which was recorded on December 11, 1968. This is a great opportunity to show you all one of the coolest rock videos ever.
Anyway, Silver Machine is planning on playing covers of some of their favorite songs from their favorite artists. This includes bands like The Troggs, MC5, The Creation and an often looked over band, The Chocolate Watchband.
The Chocolate Watchband were a garage rock and psychedelic band formed in San Jose, California in 1965. The music was a mix of the blues/psychedelic sound that was swirling around San Francisco, California at the time. In 1967 the band, already having experienced a line-up change, released their first LP entitled, No Way Out. This album is not talked about much, but is a true gem of the late 60’s burgeoning psychedelic experimentation. “Dark Side of the Mushroom,” – 6 years before the moon – is a fantastic piece of instrumental psychedelia.
Well, nobody ever said Celine Dion wasn’t outrageous. The 42-year-old prima donna has build a pool water park in the backyard of her $20 million Jupiter Island, Fla, estate that she shares with her husband and manager René Angélil. The Dion theme park features two huge pools, water slides, a lazy river and no icebergs in sight. This aquatic shangri-la is a good example of how far someone can take the phrase, “If you have the money spend it.” Because, sometimes you may build an environmental monstrosity.
Dion’s backyard pool just happens to hold 500,000 gallons of water, which actually caused a drought on Jupiter Island. That’s right folks, she caused a drought. Neighbors were not pleased when they had to deal with water restrictions because of Dion’s god-like creation. Dion, facing fines because of her pool, built six wells on her property. Six wells and horrendous heating costs combine to use up a lot of energy, which for the Mother Nature Network (MNN) is a big no-no.
The Music Court 