Again, we have another instance of bigotry and divisiveness that is healed when we learn that the one we fear or hate is actually one of our own and that we never feared or hated them at all.

But that doesn’t mean that bigotry isn’t alive and well. We still see it across racial, social, cultural and political divides. And we are all guilty of it at one time or another to some degree. Even when we step in to the sanctity of our homes, isn’t the neighbor across the hall or across the street “the other”? Not part of our family. Not part of our tribe. Not part of our race or faith or club or clique or financial bracket or political affiliation. Who among us hasn’t looked at the person walking down the street and hasn’t felt, just a little bit, “you’re different than me and that makes me uncomfortable”? I know I have and I am not proud of it when I realize it.

I have traveled to over a dozen countries. I have met thousands of people. I have received the hospitality of their homes, their kitchens, their spare beds. I have had in-depth political, social and cultural conversations with them. And what I have found is they are all unique and individual AND they are just like me. They want the same things as me. A home, a job, the love of another and for their kids to grow up safe and productive.

I am so grateful to my mother for teaching me that bigotry is flat out wrong. It was probably the lesson she stressed the most of all. That was easy to apply to racism. Different color or country doesn’t matter. But it must be applied to all areas of difference. The handicapped, poor, sick, ugly, socially awkward, tall, short, fat, skinny, freckled people with a bad haircut and a speech impediment. Everyone has the same dreams, hopes and fears.

As a teen, I had a friend and bandmate who was and is black. I never thought anything of it. Then one day he mentioned an instance of racism he had recently experienced. I was shocked. I had never thought of him as my “black” friend, just my friend. This led to a long conversation that eventually made me ask this question, “When you see someone different how do you break through that barrier?” He replied, “Ask them ‘what’s it like to be you?’ ”

That was the big epiphany for me. It’s not enough to tolerate or accept or even love those different from ourselves. We must empathize with them. To try and walk, if not a mile, then at least a few steps in their shoes. See life through their eyes. Realize that, as in the case of Rob Portman, he is not just gay, he is your son. She is your sister. They are your friends. They are not “the other”. They are us.

Photo Credit “People I Like” by id-iom

1. Many of you thought about this for your kids. I’m happy to do that but you should know that guitar is a very physical instrument and it’s best that they’re not younger than 10 or 11 just from a size standpoint. That said, if they are already showing interest and some prowess bring it on. Also, I ask that a parent or guardian be with the child during the lesson.

2. Please have an idea of what you want to learn be it technique, theory or just learning a song. This will help to make the time we spend more effective and fun.

3. Lastly, I’m doing this because I love music and guitar and would love to help others to get the same enjoyment that I do. So it’s probably best that we focus on that. But, as the saying goes, it’s your dime and, barring anything personal about me or my family, we can do whatever you want. That could also include discussing recording and production techniques, running or working with a band or the music biz in general. It’s up to you.

Ok, let’s get started!

And you know what? You do! Because it’s that 90 or so minutes that makes it all worth it. It’s the 90 or so seconds between the time the lights go out in the house, you take your place and the lights come up on stage and you play that first big chord. The electricity in that moment is the magic that every performer lives for.

Well, I shouldn’t say “every”. There are those who dread it and those, too, who just won’t do it. But for the rest of us, it is an experience beyond all others and why most of us became musicians in the first place. The knowledge that we could get chicks this way came later.

But the most important part, the part many artists forget, is the audience. Without them/you/us performers are out of a job. That doesn’t necessarily mean music wouldn’t be created although it brings an odd thought to mind of a musician, all musicians making music purely for themselves because the whole notion or concept of a musical audience doesn’t exist. Wow, kind of Orwellian. But, I digress.

My Dad gave me two separate pieces of advice on two separate occasions that were seemingly contradictory. He said, “If you hear the yeas you’ll hear the boos.” Later he told me, “Let your audience do their job. That’s why they’re there.”

The latter comment seemed pretty straight-forward. People come to a show for the sole purpose of being entertained. They WANT you to do well and they WANT to scream and yell and cheer and clap and sing along. In that particular environment, that’s their job and they WANT to do it. But, too often you’ll see performers performing as though there were no one to perform to. Is that performing? In my opinion, no. It is the symbiotic relationship of the performer and the audience that is what is so special. You can’t have an artist without art appreciators (or can you? existentialists talk among yourselves) just as you can’t have an audience without something to appreciate. The thought of a mosh pit with no band just popped in to my head – just a bunch of guys in an empty warehouse running in circles bumping and punching each other. Hilarious!

But the former comment, in light of the latter, became a little confusing. “If you hear the yeas you’ll hear the boos”. Did that mean ignore the audience and just do what I do, play what I play and they’ll either dig it or they won’t? Maybe. As I said, different performers do it differently. But, for me, when I combine both pieces of advice I come up with this: I must work as hard as I can to be the best performer/artist/entertainer/musician I can be so that the audience will want to do their job and return my efforts with resounding YEAS and we as a performer/audience unit have damn good time.

Circe and I riding were in the car the other day listening to the 70′s XM radio station and “Clap For The Wolfman” by The Guess Who came on – a Nilsson-esque little number paying homage to radio DJ of yore Wolfman Jack. We were immediately struck, one: by how different the song was from the band’s biggest hit American Woman, and two: that we knew instantly that it was Burton Cummings singing.

Why is this important? Well, over the last 25 or 30 years the powers that be in the record industry have caused, no, forced bands and artists to homogenize their sound. If you’re a hard rock band God help you if you want to put a jazzy song or swampy 30′s type blues or experiment with avant garde noises on your record. Labels (and I mean you so-called “indie”s, too) will not support it because they don’t know how to market it.

Too often have I and other talented artists I know experienced, “We really think you’re great but we don’t know what to do with you. Oh, can I get an extra copy of your demo for my wife? She thinks you’re great, too.” If I had a dime for every time I heard, “what are you doing playing HERE?” I wouldn’t need a freaking record contract.

I grew up in the 70′s. FM AOR radio was building steam but 93 KHJ AM still had a huge share of the market. When I was 10 in 1975 you could hear Deep Purple, Sly Stone, Helen Reddy, Stevie Wonder, Aerosmith, The Eagles, and KC and the Sunshine Band all right in a row. Music was just… well, music. We didn’t need this one flavored narrow minded programming because all of it was cool.

However, with the advent of MTV, video didn’t just kill the radio star, it killed the broad-spectrum artist as well. And, personally, I blame it on heavy metal of the early 80′s. You see, kids all over America could now see their rock-stars as well as hear them. And they started to gravitate to them more than ever before – dressing up like them, hair styles like them, etc. To be fair, the Duran Duran heads and The Cure clones were just as guilty. But metal seemed to have the greatest impact and it was then that the labels realized that they could aggressively niche market their bands which is why we got 2000 look-alike, sound-alike metal bands all forced down our throats for the next 8 years.

It’s clear why Nirvana had such a big impact and the term “Alternative” was coined. We needed an alternative. And what did we get? 5 years of Seattle based grunge spoon fed to us 24/7. Any band that called itself alternative quickly wasn’t.

Ok, so my “old fogey” might be starting to show but here we are, 20 years on, and artists are forced to be so compartmentalized that, wait for it, they all sound the same to me. And I’m a musician! It’s my job to find the intricacies and differences in music and I just don’t hear any coming out of my car stereo anymore. XM radio has 5 gabillion channels, each dedicated to one narrow type of music – whether it be R&B (which really isn’t anymore if Otis Redding and The Temps and Tops were R&B) or Rock or Pop or Dance or Trance or Schmance. And don’t EVEN get me started on Country. 80′s rock with pedal steel and fiddles? That’s not Country.

Not to mention, everyone needs to be so “edgy”. I’m sorry but edgy just means ugly to me. I’m badder than you. I have more money than you. I’m a bigger slut, alcoholic, gangster, druggie, shoe-gazer, complainer, fighter, screamer, whiner, agro-entitled-piss-on-the-world-5-second-attention-span rebel than you. Ugh!

I want a band that follows its bliss. Strawberry Fields doesn’t sound like I Want To Hold Your Hand which doesn’t sound like Helter Skelter. Whole Lotta Love doesn’t sound like Going To California which doesn’t sound like Kashmir. Just a couple of examples from bands who were not only allowed to express all sides of their artistry but encouraged to.

I call to the powers that be to embrace and nurture diversity. I mean, really, how much cookie monster death metal do think we can take? RAHGHRAGHRAGHR! That’s my favorite lyric.

I am so upset about this. It turns my stomach. It makes me want to cry. One day after the whole nation mourns the tenth anniversary of 9/11 and tries to demonstrate unity and solidarity, the ugly, hateful core of the Tea Party shows its true colors.

But, it’s the hypocrisy that gets me. The Tea Party is supposed to uber-patriotic. It claims that anyone that doesn’t agree with them is un-American. But isn’t this country supposed to be about many ideas, be it religious or political or economic, covered under one Constitution which has a sole purpose of PROTECTING those differences and creating a nation where we can be different AND united? It is called the UNITED States of America, after all. The Tea Party aligns itself with Christianity. But wasn’t Jesus’ teachings based on forgiveness, compassion and charity?

This nation is becoming one of mob mentality – of us and them. We claim to be united, but when the chips are down too many of us are so fearful that the thought of anything different causes us to act like heartless barbaric thugs. We are becoming a country composed of that which we claim to abhor – extremists. It is hateful, it is fearful and it will be the downfall of this nation.

Now, I am a liberal. I believe in pluralism. I believe in ecology and am opposed to animal cruelty. I am for unconditional gay rights and I am against anyone being able to tell me what I can and can’t do with my body particularly if their argument is religiously based. And, I believe Monsanto is the devil.

But, I have many friends who are conservatives and we have wonderful, spirited conversations about how things should be run and how the people who are running things are doing. However, there is always the understanding that both sides are intelligent, loving and thoughtful and at the end of the day just want the best for everyone. EVERYONE! Never do our discussions become adversarial. We recognize that there is a potential to learn from differing opinions and approaches.

The strong points for both liberals and conservatives are also their shortcomings. Liberals are inclusive which is good. But liberals tend to cave when it comes to getting things done because they are more vested in compromise than implementing the idea they were fighting for in the first place. Conservatives will fight to the death for their ideals which is good. But too often their laser-beam focus prevents them from entertaining outside ideas that should be considered to the detriment of those they serve.

Both parties have something to bring to the table. It’s checks and balances. It is why our country has risen to the greatness that it has. But when one side’s supporters become so narrow-minded and cruel and heartless that they are willing to let a person from their own country die just to save face and save a few bucks, something is terribly wrong and something needs to change. Comparisons have already been made in the press to Marie Antoinette and the Roman gladiators against the lions. I don’t think this too far from the mark.

Perhaps this is just what we needed to see from the radical Tea Party-ers to shows us just how extreme they’ve become. We’ll see.

So first, let’s address the nay-sayers ’cause I know you’re out there.I have never known such a simultaneously fickle AND devoted lot as guitar players when it comes to gear. Some players are the “Les Paul through a Marshall” type, have been for years and probably always will be. Others are titillated by the thought of a new axe or amp or some neat effects pedal. I fall squarely in to the latter category. The thought of a new sound has always been inspirational to me and some nifty new piece of gear gets me feeling like a kid on Christmas morning.

Don’t get me wrong, guys like Slash, for instance, have made a career out of finding a formula that works and sticking with it. Slash is a killer player, always has great tone and really knows how to apply it. I have nothing but respect for him and his ilk. My point is more addressed to those who automatically dismiss something only because it IS new. I happen to know that Slash (as long as we’re using him as the example), while being that Les Paul/Marshall guy I mentioned, has played 12-strings and Strats and different amps but in the end finds himself with that low slung Gibson in his hands. It’s home. It feels good and is always inspiring. But he’s not adverse to checking things out for the hell of it.

But I have run across plenty of players who instinctively poo poo my rig (Line 6 head to toe) just because it isn’t “traditional”. Funny thing is, after they HEAR my rig and all the cool stuff it’s capable of, they are almost always complimentary and often ask me to show them the gear – which I am more than happy to do. I guess what I’m saying is artistry needs an open mind, whether it be style, genre, look or equipment.

And, funnily enough, all the guys and gals over at Line 6 are crazy about classic gear. In fact, it’s that classic gear that WAS the inspiration for their gear. “How can we emulate all these wonderful sounds and make them available in a nice easy package?” Well, they did it – in spades. And for a guy like me, who’s musical situations are constantly calling for different sounds, Line 6 gear was everything that I needed. I remember walking in to a commercial recording session and having to do a Marilyn Manson vibe immediately followed by a Chet Atkins sort of track. I wouldn’t have been able to pull it off if I had shown up with just a PRS and a Mesa or just a Gretsch with a Deluxe Reverb. The Line 6 Pod saved my bacon because it had both those sounds ready to go.

Now, I know I’m sounding like an advertisement and as you can tell I am a huge supporter of Line 6 gear. But there are plenty of companies making cool stuff with flexibility and imagination. I’m just hoping that players won’t limit themselves just because of tradition.

Next Gear Head post, I’ll be talking about the Line6 M13, an amazing floor pedal that has just about every stomp box model you could ever want and some you never dreamed of. ‘Til then, keep rockin’.