Wes Garner, Charger Staff
Salutations my fellow musicians and welcome to my article. Basically, the contents
of this little section of the paper will be filled with useless information
and ramblings provided by yours truly. So, feel free to laugh, cry, agree, disagree,
or just get plainly peed off. Shall we begin?
Let us start with a classic rivalry for all you guitarists out there. Which
is better, Gibson or Fender? I know that it is obvious that Fender makes a way
better bass, but let’s feed on the meat here.
Gibson guitars have classic stylings with pickups that range from super-smooth
to blazing-hot sounds, not to mention their goods looks. But what does all that
mean when the list prices of their instruments are three times of what they
should be? Fender can not only compare to the styles and sounds coming from
a Gibson, but they have a feel that blows Gibson out of the water.
“But what about the classic Gibson semi-hollow guitars?” you may
ask. Hello! Fender makes them too, plus at a much lower cost as well as with
the rest of the instruments that they make.
Not only that, but Fender is in collaboration with Guild guitars, which is
also in collaboration with Bob Benedetto who is one of the best jazz guitar
designers and builders in the world. I am not going to lie by saying there is
no argument here, but I think we all know that Fender comes on top.
On to a more well known and argued topic. Let’s talk about the de-evolution
of modern music. First, we must understand that music is not just a few repeated
chords and some powerful lyrics. The music should make you feel the emotion,
not just the words. Back when musicians had the right to be called by that title,
people weren’t trying to make a statement about politics, brag about their
“hoes” and “bling”, or say how much they hate their parents
with their words; they were making music.
Even if you think about opera, without the melodies of the voices, it would
be like listening to your English teach reading you a story. Besides, even if
you consider contemporary lyrics, despite if their depth and meaning, are guaranteed
to have some equal somewhere in the universe of music. I completely understand
that some people just want to be entertained, and that pop, rap, rock, or whatever
entertains them. But from the vantage point of a musician, I think that these
people are just very easily entertained. Pop culture has killed was music should
be made out to be. Music wasn’t designed to be performed by some “musicians,”
make a top 40 list, and make those “musicians” rich and famous for
their contribution which has absolutely no tasteful composition or real talent
involved. I realize that they may be entertainers, but to look at those individuals
as true musicians is just ridiculous.
I don’t consider myself to be a high quality musician, nor do I consider
my band to be worthy of a “superstar” status. I am a human to who
has tastes like everyone else. My tastes happen to have found their way into
to something that has a solid artistic foundation.I’m pretty much done
now. If you really disagreed or agreed with the stuff I said, then write me
about it.
I can’t think of any way that is really formal-like, but just try to be inventive. So, until next time, this is Wes Garner saying, “may the key signature be with you!”
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Article prepared for web by Steven Linger 6-Sept-2002