dhanners623 Posted November 17, 2011 Author Share Posted November 17, 2011 Since the memorial concert is tonight, I thought I'd post this to YouTube; it is my take on Morrissey's "Robert Johnson." It's a pretty straightforward interpretation of a great song. I'm not big on doing covers, and I should cover Morrissey's "Casey, Illinois" (since that's my hometown, believe it or not) but I always liked the hammer-ons and pull-offs in this song, so here it is.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parispAl Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 Since the memorial concert is tonight, I thought I'd post this to YouTube; it is my take on Morrissey's "Robert Johnson." It's a pretty straightforward interpretation of a great song. I'm not big on doing covers, and I should cover Morrissey's "Casey, Illinois" (since that's my hometown, believe it or not) but I always liked the hammer-ons and pull-offs in this song, so here it is.... well done David! Too bad we can't see the guitar ;-) Do you play upside down? The other day at Passim I saw Dennis Brennan who was playing a left handed guitar with strings upside down ! So a right-handed player could have used it ;-) The tribute was very heartfelt, both sad and joyous, but you have seen the pictures on FB. I eventually received that Epiphone FT 79 '67 Texan from Bill's friend and neighbour Annie. I could bring it without a problem to Paris in a gig bag as Air France just asks no questions! Bill's guitar case was filled with dirty linen! As expected, that guitar sounds awesome! I don't know the exact difference between the two Texans Bill had, except for the tuners. Mine are not in metal, contrary to the other one, Bill's main Epi, which has Gibson-style tulip tuners. The binding is not "off-white", but much darker, like it has been smoked on for years ! Which was probably the case... So now I have changed the strings on my other Epiphone to "Nashville" tuning strings, more fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhanners623 Posted November 26, 2011 Author Share Posted November 26, 2011 well done David! Too bad we can't see the guitar ;-) Do you play upside down? The other day at Passim I saw Dennis Brennan who was playing a left handed guitar with strings upside down ! So a right-handed player could have used it ;-) The tribute was very heartfelt, both sad and joyous, but you have seen the pictures on FB. I eventually received that Epiphone FT 79 '67 Texan from Bill's friend and neighbour Annie. I could bring it without a problem to Paris in a gig bag as Air France just asks no questions! Bill's guitar case was filled with dirty linen! As expected, that guitar sounds awesome! I don't know the exact difference between the two Texans Bill had, except for the tuners. Mine are not in metal, contrary to the other one, Bill's main Epi, which has Gibson-style tulip tuners. The binding is not "off-white", but much darker, like it has been smoked on for years ! Which was probably the case... So now I have changed the strings on my other Epiphone to "Nashville" tuning strings, more fun! That guitar has got to have about as much folk mojo in it as any guitar out there, and you are quite fortunate to have gotten it. When you had posted the earlier photos, I did notice that it still had the original white plastic tuners (yellowed with age) and I wondered why Bill never switched them out because his other Texan had the metal keystone tuners. I don't know what kind they are, but Gotoh offers some just like them: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guitar,_solid_peghead_tuners/Gotoh_Tuners/Gotoh_Keystone-style_Tuners.html. I always wondered if Bill had switched the tuners out on that Texan or they were on there when he got it. Anyway, you're a lucky man, and you better start making some great music with that guitar! And to answer your question, yes, I do play upside-down-and-backwards, or however you want to phrase it. Just the way I learned. I actually taught myself to play on older brother's Stella, which didn't have a pickguard on it, so I didn't know I had the guitar upside down. After I learned I was holding it the "wrong" way, I came to the conclusion the guitar really didn't know or care how I held it. Are they planning a tribute show for next year? They ought to make it an annual thing. If so, I volunteer to head out from Minnesota to play.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67texan Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 I remember the tuners on his other guitar saying Grover on the back of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhanners623 Posted November 26, 2011 Author Share Posted November 26, 2011 I remember the tuners on his other guitar saying Grover on the back of them. They've got to be ancient, then. I know Grover currently offers tuners with plastic keystone knobs, but I've not seen any metal ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67texan Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Yeah, I remember them being Grover Rotomatic style tuners on his guitar in the early 80's, can't say if I remember them to have Keystone shaped knobs at that time, they could have and its one detail for some reason I can't remember. I do think I remember the grovers may have said pat pend on them. I don't think I've ever seen Rotomatic's having Keystone buttons. Maybe somewhere along the way he changed them or had another Texan ? But I do remember clearly on the Grovers because I was wanting to make my Texan to be just like his. I put some Grovers on mine and installed a Sunrise pickup to model his after playing it. At that time he said he had another Texan and a Guild also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Since the memorial concert is tonight, I thought I'd post this to YouTube; it is my take on Morrissey's "Robert Johnson." It's a pretty straightforward interpretation of a great song. I'm not big on doing covers, and I should cover Morrissey's "Casey, Illinois" (since that's my hometown, believe it or not) but I always liked the hammer-ons and pull-offs in this song, so here it is.... Nicely done! Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parispAl Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Hello, highlights of the "Friend of Mine" tribute show are available on Folkk Alley's website in two parts at http://www.folkalley.com/music/livefrom/bill-morrissey/ Good to hear it again and celebrate Bill's music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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