Neil Young has released the music video for the first single from his new album, The Monsanto Years. It’s titled “A Rock Star Bucks a Coffee Shop,” and can be see below.
The song takes aim at the ubiquitous Starbucks coffee chain as well as Monsanto, the corporate agricultural giant, from which the album takes its name. Young takes issue with Starbucks for its alleged support of Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMOs.
“I want a cup of coffee but I don’t want a GMO,” Young sings. “I’d like to start my day off without helping Monsanto.”
The Monsanto Years is an ecologically and environmentally focused album that seeks to raise awareness of the agrochemical company’s propagation of genetically modified foods. The album views the issue through the eyes of a farmer who grows Monsanto-made crops while he remembers the purer farming traditions he grew up with.
The Monsanto Years was recorded with the Promise of the Real, a band fronted by Willie Nelson’s sons Lukas and Micah, and is set for a June 29 release.
Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 137" This Micro Lesson takes a look at a busy 16th-Note Triplet lick in "G Mixolydian."
This two bar phrase begins in the 9th position with an ascending style run that doubles-back on itself and works across the strings from the lower 4th and 5th strings up into the 1st and 2nd.
The phrase within the first measure operates around a "G Major" Pentatonic Scale Pattern using a sequenced note grouping.
In measure two, the lick continues with the 16th-note triplet pattern, however the run is tied more directly to the "G Mixolydian mode.
Since this phrase uses only 16th-note triplets be aware that the phrase is structured using groups of six scale tones. Play through each segment of the lick slowly and clearly understand how the lick progresses along the fingerboard in both playing positions. Use a metronome to build the speed. Enjoy!
Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi is celebrated as the godfather of heavy metal guitar. But where some guitarists built their legacy on speed and blazing technique, Iommi is noted for his memorable melodic riffing and distinctively heavy tone.
So what does he think makes for a great guitarist? That’s the question posed by Guitar Star, the brand-new talent competition that searches the U.K. and Ireland for an extraordinary guitar player. The show is on Sky Arts, a group of arts-oriented channels covering a range of subjects and genres.
“I like somebody that plays from the soul,” Iommi says.
“I look for that, really, as opposed to somebody learning every single note and getting everything perfect. Which is fine, there’s nothing wrong with that. But I prefer that, coming from the blues side, and something coming from inside.”
Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 136" This Micro Lesson uses a series of 16th-notes to create a Rock /Blues Lick in the key of "E Minor."
The lick operates primarily between two scale patterns with pick-up notes building into the first part of the lick.
A bend release pull-off opens the line and we take the lick down the neck through a few positions from 8th into 5th.
Once into the second measure the lick applies another bend-release pull-off and heads into the second position with a fast slide to resolve the phrase.
Pay attention to the fingerings and work slowly to develop the line with accurate phrasing. Enjoy!
Someone recently posted a pedal demo in a thread on a guitar forum and stated that he really liked the sound of the pedal in the demo.
Another forum member chimed in and said that "for some reason, everything I play through usually sounds good." Shortly after, another forum member replied, “It’s a talent. Most gear can be dialed in to sound at least decent.”
We live in a golden age of guitar gear and it’s rare that we come across an amp, pedal, or other piece of guitar hardware that's complete unusable junk. Most of us can normally get a decent, applicable tone out of most modern equipment. Guitars: Having all your guitars set up properly is an obvious essential for dialing in good tone. I like high-ish action, and for high action to work, I need to set my guitar bridge and saddles set just right. This can often cause intonation issues, so I'm always on that.
Pickup adjustments are also very important, and I set the height of my pickups by ear. I typically like the bass side of each pickup to be a bit lower than the treble side, so the wound strings don’t overpower the treble strings. Also, strings generate more energy and volume in the area closer to the neck, so I typically set neck pickups lower than bridge pickups.
It’s best to perform pickup adjustments while playing through a clean amp. You can more accurately hear the true tone and volume of each pickup when the signal isn’t being compressed or overdriven by a cranked amp or pedal. Listen to the tone of each pickup position, and try to balance the height of each pickup until the volume remains relatively the same when changing pickup settings.
Amps: When I first plug into an unfamiliar amp, I’ll start by setting all the tone controls to noon, and slowly raise the volume to a comfortable level. If the amp has a master volume, I set it for a good listening level and sweep the gain knob to explore the amp’s overdrive capabilities. I then make small tone tweaks by sweeping each pot up and down and listen to the range they work in, and how they affect the sound from different points in front of the amp.
You want enough gain to get great sustain and an aggressive sound if desired, but you don’t want to lose the punch, dynamics, and immediacy of a semi-dirty tone.
If an amp has a bright switch—and you decide to use it—be sure to check how your overdrive, fuzz, and distortion controls interact with it when engaged. A bright switch can make many drive pedals sound like a swarm of bees. Tip: Rolling the tone or treble dial way down on your overdrives and distortions can really help in this scenario.
Some amps have a bright cap on the volume pot. The purpose of this cap is to allow your amp to provide a bright, clear tone at lower settings on the volume pot. The more the pot is increased, the less effect the cap has. When the pot is turned all the way up, it should be completely out of the circuit. Like they do with a bright switch, drive pedals can interact with a bright cap and result in less-than-pleasant drive tones. If your amp has a bright cap and you don’t like the way it responds to some pedals, or you find it excessively edgy at low volumes, consider having a competent amp tech change the bright-cap value or remove it altogether. This can be a worthwhile and easily reversible mod.
Speaking of overdrive and distortion, I come from the slightly less-is-more school. I recently heard Eddie Van Halen say he likes to crank things until they’re ready to explode, and then backs them down just a hair. I dig that way of thinking, and it applies whether you get your distortion from a pedal, a cranked NMV (non-master-volume) amp, or an amp with a more modern preamp-gain circuit.
Excessive distortion homogenizes guitar tone. You want enough gain to get great sustain and an aggressive sound if desired, but you don’t want to lose the punch, dynamics, and immediacy of a semi-dirty tone. Malcolm Young is an excellent benchmark—a perfect sonic barometer to go by when talking about incredible rock-guitar tone. His playing proves you don’t need a ton of distortion to rock with total authority.
Pedals: I have a basic rule when it comes to overdrives, distortions, and fuzzes: When I engage them, I want the volume to either stay the same or increase a bit, so I’m “pushing” the amp with the pedal. Because drives compress the sound, they can tend to seem louder overall when you turn them on, but actually they might be reducing the overall peak level. I don’t want to diminish the natural output level coming out of my guitar, and I don’t want my guitar tone to vanish in the mix when I hit a pedal.
As I mentioned earlier, I often run the tone control quite low on drive pedals, which I feel keeps them sounding warm and natural.
Above all, have fun, and remember: Even though I’ve implied there are rules, there really are no rules. Everyone needs to experiment and develop their own personal methods that work to achieve their personal favorite guitar sounds.
Andrew Wasson of Creative Guitar Studio answers a viewers question...
Q: I've been working on a couple of scale shapes and I'm trying to learn a few leads. I've already looked into the CAGED system. But, I'd also like another way to learn the neck. I see players going all over the fretboard when they solo, but I don't really know how that could be studied. So, I am hoping that you might have a method for soloing all across the neck. Todd - Queensland, AUSTRALIA
A: When it comes to understanding layout concepts for how to play better solos, the two top priorities need to be learning where unisons are located, and how neck regions operate. In this lesson, we'll take a look at how the neck regions can become a part of a study routine for using; the Pentatonic Scales, the Major & Minor Scales, and Arpeggios in different neck areas. We'll establish harmonies as well as, melodies that cover a large region of the fret-board. Once you've had a chance to try these ideas, you can move on to creating your own similar ones. THIS VIDEOS TAB's + LESSON PLAN
Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 135" This Micro Lesson covers a sixth interval riff using the harmony of "D Mixolydian."
The riff begins from high on the neck at the 14th frets of the 1st and 3rd strings. The initial phrase progresses down the neck until 10th position where we cross over to the 4th and 2nd strings.
At the second measure the riff returns to the 1st and 3rd strings where it descends all the way down to the 3rd position. From this point we double-back on the 4th and 2nd strings once again to drop into the 7th frets of those strings and carry downward again toward the 1st position.
At the fourth and final measure we have a turnaround lick that applies the pentatonic scale to create an interesting cadence strong enough to loop the phrase back to the top (if desired). Be sure to use your middle finger of the fret-board hand to track all lower notes. Use hybrid picking or finger-plucking to perform the double-stop sixth intervals. Enjoy!
