MICK GREEN WITH BILLY J. KRAMER, "I CALL YOUR NAME"

Here's a textbook example of how guitar players can benefit from listening to also-ran recordings. Briefly, I'm talking about the phenomenon of lesser recordings containing stellar guitar playing. Many would probably dismiss or ignore this Billy J. Kramer clip, since it's a weaker version of the Beatles song "I Call Your Name." Okay, Billy J. is no John Lennon, but I'll let others engage in that debate elsewhere. We Tele pickers are concerned with Mick Green's A+ playing. I love George Harrison, but whereas George was a little-engine-that-could type of instrumentalist, working harder than many contemporaries to develop technique that didn't come naturally to him, Mick Green is one of the technical greats of British rock. Ignored in this country, like Hank Marvin, Peter Green, etc., Mick Green kills on cut after cut. I'm slowly working my way through these youtube clips, looking for classic Mick Green playing. There are tons of clips of Green with the Pirates, a solid and in fact pretty intense hard rock band, but these Dakotas clips are a different animal. In a less rocking setting, Green does what James Burton, Nokie Edwards, Jimmy Page, George Barnes et al do so well-- he brings some raunch to a pop session. This kind of approach gives me an almost religious feeling when I hear it.

I'm in the process of putting together some videos where I demonstrate some playing inspired by Green, Burton, and others in that elite group. Look for these to show up soon, knock on wood. (I suppose that wood should ideally be alder, or swamp ash.)
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GUITAR INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS

I'm in the process of learning how to make guitar instructional videos. Most likely I'll begin with some short ones, and eventually move on to longer ones with more detail. Please feel free to comment here with any suggestions about what you'd like to see. I'll have a fair amount of free ones up here and elsewhere, and I'll be trying to figure out how to make money from them. My current plan is to post the shorter "teaser" videos for free, and make more in-depth lessons available for sale.

I've found that few people want to pay for tablature and transcription, and those who are willing to pay don't want to pay very much. Given that putting notation and tab together takes a huge amount of time, I'm refocusing my efforts on videos rather than notation. I'm gambling that instructional videos will be more enticing-- we'll see!

Now is a good time to send me suggestions, because in the short term there's a good chance I'll be available to make a video available for free that incorporates whatever you're looking for. Here's an incomplete list of things I'm considering.

VIDEOS FOCUSING ON SPECIFIC PLAYERS
DON RICH
FREDDIE KING
JAMES BURTON
ROY NICHOLS
CLARENCE WHITE
BILLY BYRD/LEON RHODES

VIDEOS FOCUSING ON SPECIFIC SONGS OR PROGRESSIONS
UNDER THE DOUBLE EAGLE
I IV V
my song "TONIGHT"
MY BABE (open E swampy/bluesy a la Burton, Fogerty, Mick Green, Little Walter, etc.)

VIDEOS FOCUSING ON MY APPROACH to PUTTING LINES TOGETHER
my style is a blend of country, rock, blues, and jazz

VIDEOS FOCUSING ON LEARNING THE WHOLE NECK
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