Wednesday, March 8, 2023

History of Punk Rock..The mistaken for “retarded boys” at a gas station in rural Texas.


Rooted in 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced short, fast-paced songs with hard-edged melodies and singing styles, stripped-down instrumentation, and often shouted political, anti-establishment lyrics.
Punk's sonic foundations were laid down in New York City by the same people who established the beginnings of punk style: artists like Lou Reed, the Ramones, Suicide, and the New York Dolls who wanted to strip away the bloat rock had accumulated in the psychedelic era and return it to something purer.







In its most nascent form, punk rock is non-conformist, characterized by short formats, fast tempos, distorted riffs, stripped-down instrumentation, and shouted lyrics. 
Traditionally, Punk is characterized by its anti-establishment sentiment. Unlike rock at that time, punk rejected standard beliefs and looked to defy cultural norms. The fast, loose, and manic music created an Traditionally, 


Punk is characterized by its anti-establishment sentiment. Unlike rock at that time, punk rejected standard beliefs and looked to defy cultural norms. The fast, loose, and manic music created an authentic outlet that beautifully encapsulated the raw emotions, attitude, and beliefs of its listeners. outlet that beautifully encapsulated the raw emotions, attitude, and beliefs of its listeners.
Complicated guitar solos–a statement in traditional rock–turned into plain, basic guitar breaks.15 Jun 2022


The message of Punk was thus anti-mainstream, anti-establishment, anti-commercial, and very angry. As did early Hip Hop in the United States, Punk Rock embodied a “Do-It-Yourself” or “DIY” attitude. Many bands were self-produced and self-recorded.




What was the 1st punk song?


Our first three installments have thoughtfully and credibly outlined why the Johnny Burnette Trio's “The Train Kept A-Rollin'” or the Ronettes' “Be My Baby” or “Strange Things Happening Everyday” by Sister Rosetta Tharpe are the First Punk Song Ever (a distinction that absolutely warrants the caps).




Who is the father of punk rock?


Iggy Pop
— better known by his stage persona, Iggy Pop — has earned a reputation as “the Godfather of Punk.” This is thanks mostly to his tenure as the frontman of the proto-punk band the Stooges, but also because his reckless, sui generis stage presence embodied a gleeful but slightly scary abandon that became synonymous with






Was Nirvana a punk band?




Nirvana's musical style has been mainly described as grunge, punk rock, and alternative rock. They have also been labeled as hard rock. Characterized by their punk aesthetic, Nirvana fused pop melodies with noise.



Green Day



Green Day didn't invent pop-punk. The likes of The Ramones, the Buzzcocks and Descendents had all mixed buzzsaw punk energy with infectious pop hooks before, but it was Green Day that exploded the form into the mainstream – where it's remained ever since.

994’s Dookie completely reshaped the post-Nirvana musical landscape, but the trio weren’t content with just the one culturally significant album. Released a full decade later, the politically-charged punk opera American Idiot redefined what a band from a punk rock background could do, inspiring a whole new generation in the process.

There’s certainly a case to say that Green Day influenced every even vaguely pop-punk flavoured band that came after, but here are 11 artists who owe more than most to the Berkeley veterans…



Is Green Day punk or emo?


NO! Green Day started out as a small pop punk band in the East Bay in the mid/late 80s, and exploded in the mainstream in the mid 90s with their blend of power pop and punk and influenced from bands like Hüsker Dü and the Kinks. Emo, or emotional hardcore, emerged on the other side of the U.S. in DC in the mid 1980s.



In conclusion, there is no conclusion. Having spent the past eight months sniffing the fumes of punk rock, we learned a few things, that the Ramones were once mistaken for “retarded boys” at a gas station in rural Texas.












Monday, March 6, 2023

Digital whammy bar adds epic dives and shimmers to almost any guitar

 

THE most extreme WHAMMY development in 70 YEARS


Back in 2016, Australian startup Fomofx launched a digital whammy bar called the Virtual Jeff that could be mounted to just about any guitar, without having to modify the host instrument. Now the novel vibrato arm has gone Pro.


As before, the Pro doesn't involve breaking out the power tools to permanently modify the body, doesn't alter the string tension in any way (so no tuning nightmares), and it's made up of two main components.


Most players will likely choose to mount the vibrato arm part of the setup behind the bridge or tailpiece for familiarity, but it could be placed anywhere that doesn't interfere with existing controls and hardware. The Virtual Jeff comes with a mounting block that's attached to the guitar using supplied adhesive tape and is reckoned to take just 10 seconds to install, then the whammy just slides on.

The vibrato arm module then needs to be connected to a companion control box – though the company recommends a cabled connection between the Virtual Jeff Pro mounted on the host guitar and the control stomp on the floor, a 2.4-GHz mini-link transmitter is supplied. The host guitar's output jack also needs to be cabled up to the instrument input on the control box (though wireless systems like Line 6's Relay G10 are also supported).



The player can set exactly how far up or down the pitch travels during a sweep, and can set up and switch between two different whammy presets. A new virtual capo mode is included for instant up-shifts but also drop tuning, and pickers can blend the original guitar sound with a pitched sound for "glorious chorus, metal sub-octaves, parallel harmonies and much more." A hold feature freezes the pitch during a bend to free up the picking hand.

There are three footswitches atop the control box. The first is used to turn the system on or off, and two bypass modes are included. True bypass means that the system will not influence the guitar's output in any way, but the Pro also offers a studio-quality analog buffer for silent switching and to maintain a consistent tone. The middle footswitch hops between A and B presets, and the third is used to engage the virtual capo. It looks like you will need to invest in a separate A/B switch for the blend/hold feature though.




The Virtual Jeff Pro looks to be a sizable upgrade on the original, with the developers promising tonal transparency, ultra-low latency and "flawless tracking." And while there are floor stomps that can offer basic similar functionality – such as the DigiTech Whammy  used by Tom Morello in Audio Slave song– as you can see in the video below, using the Pro appears natural, intuitive and a whole lot of fun. It's now available for sale at US$499.



Digital Tremolo for Guitar

Made in Australia

Digital tremolo set consisting of whammy bar, special mounting system & PRO controller

❤Fits most electric and acoustic guitars as well as basses

Easy to install without tools - no holes or milling necessary

The special adhesive of the mount does not damage the finish - also suitable for nitro finishes

If brackets are installed on several guitars, the system can be switched from one instrument to another in seconds

2.4 GHz MiniLink for wireless and wired operation

Individual up and down pitch settings for Whammy A and Whammy B with automatic saving of settings and silent switching between the two

Virtual capo for drop-tuning or up-shifts

HOLD freezes the pitch during a bend

BLEND mixes the original guitar signal with the pitched signal (with balance control) for chorus, metal sub-octaves, parallel harmonies and more

Studio-quality analogue buffer and next-generation DSP for transparent sound
Excellent tracking and extremely low latency

LED: Effect On

Footswitch: Effect Bypass

Input: 6.3 mm jack

Output: 6.3 mm jack

Power supply connection: Barrel connector 5.5 x 2.1 mm, negative polarity inside

Power consumption: 300 mA

Power supply with a 9 V DC mains adapter

Dimensions Whammy & Mount (W x D): 85 x 40 mm

Weight Whammy & Mount: 110 g

Controller dimensions (W x D x H): 154 x 99 x 36 mm

Weight controller: 510 g

Includes power supply, carrying case, 2 mounts and adhesive, 1 mounting adapter & belt clip, 0.6m MiniLink cable and 4m cable for wired operation


Note: Hold & Blend are only accessible via an external foot switch: Art.494439 (not included)





THE most extreme WHAMMY development in 70 YEARS







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