The Dean

Happy Freakin Birthday!

Indeed. RIP

Nice. In a couple of years, I imagine she will have some other, related talents, as well.

Actually, the proper "insult" would be, "So, you're African."

Connors has chops, to be sure, but I really didn't like the way he sounded in that song. There are some players who I respect, but also have no real feel for. He seems to be one of those guys. I can't say for sure as I have only heard a little of his playing over the years. DiMeola brings more soul to his playing, IMO, and a warmer tone.

I was not a big fan of hers. Just too big and not soft enough. Didn't really care for her face, either. But for 53 years old I have to admit she looks very good.

Wow, you're full of old useless information, aren't you. Troll!

I'm sure that's totally legit.

Telecasters are nice: http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=deeBQZ...feature=related

A rare bit of Welsh? I kill me.

Dunno if this specs out right for you but holy crap this is one sweet looking guitar: http://www.prsguitars.com/setorero/index.html Just under $1,000 it seems. Here's a vid for WideRight:

Watch that video I added. It also shows off the PRS SE Custom, which may be more to your liking. The PRS SE line guitars are made in Korea and lack some of the frills and visual appeal of the top of the line PRS axes. That's why they are more affordable. Saw a guy play one of these (SE Custom) last Saturday and the thing has tremendous sound.

Another you might want to consider is the PRS (Paul Reed Smith) Singlecut. Gibson sued PRS so they stopped making them for a while, but PRS won the lawsuit. I thought they would be out of your price range (many PRS guitars are north of $4K) but these seem to be reasonable: http://www.amazon.com/PRS-Guitars-Singlecu...c/dp/B002LE8JQ0 Check this:

I'm not guitar expert, but have you checked out the Epiphone Les Paul Standard?: http://www.kellyindustries.com/guitars/epi...paul_stand.html Check this out:

Italian American Actually, 1/2 Italian and 1/2 Sicilian (for those in the know).

My intention was not to be dismissive. I was simply stating what seemed to be an obvious conclusion based on this particular conversation. I wasn't concluding your taste was always commercial, but you like Schon's commercial approach more than his earlier style. And I think while I used a generalization about pop music, I don't think what I said was incorrect. Your characterization of his work in "Of A Lifetime" as 'kind of like Spinal Tap meets "fusion."' is so strange it suggested you were incapable of/or not willing to/or uninterested in doing the work necessary to appreciate a more complex guitar work in that song. Or perhaps you simply don't like "jazz fusion", and there are definitely some minor elements of fusion in that song. Either way, I am not trying to be combative. I'm trying to get to a more substantial conversation about the music. But I am curious, what did you think of that article? And isn't "Frumious Bandersnatch" a classic name for a band from that time?

Really? I don't think I said that at all. I think I said it is easier for most people to get/listen to/understand pop music than jazz and classical. I think there is plenty of bad jazz around. Not as much bad classical from the classical era because the stuff that stood the test of time is generally better stuff. But there is plenty of bad newer symphonic music, I think. I'm guessing there was a ton of bad classical music back when it was the popular music of the day. I think only a small % of any genre is excellent. The rest is good, ordinary, bad and downright terrible. But I don't have a lot of respect for musicians (or any artists) who make compromises in what they do primarily to sell records. Especially those artists who demonstrated talent making music/art that was critically acclaimed but may have taken a bit of work for the audience to fully comprehend. It is very rare for something outstanding to be wildly popular...not impossible, but rare. Excellence typically takes a little effort to fully appreciate.

I saw Schon play with Santana on more than one occasion. There is no way a Schon solo could be substituted for and/or credited to Carlos. If you saw them play together you would hear the difference in their styles and approaches. What makes that claim even more obviously ridiculous is the fact that Schon didn't join Santana until Santana III. Santana had already had two killer albums (including Abraxas) and absolutely killed at Woodstock. This is an interesting account taken from a Journey-related site: I think Neal might be upset that most people only think of Carlos Santana when they hear "Toussaint L'Overture" and don't know he was trading solos with Carlos. I can understand that. But it's crazy to think he did all/most of the guitar work on a Santana album and Carlos took the credit. As for your preference for the commercial sound, I understand that. Most people find it easier to listen to hooks and a packaged approach to sound. It helps explain why pop music (like Britney Spears and Lady Gaga) is more popular than jazz and classical music. EDIT: Sorry forgot to link the Journey fan site. The article on that page is quite interesting, actually.: http://www.journeydigest.com/Analysis/Greg/jan01.html I don't know what happened to the font after the quote.

There may have been a little tension in Santana that led to Schon leaving to form Journey, but I the idea he was pushed out because he was "too good" is mostly bunk, I think. The real tension at the time, AFAIK, was due more to musical direction and lifestyle than to personal differences or jealousy. Neal could sure play, though. The early days of Journey were very impressive. Schon and Rolie (and the fabulous Anysley Dunbar on drums) carved out a sound that was spacey AND soulful. And Schon demonstrated he had chops combined with sensitivity and imagination. It's hard to believe today that Journey was capable of something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=xhRran...feature=related Unfortunately, Schon's playing changed with the commercialization of Journey's sound. The exploring, beautiful guitar work was replaced with cheap stadium rock anthem riffs. Somewhere in this messy room, I have a Neal Schon solo album. A decent attempt at jazz/rock fusion. It's fine. Nothing special really, but at least it shows he can still play something more intelligent than pap like "Don't Stop Believing". But it also shows he isn't even close to being in Carlos Santana's league, IMO.

Still bitter over the stalking charges, I see.

Thanks. I forgot to mention there are a couple/few of decent Czech beers that come in green bottles. Pilsner Urquell is the most common of those beers.

Try a Guinness for breakfast. Makes the morning more interesting. Guinness is an excellent breakfast beer, IMO. Very bready.

True for the most part. Groslsh is s pretty good lager and Heineken is drinkable. When it was brewed in Latrobe, Rolling Rock in 7oz green bottles was one of the few beers I could drink in mass quantities (OV in clear 6 1/2 oz bottles was the other). I can drink Presidente in a pinch (some spicy food helps)...ouch did I just write that? While I may be mistaken, I think Dos Equis may come, or have come, in a green bottle. But I only like the Amber and I don't know for sure about that one. And I suppose I should be embarrassed by this, but I kind of miss the occasional skuny bottle of Molson Golden in a green bottle.

A Clockwork Orange