Stuck in the Biddle

Help.

I can't stop playing this video.

Owen Biddle is the low end anchor for the Legendary Roots Crew by day on the Jimmy Fallon Show, but by night he can be found... also with the Roots at Highline or any number of NY clubs performing with any number of infamous names in Hip Hop. But on the weekends, he can be found... also with The Roots on tour in some European country for like 48hrs. So our question is, when does Owen Biddle find time to do this, can how can we get more of it from him:

(Zach Danziger/Owen Biddle/Oli Rockberger)

And doesn't he make that Doolittle Strap look good?

Spotlight: Jason Orme

Jason can be found right along side Alanis Morissette. He's been with her since 2003 and recorded on 2 albums with her, So Called Chaos and Jagged Little Pill Acoustic. Jason is now also touring with Sarah McLachlan which embarked on a worldwide tour. This was Sarah's first tour in years and she assembled a massive band of talent to play with her.

He can also be found with his band Desktop Rulers, a culmination of musician friends who finally got together to ROCK. Do yourself a favor and grab their EP, it's a lot of fun to listen to. For fans of The Kinks, Stones, and a bit of Replacements.

We're really happy about adding Jason to our roster, great things to come!

Sweet Tuesday - Jaguar Amplification

There's nothing like a good tube amp. Ask any musician what their favorite tones come from, and chances are some type of tube was used to create that sound. Organic, warmth, full, rich...these are all used to describe the tone of tubes. So it's no wonder the tube amp is the most sought after end to someones chain.

Jaguar amps are one of many boutique amp companies who are paving the way for musicians to have a multitude of tones in one amp. You'll here the word "flavor" used a ton when musicians ask amp builders where their amps derive from. There are quite a few flavors amp makers can base their gear off of. You've got staples in Fender and Marshall, or as we know it American and British flavors. There's also Vox when talking about a British flavored amp and the American Mesa Boogie. A lot of the tones and characteristics of these amps all depends on what type of power tubes they are using and to save some time I won't get into it too much.

What Jaguar amps has done like many of it's competition has done is mix a lot of these types of amps to create their own. Many of these companies have straight clones as well. Jaguar leans a bit towards the British flavor, but don't let that fool you. They can nail that Fender clean and still have British grind and jangle all in the same amp. I tested out the Jaguar Twin at NAMM this year and although I only had a few minutes with this thing I was able to hear a lot of depth in tone from the amp. It was definitely dialed in and I didn't have to mess with it a whole lot to get a sound that I knew was going to work for the type of music I like to play. I was surprised at how versatile the EL-34 powered amp could get and was expecting a very Marshall sound to come through. The amp was also very well balanced at lower levels which I know is a big plus. I like single channel amps and this would be perfect to go along in stereo with my Vox AC15. I also thought the switch from class AB at 45watts to class A at 30watts was a nice feature to have. You'll get more headroom and shimmer in class AB while able to get nice saturation at lower volume with class A. Both are plenty loud.



Jaguar offers even more variety with their "Lead" amp which seems like a "Twin" with 6L6 power instead of EL-34. The rest of the club offers EL-84 flavored amps with Jaguars own twist. Find them all HERE. It's pretty safe to say I want one....BAD.

Happy Presidents Day!!!

George Sr. is a big dude!

Highlight Tweets of the Week

These are straight from our Twitter @mention feeds. Some of these are HILARIOUS!!!

Hashtag #worstgigever:

rewindstuff Nick Georgiou

@monocase you show up to a backlined gig and they only have solid state peavey combo amps. and the bass cab is a guitar 4x12.#worstgigever

PracticallyNick Nick Costa

@monocase band was asked to play a strip club, turns out to be a male strip club

#worstgigever

arrogantbass Chris Griffiths

@

@monocase drummer punches me then remembers i have his car keys #worstgigever

joelkentbowers Joel Bowers

Forgot the seat portion of drum throne - sat on the post.#ifeelviolated #worstgigever @monocase

And of course we must leave you with the WORST GIG EVER!

Thomas Pridgen, Insanity with sticks

Thomas Pridgen is an absolute beast on the kit. What I love best about his playing is that he doesn't hold back. Even if he slips up a little, he's always true and honest to his playing. There's a no holds bar attitude to his playing that speaks volumes.

A little bio on him. Won the Guitar Center Drum-Off at age 9 and 10 and was the youngest Zildjian endorser EVER. Joined The Mars Volta to lend his monstrous playing to an already incredible line up of musicians. Recorded The Bedlam in Goliath and Octahedron with the band before leaving.



After leaving The Mars Volta, Pridgen decided to come home and start up his current band The Memorials with Viveca Hawkins (Vox) and Nick Brewer (Guitars). Uriah Duffy also plays bass on their LP and rounds out an already talented mix of musicians. The Memorials then embark on a tour supporting their S/T. You can check out the remaining schedule of their tour HERE.



We had the pleasure of showing Thomas some of our digs at NAMM 2011. Thanks to Max Goldman for bringing him by, we are excited to get him onboard. He's in our backyard, so Thomas if you're reading this...we need to meet up!

Sweet Tuesday - Emerson Custom Guitars

I've spent quite a bit of time chatting with Mitch at Emerson Custom about all sorts of things regarding his guitars and pre-wired assemblies. I have first hand experience with the assemblies and it took my Fender Custom Shop 69's into a whole new realm of tone. I wasn't happy with them before and was using a stock harness from a USA made Strat. The guitar sounds awesome now. It's actually quite simple, the philosophy behind tone. I had the chance to ask Mitch a few questions about his process. Here they go:

1. What's your philosophy on building guitars and basses?
I'm a quality freak. Each and every aspect of the guitar is designed to offer the best possible quality of fit, finish, and playability. I will never build a guitar or bass that I would not want to keep for myself. I take pride in the fact that my guitars use the best quality woods, finishes, and parts available. I do believe the subtle nuances that quality parts and materials exude reaches the players ears and motivates them to play more and be more creative as a player.



2. Who inspires you as a builder? What boutique builders are you drawn to?
I really respect builders that can take a classic design/idea, improve it while still retaining the nuances that make it classic. Leo Fender is a big inspiration of mine. He was the Henry Ford of the electric guitar. He made the electric guitar affordable and available to the masses. His ideas continue to shape whats being done today. Some of the builders that inspire me are Tom Anderson, John Suhr, Gerard Melancon, and Collings.

3. Ultimate building woods, to you personally? What do you like to work with?
Ultimate tonewoods IMO: Body: Mahogany, Neck: Indian Rosewood. This is not a very traditional combo, but I love what it offers. I really like to work with Swamp Ash for bodies, and Quartesawn Maple for necks and fingerboards.



4. What's your take on pickups? In your experience what winding do you think works best with your instruments?
I'm a big fan of pickups that are not overwound, and that are just powerful enough to drive your amp when pushed but not too hot that it makes your guitar a one trick pony. I really like pickups with Alnico 5 magnets, because of the versatile tone.



5. What do you think about relicing?
I'm not a huge fan of relic'ed guitars. I don't offer relic'ing on my guitars because, I want them to look perfect when the guitar is delivered to the customer or dealer. I do use nitrocellulose lacquer on my guitars so that after time natural wear from playing and use will create that played in look. Instead of pre-playing it in for the player, I feel its better to let the player acquire the battle scars and dings so that each guitar can tell a unique story many years from now.

6. What's next for Emerson?
We are very excited about 2011. We are currently seeking dealers both domestically and internationally so that players around the globe will be able to appreciate what we have to offer. We also started making prewired assemblies for most popular models of guitars. These assemblies replace the original original electronics (pickups not included) with the highest quality potentiometers, capacitors, switches, jacks, and wire. We also install volume mods on the volume pots to help give you a smooth taper and preserve your highs when you turn down. This also helps bring your pickups to life a little. We have had great reviews and compliments from players that have used our prewired assemblies.

Pitchfork: Radiohead to Release New Album This Saturday

Pitchfork: Radiohead to Release New Album This Saturday

In the wake of Arcade Fire's album of the year win, we have Radiohead who announces their brand new release scheduled to hit us In late March. This is again "pay as you go" remember when In Rainbows came out? And it was considered a huge success in terms of marketing and campaign.

Arcade Fire, the Grammys got it right.

Yes everyone is shocked. Blah blah blah...this was the album of the year. I can imagine it now, Google must be getting hit pretty hard with the search "what is Arcade Fire". Twitter was probably also on a roll. I was pretty high on their efforts on Suburbs when it came out, but I didn't think they would win a Grammy. Maybe the tide is turning? Indie is in?

You've got to check this out: whoisarcadefire.tumblr.com

Here are some prime Twitter examples:





I rest my case.

Friday playlist. (forgot one...oops)

Sorry, been playing this one like non-stop as well.

3. Matisyahu - Live at Stubb's Vol. 2
How could I forget the awesomeness of Matisyahu...and DUB TRIO??? This combination needs to never ever break up. Just witness it.

Friday playlist.

This is what we be bumpin' at MONO headquarters today.

1. Phantogram - Eyelid Movies
Every once in a while you hear this band somewhere and the tune just sticks around for a while. You aren't sure why, but you know you like it. Phantogram has that unique quality when you listen. There's something familiar, yet new. The first time I heard "Mouthful Of Diamonds" I couldn't get that drum track out of my head. It's sooooooo addictive.




A very magical performance with our very own Questlove!

2. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - III/IV
Yup he's back. We all thought he married Mandy Moore and that was that. Now he's back with the Cardinals and this double album has an interesting blend of genres. The alt-country outfit has been shed a bit, I'm hearing way more Grateful Dead and Replacements in this album. I know Ryan was pulling from those two bands in recent albums, but this one comes together. IV is definitely my favorite of the two albums. Give it a listen, there are some great moments in there.

Twitter Giveaways!!! It's the Tweets.

So as some of you know we've been doing some awesome Civilian giveaways from our Twitter. We've received some awesome responses from fans, players, friends, you name it. Here are a few that we love:

This was from our giveaway naming the top 3 guitarist of all time:

nickwills

Nick Wills

@monocase SRV, Clapton and Keaggy

LLRLRR Nez

@monocase here's MY top 3: Andy Summers, George Harrison and Mike Campbell

Hillabeanz Michael Hill

@Monocase The three most paradigm-shifting guitarists would have to be: Les Paul, Page and Hendrix. Forged the tools for modern music.

Joy Division - Transmission, in Stop Motion!

I enjoyed this and laughed a little when I saw it. Then remembered how great this band was and the history of how New Order was started. Modern music would not be the same for this band.



Here's the original:

Sweet Tuesday: Brady Drums.

I've decided that Tuesdays will be gear lust day here at MONO headquarters. I'll be showcasing some of our favorite sightings of gear and stuff we definitely want to have around the studio.



Our first edition of Sweet Tuesday comes from our diagonal neighbors at NAMM 2011. We were setting up our booth the day before the doors opened and saw this booth from across the ways. They set up this massive B, then R, and so on and the letters were covered in ASTROTURF! From the beginning to the end of the show that booth was packed. There was never a dull moment coming from Brady. It's interesting to read about their philosophy on drums.

Chris Brady has a grasp of what it is to have a passion for drums and to make them each individually unique. His formula for success is simple, hand crafted with the best materials and an understanding of what characteristics each wood brings to a drum. Many of these woods and materials are foreign to us in the USA since Brady is based in rural Western Australia. You can imagine how small their operation is and they are a boutique company. Mass production doesn't exist in their vocabulary as each drum is considered a work of art. These drums you can bang on, but boy are they pretty to look at.

Cut Copy: Zonoscope

I have to get this, it's about time Cut Copy came out with another album. In Ghost Colours was one of my favorite albums of 2008 and I've been wanting more ever since. Zonoscope is set to release tomorrow, and yes I will be getting this. Excited? Hell yeah!



Here's the track Take Me Over:

This is the 365!

The Mono 365 Bag, 1 year later...product Review/Update from Joshua Carl on Vimeo.

The Art of Soul

Charles Bradley should have been making records back in the 60's. A series of hard knocks tumbled those dreams and 40 years later, his talent is picked up and a record born. His new album, No Time For Dreaming is a call back to the roots of soul music. The production on this album sounds old school as well, I wouldn't put it past the engineers to have called back the 2 inch tape reels.

Similarities to James Brown are made well known as Bradley drew inspiration to becoming a singer the first time he saw JB at the Apollo. 40 years later and we have a singer who was just discovered by Daptone Records with his very first album. I can only imagine how many lyrics were stories of those past 40 years and how much heartbreak had occurred. This guy is the real deal.

Tony Williams Lifetime Tribute

Everyone know show influential Tony Williams was to the jazz/fusion world. And he left this world way too early. He joined Miles Davis at the ripe age of 17 and was already a monster on the kit. His style never veered too far away from his jazz roots, but when he started Lifetime, everything was tilted on it's head. He enlisted John McLaughlin to join him in a trio with Larry Young on organ and the trio created Emergency! This album is a fusion classic by todays standard and was instantly recognized as a game changer.

His second album added on the already famous Jack Bruce who solidified the bottom end and the rest was history. The tribute band now has an all-star cast that includes Jack Bruce, Vernon Reid on guitar, Cindy Blackman on drums, and John Medeski on organ.