Art | Next In Line Magazine

F*ck Fender and Gibson: 14 Touring Guitar Players Who Dare to Play Other Brands.

I get it. Fender and Gibson make damn good guitars for the best of the best. I have a surf green Mexican Strat that saw enough action to warrant a re-fret that never let me down once. And the Les Paul is as genuine and amazing as its namesake. If “Hotel California” taught us anything, the Fenders and Gibsons go together as well as corruption and politics. But it seems like every band under the age of thirty doesn’t even know other brands exist. If I see one more Fender headstock, I’m going to flip my bippy. Here are 14 touring guitarists that have the courage to pick another brand.

Annie Clark: Saint Vincent/ David Bryne.

Ernie Ball Music Man Saint Vincent Signature model.

Annie Clark’s signature guitar is odd yet calculated just like her solos. Even David Bryne thinks she’s a weirdo. She helped design the first guitar made specifically to accommodate the female body. While primarily known for their basses, Music Man also makes Love’s own Albert Lee signature guitar.

Serra Pétale: Los Bitchos

Eastwood Ichibam kl2

Los Bitchos are a bunch of London girls by way of Western Australia. They like their surf rock a little tangy, with elements of South American beats and a dash of psychedelia. Those ladies always look like they are having a blast on stage. With a name like Los Bitcho’s, how could they not be?

Hester Chambers: WetLeg

Hofner (Höfner) HCT Galaxie

She plays guitar with everyone’s favorite perverts, Wet Leg. “On the chaise longue, on the chaise longue, on the chaise longue all day long, on the chaise longue. “ Even Harry Styles couldn’t escape their pop perfection, and did a cover of “Wet Dream.”

Mike watt players: The Minutemen, fIREHOUSE, The Stooges

Reverend Wattpower Bass

Mike Watt. If you know, you know, and if you don’t know, you should. Only Reverend Guitars could make a signature model holy enough for this fucking corndog to defend himself agaisnt the 70’s.

Wolfgang Von Frankenstein: The Misfits

Dean Doyle Signature Annihilator

Does Doyle actually play guitar or does he just punch it like a timecard? Either way, he looks cool as hell. Legend has it, he rates every show according to how much his fingers bleed that night. His Dean signature model takes a beating every night, often needing to be swapped out for another identical model between songs with his guitar tech fixes it. That guy isn’t paid enough.

The Whole Band: Shannon and the Clams

Danelectros

I saw them live and was blown away by the power of Shannon’s voice.That lady could give a legit opera singer a run for her money. Her gold sparkle Danelectro bass is a perfect fit for The Clams retro 60’s vibe.

Stu Mackenzie King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard

Yamaha 1967 Flying Samurai

I always tell people, if you think you don’t like King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard, wait a couple songs. They are so diverse that they will eventually land on something you’ll like. Stu Machenzie loves weird ass guitars, including this 60’s Yamaha.

Marissa Paternoster/ Screaming females

g and l s-500

Kramer jersey stat hornet galaxy

If you aren’t careful, Marissa Paternoster will shred your face off. She is living proof that there are still guitarists who are willing to take risks, and stand out rather than blend in. In fact, between her and Annie Clark, it seems to me that women are doing the most good on the guitar nowadays. Get it together boys!

To be fair, G and L was Leo Fender’s company after he sold the Fender company, but legally they aren’t Fenders, so fuck off. Jerry Cantral of Alice in Chains also uses G and L for their beefy tones.

Wolfgang Van Halen

EVH SA-126

Not sure what EVH Guitars could possibly stand for, but I’m sure this ain’t no First Act Guitar. Wolfgang added a semi hollobody design to the old man’s guitar, making it his own. Apparently Eddie’s kid plays all the instruments on his records like Prince. His Drumeo videos are always a good time, and showcase what happens when your uncle is Alex Van Halan.

Nameless Ghoul: Ghost

Hagstrom Fantomen.

It’s surprising that Hagstrom isn’t a household name, since Elvis Presely played one. The Hagstrom Fantomen really fits in with the metal aesthetic of Ghost, like the satans house key. Even the tuning pegs look evil.

Josh Homme: Queens of the Stoneage, Kyruss

Marin bb1200

Josh Holme could play any guitar, but chooses Maren. This guy knows a thing or two about riffs, so the guitars must be amazing. This one matches his jacket really well.

King Buzzo: Melvins/Fantômas

Electric Guitar Factory King Buzzo Standard.

Costing as much as a nice used car, this aluminum neck guitar can take the pounding that King Buzzo unleashes on it every night. This one is on my post lottery wishlist.

Zac Sokolow: LA LOM

Kay Style Leader

If you need a chill vibe, I have the band for you. These guys are like the Ventures meet Los Lobo’s. Zac’s vintage Kay Style Leader swims in a river of reverb, and has three pickups with volume and tone control for each.

The Whole Band: Los Straightjackets

Various Dipinto Guitars.

I saw Los Straightjackets play an outdoor fest at the Philly Art Museum. Despite all their whammy barring and neck bending, they only had to tune up ONCE before they played. Talk about workhouse guitars! These things are more suited for surf music than surfboards.

How Sonny Bono Married Cher

Posted on July 13, 2023 by Steve Levandoski

_{Image by Lee Eschliman}

“He had the confidence to be the butt of the joke because he created the joke.”-Cher

Wait? She’s married to that old guy? He’s so short! And his voice ain’t nothing to write home about. What’s the deal? What did she see in him? How did he get that hip? Well, he wasn’t born rich or connected, that’s for sure.

Born in Englewood California, Salvatore Phillip Bono, the youngest child of three kids, dropped out of school and worked as an assistant butcher, a waiter, and a truck driver before he got his big break at Peter Potter’s Songwriter’s Search. Even at the age of sixteen, Bono knew to stack the audience with his loud, drunken, family members. Their rowdy standing ovation clinched the win for him. He used that chutzpah to propel him forward for the rest of his days, which led to him becoming the mayor of Palm Springs later in life.

Not many people sell the first song they ever write. Sonny did that in 1952 with his song “Ecstasy”. He originally wrote it for Tony Bennet who said, “thanks, but no thanks” so Sonny turned around and sold the tune to Johnny Otis.

Sonny used his charm to weasel his way into writing for Specialty Records, run by Art Rupe, that featured all black artists like Little Richard and Sam Cook. He wrote “High School Dance” “Baby You Bug Me” , and “She Said Yeah” for Larry Williams. For Sam Cooke, he wrote “Things You Do For Me” and ”Koko Joe”, another diddy he penned back when he was just a teenager. When the Righteous Brothers covered Don and Dewy’s version of “Koko Joe,” it boosted Sonny’s star considerably.

Sonny became buddies with another songwriter, Jack Nietche, one of famed record producer Phil Spector’s songwriting lackeys. They co-wrote “Needles and Pins” the song that launched Sonny’s career. Jackie DeShannon recorded Needles and Pins first, but it was the Searcher’s cover that brought it to the number three spot on the charts. This got the attention of Nietche’s boss, Phil Spector.

“A little tear jerker written for us by Mr. Sonny Bono”-Joey Ramone

The Wall of Sound was Spector’s secret production technique that captured hits like the Crystals “And Then He Kissed Me” and the Ronettes “Da Do Ron Ron.” He later recorded the Beatles Let it Be album and the Ramones End of the Century. Spector utilized two drummers, two bass players, two organ players, four guitar players, and an army of background singers and percussionists. If the drums were too loud, he’d simply ask one of the drummers to take five. He made the musicians rehearse the tunes for hours beforehand to get them so tight they could play it without thinking and blend together like a sonic stew. Some musicians accused Spector of doing this to stop them from getting too fancy, since they would be too exhausted to overplay.

Calling Phil Spector batshit crazy would be an understatement. The guy pointed a gun at John Lennon, Leonard Cohen, Dee Dee Ramone, and many others, before finally shooting his girlfriend Lana Clarkson and spending the rest of his life behind bars for murder. He was like the Anti-Rick Rubin.

There is a famous story of Spector, a black belt, karate kicking a noisy air conditioning unit right out of a ceiling. He also made his wife, Ronnie Spector, drive around with a cardboard cut-out of him when she drove alone.

Sonny Bono started out a gofer and worked his way up to being Spector’s right hand man. He pitched-in on background vocals as needed. With his endless charm and razor wit, Sonny was the perfect go between for the producer and the talent.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall:

Phil says, “Sonny, tell those cretins to get it right this time or I’ll cut their eyes out and feast upon the souls of their children.”

Sonny walks over to the musicians.“Hey guys, Phil thinks it’d be really groovy if you could try another take. Is that cool with you cats?”

When Sonny met Cherilyn Sarkisian, she was a sixteen-year-old runaway hanging out in a coffee shop and he was a twenty-eight-year old married man, recently separated from his first wife, Donna Rankuin.

According to Cher, she lied about her age to him, and he was actually hitting on her friend. But then she eventually used her sob story to let her move in with him as house cleaner, with a platonic relationship. But then one thing led to another. Sonny said she “just wanted someone to protect her” and he did. (Not counting the endless affairs on his end.) For the first and last time in history, a record producer made good on his promise to make a young girl a star.

Before Cher knew it, she was singing backup on “Be My Baby”, “Da Do Ron Ron”, and “You Lost That Loving Feeling”, while hanging out with Wrecking Crew, the most recorded studio musicians in history including Carol Kane on bass and Hal Blaine on drums. This gravy train lasted until Sonny opened his big dumb mouth and told Phil that his precious Wall of Sound was “getting stale.”

Sonny’s first attempt at producing his wife was a love song about another guy named Richard Starkley. Her song “Ringo, I Love You, (YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!)” was a flop, performed under the name Bonnie Jo Mason. Tracks like this one are why pseudonyms exist.

But then they had their first hit with “I Got You, Babe”, which eventually got them their own television show, “The Sonny and Cher Show.” And the beat goes on.