Tom took his Godin Multiac to the August 15th episode of the show. He fooled around with a lot of its pre-sets like the distortion guitar, shamisen, tabla vox kit, and didgeridoo. He even played Chopsticks with the grand piano setting before settling into serious
Guitar Tom mode. The rock lead preset lends itself to power chords, which Tom demonstrated several times. He and Director Skopinski talked about the culture of music conservatories, while Phil reminisced about being told by his school band director (more than sixty years ago) to go woodshed
his music, which meant to practice it, (not go out and get a whooping). Tom says he still hears that expression, especially among jazz musicians.
Featuring a Godin Multiac
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Featuring a Godin Multiac
Tom took his Godin Multiac to the July 25th episode of the show. The Godin is a solid body nylon-string electric guitar – a bit unusual as far as electrics go. He demonstrated tuning with harmonics and demonstrated counting out the circle of fifths. One of Tom’s students appeared on the show as a special guest. Nolan is eleven and has been playing classical for a little over a year, preceded by several years of rock. He performed Romanza and Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. PATV intern Anita Rao was the roving cam operator, and Director Skopinski, a film enthusiast, talked about India as being the first to have music videos: Indian films in the 1930s had as many as seventy songs in a three hour movie.
Featuring a One-of-a-Kind Replica, and Tornado Destruction Footage
What are the sounds of a storm devastated city: chainsaws, helicopters, and sirens are still heard days later in an echo of the sounds of the storm itself with its hail and 150 mph wind.
Josh Goding, executive director of PATV was teaching a video class when a hailstorm struck. He led students outside with cameras thinking the remarkable size of the hailstones was newsworthy enough only to discover and capture on footage an actual funnel cloud that caused a 3 1/2 mile slice of destruction through the city. Power outages, downed lines, gas leaks and lightning that struck and burned homes to the ground added to the devastation. In the midst of the crisis residents turned to Iowa City's public access station to communicate information about emergency shelters for displaced residents and to provide updates about potential hazards. At a time when public access faces legislative threats by the looming BARTON/COPE Act, could there be a better argument for the indispensability of local media?
On the April 18th episode of the show, a montage of the aftermath by PATV staff member and videographer Aaron Valdez was shown, while Tom accompanied on his Godin synthesizer guitar. By coincidence guests had been scheduled to share with Tom a one-of-a-kind guitar built by Dean Kumbalek out of a maple tree struck down by lightning in his own front yard in Wisconsin. It is excellent craftsmanship based on Martin's 1917 Grand Concert guitar specs. As Tom walks past all the spruce, maple, black walnut and oak that's still being cut and hauled to the dump he thinks of the fine instruments they would make, and of all the musical sounds that might be created from the destruction.
A slide show of Aaron Valdez's montage can be viewed in the photo gallery. Learn more about the BARTON/COPE Act at Manhattan Neighborhood Network, and about legislation in Iowa at FreePress.net.
Featuring Erik Smith's Crowhill Guitars (and a Lowden)
Erik Smith's Crowhill electric guitars and basses feature regional and exotic woods, neck-through design and innovative electronics. Tom checked out several of his models including a distinctive flame shaped body style with a Strat-like pickup configuration, walnut neck-through design and push/pull pots offering seven instead of five options. (Tom found it less noisy than his own Strat.) The flame model was made in Iowa with native grown woods; other Crowhill Guitar models include such exotics as Leopard wood, Pahduk, Wenge and Brazilian ebony.
Tom also took his Lowden to the show and talked with Country-Time Bob who called in with a pickin' style request. Tom plays a lot of country music, even if from other countries like the mambo rhythms that closed out the January 17 episode.
Tom also took his Lowden to the show and talked with Country-Time Bob who called in with a pickin' style request. Tom plays a lot of country music, even if from other countries like the mambo rhythms that closed out the January 17 episode.
