It's been about 24 hours since I bought my ridiculous Epiphone SG. I've made a picture for y'all to gasp at. Better pics will be on their way.
SG: AC/DC, Zappa and other reasons (not) to buy it
so, not many people that don't like AC/DC a whole lot (-ta Rosie, like myself) actually like the SG. Angus Young pretty much hi-jacked the guitar's street cred. Most people can't see the SG without the ridiculous schoolboy uniform that hangs so loose around Young's scrawny shoulders even today. Young's iconic appearance has made such an impact on rock 'n roll history, Jack Black's character in the 2003 comedy-flick School Of Rock completely mimics Young's appearance, including the SG.
Old man Angus' signature look, including the SG
But there's more to this spiky, fiendish looking axe than Young's silly classic hardrock antics. The much revered avant-garde rock hero (and personal style icon, I must add) Frank Zappa had a fondness for SG guitars. Off course, Zappa is much less of a cartoon character than Young, despite being a remarkable visual icon himself with moustache and goatee. The extraordinary guitarskills of Zappa being channeled through such a characteristic guitar is something I'm very receptive of, as is generally looking like Frank Zappa! It was Zappa who first sparked my interest for SG guitars.
Frank Zappa in his prime.
I didn't think about it too much for a while (I'm primarily a bassplayer, so no need). But since I've started playing some guitar in my band Dress (whom I'll tell you more about some other time), the purchase of a new guitar became a topic in my head again. Around the same time, I was at FabrIQ Festival (as mentioned in yesterday's blogpost), where I met Joe Haege of the experimental Portland indie outfits Tu Fawning and Menomena. I remembered how much I loved his guitar work in both bands (especially his bottleneck stuff), and especially in Menomena he mostly uses... A Gibson SG! Inspiration struck again.
Joe Haege + SG + bottleneck = bliss
Finally, late one night, I was browsing for some Radiohead live vids. Having never seem them perform live, I spend hours working through and analysing various live concerts. Off course, Radiohead is known for carrying around shitloads of gear, including a plethora of guitars. I was checking out THIS AWESOME LIVE PERFORMANCE from 2008 produced by From The Basement. Two songs in I suddenly noticed that soft spoken, weird-looking, daft dancing songwriting genius Thom Yorke was actually playing a mean-sounding Gibson SG on Bodysnatchers, one of my favorites from their before-last album In Rainbows. You can imagine, this totally tipped the scales for me. I had to get one, at some point, when I had a bunch of money to spend.
The trick was: I wanted something special. Not some glossy, candy apple red item, but something a little rougher looking. I found it, in a second hand shop in Rue Douai in downtown Paris, near the Moulin Rouge. This is my brand spanking new, Parisian, natural finish Epiphone SG. It matches the hardwood floors of my friend Hester's appartment:
so, not many people that don't like AC/DC a whole lot (-ta Rosie, like myself) actually like the SG. Angus Young pretty much hi-jacked the guitar's street cred. Most people can't see the SG without the ridiculous schoolboy uniform that hangs so loose around Young's scrawny shoulders even today. Young's iconic appearance has made such an impact on rock 'n roll history, Jack Black's character in the 2003 comedy-flick School Of Rock completely mimics Young's appearance, including the SG.
Old man Angus' signature look, including the SG
Frank Zappa in his prime.I didn't think about it too much for a while (I'm primarily a bassplayer, so no need). But since I've started playing some guitar in my band Dress (whom I'll tell you more about some other time), the purchase of a new guitar became a topic in my head again. Around the same time, I was at FabrIQ Festival (as mentioned in yesterday's blogpost), where I met Joe Haege of the experimental Portland indie outfits Tu Fawning and Menomena. I remembered how much I loved his guitar work in both bands (especially his bottleneck stuff), and especially in Menomena he mostly uses... A Gibson SG! Inspiration struck again.
Joe Haege + SG + bottleneck = blissThe trick was: I wanted something special. Not some glossy, candy apple red item, but something a little rougher looking. I found it, in a second hand shop in Rue Douai in downtown Paris, near the Moulin Rouge. This is my brand spanking new, Parisian, natural finish Epiphone SG. It matches the hardwood floors of my friend Hester's appartment:
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