First Axe: Christoph Götzen

On our series called "First Axe" we ask members of Tilted Axes to tell us their electric guitar origin stories. This time, we're talking to guitarist and composer Christoph Götzen, who is based in Dusseldorf, Germany. Raised on punk rock but studying and experimenting with jazz, Christoph is also organizing a three-day festival in honor on International Strange Music Day on August 24th. For more on Tilted Axes go to tiltedaxes.com.

On our series called "First Axe" we ask members of Tilted Axes to tell us their electric guitar origin stories. This time we're talking to Howie Kenty, who's a faculty member at Kaufman Music Center, where he teaches music tech, composition, and theory. But his early guitar days were marked by the sounds of grunge, cassette recordings and questionable taste in stage-wear. Tilted Axes: Music for Mobile Electric Guitars is an orchestra of guitarists and percussionists led by composer/performer Patrick Grant. They perform original music with mini-amps strapped over their shoulders, moving through public spaces in museums, parks and city streets. Its roster of musicians can change from performance to performance, city to city. 

This time, on our series called First Axe - stories about first guitars - we'll hear from the founder of Tilted Axes: Music for Mobile Electric Guitars. That's composer, performer and producer Patrick Grant. He'll take us back to his teen years in Detroit for the brief but noisy life of his first department store axe.   Be sure to check out upcoming performances and the rest of what Tilted Axes is up to at tiltedaxes.com. You can also follow @tiltedaxes on all the socials.

We're back to bring you some new stories from the Tilted Axes circle of musicians. If you don't know, Tilted Axes: Music for Mobile Electric Guitars is an orchestra of guitarists and percussionists led by composer/performer Patrick Grant. They perform original music with mini-amps strapped over their shoulders, moving through public spaces in museums, parks and city streets. Its roster of musicians can change from performance to performance, city to city. And you're going to meet some of them in this series called "First Axe" - stories about first guitars. Elisa Corona Aguilar a writer, translator, composer and guitarist from Mexico City, felt left out when her brother got a guitar and she didn't. In this episode she tell us how she finally got her own instrument, and how it still influences the music she makes today. To find out more, visit stringsandthingsshow.com.    

On this episode, John Halo of hard-rock quartet Downtown Equipment is here to work on his Les Paul Standard while our host, Patrick Grant, changes the strings on an old friend, his sea-foam Fender Jaguar. John handles guitars, composition and vocals in his band, and he's in charge of molding young minds as a program coordinator in the New York City public school system. We'll find out how many guitars John actually owns and how he names them, and of course, he and Patrick will boot up and plug in for a special year-end jam. For more, go to our website at stringsandthingsshow.com - and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This time on the Strings and Things podcast, super-shredder Sudeip Ghosh is here to change the strings on his Dean Zelinsky guitar while our host, Patrick Grant, works on his trusty Les Paul. Sudeip grew up playing and singing Indian classical music, but a chance encounter with a hard rock mixtape ignited his dreams of power chord glory. Sudeip will tell us how a one-string acoustic and a scarcity of guitar magazines tested his determination, and how he's come into his own as a metal guitarist, a film composer, and a Bollywood musician. As always, we'll put the new guitar strings thru their paces when Patrick and Sudeip plug in to record some rollicking riffs.   Go to our webpage at stringsandthingsshow.com for more music and videos.

 Computer programmer, film composer and supreme shredder Sudeip Ghosh joins us on the next Strings and Things podcast. He'll be here to change the strings on his Dean Zelinsky guitar, while our host Patrick Grant works on his trusty black Les Paul. Sudeip will tell us how he discovered heavy metal while growing up in India, and we'll hear how totally underwhelming his first guitar was. This is the Strings and Things podcast, where guitarists come by to change their strings, swap some stories and play some music. Look us up on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play and YouTube or visit our website at stringsandthingsshow.com.  

Bass player Jeremy Nesse's initial reaction to seeing a Chapman Stick was one of surprise."When I first saw it, I thought this looks like a board of wood from a picket fence or a two by four." Despite that first impression, Jeremy was inspired to add the 12-string tapping melodic bass to his arsenal of instruments by listening to Tony Levin's work with King Crimson and Peter Gabriel's solo albums. On this episode of Strings and Things, he relates to host Patrick Grant how his style of playing has developed over the years, from early childhood explorations of his Dad's vast vinyl collection, through his years listening to British new wave and to his interests in progressive rock and world music.

On the next Strings and Things podcast, bass player Jeremy Nesse is on tap to tell us about the albums and musicians who inspired him to pick up the Chapman Stick, and he'll describe the pitfalls of playing such an unusual instrument. We'll find out how his Dad handed down his deep love of music…and why Jeremy's own son hasn't quite caught the musical bug yet. This is the Strings and Things podcast, where guitarists come by to change their strings, shoot the breeze and play some music. Look us up on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play and YouTube or visit our website at stringsandthingsshow.com.

The podcast goes unplugged this week! Our host, Patrick Grant is in the front parlor with James Moore of the Dither Guitar Quartet. They've got National and Ovation acoustic guitars and they intend to use them. We'll find out how James made it from the San Francisco Bay Area to the new music scene here in New York. He'll tell us about the strange playing techniques he uses on his recent album of solo guitar music by John Zorn, and we'll hear an exclusive rendition of a Chet Atkins ballad.