the texan's perspective

I’ve mentioned several times that I was not planning to buy any more instruments this year…I was only going to finish assembling my Esquire-Meets-Les Paul Junior mashup partscaster… …And then I promptly bought a Gretsch Gin Rickey acoustic-electric, a Fender Pawn Shop Greta tube amp and an MIM...

There’s plenty of songs that people think mean one thing but actually have a different—sometimes darker, sometimes not—meaning. The first that pops to mind for me is the first song* I ever learned to play on guitar: Sympathy for the Devil The title might make a person think, “Oh, there go...

Yeah, I probably talk (or brag) about my wife too much, but when God gives you something good, you gotta tell other people about it… So besides having an awesome breakfast in an amazing and funky little bistro on South Main in Fort Worth and a great lunch at my favorite pho restaurant, our...

Every once in a while, I realize something I about music, bands, instruments, singing, songs, songwriting or performing that changes the way I play or the way I approach my craft. Here’s a few of mine: -Rhythm guitar is more important to the song than lead guitar. -Using a pedal, guitar, amp...

I have owned (and still own) a pretty large handful of amps, tube, solid state and digital. But my 1990 Fender ‘63-reissue Vibroverb is the most special, due to its “perfect for my needs” specs… I bought it NOS/new-in-the-box in 1992, and it’s been a part of my rig ever since. It sounds...

A group of crows is called a Murder; a group of geese is called a Gaggle; a group of bats is called a Colony… Therefore, a group of Telecasters is called a Twang. Here’s my Twang of Telecasters, both current and former… My #1, the 1995 MIM Fender Tele Special, aka “Big Tex”: The most...

My daughter left for Namibia yesterday…she’ll be doing missionary and construction work for 6-8 weeks. She said she wanted to go to her favorite Honky Tonk with her mom and me, so Sunday afternoon we hit Little Red’s Longhorns Saloon in the Fort Worth Stockyards and danced to a pretty good Ray...

When this year started, I was only planning to finish assembling a partscaster that I’ve been collecting the parts for the last five years or so… And then I promptly bought two guitars and an amp. My name’s Fiesta Red, and I’m a GAS-aholic. Before this year started, I had plenty of guitars...

The only planned expansion of my rig/herd/guitarsenal this year was finishing the Esquire/Les Paul Junior Frankenstein’d partscaster for which I’ve been accumulating parts for the last few years. I really, truly had not planned on buying any new gear this year. …and then I bought two guitars...

Tolstoy Version: When I started playing guitar in 1989, I wanted to be the bastard love child of Keith Richards, Muddy Waters and Jimmie Vaughan. I always loved the funky looks and sound of Keef’s 1974 Custom, which I later found he’d bought in San Antonio during the Stones infamous 1975 “Tour...

Short Version: A buddy of mine (and younger brother of my new/old/returning guitarist and uncle to my new bassist) has been very financially successful, and decided to launch his own private whiskey label. He hired the Ian Moore Band to play the launch party, which was held at his house.

Despite all the “horse-tradin’” and GAS episodes and everything else that comes with the musician hobby/lifestyle/etc., I’ve been fortunate to find (and keep) twospectacular instruments that have been my “#1” guitar. From 1993 to 2008, it was my (namesake) 1992 Fender US Vintage ‘62...

If you play multiple instruments (as many of us here do, including me), who are your top three influences on each of those instruments? For example, in my case… Guitar: Keith Richards Jimmie Vaughan Lightnin’ Hopkins Slide Guitar: Muddy Waters Ron Wood Rollo Smith Vocals: Mick Jagger...

Since 1977 after the song by Waylon Jennings blew up, Luckenbach has been a symbol of slowing down, leaving the rat race and getting “back to the basics of love”… My parents took me there right after the song became a hit, sometime in ’77 or ‘78. At the time, there wasn’t much besides the old...

Because I tend to get long-winded (or since I’m typing, is it long-fingered? ), here’s the Reader’s Digest version: A buddy of mine bought and sent me a Donner/Third Man Hardware Triple Threat multi-pedal! I didn’t expect that, and I feel very appreciative towards him for doing this. It’s a...

*This is a long read, so if you’re not into that, skip down to the pictures like the illiterate savage you are (just kidding…mostly…note the use of Sarcasm Font) Summer of 1989. I was 19. I bought my first two guitars and first amp within two months of each other, all three from the same guy...

Updated setup/layout of my Lil’ Ol’ Board of Sonic Bliss: Snark SN10 Tuner Ibanez TS Mini Tube Screamer MXR M290 Phase 95 Phase Shifter MXR M296 Classic 108 Fuzz MXR M133 Micro Amp Boost Rocktron Micro Hush T-Rex Tone Bug Reverb Powered by OneSpot Mounted on Powertrain-Mini

My daughter put a little video together, along with a solo acoustic performance recorded on her iPhone (she’s playing guitar and singing). I’m very proud of her—she wrote the song and is quickly becoming a very good songwriter. She is the tall, thin brunette in the video. There’s glimpses of...

My first guitar...a 1986 Fender F-250 acoustic. I bought it late summer, 1989...I’m the second owner, and got it for a steal. The seller immediately wanted to buy it back, especially after messing around with the white Kramer Ferrington he had bought to replace it, (and he realized his...