As a guitar player, one that is into bands and players of yore that were considered guitar gods, I delved into all kinds of bands and players. One such player that I loved while learning to play guitar was Jake E. Lee. Jake came into guitar god fame by getting that coveted guitar slinger spot for Ozzy Ozbourne. He recorded two albums with the Oz master then went on to start a band called Badlands. Still rockin, but in a very bluesy sense compared to the metal stylings he had with Ozzy. All this leads me into the opening cut of the debut release of Badlands self titled disc, Highwire. Super energetic and bluesy in the vein of Led Zeppelin with a flair of metal = something that still rocks years later after it came out.
Why am I even thinking about this tune? Well last weekend was NAMM and a bunch of my friends happened to catch Jake E. Lee’s new band performing at a NAMM event. I was at a separate event so I missed the performance but I heard about it and that Jake was still rockin’ hard.
Highwire
Standin’ here, I got my eye on you
Your story bleeds, but there’s no review
Honey drip and set my soul on fire
Stealin’ hearts got me walkin’ the wire
You’re gonna lose control
All night long
When I find my love, love, love
High wire
Flash a smile, like a shiny blade
Everyone there thinks ya got it made
Sorry, child, can you take me higher
But you keep me hangin’ on your lonely wire
You’re gonna lose control
All night long
When I find my love, love, love
High wire
(Solo)
Oh, feels so good
You give me lovin’ like no one could
You turn me child, inside out
Still you leave me drownin’ in a sea of doubt
You’re gonna lose control
All night long
You’re gonna steal my soul, mama
You can’t go wrong
When I find my love, love, love
High wire
Love, love, love
Oh, sweet child, I know where you come from now
High wire, baby
Oh, oh, oh
Enjoy and rock on!
The pic is from a solo performance by a Doobie Brothers member doing great renditions of their songs in the Taylor Booth.
The show can’t be complete without posing with the BadCat freak of the year.
This is by far the greatest tremolo system ever invented for guitar. I’m not kidding – it’s perfect.
The mandatory badge shot…
For the inner child of mixing engineers everywhere: The Raven by Slate Audio. The coolest touchscreen mixing console.
Wanna know where audio recording is heading? To smaller devices. Namely iOS devices. Apogee is leading the charge with their mobile lines and the new king of that is: The Quartet.
The award for most unique instrument of the show is: The Wheel Harp. I can’t even explain it. But it’s very cool, with a very distinct sound.
Essentially we all hit it. The NAMM wall. Wherein you’re tired and somehow I managed to get a shot where there were relatively few people around. Feet hurt from being walked on for hours on end.