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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.

On the next Strings and Things podcast, a new music guitar maven looks back on how his family helped set him on his career path. James Moore, a co-founder and director of Dither, the electric guitar quartet, will be here with his National steel string while our host Patrick Grant works on an Ovation Balladeer. James tells us what his grandmother taught him about composition, and discusses his recording of John Zorn’s Book of Heads, a set of eclectic etudes for solo guitar.  

Thanks to everyone who’s been listening to the Strings and Things podcast! We really appreciate you spending time with us and our talented guests while we do the glamorous work of changing our gummy guitar strings. But, we want to let you know about another project we've wrapped up here at Peppergreen Media: It’s the new Tilted Axes album! You may remember we’ve met some of the guitarists on the podcast through Patrick’s project, Tilted Axes: Music for Mobile Electric Guitars. It’s both a processional event and an ensemble of electric guitarists. They use portable amplifiers strapped to their sides as they criss-cross the urban landscape and play music for unsuspecting audiences. Anywhere from 9 to over 40 guitarists have performed in a Tilted Axes event, playing compositions that Patrick’s written specifically for the group, the project’s host city, or various cultural occasions. You can listen to the Tilted Axes album at Soundcloud and Spotify or download a copy at Bandcamp, iTunes, or wherever good digital music is sold. Thank you!

This week, our host Patrick Grant welcomes guitarist/composer Daniel Reyes Llinas to the Strings and Things podcast. Daniel’s got a Fender Strat he customized himself, and he’s the co-founder of the New York instrumental group, Parias Ensemble. We’ll hear about the impact that the Beatles, Latin rock and New Wave made on him as a kid growing up in Colombia, and we’ll find out what’s cooking with Daniel’s new album. Find out more at stringsandthingsshow.com.

  A Colombian-born, New York City composer brings in his custom Strat and looks back on his earliest musical influences.  Daniel Reyes Llinas, co-founder of the Parias Ensemble takes us back to his first 10 dollar guitar and traces his evolution as a musician through some of his favorite genres: classical, pop, new wave, metal, jazz and progressive rock. Then he’ll tell us what he’s making when he’s not onstage or in rehearsal. Join our host, composer/performer Patrick Grant, on the Strings and Things podcast, where guitarists come by to change their strings, tell some stories and play music. Look us up on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play or visit our website at stringsandthingsshow.com.  

On this episode of Strings and Things, Angela Babin drops by to work on a Melody Maker that hasn’t been out and about in years, while host Patrick Grant restrings his studio-weary Les Paul. Angela has been performing live since she was 13 years old in many different venues, from Folk City and CBGBs, to BAM and the Berlin Jazz Festival. She entered the downtown New York music scene playing with Off Beach and the Ordinaires while she was a teenager, and has played guitar, tres, and bass on recordings for many varied musical projects. Currently, Angela is gleefully playing guitar with the Gotham Roots Orchestra. Find out more at stringsandthingsshow.com.

A 1963 Melody Maker comes out of retirement for a much needed tune-up when Angela Babin, guitarist for The Ordinaires, Homer Erotic and The Gotham Roots Orchestra drops in on the Strings and Things podcast. She'll describe some of the musical games she played with her father, who was himself a child prodigy, and she’ll tell us how her fascination with numbers inspired her current musical project. Join our host, composer/performer Patrick Grant, on the Strings and Things podcast, where musicians come by to change their guitar strings, talk about things and play some music. Look us up on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play or visit our website at stringsandthingsshow.com.    

Thanks to everyone who's been listening to the podcast and all the guitarists who have spent time with us so far - it's been a blast! The show is going on a brief midseason break and will be back in June with new musicians, more duets, and a whole lotta dirty strings! In the meantime, we hope you'll scroll back and dig into previous episodes of Strings and Things you may have missed. Join us when we return in a few weeks! Check us out on iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play, or visit our website at stringsandthingsshow.com. Strings and Things is a Peppergreen Production for Headstepper Media.

This week on the Strings and Things podcast, Brooklyn native Randolph Hudson III is here to work on a limited edition Veilette-Citron guitar, while our host Patrick Grant restrings a favorite Danelectro. Randy’s going to tell us about the history of the EBow and where you’ve heard it before, and we’ll hear about trying to be an environmentally conscious guitarist when you also have a jones for tube electronics. Find out more about this episode at stringsandthingsshow.com.

On the next Strings and Things podcast, guitarist Randolph A Hudson III (Bongwater, Kramer, Bowing) restrings his bright red Veillette-Citron Shark baritone, and explains to our host, Patrick Grant, how he became a wizard of the EBow. We'll find out what other uses he had for his record collection, and he'll tell us how it ain't easy being green when you're a stickler for fine electronics. This is Strings and Things, the show where musicians come by to change their strings, talk about things and play some music. Look us up on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play or visit our website at stringsandthingsshow.com.

This time on the Strings and Things podcast, we have Anthony Mullin, from the merry band of head-banging hard-rockers called The Blackfires. He’s here to work on a very special Les Paul with a cool backstory, and he’ll tell us how his PhD influences his musical efforts.  While he and our host Patrick Grant re-string their guitars, we’ll hear how Anthony’s parents played a pivotal role in his early days as a musician, and we’ll find out what riffs and records inspired Anthony’s blues-based approach to his own playing. Find out more at stringsandthingsshow.com.