Steve Haynie

It would have been wonderful to see Zebra when they were a new band. When a band tells the audience, "We were trying to figure out the last time we were in Atlanta...", and between the audience and the band they figure it out that it was 1984, it explains why the band is not on the A list of touring acts. Four times in 43 years of existence does not build a following. However, there were people in the audience who traveled six hours, friends who traveled four hours, two hours for me, and some who travel all over the country for Zebra shows. A group of fans beside me are going to California for some shows. Last night's show was in Buford, GA about 30 miles north of Atlanta, but it still counts as Atlanta with less traffic. How many other cities were neglected over the years? 37 Main in Buford is a small place that gets some of the 80's bands that still tour. When my friends and I found months ago out about the Zebra show we got tickets. There are few bands from the early 80's with all the original members, although three people can be together easier than five or six. The opening act was a guy named Dixie Duncan who played an Ovation and a Music Man Sterling through two massive pedalboards. The pedalboards were not filled with effects, but switches and loopers. The guy should be doing guitar clinics on the use of loopers because he was dancing on his. Zebra's gear was on stage, but with the dim lighting I could never get a close up photo of what amps were used. Felix Hanneman had an Ampeg 8 x 10" cabinet behind him with a tiny head on top that might have been a GK. He played an Ibanez Soundgear bass. His keyboard was a Yamaha M08. Guy Gelso had a set of DW drums with a mix of cymbals. Some were Sabian and some were MEINL. Randy Jackson had a Marshall half stack behind him. The head had a lot of knobs in two rows, but I could not make out the model. There were three guitars, a Takamine 12 string acoustic, a B.C. Rich doubleneck Rich Bich, and what is likely a D'Angelico Premier SD. The show started off with Felix Hanneman playing bass, and toward the end he played the keyboard. The keys were split to allow getting the synth sounds and bass parts. Randy Jackson was amazing as a player, but really laid back as he played intricate parts while singing. Before the show started he told the sound man he was not using the amp, so he needed more guitar in his monitors. That made it harder to hear the guitar from where I was near the stage. When I covered my ears (while wearing ear plugs) I could hear everything through the PA. All the parts were there, just as perfect as could be. There was no setlist on the stage. Randy would start playing an intro or they just knew what song to do next. I was able to get an accurate setlist. After the show the band went to the merchandise table and signed anything and everything for people. I did not expect that, so I had nothing with me. There was only one T-shirt for sale with the first album cover on the front and the song list on the back. (The super fans had really nice looking tour shirts from 2017.) If the band had CD's or any other swag I would have jumped in line.

Last night as the intro to Who's Behind The Door was being played I suspected it was an open tuning.

A custom stand for a doubleneck is not too much to expect. Years ago the decision to buy a Peterson strobe tuner was based on the value of my guitars and how many were in my possession. While you cannot play a stand, the cost of a correct stand goes along with having such a cool guitar.

"Acceptable flaws" are how a company like Gibson was not stopped dead 25 years ago. Stores should have been sending back anything with a minor flaw. To make the point with "lifestyle brand" swag, Gibson T-shirts could be printed off center or at least be printed on irregular shirts.

Do you have video of your son playing that?

Maybe he is just Keef Lite.

So we have to wait until everyone starts selling off their stuff, or the kids start liquidating the estates.

That was an interesting account of Hamer history.

Lifestyle brands are a joke. A store opens in a mall selling shirts with their store name on them, and people snap it all up. What the heck is so wonderful about wearing a Hollster or Aero-Postale shirt? Around here there are people with John Deere shirts, hats, tags, etc. that have never worked on a farm, but they have their cool John Deere stuff. Excuse me, cool John Deere props.

Actually, a line of Les Pauls that stay close to the basics would be nice. Limited editions can be cool, but it seems like Gibson is trying too hard to be a fruit of the month club.

So, was the back of the guitar sprayed and buffed?

Well... back in junior high around 1977 the Harmonica Rascals played a ticketed show in the gymnasium one evening. That was my first "concert."

After playing Hamer Specials for so many years the switch position on The Paul is not that bad.

Those V2s can stay in the past.

Plans to reissue The Paul may have been in place long before Juskiewicz was gone. Even it was not, The Paul should get a little nostalgic reception from those of us who remember them, and younger players who see Les Paul Studios as desirable should want to check these out.

Nope. According the never incorrect wikipedia U.S. Male was written by Jerry Reed.

Go for it! After going through songs like this and the Led Zeppelin adventure from last year you need to hit us with a bunch of new originals.

I bet you wish you could have been in on the competitive bidding to dispose of those guitars! I certainly would have provided "Haynie's Guitar Diposal Service" cheap!

We have a winner!

What became of that incomplete Uncle Dick?

That combination of Boston and Sammy Hagar was my first rock concert, too. They played Clemson, SC on January 20, 1979. Sammy's band was the original lineup of Montrose with Gary Pihl on guitar instead of Ronnie Montrose. The keyboard player was Alan Fitzgerald who would end up in Night Ranger. Sammy was a rocker that night, running across the stage. Looking back, he put on the better show, but I was still excited to see Boston. I remember the volume being LOUD!

Yngwie really has a Ferrari. Magnum... who?

The title of this thread made me think you got a current Indonesian Hamer. One piece body? ...THUD!

One of Ace's former friends said that Ace showed up in court in a shabby looking suit to declare bankruptcy to get out of debts to several creditors. The next day he signed his contract for the KISS reunion tour. It was also written that someone had the vision to set up some kind of trust for Ace to keep him from ending up homeless. I remember reading about the house foreclosure in more recent years. Is Ace now living in a slum?

A former friend of Ace wrote a book about him, too. Paul wrote about Ace in his book. Ace is a source of humorous stories for former bodyguards. Books about KISS mention problems with Ace. The guy has stumbled through life and managed to come out on top. I like seeing Ace in concert, but would not want to get too close to him other than as a fan.