Music is the universal language
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” - Luke 2:14
General Interest
Green Day serve up Basket Case and a few ice cream cones from the top of a Mister Freezie van
From performing in front of their high school to crashing into London pubs for sweaty sing-alongs, Green Day have always loved a chaotic, impromptu gig. Almost four decades into their career, nothing has changed – only this time, in perhaps a punk rock first, the Californian opted to perform on the top of an ice cream truck.
That’s right – on Friday (24 July) Green Day clambered aboard a Mister Freezie ice cream truck at Gallagher Square outside Petco Parkto during this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. Rather than 99s, fans were served up ’94 classic, Basket Case… though, there were a few free Nimrods-branded ice creams too, courtesy of frontman-turned- ice-cream-vendor Billie Joe Armstrong.
Of course, the ice cream truck was quickly crowded with people. Fans gathered to witness the spectacle, and a few were lucky enough to walk away with free t-shirts and cassette tapes – a true cherry on top of this peculiar punk rock sundae.
I don’t care if Green Day playing Basket Case on an ice cream truck at San Diego Comic Con happened to you it should’ve happened to me instead pic.twitter.com/BVNjDljqGH
— lady stardust (@cinethanhunt) July 25, 2026
The appearance was the band’s own way of hyping their upcoming film, Nimrods, inspired by Green Day’s 1997 record of the same name. Writer and director Lee Kirk crafted the coming-of-age flick with the guidance of the band, and it is set to follow a young band’s tour-van-road-trip in a bid to secure a support slot opening for Green Day.
The film is set to drop in the UK on 11 August, before receiving a US release on 14 August. It will also feature a soundtrack of classic Green Day tracks, as well as their new track I’m Never Gonna R.I.P. and four previously unreleased live recordings from a performance at the Palladium in Los Angeles.
The soundtrack will also feature music from Mckenna Grace, The Paradox, Ultra Q, and a few cuts from the film’s central fictional band, Analog Dogs.
This isn’t the first time Green Day’s music has been transformed into another medium; 2004’s American Idiot was famously adapted into a broadway show. Back in 2010, Deadline alleged that actor Tom Hanks (yes, that Tom Hanks) was even trying to get the play adapted into a fully fledged feature film.
IGN addressed the concept of an American Idiot film in a recent interview, with Armstrong explaining: “We’ve talked about it a lot… there’s always talks about it but we’ve just got to figure out when. But, right now, it’s all about Nimrods.”
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“They dragged it out like a dead body”: Musician fumes at American Airlines after guitar destroyed beyond recognition
We’re all aware of Schrödinger’s Cat – the notion that, within the confines of a closed box, a cat is simultaneously both alive and dead in the limbo before you actually check. However, if you were to apply the same thought experiment to, say, an airline handling your guitar, Schrödinger’s theory doesn’t apply. Because artists often know whether their guitar has been bashed around by airport handlers even before cracking open their case.
In fact, sometimes even the case is a casualty. That was unfortunately the case for digital creator Titus Tucker, one of the most recent guitarists to face a devastating loss at high altitude. After flying with American Airlines, Tucker shared a video accusing the airline of damaging his guitar – and we use the term ‘damaging’ very lightly.
For those easily disturbed, look away now… but the condition of Tucker’s guitar is ghastly. As Tucker explains that it’s a new guitar in a brand new case, the pile of wood and strings on the floor is almost unrecognisable as an instrument. Honestly, it’s cartoonishly destroyed – as if handlers dropped the case down a flight of stairs, reversed over it with a lorry, and finally placed grenade placed inside before loading it onto the plane.
This isn’t just exclusive to American Airlines, either. Just yesterday, Nashville artist Ella Hennessee shared her experience with United Airlines, accusing the airline of mishandling her childhood guitar. “I didn’t don’t y’all dropped luggage 25,000 ft apparently,” she jokes in a clip as she inspects cracks down the side of her guitar.
Of course, United Airlines have faced quite a bit of bad press in the past surrounding the way it treats instruments. In 2009, Canadian musician Dave Carroll dropped the ultimate United Airlines diss track, United Breaks Guitars, after the airline refused to front the cost of his $3,000 guitar broken in transit. In the end, the airline ended up paying far more than $3,000 – because the protest track had such an impact that the airline’s stocks dropped by $180 million in a single day.
Elsewhere, Southwest Airlines also received bad press last year for mishandling Emily Wolfe’s guitar. The blues rocker accused the airling of breaking her signature Epiphone White Wolfe, resulting in a snapped headstock.
Wolfe’s experience saw her filing a report, only for the airline to wipe its hands clean due to instruments being classed as “fragile items” – essentially meaning that the company considers it the owner’s responsibility if a guitar breaks in transit.
“If airlines can damage professional-grade instruments, charge us extra to check them, and then refuse to take responsibility, it puts every traveling musician at risk,” Wolfe wrote on her Instagram post. “This is not just about one guitar. It is about protecting the tools of our craft.”
The entire debacle raises a very worrying concern – if your guitar gets damaged mid-tour, it’s just an extra cost on top of the ever-hiking cost of touring. Artist Devin Townsend has even admitted he cuts costs by travelling with just an acoustic guitar as it’s cheaper than lugging around more gear… if his sole acoustic broke, what then?
With airlines attempting to pass the blame on to the individual and refusing to pay out, travelling puts artists in an incredible vulnerable position. It sadly seems we’ve made little progress since 2009’s United Breaks Guitars, but hopefully more artists sharing their experiences online will pressure airlines to take more accountability for any damage that happens on flights.
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“I do remember seeing Corey naked a lot”: Producer recalls carnage making Slipknot’s legendary sophomore album, Iowa
In many cases, a closing track is usually a sign that a record is nearing its end… unless you’re Slipknot, that is. On their 2001 release, Iowa, the masked metal unit saved their longest, most evil cut for last, serving up a title-track that sunk listeners into a twisted 15-minute-long finale straight from hell.
Sonically and lyrically sinister, the track explores the mania one might feel after being locked alone with a corpse for far too long. And, keen to authentically embody that madness, frontman Corey Taylor infamously did all he could to get into a dark headspace. We’re talking drugs, nudity and rolling around with shards of glass.
As producer Ross Robinson explains in the latest issue of Metal Hammer, the foundation of the Iowa record was set after a drug-addled jam session. “[The band] pounded a bottle [of NyQuil] and we went into this room… that’s supposed to be haunted, all mouldy and shitty…,” he recalls. “They started jamming and there was this vibe and presence that was the foundation for the whole album.”
“I remember he did that on vocal overdubs… he had to strip his soul all the way,” he notes.
Of course, Taylor did take the notion of “stripping his soul” away a little bit literally. “I do remember seeing him naked a lot,” Robinson admits. But, as he puts it, the nudity felt like it was just a by-product of all the carnal, twisted themes the record was exploring. “We’d get all woo-woo around the lyrics, go deep into the meaning and the tone of everything, so I’d have chills by the time I hit record,” he says.
Over the years, Taylor has explained the meaning of Slipknot’s most macabre nu-metal magnum opus. In 2012, the frontman explained his “thought process” behind Iowa during a fan Q&A: “Oh boy… as I’ve said before, I am a little unbalanced, to put it lightly. I can [mentally] put myself in several very strange situations… But Iowa was really the chance to take it even further. Basically, Iowa is about spending time with a corpse… Don’t judge me! And I’m just doing… beautiful, fucked up things to it…”
“I was a little fucked up when I recorded it, stripped naked… I wish you could have seen Clown’s face,” he continued. “He was in the fucking control room, and there’s this little window… I just start taking [my clothes] off… It was almost like method [acting] at that point. I wanted to go so fucking deep into it… [After I’d finished], Clown looks me right in the fucking face and he just goes, ‘Taylor, what the fuck is wrong with you?’”
The post “I do remember seeing Corey naked a lot”: Producer recalls carnage making Slipknot’s legendary sophomore album, Iowa appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
“I needed another finger”: Eddie Van Halen explains why he developed his two-handed tapping technique
Eddie Van Halen’s famous tapping technique was created because he felt like he needed “an extra finger” for guitar solos.
In an unearthed interview with Eddie, he shows how he decided to incorporate two hands into his soloing as he felt he could only go so far by using just one. The technique is the most recognised associated aspect of his approach to guitar, although many artists over the years have disputed that he was the original inventor.
In the short archival clip, recently shared to YouTube by Hair Metal Revolution, Eddie explains, “I got the idea [because] I wanted another finger, you can only go so far [with one hand]. So I figured if I use this hand, you get more fingers.”
Watch below:
In other Van Halen news, Eddie’s former bandmate Sammy Hagar argued that Eddie “saved guitar players”, and was, in his view, a “music god” whose talents extended far beyond his instrument.
He told Guitar Player, “I can’t imagine where guitar players would be without Eddie. He just took a fuckin’ hard left, man, and we’re going to outer space. There were great guitar players before him: Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, David Gilmour, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix.
“I mean, Hendrix kind of did the same thing – he got that whammy bar in there and changed everything. But Eddie took the whammy bar and the hammer and the frickin’ tapping.”
Van Halen fans are also patiently awaiting more news on a forthcoming album from Alex Van Halen, who is reworking some old Van Halen demos in order to release them. Details are still scarce, but Steve Lukather is assisting with project.
Despite initial rumours, Lukather has strongly denied any guitar playing on the project, and has stated that he is acting as a co-producer instead. Every riff on the record was recorded by Eddie, and Lukather has called them “jaw-dropping”.
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Billy Duffy reveals his favourite era of the Cult: “The guitar sounds are probably the best I ever got”
Billy Duffy believes some of his best guitar work within The Cult’s discography ended up being under-appreciated due to tensions among the band and creative differences.
Looking back on the early 1990s, when The Cult released their fifth studio album Ceremony, Duffy recalls achieving some of his favourite guitar sounds, but felt they were unable to find the right producer to deliver the album as intended. Different sonic desires with bandmate Ian Astbury also created an unsettled creative environment, leading to a “necessary” hiatus in 1995.
Speaking to Guitarist, Duffy reflects on the era of Ceremony: “Ian wanted to go in a different direction. I was a bit more conservative and was like, ‘We’ve just had a multi- platinum record. Why would we depart from that?’ But he wanted to change it up and do something looser and more shambolic, like Keith Richards’ band the X-Pensive Winos,” he says.
“I remember being resistant, so we kind of compromised. Bob Rock was gonna do Ceremony, but he said, ‘Well, I’ve got Metallica. That’s only gonna take a couple of months…’ 13 months later he finished the Metallica record and in the meantime we had to find another producer.
“13 months later he finished the Metallica record and in the meantime we had to find another producer. It was just never right. It was okay, but it didn’t really capture what we wanted to do. It’s sad because the guitar sounds [of that era] are probably the best I ever got,” he adds.
Later asked how he hopes to be remembered as a guitarist, Duffy goes on to name three other albums from The Cult that also show some of his best work.
“I think what I did on Electric, Love and Sonic Temple was interesting. Me taking a Gretsch and putting two overdrives and a wah there, it took Gretsches into another area. I just thought it was kind of cool to try to make this acidy, psychedelic kind of post-punk music – but with a big, solid, chunky rock sound in its foundation.”
He later concludes, “I just think I’d like to be remembered as a guy who kept the values of the 70s – you know, the good stuff – alive. I helped keep the spirit of Free, Bad Company, Mott The Hoople, Zeppelin, Iggy Pop, Sex Pistols, Sabbath and all that stuff alive. I just wanted to keep the essence of proper rock alive.”
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Orange Outlowd ES3 review: is Ed Sheeran’s signature amp the best compact acoustic combo out there?
$199/£149, orangeamps.com
Whatever you might think of Ed Sheeran’s music – and the comments on our Instagram posts would imply that certain sections of the Guitar.com community are not exactly overwhelming in their affection for the ginger prince – you can’t deny that he’s a bona fide guitar guy.
- READ MORE: Martin 000-10E Retro review: “it authentically distils everything that’s great about 000 guitars”
This is an artist who has taken the ‘singer with an acoustic and a loop pedal’ concept and turned that into sitting just behind Beyoncé in the all-time album sales chart, while also being the third biggest-grossing touring act of the 21st century.
He’s also a guy who loves guitars so much he started his own guitar brand, Sheeran by Lowden, in 2019. The sense that Sheeran really cares about this stuff has only been enhanced by him adding his own looper brand to the stable a few years later, not to mention a PRS signature baritone.
Ed Sheeran with the Orange Outlowd ES3 amplifiers. Image: Mitch Lowe
The missing piece of the puzzle then was an amp. For someone who cut his teeth busking, the ability to amplify what he was doing with that loop pedal must have been so important, and so it’s a surprise it’s taken this long to arrive… but the real surprise is that he’s done it with Orange.
Because while literally nobody with ears can deny that Orange make superlative guitar amps for almost any style and budget, one thing the British brand hasn’t got any pedigree for – unlike the likes of Marshall, Fender, Laney etc – is making amps for acoustic guitars.
All of which makes the Outlowd – a series of three amps with the same fundamental DNA but different use cases – one of the most interesting and important new amp launches of the year. The less said about the name, the better, though.
Orange Outlowd ES3 – what is it?
The ES3 is the smallest Outlowd in the range, and it has a narrower remit than the bigger brothers in the family. Whereas the 100 and 60-watt versions are two-channel guitar and vocal amplifiers with a variety of inputs and outputs to make it at home as both stage monitor and performing tool, the ES3 keeps things simple. This is a three-watt hybrid acoustic amplifier and Bluetooth speaker, and that’s it.
Simplicity is the order of the day when it comes to this amp, and let’s face it, Orange in general – if you’ve ever found yourself struggling to get to grips with the functionality of one of the brand’s creations, that’s probably a you issue.
In keeping with that, then, the ES3 keeps things incredibly straightforward on the control side of things with knobs for just volume, tone and spring reverb, plus a button to activate Bluetooth pairing. That’s it!
Image: Mitch Lowe
Orange Outlowd ES3 – build quality and usability
If there’s one thing that Orange amps tend to have in common, beyond the colourful tolex of course, it’s that they are built in a manner that leads you to believe that should armageddon make its long overdue appearance, you could shelter from a nuclear firestorm behind one and come away with nothing more worrisome than a light sun tan.
The ES3 absolutely fits into that lineage, with its angled wooden cabinet not just expertly covered, but feeling incredibly rugged and well-built. It’s the sort of unfussily excellent build quality that leads you to wonder just how tall a building you could launch this thing off and still get a sound out of it.
You probably shouldn’t do that, however, because as with so many Orange amps, that reassuringly robust build comes at a cost. Despite being smaller than a six-pack, this thing tips the scales at a hefty 1.4kg (3.1lbs) – thank goodness for that soft and generous leather carry handle, eh?
As mentioned, the amp is intentionally stripped back and simple; you have just one input for your guitar, mini-rotary controls for volume, tone and the level of onboard reverb, and then a shiny silver button that you use to pair it to your phone for audio purposes.
Now, remember a few paragraphs ago when I said that anyone who struggled to get to grips with an Orange amp’s functionality was probably the one with the problem? Well, I’m going to tell on myself here and say that for a good 30 seconds after sliding the ES3 out of its lovely plush box, I pawed at the silver Bluetooth pairing button wondering why the amp wasn’t turning on and wondering if it was out of battery.
Image: Press
If you look closely, you’ll see that the power is actually activated by a notched switch on the volume pot – this is probably crushingly obvious to you, but for the sake of fellow morons like myself, I thought this was worth mentioning.
Orange’s ‘pics only’ approach to control labelling is in full effect here, and while anyone with eyes can see that it looks way cooler than boring old text, maybe it does have a drawback. There is perhaps an argument that given the ES3’s target audience of relative newcomers to the guitar amp world, it’s not exactly intuitive to have things like ‘reverb’ and ‘tone’ represented with what are effectively cool squiggles. Obviously, it’s very easy to work out what these things do in short order, but it does add a bit of friction for new users.
Otherwise, it really does feel every bit a very professional bit of kit, despite its size and price. The chunky rubber feet on the bottom make it stable and secure, the metal and fabric grille cloth means you can chuck it in a bag or case without worrying about the speaker being damaged – it’s rock solid.
Image: Press
Orange Outlowd ES3 – sounds
The elephant in the room with a tiny acoustic amp like this is well… does this really need to exist? An acoustic guitar, by its very nature, is pretty good at amplifying itself, after all… most acoustic players I know have amps primarily for live use where they also double as vocal amplification.
The ES3’s size and functionality obviously make it not best suited to all but the smallest performance settings, so what does it actually offer? Well, for starters we have to consider the cast of characters involved here.
Ed Sheeran is, of course, a musician for whom a dry acoustic guitar signal is very rarely the vehicle for his artistry, and you don’t have to go to many open-mics, cafe shows and other scenarios to see that effects are becoming increasingly common aspects of acoustic guitar musicianship.
With that in mind, having a small and portable amp that you can use to either practice at home with your full rig, or to add some effected sound for busking or smaller gigs has real utility.
Then there’s the fact that Orange amp design guru Adrian Emsley is a bona fide mutton-chopped amp design genius – one of the very few left in a world that seems to be moving away from the magic of real amps.
While most modern digital practice amps will have an acoustic mode that effectively offers a flat response akin to a portable PA, plugging a Martin 000 into the ES3 is a reminder of how different the experience is when you have someone who knows what they’re doing tuning every aspect of the amp to enhance and accentuate the sound of an acoustic guitar.
Image: Press
The four-inch speaker sounds full, rich and dynamic, accentuating the overall sound of the acoustic in the room rather than outright replacing it. With the tone control in the middle of its travel, you get a tone that has surprisingly punchy and enjoyable mids, while fingerstyle excursions demonstrate that even the high notes sound less thin and ‘string-y’ than you often get putting an acoustic through a practice amp.
There’s not a huge amount of bass response to be had here – after all, this lacks the passive reactors we see on other FRFR cabs – but it does a fine job and doesn’t sound too muddy.
The tone control itself is quite powerful, and sweeping it too far either way quickly makes the sound unappealing, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I found the power of this control useful for taming some of the boominess of a Guild dreadnought I also tried, or adding some enhanced midrange to a Gretsch parlor I converted to a rubber bridge guitar.
The real star of the show is the hall-like reverb, which adds a wonderfully produced sheen to basic strumming that really makes you appreciate the value of something like this even if you aren’t using loads of effects. If you are, however, it handles the likes of delay, chorus and even some granular stuff with aplomb – things never get too mushy.
As a Bluetooth speaker it sounds good, though the lack of independent guitar volume control is a little annoying here. You can control the music volume from your device, but turning up the master volume will also make the music louder, so if you’re playing to a backing track, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got your guitar volume sorted before you start getting your levels right, as any tweak to one will mean a tweak to the other.
In terms of music volume, it has plenty of projection and the ability to fill a decent-sized living room – it’s a little boxy and not the most bass-heavy sound ever, and it starts to get a little fuzzy at the upper reaches of the volume control, however, so be warned.
Image: Press
Orange Outlowd ES3 – should I buy one?
If you’re an exclusively home-based acoustic player, it might be hard to justify dropping nearly $200 on this – though I was pretty startled by how much more I enjoyed the sound of my acoustic at home plugged in with a bit of reverb. It really elevated the whole thing.
If you’re an acoustic player who does use loopers and effects in their sound, or play smaller gigs and busking shows where you just need something to give your guitar a bit of push and polish, this is an impressively designed and great-sounding option.
Orange Outlowd ES3 – alternatives
Blackstar’s Fly 3 Acoustic ($99.99/£89.99) is another small acoustic amp that prioritises ease of use and sounds great – especially when you pair it with its stereo cab. The Positive Grid Spark Mini ($199/£171) is a solid all-rounder that offers both electric and acoustic sounds, while Fender’s Acoustasonic 15 ($169/£129) is a solid small option, but it’s AC-power only.
The post Orange Outlowd ES3 review: is Ed Sheeran’s signature amp the best compact acoustic combo out there? appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
The Truth About Vintage Amps, Ep. 168
It’s the 167th episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps, the call-in show where amp tech Skip Simmons fields all of your tube amp and life questions.
Our sponsors: Grez Guitars; Emerald City Guitars; and Amplified Parts / Mod Electronics.
Some of the topics discussed this week:
:00 Special Guest: Sebastian Gruenberg of Vintage Inspired Pickups (link); molecular biology; winding pickups, making potentiometers; cryo-tuning magnets; Emerald City Guitars; Gibsonette input jack ground issues; and more!
30:57 What’s on Skip’s bench: Magnatones; a Sears 40XL Danelectro; Traynors
34:07 Jonathan Richman, charming singer-songwriter and stone mason
36:17 An early National Dobro amp for sale; where’s Larry Chung?
38:51 The Fretboard Summit, August 20-22 in Chicago (register here); this year @vintagetubeamplifiers is bringing out a bunch of old & rare amps along with various other contributors/listeners!
39:50 A kitchen cleaning tip, Dutch ovens, Skip’s typewriter repair
44:07 Optocoupler repair in a classic Fender
45:57 The BBC’s Shipping Forecast (link)
48:54 Rattlesnake Milk’s ‘Midnight Train’, quick Asian rice, and TAVA buzzwords
50:54 Output tubes for Skip’s Mega Champ amp build (Champ with Soursound transformers)
54:38 A demonic Ampeg B-18N
59:04 A new caster for my 1966 Fender Pro Reverb, ‘The Magnificent Charlie Parker’ compilation; homemade gumbo; Mike Watt
1:06:12 What should I do with this Masco A-10 project? Using a Hammond 166M12 as a Variac; do old black metal pre-amp tubes like the 6SJ7 have glass inside?
1:12:02 A tie story; how can I slow down the tremolo on my modded Silvertone 1484?
1:17:46 Gourmet dog treats
Want amp tech Skip Simmons’ advice on your DIY guitar amp projects? Want to share your top secret family recipe? Need relationship advice? Join us by sending your voice memo or written questions to podcast@fretboardjournal.com! Include a photo, too.
Want to support the show? Join our Patreon page to get to the front of the advice line, see exclusive pics, the occasional video and more.
Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal.
Above: @patconnorbass‘ possibly haunted Ampeg bass rig, as discussed on this week’s episode.
The post The Truth About Vintage Amps, Ep. 168 first appeared on Fretboard Journal.
Lizzie No’s Songs of Solidarity | Acoustic Guitar Sessions
Richie Faulkner’s dad made him listen to music in the car at full blast to prepare for how loud a gig would be
We all remember our first rock concert. Realistically, nothing was ever going to prepare us for how loud it was going to be. For many of us, that unadulterated, visceral noise was the reason we fell in love with the genre in the first place.
If you went to your first gig as a child, there’s a good chance you went with your parents. And while some parents might choose to furnish their children with earplugs to keep their hearing safe, in the case of Richie Faulkner, his father chose a different tack to get him ready for his first show…
Specifically, Faulkner’s first-ever rock show was a date on Bryan Adams’ Into the fire tour in the late ‘80s.
“It was my first live gig in an arena, and my dad used to take me out in the car preparing me for how loud it was going to be. We’d crank Reckless really loud and drive around listening to songs like Run to You at full volume.”
He continues: “Everyone at school was getting into guitar music, but instead of buying a Guns N’ Roses record like everyone else was, I bought Live After Death by Iron Maiden.
“I remember trying to learn Hallowed Be Thy Name with the light and shade and the different parts. The guitars panned left and right, so you had Adrian Smith on one side and Dave Murray on the other. I’d learn Murray’s bits and then turn him off and play the gig, essentially. After school my friends would go out, and I’d just play guitar night after night with Iron Maiden.”
The post Richie Faulkner’s dad made him listen to music in the car at full blast to prepare for how loud a gig would be appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
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