http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26532514-952,00.html

Dumbest criminals caught out

THEY may have broken the law but these offenders could never be called criminal masterminds.

June 11

A police officer noticed a vehicle following him while he drove around Clermont, 280km southwest of Mackay, about 11.45pm. The car followed the police vehicle into the police station's yard and the driver got out to discuss a relationship problem. The man appeared drunk and when tested blew a blood-alcohol reading of 0.26. The 35-year-old man was charged with drink-driving, fined $1800 and disqualified from driving for 16 months.

June 19

A teenager was seen leaving the Harvey Norman store at Warwick, 80km south of Toowoomba, with two video games he had not paid for. Police went to the store to speak with the informant and get a description of the suspect. Instead, they were handed a very useful document. A staffer recalled the thief had visited the store earlier to seek employment and had given them his curriculum vitae. Police went to the address listed on the CV and charged the teenager with shoplifting.

August 18

A woman went to Cecil Plains police on the Darling Downs to report her mobile phone had been stolen the night before. She had left it on her dining room table when a 34-year-old man known to her visited. When he left, she realised her phone was missing. When police visited the man's address, he denied knowing anything about the missing phone. Police then rang the number and heard the woman's phone ringing in the man's bedroom. He gave the phone to police and was given a notice to appear in the Dalby Magistrates Court .

November 5

Two men who allegedly robbed a hotel at Gladstone, 100km southeast of Rockhampton, at knife point did so without the benefit of a getaway car. They were forced to hitchhike away from the scene and were about 30km from Rockhampton when they used a $50 note as bait to flag down a silver Toyota sedan. The vehicle pulled over and the men got in only to find they had been picked up by two plainclothes detectives. One man and one juvenile were charged with robbery while armed and will appear for sentencing on April 1.

The topic today is guitar – specifically the kind that plug in. Why? Because it's my birthday and that's what I want to blab about.

So anyway, here’s an easy lick that enables even intermediate level guitar players to readily throw some ripping scale runs into their improv playing. It goes through 24 notes just to ascend a single octave, so it’s a great way to add a bar of shred while relocating to a new position on the fretboard for the next part of your solo.

It also sounds pretty damn slick.

But what’s really nice about this riff is that it only uses the first and second strings and the exact same frets are used on both strings. That makes it easy to remember and easy to execute.

We’re in everyone’s favorite shredding key, E minor, which is spelled E, F#, G, A, B, C, D. Begin on the E note located at the fifth fret of the B string and then ascend the scale in six-note stairs.

EminLick001

I’ve tabbed it out in the example above as a legato riff, which really makes this lick haul ass. To play it this way, pick only the first note in each triplet, then hammer-on the next two notes. The result is a fast, fluid run of notes that also looks cool as you play it.

This pattern also makes a terrific alternate picking lick. Start with a down stroke and use an “outside” picking style by alternating up-down-up-down all the way through.

Once you’re comfortable with all four positions, start adding some spice by mixing them up all over the place. The results can be pretty cool. I uploaded a full sheet of tablature examples with this post to help get you started. Yay! FREE TABS!

Simple-Em-Shred

Brett Anderson - The Hunted Brett Anderson Tour Dates 01/22/10 O2 Shepherds Bush Empire London 01/24/10 Tivoli Utrecht 01/25/10 Luxor Koln 01/26/10 Knust Hamburg 01/28/10 Nalen Stockholm 01/29/10 Parkteatret Oslo 02/01/10 Lido Berlin 02/02/10 Atomic Cafe Munich 02/03/10 Tunnel Milan 02/05/10 Divan Du Monde Paris 02/06/10 Trix Antwerp 02/08/10 Academy 3 Manchester 02/09/10 King Tuts Glasgow Discography [Mar 2007] Brett Anderson [Sep 2008] Wilderness [Nov 2009] Slow Attack Read More Suede http://weheartmus... I suppose, I was a pretty big Suede fan, and Brett Anderson being on the cover with a quote like ...

BRETT ANDERSON
brettanderson.co.uk ♥ myspace.com

Those who follows our W♥M Podcast, you'll know that between Sally, Kristen, and I, that we really, really love our Britpop music. When Suede burst on the scene, with all their hype*, I was a bit, what's the word? Resistant.

I eventually got over it when I heard Metal Mickey, a nice rock n roll glammy track with aggressive Butler guitars and Anderson's unique voice. The songwriting duo of Anderson/Butler did not last for long, and Butler's replacement, Richard Oakes, seems only a pale copy of the original. I think everyone knew that, and eventually, Bernard Butler and Brett Anderson got over their differences and re-united - but not as Suede... they were then The Tears. I think everyone was confused on how to interpret it at first (personally I think it's like tears/crying, not ripped/tear).

The Tears didn't live for very long, and by 2007, Brett Anderson releases his inevitable solo self-titled album. I never bought his solo stuff, because I don't think his music post-Suede's Head Music** were ever re-release or re-marketed to the US audience, so the few promo downloads that he's made available for free, I wasn't so impressed with. I remember thinking his debut solo album was trying to be orchestral (based on what I've heard).

Imagine my surprise when I got a chance to listen to a few tracks from his latest album, Slow Attack, officially via We7.com. It was all very operatic, almost minimalistic in its approach of piano and percussions. I did like that it brings out Anderson's voice loud and clear, but it generally made all of his music to be on the sadder end of the scale.

While I think one or two slow songs would be OK for a full length, all of the tracks I sampled were in that very similar tone. Kind of ballady and depressing.  I kind of miss the old Suede stuff. The only redeeming value is that at least, his voice isn't altered/over-produced as with Suede's Head Music and Coming Up.

I suppose, Anderson's much older now, wow you can see his cheek bones sticking out of his face... such a difference of imagery, from a time when mean-spirited fans were calling him "fatty" (we all kind of knew it was the getting off the drugs that was causing the weight thing... allegedly).

Anyway, if you were looking for the glory rock days, don't bother looking into Slow Attack. If you're a hardcore fan, chances are you probably own the limited edition anyway. The album will probably not be released in the US, as were all his previous releases. Import costs are generally cheaper these days, but expect to pay about $20 for an import album (Amazon is listing $19).

Brett Anderson is touring in 2010, so if you live in the UK, you can relive your youth days. If he were touring the US, I might leave my hibernation to see him. As you know, I've met the band before at a special "after-party", I'm sure he'll have no idea who I am.

* "Best Band in Britain" before releasing their album? Really, Melody Maker, really??)
** Suede's last album, A New Morning was never released in the US.

TRUE NATURE
truenatureband.com ♥ myspace.com

As you know, I also run a website on artist George Perez, and it's rare when my music and comic website mix. How does True Nature and George Perez cross paths, you ask? The cover artwork for True Nature's EP, Feels Like Centuries, stars actress/model Tonya Kay (with some artwork and directions from Glen Wexler).

CREATURE (Tonya Kay) (2008), art by George Pérez

Perez, through his associations with Fetish Con, have actually drawn Tonya Kay as a print, for Fetish Con's "Who's the Best Bondage Super Heroine?" contest. The original artwork was auctioned off for charity.

So, there's the connection. As for True Nature's EP, Feels Like Centuries, based on the cover artwork, it looks like they're also marketing themselves as somewhat of a spiritual rock band. I reckon if you like classic American progressive-type rock, you might enjoy this EP. Despite having only five tracks, the EP is "centuries" long (so long that it felt like a chore to get through). It's not that I dislike singer/songwriter, Lou Barlow's vocals, it's just really not the type of music I enjoy.

Their best track is the opening song, "Truth I Have To Steel (Simple Heart)", which started off strong and remain steadily so throughout the song. You can sample the entire track on their official website.

You can pick up Feels Like Centuries at CD Baby or Amazon. Although, not really my thing, I'm glad that there was at least a common connection for me.

 12/26/2009 19:48:38 ♥ vu () ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com

It might not be in the holiday spirit, but we want to know anyway: What's the best present you received this year?

See this post.

Our daughter became engaged to her Scottish partner today. He is a fine young man, and we are very happy for them both. It is three years today since they met in Inverness, Scotland. They came to Toowoomba last April, and plan to make their future home here. We had planned a BBQ for tomorrow night. I wonder if her partner and I will be dancing together like we were at the wedding we attended in Manchester last year. Better not, I suppose. I don't want to make our daughter jealous...