09 February 2009

Hair on fire?

Accuse me of being polemic, but i just read this headline and article on the Reuters RSS feed...

SEC chief says agency to act like "hair is on fire"

I ask you: what is that supposed to mean?! Is the SEC is now going to run around aimlessly, shrieking in a blind panic?! “Somebody put it out! SOMEBODY PUT IT OUT!”

08 February 2009

eBay.it Eko

I have a...“thing” for eBay. Guitars, specifically. I like to watch 'em come and go on eBay. I don't actually buy them (well, just once i did). Does that make me an eBay voyeur?

Never buy a guitar you can't touch first.

I also have a thing for “guitar boom” guitars: guitars produced during the 1960s, when American guitar makers couldn't keep up with demand created by the Beatles after the first Ed Sullivan appearance. I've always had (much to Joey's chagrin) a thing for cheesy guitars. I personally was too young to experience that first wave of British Invasion (i grew up during Kiss', Alice Cooper's and Donny Osmond's respective musical reigns and the beginning of punk) so i'm not sure where this fetish came from. Everyone was pretty much playing (not unlike today) Stratocasters and sunburst Les Pauls. Maybe it's just the aesthetic? Or as i discovered later on, that unmistakable single-coil sound? Probably the aesthetic.

During my daily eBay hunts for old...errm, vintage Ekos, Hagströms and Kliras, i come across this...






Chitarra EKO Ancient Vintage Guitar |No Hofner - Framus

...and i mark it to be “watched”. And i'm lookin’ at it...and lookin’ at it. And my fifth-and-a-half sense is itching. It doesn't look like any Eko i've ever seen, not like i'm some great expert. Look at these other photos...


The above photos link to the Auctiva-hosted large size photos, and may not be available in the near future.

I've never seen a logo nor pickups like that on an Eko. And if i'm not mistaken, Eko didn't offer a natural finish at that point in time (1960s). And isn't that a Hagström vibrato? Again, i'm no expert.

So let's go to the experts, www.fetishguitars.it! What a site! I always have to have a roll of paper towels with me when i visit...just kidding. Anyway, after a much-shorter-than-expected search of this vast site, i found this page. The page's title says it all.

So, there's one born every minute, so the saying goes. As the above graphic shows, it sold for €200,05. Maybe the new owner just liked it, actual pedigree be damned...?

Remember, kids: never buy a guitar you can't touch first!

07 February 2009

Lux Interior, R.I.P.

Most every day i peruse the BBC and Reuters RSS feeds (to assure my day doesn't start out too brightly) and amidst all the usual signs pointing to the end of the world (i jest), nowhere was there anything pointing to Lux Interior passing away last Wednesday, which i inadvertently discovered from Allmusic.com. After a search of the both sites, i found their articles...

Lux obituary from Reuters


Lux obituary from BBC

Call me exaggerated but how was this not “first page” material? Seriously! Or did i simply miss it?

My condolences to the surviving family. Thanks, Lux, for all the madness and laughs.