Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
The Better Shredder
()
Laist saw studio guitarist and sometime Supertramp member Carl Verheyen at Anaheim gear shop Tone Merchants this weekend. He was playing to a small audience of 80 devoted fanatics in Tone Merchants' miniscule concert room. We were front and center, close enough to see the sweat on his T-shirt and to take in every move he made on his vintage Strat.
We'd heard Verheyen's work on any number of famous national jingles, but it was reading his book, Studio City, that made us care enough to go to the concert. Studio City is made up of columns that Verheyen wrote over a year for a national guitar magazine. Verheyen talks about the rigors and surprises of life as a gigging guitarist for hire - everything from being asked to sightread lute and sitar music to that unfortunate wah pedal that always breaks in the middle of the crucial session.
It was an inspiring read for any artist working for survival as well as fame.
Verheyen was using four heads: a Fender Twin, a Vox AC30, and not one but two Marshall Plexis. He also had an enormous pedalboard. He even had the chutzpah to sing while shredding. But what impressed us more than his luscious gear was his technical agility. The two instrumentals (inspired, as he informed the crowd, by bagpipe music and by a donkey chasing his son respectively), especially where Carl faced off with nothing but a naked acoustic, proved his worth as a musician more than all the expensive vintage amplifiers in the world.
Support for LAist comes from
We've seen our share of shredders, but what sets Verheyen apart from the pack is his cheery rapport with the crowd. He has a smile on his face throughout the most difficult passages, and his enjoyment of what he does makes him really fun to watch. If you love great guitar players, check out Verheyen's next gig at Boulevard Music in Culver City on the 12th.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist