In the story of Peter Pan, it is stated that if someone says "I do not believe in fairies", somewhere there is a fairy that falls down dead.
I believe the same is true for guitar equipment at Bruce Welch's event at Lakeside. In the build up to the the gig, if anyone breathes the word "Shadowmania", a vital-to-the-show Vox amplifier or Meazzi echo expires. Both Phil Kelly and Colin Pryce-Jones have had problems that had to be sorted on the day by expert technicians who were called in at the last minute. Thankfully, I had a few days to get my own gear issues sorted.
First of all, with less than two weeks to go before Shadowmania, one of my guitars developed a serious fault that needed sorting. Less-than-ideal timing, not least because my usual guitar tech had just left the country on a well-earned holiday. All other techs I'd employed before had been at the recommendation of fellow guitarists, but none of them were local. That meant finding a stranger to trust with my prized No1 Strat. I must admit to feeling a certain amount of trepidation, but there was no other choice.
While my Strat was in "hospital", I had to rehearse with the Shadowers. Four tunes into the first run-through of our set (on 9th September), my Meazzi echo seemed to give up the ghost. Cue a mild case of hysteria. A few minutes later, I had proven to myself (by cleaning the heads and changing the tape) that the problem was certainly a faulty electrical component. I made a call to a trusted friend who can mend anything with an electrical current, Amanda Hambidge. Amanda agreed to drop everything and meet me that evening to collect the echo. After less than twenty-four hours of being without my "Baby" (my nickname for the Meazzi), I had the news I had been waiting for: it was back to full health and would be waiting for me at our rehearsal venue that Sunday, just three days after the problem had manifested itself.
Fast-forward five days, and we all arrived at Lakeside. I had finally been reunited with my Strat which, thankfully, had been well cared for and was playing better than it had in months. Amanda had brought her superb home-made Vox AC15 clone for me as a back-up. Those in attendance may have also seen, underneath my own echo, a second Meazzi (which Amanda had altered slightly so that it was closer to mine in circuit and therefore sound), which was present in case mine broke down or failed during the set. She was also on hand all day to help us shift our equipment on and off stage, which saved time and so eased stress levels.
I was conscious of not waffling too much on stage between tunes, but in so doing I neglected to thank Amanda for all her help, which was an unforgivable oversight. Amanda, the Shadowers are in your debt, and not for the first time. Thank you.
Lastly, on behalf of the band, I must thank everyone who has commented on the Shadowers' set at Lakeside. We've been inundated with compliments in person, via emails, via Facebook, and via internet forums. Thank you all.
Ciao for now...
J
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