Well, 2020 sucked, plain and simple. I count myself fortunate that I've not lost anyone to COVID or had it myself, and that I've managed to keep operating during the lockdowns, but it's still been pretty miserable. And I'm well aware that there are many, many people out there who've been far worse affected. However, for me personally, there was one resounding success story – my attempt to rejig my practice routine, so rather than studying exotic scales and arpeggios which I would never end up actually using, I used my ractice time to study and transcribe some of the great blues players out there and improve my feel. I finally got down to “paying my dues” picking out licks from the greats by ear and it has been enormously helpful and enormously enjoyable. I managed to do the entirety of Clapton's Bluesbreakers “Beano” album, B.B. King's “Live At The Regal”, and a fair old chunk of SRV's “Texas Flood” and a whole host of other stuff, by Hendrix, Mike Bloomfield, Albert and Freddie King etc.
So, I'm carrying on with the plan! Some folks are getting revisited, as you'll see, and some new non-blues names have been added to the list, for no other reason than I like them! Some of these players also have the advantage of being alive, and active on social media, so I'll be reaching out to try and interview them. Whether or not they get back to me.. well, we'll see!
Without further ado then, here's the plan for 2021:
January – Neil Zaza
February – Albert King Pt. II
March – Sophie Lloyd
April – Freddie King Pt. II
May – Pete Honore
June – B B King Pt. II
July – Jeff Beck
August – Eric Clapton Pt. II (Cream)
September – Jimmy Page
October – Hendrix Pt. II
November – Joe Bonamassa
December – Stevie Ray Vaughan Pt. II
As you can see, broadening the horizons, covering some big names and a few YouTube stars, so looking forward to seeing what I can learn from this year! What are your guitar ambitions for 2021? Whatever your level, there's always ways to improve, so good luck and stay safe out there!
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