Bigsby master

[donnellbw]

Are any of you as curious as I am that no one has attempted to pick up the Bigsby tremelo mantle left untimely early by the late Quicksilver guitarist, John Cippolina? I have never heard ( I saw him live many times) anyone play like that, especially using a thumb and finger picks for such 'stinging' notations and 'icy' chord dips ( i.e. Pride of Man lead).

On a good night this guy was on fire, and yet extremely down to earth (no "Rock Star" ego here). I happened to talk to him one night before they went on at a club in Berkeley and he told me something about how he used a ball peen hammer to "cup" out the top of a nickle to put under the Bigsby spring to keep it from wandering too much.

A very nice guy whose playing is recognizeable a mile away on anything records he made. But i have never heard John's influence on musicians in a world where everyone credits Clapton, Page, Beck, etc. Maybe John was too unique for the mainstream. I actually heard him play at the Avalon Ballroom through his famous amp stack with the Werlitzer horns on top: the treble notes actually 'trumpeted' out. What fun!

[paologregorio]

If I played blues, Cippolina would be my inspiration; Clapton puts me to sleep.
I am a fan Cippolina's Bigsby style. I like to similarly abuse both my Bigbsby and Accent VBs.

[kiramdear]

I met John after seeing him play one night at the old Rose and Thistle club in SF. He was one of the most distinctive and easily identifiable players ever, and a heck of a nice guy to boot. Sadly, he passed away not too many years after that.

[donnellbw]

Thanks for chiming in, Paolo and Kira. John's work on such tunes as COBRA, THE FOOL, and EDWARD THE MAD SHIRT GRINDER, even today, run circles around the the "shred" wanna bees I hear every time I happen to visit Guitar Center on a Saturday morning. I am either getting old and nostalgic, or there really did used to be some arresting originality from home grown SF and Marin based bands when I was in college.

And, they seemed to be be approachable people who you didn't need a "badge' to get to talk to. Anyone else a fan of John's work and incorporsating a bit of his style in your own?

Happy Summer,

Donnell