A break from hibernation, but playing Ventures

[abstamaria]

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We pulled our amateur band Walking Shadow out of hibernation to play at a university 50th anniversary homecoming party. We needed early 1960s dance music, so turned to the very early Ventures - Perfidia, Blue Moon, and so on. Boogie. the Twist, and all lhote forgotten dances.

The audience responded, and immediately the dance floor was full.. Young and old were dancing. It was a joy to play before them.

Best,

Andy

[abstamaria]

Instead of Shadows gear, we had a Precision Bass, Jazzmaster, Stratocaster, Fender Twin Amps. Sunburst instead of Fiesta Red. And on the screen, vintage Ventures albums.

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[RUSSET]

Hi Andy,
Great photos. Love your 'Ventures' line up, with all the correct guitars etc. Would love to hear that performance. My Jazzmaster looks the same as yours, except that it has Squier on the headstock. Still a great guitar, though.

Tony.

[abstamaria]

Thnaks, Tony. There is little difference in my view between the Squier and Fender Jazzmaster versions, except the decals and perhaps little finish details. They both sound great. Little application for Shadows, although someone suggested before that Bruch might have used his Jazzmaster for Raggy Tramline. The Jazzmaster was an expensive guitar then, so Bruce must have been in better financial condition then than Hank!

The Ventures used bewildering number of guitars (and lead players) through the years. Our peg was the very earliest set-up, which is what introduced me to the world of guitar music. They played their original "Walk Don't Run" on these instruments.

Andy

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[RUSSET]

Bruce's Jazzmaster appears on the cover off the Shads first EP release in UK, with 'Mustang' & 'Shotgun' etc. on it. It is also seen on an early bit of film footage in Black & White where they mime to Apache. It is seen a few times played live on those early '60s TV shows with Cliff, by Jack Good, in UK. I'm not sure whether Bruce bought it himself, but I suspect it may have been provided by Jennings the makers of Vox amps. I spoke to Jet a few years ago, & he said that Jennings provided their Fender instruments, & they were returned & replaced with the Red ones in due course. I also heard that the Jazzmaster subsequently ended up with the Lead guitarist of 'The Hunters', another UK guitar combo, & it does appear on one of their record sleeves.
Yes, I had the first Venture's EP over here, showing their Fender line-up. Same photo that you have reproduced here. I now also have the 'Story of the Ventures' book, by Del Halterman, which is an interesting read.

Tony.

[abstamaria]

Thanks, Tony.

What intrigues me is that early promotional Apache video, since it shows Hank playing his 1st Stratocaster and Jet a sunburst Precision Bass. I am assuming then that that was pre-Jennings, or at least before Jennings supplied the Shadows with Fender instruments. The PBass and Jazzmaster I assumed were acquired independently, as was the 1st Strat, I concluded, perhaps wrongly.

Quite interesting where that Jazzmaster went. Thanks for relaying it.

I have the Halterman book too. Yes, quite interesting. It says several of the Ventures hits, including possibly "Hawaii Five-O," were by session musicians!

Regards,

Andy

[abstamaria]

People now, especially the younger set, expect quite a lot from performers on stage. Four old guys playing old instrumental music, standing bolt upright, might not cut it in a mixed audience. The Ventures in their revival concerts did just that; Nokie was just propped up on a stool when I saw them last. It is a good thing the audience was sympathetic.

It is good that our bass guitarist moves a great deal; in fact, she says she can't play without moving to the beat. I try to keep up, but at least she takes up most of the slack.

Andy

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[RUSSET]

Hi Andy,
Well, when I asked Jet if he still had his old Fender instruments, he said that they were given (Loaned) to them, I presume by Jennings, even at that early time. I presume that when the matched F. Red set came, the Sunburst guitars were taken back, & maybe sold on. I believe the Shads were, at the time of Apache, using the original AC15 amps that Jennings had just produced. So, they already had that relationship with the Vox people.
There are videos on Youtube of the Jack Good shows, '6.5 Special' & 'Oh Boy' showing the Shads backing Cliff, with those three original Fenders & the AC15s visible in the performances. Bruce & Jet definitely are using those Sunburst instruments, & Hank has the original 'Maple Neck' Strat that Cliff bought for him.

Tony.

[RUSSET]

By the way, Andy, I have now put 'Mustang' bridges on my Jazzmaster & Jaguar now. They are much more reliable & practical than the Jazz & Jag bridge units that they come with. I also put 10 gauge strings on them too, instead of the 9s that they come with. It helps with stability. I guess you may well have even higher gauge strings on yours. I guess we are 'Surf' guitarists now.

Tony.

[abstamaria]

Thanks, Tony. What you wrote is logical and probably what transpired. The Jazzmaster was an expensive guitar then.

Best,

Andy