The Guitar Hero series on Jemsite features interviews with guitarists and musicians who may not have star status YET, but their current situations have shaped them to be who they are--determined, fond of their craft, and heroes in their own right.  Perhaps you'll see in these upcoming entries the next Jimi Hendrix, Melissa Etheridge, or Duane Allman.  Or perhaps they'll become household names by doing what they do best--ripping a mean riff!

Red Kelly oozes personality and you can feel it through his words.  And you have many opportunities to do so as the New York-based runs four music-influenced blogs and sponsors two websites through his blog Soul Detective.  And if you can't feel it on the page, you can most certainly hear it.  The music buff has been trying some innovative new things with The Red Kelly Channel, a space on YouTube he created this past year. Talk about taking music to the next level! 

He's a soul man.

And where funk and soul records are concerned, Larry Grogan truly knows his stuff.  We're not talking records as in songs, we're talking records as in RECORDS. Vinyl records.

Besides that, Larry is a music writer who's written for magazines, e-zines, newspapers, and his latest creation, the Funky16Corners blog all about the coolest funk, jazz, and soul music from vinyl and MP3s.  He also knows the important influence of guitar to this genre and we're quite impressed. With a cool name and a cool vibe, it can't get any better then this!

He sure lays it on thick and we, at Jemsite, are loving it!

How did you form an interest in funk and soul vinyl? 

It followed my general interest in record collecting – which dates back to my early teens – and my developing a taste for, and interest in soul music. Though I always collected soul 45s casually, I didn’t start to seek out funk 45s in earnest until the late 90s. Prior to that I wasn’t really aware that it existed to that extent.

It's time to take your music medicine! 

Jeff Giles, creator of the hip pop culture news e-zine Popdose, has kindly offered to put aside his plans for world domination in order to talk to us about the music aspect of his well-recognized site.  Jeff certainly has the chops for it.  A music critic for various publications since 1987, he also ran a record label, released his own music, and promoted concerts.  Better yet, his first blog prior to Popdose was one of the first MP3 music blogs of its kind back in 2004.  

And for someone who doesn't play guitar himself, he knows an awful lot about it! We talked to Jeff about his present plans, the site, and the currents state of guitar and music.

The Guitar Hero series on Jemsite features interviews with guitarists and musicians who may not have star status YET, but their current situations have shaped them to be who they are--determined, fond of their craft, and heroes in their own right.  Perhaps you'll see in these upcoming entries the next Jimi Hendrix, Melissa Etheridge, or Duane Allman.  Or perhaps they'll become household names by doing what they do best--ripping a mean riff!

There's a reason why Philadelphia Weekly calls Steve Wynn "One of rock's true heroes of the underground." Playing guitar, writing song, and performing for 25 years, Steve Wynn has a style of music that has been compared to Neil Yong and John Lennon.  He has a contemporary flare with a classic rock sensibility.  He was said to be part of the pioneers who brought indie rock to the trendy music scene of the 1980s. 

Steve began taking lessons in guitar when he was young and says guitar is the main thing that brings his songs to life. 

I found a really great article the other day by DJ Mike Benhaim of MetroNews.ca in Edmonton, CA, who wrote about the "unsung guitar heroes" of our day.  With so much devotion going to music entertainment video games such as Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and Video Karaoke, these days we tend to forget the people who are doing the real thing!

He calls them: The "Real" Guitar Heroes! (Hey, sound familiar? Sort of like a particular Jemsite series, perhaps?) 

"But most of you know someone who knows someone that the rest of the world will never hear," he wrote, "On a recent trip to Las Vegas, I met a gentleman who, throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s played guitar at countless hotel lounges, conference centres and conference halls with big name stars of yesteryear like BB King and T-Bone Walker. I dedicate this post to the real "unsung" guitar soldier who has been on the front lines for years, Mr. Jesse "Huck" Daniels."

He went on to list some of the more well-known, yet overlooked guitar heroes of our day.  People like Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, Joe Satriani, and an eccentric entertainer listed at #1 that was the best we all could have hoped for. Meaning that when I saw that he was #1, it made perfect sense according to the purpose of the article, but I never would have thought of him as a "Guitar Hero" on his own.  He's known for other accolades. And that's what makes his reign at #1 that much more special.

The Ripple Effect, a blog that totes rock, metal, new age, jazz, folk and other kinds music and reviews great bands, were so moved by Steve McLeod's soulful tracks from his album Human Uniform, that they tracked him down in Australia while he was on tour to interview him! 

Intriguing questions followed.  Great, thought-provoking conversation ensued. They asked Steve about his musical epiphany moments in life (their own was Kiss's "Detroit Rock City" among other big-time hits), the songwriting process, what his intentions are to move his audience, the cohesiveness of his sound, his abilities to play all the instruments on his album, the business of music and more! I'm sad they didn't ask him more about his guitar playing skills! 

Here's a short snippet of the interview: 

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