Punk Reviews

In my time, when Punk Rock music was just coming to an end and “New Wave” music was emerging a “part-time” Punk Rocker was called a “Sunday Punk.” Anyone, for that matter who was a “pretend” something was a “Sunday” something. I suppose that term was from my folks era, so that would have been, what 50’s? 60’s? The moral of the story was if you are going to be or live the life of something then you be or live the life. You don’t “dress up” once a week and fake being that thing for a day. You could say “be professional” about whatever it is you are being.

As a musician myself and the designer and creator of Gaskell Guitars (http://www.gaskellguitars.com), a company in Sydney Australia which makes left handed guitars only, not only have I witnessed the continuing evolution and progress of guitar brands such as the mighty Gibson, Fender, Gretsch, Jackson, Rickenbacker, Ibanez, etc over many years now, but I have also experienced the changing views of new generations of people and guitarists about different types of guitars

As a left handed guitarist myself, I have also experienced first hand the feelings of frustration and anger about the choices of left handed guitars being so poor. And somehow lefty guitarists are forced to feel like “second rate citizens” because of it. And it is damned WRONG! Any lefty guitarist who, prior to discovering Gaskell Guitars, will have experienced these same frustrations. All lefty guitarists who have not given up, feel this same thing. We are UNITED in this respect. Incidentally, of late, several major guitar brands have stopped making left handed guitars altogether – how’s that for a slap in the face!

So the point of this story, how do you live the life, if you are 1) a left handed guitarist, and 2) playing a genre of music where a certain type of guitar is representative of the genre yet not available left handed?

Simple answer: with great trouble (and great expense if you go the “custom guitar” route.)

Now here is an additional question: what if you are a … girl?

A “Rock Chick” left handed guitarist, for example.

“Rock Chick” guitarists are like any other guitarist. There are plenty of Rock chicks living the life playing in bands, all around the world. Some are left handed guitarists.

Ok, so you are a Rock chick and you want to play some Rock, Metal, or Grunge, or whatever. Are you going to be playing a sunburst, gay-looking Fender Telecaster? Hope not! (This doesn’t matter whether you are a righty or lefty guitarist, by the way.)

So if that’s your music and you are giving it your all, then how about a Dean or a Jackson, or an Ibanez Super-strat guitar? (they all make them) Maybe, but Strats are pretty boring, really. Not unique to the genre. Plenty of Country and Western players play Strats. Doesn’t quite complete the look.

How about a Les Paul? Well, yes. A Les Paul is a Rock guitar. But even then a Les Paul is a little bit of a compromise for someone who is serious about living the life and being representative of that in their music and in their musical instrument, particularly Metal or any of the darker offshoots of Metal.

Do you want a REAL ROCK GUITAR? A real Rock guitar is a Randy Rhoads V, or perhaps a regular Flying V, or something by BC Rich or Halo, both famous for “extreme” guitars popular with Heavy Metal guitarists.

Now, if you are a Rock Chick and you are in a Metal band and you want a Metal guitar, and you are also a left handed guitarist, what are you going to do?

You are going to seek GASKELL GUITARS.

Gaskell Guitars makes left handed guitars only. We all know that now.

But how about left handed guitars for girls? Yes, yes yes.

We don’t discriminate between male and female at Gaskell Guitars.

We make a Randy Rhoads V guitar in SHOCKING PINK. (http://www.gaskellguitars.com/models/35-guitars/47-koru.html

This is the perfect guitar for any Rock Chick. There is no other guitar more suited. There is nothing “gay” about a pink coloured Heavy Metal guitar. A pink Heavy Metal guitar in the hands of a girl is COOL. On the other hand, there is everything “gay” about a pink Strat, or Tele or Les Paul, etc. Yuck!

Rock Chicks: you will not get left handed guitars easily in shocking pink by other brands. Other brands don’t care about left handed guitarists! Gaskell Guitars has other “extreme” guitars on offer in shocking pink if you don’t fancy the Randy Rhoads style one. (http://www.gaskellguitars.com/models) A shocking pink extreme guitar looks awesome on a Rock chick (It needs to be a proper Rock/Metal guitar that everyone easily associates with that style of music.)

Left handed Rock Chicks, you can really look the part. No one can accuse you of being a “Sunday Rock Chick” when you come out with a Gaskell guitar. Your audience will go mad! If you are a Rock chick, playing left handed guitar in a band, then you should get and play Gaskell guitars!