The neck was hand-shaped into the desired form, a job that was made more difficult by the age and quality of the wood. The neck was constructed from wood from a "hundred-year-old-ish" fireplace mantel that a friend of the family was about to throw away. They began to work on the guitar in August 1963, with the project being finished in October 1964. The inspiration struck when May realized he could not afford a Fender, Gibson or Höfner guitar. Unlike the primary instruments of most musicians, the Red Special was built by its player, May, along with his father. In celebration of the instrument's 50th anniversary, a book about its construction and history, Brian May’s Red Special: The Story of the Home-Made Guitar that Rocked Queen and the World, was written by Brian May with Simon Bradley. May has used the Red Special almost exclusively, including on Queen albums and in live performances, since the band's advent in the early 1970s. He wanted an instrument that would be alive and interact with him and the air around him. Ī guitar that would define May's signature style, it was intentionally designed to feed back after he saw Jeff Beck playing live and making different sounds just by moving the guitar in front of the amplifier. The name Fireplace is a reference to the fact that the wood used to make the neck came from a fireplace mantel. The name Red Special came from the reddish-brown colour the guitar attained after being stained and painted with numerous layers of Rustins Plastic Coating. The Red Special is sometimes referred to as the Fireplace or the Old Lady by May and by others. The Red Special is the electric guitar designed and built by Queen's guitarist Brian May and his father, Harold, when Brian was a teenager in the early 1960s. Oak, blockboard with mahogany marquetry veneerĬustom made aluminum with roller saddles. Banking on Cordero's earnest pen and the band's blend of country instrumentation, toe-tapping grooves, and earworm choruses, Flatland quickly became a regional sensation.Brian May on-stage with the Red Special at the O 2 Arena in London in 2017 Formed in 2014 while attending Texas Tech University, Cordero and company made their presence felt within the Hub City's songwriting circles and dancehall circuits. Since their humble beginnings out in the Panhandle town of Lubbock, Texas, Flatland Cavalry has embraced their surroundings and rural West Texas roots. Rather, it finds the rootsy Texans delivering their A-game due to countless tour runs zig-zagging across the country and becoming seasoned performers and musicians. While the roster of collaborative confidants and colleagues (Spencer Cullum, Jim Hoke, Billy Justineau, Hailey Whitters, and Kaitlin Butts) has continued to expand with Flatland's sound stride for stride, Countryland isn't a cut and paste effort with Nashville studio musicians. You eventually fall into this comfort zone. “That first day, everyone was a little fidgety and shy. “I think everyone kind of experienced this bit of nervousness going from Scott’s studio to Sound Emporium,” adds Dillon. Sonically, this album is definitely something bigger." "I think it was important to try and further expand with this album. There's comfort in working with Scott," says Albers. "With our last two projects, we knew that room and setup. Despite some hesitation and a mix of emotions, they instantly knew recording at Nashville’s Sound Emporium Studio A with rising producer Jake Gear was the right move. After years of working with Lubbock stalwart Scott Faris in the friendly confines of Amusement Park Studios, Flatland decided a change of scenery was necessary. When it was time to embark on recording a new album, resting on their laurels was simply out of the realm of possibilities.Īfter the release of 2019's critically-acclaimed Homeland Insecurity and their 2016 full-length debut Humble Folks, they’ve been on a healthy trajectory rising through the country ranks. The Texas sextet-bandleader and chief lyricist Cleto Cordero, guitarist Reid Dillon, bassist Jonathan Saenz, drummer Jason Albers, fiddle player Wesley Hall, and recent newcomer utility instrumentalist Adam Gallegos-continue to embrace their trademark sound while further pushing into the wild unknown. After years of hot trotting across their native Texas, the country outfit is primed for a breakout with the release of their third full-length album, the sonically sprawling and wistfully written Welcome to Countryland. Flatland Cavalry is breaking out into a gallop.
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