Thoughts?

[jonfinn]

Hi Folks!

I've been secretive and closed mouthed about this for a while now.   I've been working on a pilot for a TV show called "The Guitar Guys".  Think "This Old House" with guitars.   

We'll do guitar maintenence tips, gear reviews, artist interviews, factory tours.  Our target audience is people who like guitar.   Maybe they play, maybe they don't.

The Guitar Guys TV show

 

We've got informal committments from a variety of artists for interviews:

-Johnny A.

-Steve Morse

-John Petrucci

-Vinnie Moore

-Andy Timmons

-Barry Goodreau 

-Carl Verheyen 

and a long list of others.   

My question to you is simple:  What are your thoughts?  What would you like to see in a show like this?

[BydoEmpire]

That's really cool, I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for it. I'd certainly watch it.

1) Personally, I would kind of hope for as much info on the players as the guitars.  Keeping it focused on the guitars is a nice angle, but the players themselves are going to be really interesting, too.  Doesn't have to be a 10 minute interview, but i'd like to hear more of their thoughts on guitars, what some of the guitar mean to them, how they used them, stories of how they got certain ones, etc.  It might be nice to have a brief bio of the guest for the show, how they got into playing, what they've done.  Just as a setup and context around the instruments

2) I'm wondering how much detail you're going to go into on each guitar?  It's hard to tell from the promo video, but I'd rather have more detail on fewer guitars than talking about 30 guitars in a show but not really seeing or hearing any of them.

3) Just my 2c, but the little transition lick was getting a bit old even by the end of the short promo.  Not a big deal - overall I thought the production was good.

Good luck w/ the project, Jon, it'll be a lot of fun to watch.

[Pine Apple Slim]

Sure I'd watch! Keep us posted when & where it airs.

 

[Yer Blues]

I will try to click the link this weekend at home.  Of course I would watch, but I think anyone/everyone in the lesson loft would.  Oscar Jordan (Jimmy James on the forum) is doing a radio show that is kind of similar called "Oscar's Guitar Shop". 

 

That is a great list.  I may have mentioned this, but a few months ago I was watching some Carl Verheyen on youtube and someone said something like "Carl, please come to Berklee (in Boston)!"  Carl actually responded and it was something like "sure, my good buddy Jon Finn is an instructor there".

[BydoEmpire]

I just found out about Oscar's Guitar Shop a months ago or so, and it's been a lot of fun to listen.

 

[1001gear]

On occasion. I'd watch your show too.

[phil-the-thrill]

Great idea.

I don't watch TV much. Usually PBS.

But I would make a point of checking it out.

(as usual, I couldn't view the video because of my stupid "smart" phone. Maybe I can check it out tomorrow when I visit my Son)

[jeremy_green]

Personally, I am much more interested in seeing them playing stuff and talking about that than just raw gear itself. ... But I would watch either because ... Well ... I am a guitar guy too : )

Look forward to seeing more!

[3shiftgtr]

 

First off, good luck Jon. It's gonna be a great show.

 

 

 

Second f you you a-hole. A partner and I worked our asses off and pitched 'a guitar show' like this several times to the brass at several different (major) entities in the 90's and got slapped down hard each time.  So now Mr. Berklee comes in and we have a show. GREAT! Pack sand Mr. Guitar-on-the-t.v boy.

 

 

 

Just kidding of course....congrats. I sincerely wish you all the success in the world!

 

 

 

 What I got when I got shot down, even though I had numbers to refute it, their main objection was that it was too narrow and that the ad base was saturated and overspent.  "Lifestyle" wasn't quite the buzzword then as it is now, but that's how I pitched it. So my thoughts are a bit different from what other folks are as I have a background in broadcast t.v.

 

 

 

So what do I want in a show? I guess it is what I wanted then.....

 

 

 

I didn't want it to just be a promo vehicle for artists and their latest projects with some cool playing and gear whoring. I knew we had to have that stuff, but we wanted a lifestyle show with some 'music process' drama touched in. I wanted to work with the artists to find a way to create some 'art moments'....moments where there was a problem, maybe with a song, a part, or the business end of a tour, and it gets taken care of during the process of the show. Or maybe come in the studio and write a song for us start to finish. Or take a the viewer thru the real nitty gritty of getting ready to tour (rehearsals, negotiations, gear choices, schedule changes etc)  Had some ideas for tying in with the make-a-wish foundation that I thought were ringers too. Had some theme shows like doing a Hendrix show, Greatest Solos show, etc for the end of the season and made sure to integrate the EFP into the pre production of the other shows. Of course this stuff costs production money.

 

 

 

I also wanted to represent all kinds of guitar music equally. And I do remember getting a lot of pushback on that from everyone and everywhere. 

 

 

 

Anyway, those were my thoughts as I reminisce just a bit. Good Luck!

 

 

 

I might still have the presentation somewhere in storage. The video was on 3/4 VHS and I don't even have a VHS player anymore much less a 3/4.

[FredZepplen]

I would watch, I would like to see a segment on "How to achieve a kind of tone" . I would like to hear different strings on the same acoustic guitar.