GJ IN THE SOUNDSHACK EP #6 DIGGIN A HOLE

[@peterpage1721]

I had the good luck to play with GJ before he was famous and realized I was enjoying a lucky treat as he was passing through on his way up. He had agreed to replace our guitar player at Lee's Palace Sunday afternoon Blues Jam. He came early. His equipment was in perfect shape. He drank water. He had obviously done his homework over the years because he knew how to play every Blues song he was asked to. He did not throw any curve balls at anyone. He treated others with respect. A serious person who had so much more discipline and focus than most of the local musicians. You get out of life what you put into it.

[@chrismainville8366]

That voice and guitar tone is just Godly Like ;)

[@silveraven1]

always love when musicians take time and share the magic behind their music with their fans.Thanks Gordie!

[@BigSugarBand]

Thanks for watching!

[@HeviNova]

Wow peak Canada! Yeah a Vancouver t-shirt. Song was performed on Lifeson's Xanadu double neck. Andy and Dan co-wrote it? Wow. Dan on MM had that crazy game show was absolutely hilarious. Andy is Playing with Alex in EoN. All we need now is a two four of Molson and a box of Nanaimo bars. Thanks for the vid.

[@mrob1111]

"Why you wanna work so hard?" *proceeds to play two guitars* :D I love this breakdown. Thanks GJ

[@chrissimmonds5459]

One of the best tones ive ever heard

[@BigSugarBand]

Thank you kindly...

[@kevinbate4255]

Gordie you're master craftsman. One of my favorite guitarists of all time.No one else makes keeping it simple sound so good!

[@BigSugarBand]

Thank you

[@rabby-u]

His dudeness has spoken! Let it be and let it Rock🤘

[@garyclarke9557]

Fellow F.J Brennan graduate here. I always liked hearing you guys and hanging with Chill and one of my teachers you know Greg Cox

[@Ontariostacker]

Amazing I really enjoyed that, thanks 👍🏻

[@FYMM69]

Awesome brother Thank you. Heard you guys play in Sarnia I believe at the Industry in like 1990’ and my Fkn ears are still ringing haha.

[@nikd950]

I know absolutely nothing about music, guitars, or song composition but watching these videos is fascinating.

[@arfboucher3855]

Love the vintage guitars too , well vintage equipment really , can't beat them if your into it

[@lavioletteseansl]

Heck yeah ... sending love from East Coast of Canada

[@gsadventures678]

Love you GJ! We met after a show in Ottawa. I still remember it well. You're a huge talent!

[@JordanLake25]

Gordie you and your music are awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@porterfieldgchord]

Wow. This is so well done. I could see even a non- musician enjoying this breakdown!

[@BigSugarBand]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@hellos3487]

I didn't have a clue about, half of the stuff you talked about, but I loved it anyways! Love your tunes and info sessions!🙂❤️

[@joewynands4978]

Thanks GJ, not very many musicians would do this for the fans.

[@thehouseofronin9209]

Such a cool dude! Thank you Mr Johnson for all the great things that you've brought to us!

[@Stahodad]

I play Big Sugar at work when I want to get things done..Crank it up...

[@marcandrelegermusic]

So awesome of you to take the time to do these Gordie, thanks!

[@FishHONtopBiz]

Man… I’ve been playing this song the wrong(in standard) way for years and I always knew I was missing something, that more meat in those chords sound. My gosh these chords are so beautifully dressed in this tune. Thanks Gord for clarifying that and I’ll always be a big fan of Big Sugar, you guys ROCK!! Cheers.

[@We_are_the_light]

Immaculate Tone Brother .

[@AlexVonCrank]

Thanks Gordie. Longtime fan. I think I’ve seen Big Sugar 15 times. Good to see you still got the goods! 💚👊🏼

[@RobMacCormick]

GJ! This was so helpful for a guitar butcher like me who has loved your Stuff since the get go. I’m pretty sure your sonic glory has cost me about 25% of my hearing. Good lord that is chunky at the end! Thanks for being you and giving back to us. Let’s get you back to Nova Scotia soon, stay safe.

[@matthieuboulianne678]

Never had a guitar. Never learned to play. Watched the entire video and now can pretend I could do it. Thanks for the inspiration Gord.

[@arturrozirozlach7591]

It's brilliant thing You do with this smooth switching necks. Dig it.

[@MoparArtbyautomolove]

GAWD! I wish I had another lifetime to learn the guitar!!

[@SimoneOrtisi]

Your videos are always very interesting, I could listen to you for hours! "Diggin a hole" is a great song, you have the sound of a building and a great voice! You are rock, rough as I like it! 🤟🏻🤟🏻🤟🏻🤟🏻

[@MrDeanorocks]

Love it bud, damn ya make it look so easy, I could listen to ya play all night long

[@suprunown]

First of all, shout out to Lesia for not only the stellar camera work, but with putting up with the dad jokes as well. :) This has been my favorite episode yet, because it starts pulling the curtains back a little on how the magic gets made, and not necessarily on the wands being used. ;) I may nit have a double neck, but I know what I will be tuning my ales to when it comes out of quarantine storage this week. Thanks, Gordie!

[@blackspot4194]

✌😎 One cool dude, Big Sugar is a massive fav of mine. Big up vid.

[@CanadianTeleWhacker]

Love this! Open tuning, a blessing from the guitar gawds. Love the reference about BB a Billy .. why you wanna work so hard. Tis why I play with 7's and 8's .. Rev. Willy's brand of course. I'm gonna find me a good used double neck .. neck flix .. lol .. dad humor .. thank you for the influence and inspiration GJ 😊

[@MCD_TCB]

\m/ MERCI \m/ That was great! Please keep the "GJ IN THE SOUNDSHACK" episodes coming!!

[@Sledgehammer455]

AWESOME. Thanks for sharing Gordie

[@shawnhorley7494]

Funny, I looked up 'Guitar Lesson Diggin' a Hole Big Sugar' and got to the same video he starts this with, and I thought to myself 'I wonder how Mr. Johnson plays this?' when I saw the link to THIS video in the Up Next section. Perfect! Excellent Lesson! Thank you Mr. Johnson!

[@davidgrayson5009]

Thank you SO much for putting this together. It is pure gold to have the original artist explain how it is done! Tremendous song!

[@BigSugarBand]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@UOttawaScotty]

Grin on my face this whole video, awesome stuff !

[@malcolmbliss777]

“Why you wanna work so hard?” - my thoughts exactly. We had so much fun at your last show in Detroit, beers and all! Thanks for doing all the work. Hey, them beers ain’t gonna drink themselves... You work, me dance.

[@Bluzian74]

I would argue that, next to American Woman, "Diggin' a Hole" is probably Canada's second greatest rock and roll national anthem. It has finger-banged everyone's amygdala since 1996. What a song! Thank you so much for the articulated instructional upload! Can we get a tutorial on "The Scene" please Gordie?

[@BigSugarBand]

That’s covered in Episode 1 - Big Al. -Chris Team Big Sugar

[@mikejamieson6802]

Love to hear about recording Hemivision, these are awesome! Thanks GJ!

[@UOttawaScotty]

Jesus H, I have always wondered how this song was ACTUALLY played, I have watched you play it live several times but couldn't quite crack the code. There are several small details here that are crucial and just made my day. THIS is what KZbin was made for, amazing insight and content directly from the artist who wrote the song. Gordie, another song that has always stumped me on guitar and a real mysterious type of riff is "Empty Head", its sounds like it should be simple, but I have never been able to get it to sound quite right, whats going on with that guitar part ? Making videos like these is totally amazing, thanks for the content, keep it up ;) Production quality of these videos is awesome too ;)

[@chrisharten1308]

Haha lol. We Canadians say Jesus h Christ. Do you know what the H stands for?

[@chrisharten1308]

Keep you pinky free fi the pull offs. 😎 So then you are percussion go pro with your pinky as a side gimmick. That's the best way to add notation to o a complicated riff. That's what I do anyway. I don't use slide so I improvise. I rarely use effects and it works with 1/4 reverb standard as line as you don't have your Amplifier with too much gain.

[@christopherseigel6693]

@@chrisharten1308 Harold

[@adamblanchard7771]

These videos are awesome! Please keep ‘em coming. Also, the new album is amazing.

[@danielricher6423]

oooh. My Friend! That! .... Was one of the most satisfying videos I have ever watched. I play guitar and never thought about how to play this song much. I believe that I was a teen when this came out. I remeber the video. I had no idea of the type of tricks you could play on a double neck guitar. I think I want one now. No. Correction. I NEED one now! thanks dude!

[@KennToomey]

Now I want to dedicate one of my guitars to this tuning 🤟

[@YZ250W1]

Really enjoy these videos!

[@beachboy821]

Thanks, GJ!

[@hotdoggravy]

Great song and lesson, thanks Mr. J

[@kennethwood9200]

OK. That was the coolest thing I have watched in a long time.

[@jamesmacdonald973]

Loved this so much. Hole-ness is now a word and "why you wanna work so hard" are words to live by. Would love some more of these types of videos

[@cannadaincowboy]

Love the video GJ thanks for breaking this great song down for us beer league players.

[@leighhorne1670]

Love the guitar, the lesson and the man….but more epic is th@t Canucks tshirt!

[@mikejamieson6802]

Love to see a lesson on ‘ride like hell’ guitar parts!

[@davideo-sings]

Mr. Johnson, this was such a great video. As a fellow Canadian I'm rediscovering all of the Big Sugar Catalog. I wish I could play guitar and sing like you do. I really found this video to be very entertaining. As I'm mostly a singer and because of the pandemic, there've been few chances to practice singing with an actual band, but I'd love to sing along with your tracks. Thank you for your musicianship, song writing and talent!

[@DGWpg]

Looking forward to the Dec. 27th show, woohoo!!

[@earthsign7568]

'Can't read the lines on the page....I'm feeling twice my age and I'm fallin apart' - hilarious

[@gmiranda99]

Sweet! Loving this. Keep them coming please!

[@Ions11]

This was awesome. Thanks! Would also love to see 'Ride Like Hell'. - :)

[@nosnerd1967]

KILLER ! Holeee ness ! holy !❤️🧨

[@DustinSmith_dustyrocks]

20 years I have been playing this wrong!!!! Love this video! Thanks so much for posting this GJ, you have been a huge influence and reason I picked up the guitar. I'd love to see a Groundhog Day rundown! Never have I been able to nail it down. Love the new album, Cheers

[@BigSugarBand]

You got your wish! Check the last two episodes!

[@volumeacademymusic]

Thanks for sharing this G, i cover this song and it is always a hit, people love big sugar music so much and it is incredibly satisfying to play. when i play it i employ a tuning YOU taught me which is open G with the low E tuned to a very very low G. thanks for showing the way for this song!!!

[@davidwile1277]

Love the info on the Gibson I have to say this up close lesson made my day..any chance of getting more songs shown? There isn't much info online so this is a treat....all hell for a basement, turn the lights on, or if I had my way? Any one of them, I'm obsessed with you and jags guitar work

[@mattsaunders7207]

If this guy aint in the top 10 on a best guitarist of all time list then the game is rigged. Trust me GJ is one of the best ...

[@digitalwerker]

Awwwwww YEEEEAAAAAA!!!!! Keep em coming GJ!!!!!!🤘🤘🤘

[@mikejamieson6802]

Been listening to Heated, Hemivision, and 500 pounds on heavy rotation, 3 masterworks! Also got me a tech 21 American woman pedal to get some Herzog ‘nasty’ !!

[@ChadWorthman]

Awesome! Eye opening into your double neck methods.

[@dwaynewladyka577]

This is so awesome! Cheers!

[@shawnspringall]

That's sweet... Id love to see more of these.

[@tonywhetham8165]

That was awesome.

[@cameronmason5796]

As David Wilcox would say you are too cool man 😎

[@coreysullivan5025]

Ok, we must take that Dad Joke to the next level...and it's RIGHT THERE. On the original recording of Diggin' a Hole...thanks to Mr Kelly Hoppe...it was actually "Neck Flicks and Chill".

[@docsiltanen]

Thanks Gordie…I've always loved that song, but never really tried to play it….guess now I have to break out the 12 and give it a go…thanks so much for taking the time to make theses videos….we really appreciate it…. take care and stay safe !!!

[@marcbergeron445]

🔥♥️😎 AWSOME 😎♥️🔥

[@burn0uts0n34]

now I have to relearn the song the right way. Thanks for the clarity, cheers brother

[@BigSugarBand]

Glad to help!

[@geoffreymerrifield5666]

Really love the song. The electric 12 string sound is just so amazing. Thanks for this video!! Really wish there was an affordable SG 12 string. The double neck would break my back :( Looking at a Reverend Airwave 12 string for one day... or maybe a Danelectro which is much more affordable.

[@BillyPolaris]

I played this song during a high school talent show in 96. I was playing it way wrong... plus I was using an Ibanez Shredder guitar... but the people dug it!

[@Jay-bf8yp]

Wicked shirt!

[@AndyFunke]

I like the quote "why do you want to work so hard?" I think it's funny because if I am not mistaken this was in reference to string gauge and BB King was convincing Billy Gibbons to use slinkier strings. Now Billy Gibbons has taken that to the extreme with ultru-ultra light .07 gauge. Anyways, I find it funny because Gordie Johnson (again if I am not mistaken) is known for using really heavy gauge strings. (when you consider my comment understand that I get the context of this video and quote and I am not actually being genuinely critical and it is not intended to be mean, just lightly humurous. I have been a huge fan of Gordie Johnson's music ever since I picked up a copy of 500 Pounds back when it was new. Ride Like Hell was one the first songs I learned all the way through.)

[@BigSugarBand]

My use of super heavy strings stems from my long history as a bass player. Hard to go from upright to slinky little guitar strings. On my steel guitars I go really light though. It all depends on the context. My Strat is also strung pretty light by comparison ( probably 10-?). It just sounds Straty-er that way.

[@AndyFunke]

@@BigSugarBand Cool!

[@AndyFunke]

@@BigSugarBand Totally context for sure! Just my lame attempt at guitar player humour. I love the details and thanks for responding.

[@mistermopar440]

Hemi Vision!!! I wish I could play guitar half as good as you!!

[@mikeborland2396]

Cool Gordie..very!

[@chrismainville8366]

What a monster ❤

[@xocnibor]

I love open G, it’s magic.

[@vinnieladders3470]

The neck selector thing just exploded my brains.

[@mmmmmmmmmmaaaaaatttt]

Thanks GJ! Never be ashamed of dad jokes.

[@FiveOnTheSide]

I love your greasy style! Sounds awesome!

[@Seaniesean111]

Cant wait until we can have concerts again. BTW do you have the same eardrum doctor as Pete Townsed? You play very loud but please dont stop!!!

[@rabby-u]

Love to see you live in Texas Gord, when you playing this winter?

[@chrisharten1308]

Best guy in real life. I met Colin James when I was. Fifteen. He inspired me to pick up a guitar. I met this guy at the Corktown at Eighteen. He showed me the best blues of rythm manipulation I've ever seen. I've met alot of Canadian players. We are a real special breed. He's not just a guitarist. He's a notary percussionist with the inventions like Nikola Tesla. As soon as I seen this guy. U knew he is the most gifted Canadian blues guitarist of at least five decades. Two past. Three to come. Unless I get to it soon and perfect that fucking f# I'm lazy though. 👽

[@davidwile1277]

I have a confession to make...I have a cover of all hell for a basement and I'm sure its wrong lol..thanks man big sugar and IME are my favorite bands...your a monster player

[@Skavar4000]

Beauteous...

[@cloudconnect]

You are not changing the polarity on the pick up by turning the pickup 180 degrees. You have to either flip the magnet polarity in reference to the winding direction on the coil, or if you have four conductors on the pickup, you can switch the direction of the signal by reconnecting each point of those four wires. Technically, you can swap two wire pickups as well, but if you happen to touch the swapped pickups cover, it will now pickup stray radio interference from your body.

[@toddjones5382]

Hey Gordie.. TO say high.. but did you take BB's advice on string gauge yet? I tried it.. nope. Waste of nickel.. I just found you today on this here tube and with everything going on right now you're like breath of fresh and familiar air.. Peace brother..

[@graemegourley7616]

Selector switches never worked so hard!

[@friguy4444]

Well scooch me up and shut me down ain't that a beauty eh?

[@lastralla]

Cool. Now if only can figure out the pattern of the bass line! It’s like there’s a repeating pattern but not really.

[@BigSugarBand]

It’s a 4 bar pattern, not a 1 or 2 bar pattern. If you look at it that way it’s more predictable.

[@allanbordage5419]

Thanks Gordie! What amp set up are you using?

[@BigSugarBand]

allan bordage good question, that is my Roland Jazz chorus being fed my signal through the Garnet Herzog, a pair of Sennheiser 421s to Telefunken mic pres. Might have to do an episode on signal path!

[@allanbordage5419]

BigSugarBand Very cool. Would not have guessed the Jazz Chorus, but was pretty sure you had the Herzog running. Love that thing. Funny, I read this comment after testing out a Jazz Chorus 120 that I finished repairing. Will have to do some experimenting with it.😉 Yes, would be interested in signal path episode for us gear geeks out here. Cheers, from Moncton. Allan

[@crawz83]

NATIONAL TREASURE

[@BigSugarBand]

🙏

[@crazkurtz]

Economy of money. I don’t have the money for double necks or extra guitars tuned to open chords when i play live. Lol I play this in standard and enough fuzz to hide my mistakes

[@dabsafe]

You’ve been living in Austin too long Gordie. You picked up that Texas twang.

[@EXPORT1867]

He likes reverb on the vocal Why