Daniel Anderson: happy to be out of the van.

++Each week Daniel Anderson, guitarist for electronica/rock duo Idiot Pilot, will be checking in with Guitar World to offer his thoughts on a range of guitar-related topics. This week: The Filthy Van!++

To most people, the thought of going on a tour with a band is probably wrought with legions of screaming fans, backstage parties, and droves of beautiful women. While in some cases that may be true, most of the hours of any tour are spent in a very different way, which most people who haven’t gone out themselves may not even think of. This, of course, is driving. The reality of being a band on tour, specifically one without yet the success to afford a bus and therefore a driver, is that a vast majority of the time is going to be spent in a cramped van hurling down the road at all hours of the night trying to get to the next gig on time. It is in that spirit that I would like to extend the limited advice I have on how to successfully drive 24 hours straight in a van.

First of all, make sure you have multiple activities lined up that you are going to use to keep yourself busy. This is a perfect time to write or to read. I personally read very rarely when I am at home because I always just have so much to do, but when you’re locked up in a bunk in a van, a book is an amazing use of time. Just be sure to bring a reading light. Another thing to make sure that you have is a laptop and plenty of DVDs to watch. Remember that you are probably going to be spending countless hours out on the road total, so I would recommend TV on DVD which will last for much longer. iPods are also a must, but remember before you leave to install a CD player with an audio input that will work with your Pod. For musicians especially, a drive this long without a treasure trove of music could be mind shattering.

“But how am I going to keep all these things powered?” You might ask, “On this long and horrifying journey.”

Good question. There are basically two kinds of power inverters that you can buy for your van. The first plugs right into your cigarette lighter (or preferably, your “power port” which looks identical but can sustain a significantly higher amount of devices being plugged into it) and will usually get the job done for a while, but they inevitably become overloaded and you will blow a fuse, which is an easy replacement but somehow only fixes the problem so many times, until eventually you are just without power. The other kind of inverter plugs directly into the battery of your vehicle and then a wire is run into your cab where you will receive power. This way is more expensive but not by much, and can support significantly more people charging their stuff at one time without breaking something.

Asbury Park Convention Hall

++Each week Daniel Anderson, guitarist for electronica/rock duo Idiot Pilot, will be checking in with Guitar World to offer his thoughts on a range of guitar-related topics. This week: The Boss!++

Being on tour gives you a chance to see and do a lot of things that you would not normally be able to do. You constantly find yourself wandering in a state, country or even a continent that you would have otherwise never gotten a chance to encounter, but even more specifically, venues across the world that have been made legendary by one artist or another. One such place is Asbury Park, New Jersey, and that one such legendary artist is, of course, Bruce Springsteen. We played in Asbury Park a few nights ago and I have to say it was an honor to be performing in the house of The Boss, so much so that I have decided to dedicate this blog to, none other than, Bruce Springsteen.

I'll just come right out and say it, Bruce Springsteen has absolutely got to be one of the coolest dudes on the planet. You could describe him as a lot of things; a simple folk singer from New Jersey, the mouthpiece of blue collar America, or even as Max Weinberg’s other boss besides Conan O'Brien.

With all of these titles, it's safe to say that Bruce has accomplished a lot, not just because of his amazing talent as a songwriter, but also because he has been around for a really fucking long time. Born in 1949, Bruce decided to take up music after watching Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show when he was just seven years old. He started playing gigs around New Jersey when he was in his early twenties and was eventually picked up by Columbia Records in 1972. Apparently, back in those days, people liked to talk about how much he sounded like Bob Dylan.

Anyway, fast forward to 1984 and The Boss is putting out Born in the USA, which had literally seven top-ten hits, more than half of the album (it's 12 tracks deep). Keep in mind that this is probably one of the most gratuitous fast forwards ever because during the time between Bruce also released Born to Run, which totally rips, as well as the folk milestone, Nebraska. But like I said, Bruce Springsteen's career is pretty long, so let's fast forward again to October 2, 2007.

As of very recently, The Boss is coming out with a new record, called Magic. Now, as far as favorite Bruce Springsteen albums go, I am pretty partial to 1992’s Human Touch, mostly due to the fact that it contains both the tracks "Real Man" and "Man's Job," but I have to say Magic could be a possible contender for that position. The track "Your Own Worst Enemy" sounds like classic old school Springsteen, filled up nicely with strings, a tambourine, horns, bells and more courtesy of the E Street Band. It is an amazing record and I suggest that everyone go and pick up a copy.

It is an real honor to spend time in these places that have cultivated such successful and talented artists. It only makes the songs that much richer.

Daniel contemplates six-string history. Photo by Paul Turpin.

++ Each week Daniel Anderson, guitarist for electronica/rock duo Idiot Pilot will be checking in with Guitar World to offer his thoughts on a range of guitar-related topics. This week: lutes! ++

When I was asked to start writing these blogs for Guitar World I was absolutely thrilled. You may not expect it from just a passing listen to Idiot Pilot, but in the developmental stages of my guitar playing, some ten years ago now, I was a very avid Guitar World reader.

I would always find myself learning at least one of the five or so songs tabbed out in the back pages. If I cared at all about the featured guitarist, I would eat up their commentary in the 60 Minutes mix tape section, where they dove into their various influences.

I found that to be the easiest way to tell who was a real, true-to-life music lover and who was not, because the players who actually cared took bits and pieces of influences from everywhere on the musical map, while the ones who were just trying to look like bad-ass shredders were not. The guitarists that I didn’t care for would always just tell people what they wanted to hear. They would go through the motions touching only on the predictable picks of their respected genre.

For instance, the old-school metal guy’s 60 Minutes would usually look a little like this: Slayer “Raining Blood,” Metallica “Battery,” Maiden, Priest… If they had any sense in them they would probably throw in a little Zeppelin, and then of course the obligatory “newer” band that is still all right to say despite the fact that they have formed in the last ten years. For this example we will say, oh, how about, Slipknot.

Now don’t get me wrong, every band that I have just listed is fucking rad, no doubt about it, from Slayer to “the knot.” I could honestly say that, in some ways, at least half of those bands have directly influenced my guitar playing and there isn’t a single one of them that can’t be found somewhere on my iPod. But when the cool, young, new rocker guy is asked to put together the most influential 60 minutes of his musical lifetime, and he jots down the same exact thing…then you know something is up.

Here is why.