It was a nice weekend for the Essex Lights crew. We had a gig at Rusty's surf ranch in Santa Monica on Friday and then a photo shoot in Hollywood on Saturday. I had to wait tables somewhere in the middle there too...which was not as cool as a gig or photo shoot...but kinda had to be done. Anyway I thought we played pretty well but I don't think the tall ceilings of the bar suited a loud raucous band like us. So, the sound was a wee bit deafening-but as always it felt good to strap on the Les Paul …

The second portion of Michael's piece about making a bad-ass little guitar amp.  PART I reposed below... This is “gear piece” - be forewarned - I have no doubts some might find this type of writing profoundly boring; but I, like many musicians, am fascinated by the tools that allow us to do our work.  Music equipment, or “gear”, is my one great vice.  While I’m the type of fellow who eschews fancy clothes and is happy to bang away on a battered, out-of-date …

The Great Kerrang (Chapter 1 - Heart of a “Champ”-ion) note from Michael: This is “gear piece” - be forewarned - I have no doubts some might find this type of writing profoundly boring; but I, like many musicians, am fascinated by the tools that allow us to do our work.  Music equipment, or “gear”, is my one great vice.  While I’m the type of fellow who eschews fancy clothes and is happy to bang away on a battered, out-of-date laptop; from the day I …

 (A little history on the Essex Lights via a post from Grady on his personal blog... ) well hello there! i again haven't been good about keeping up with this thing but i think i'll be better going from here. also sorry about the tester posts...we were trying to get my blog linked up to the essex lights website, which is a new group i'm in. pretty excited about that. the essex lights was started by a guy named michael brawer from essex county new jersey. he works in la now, you can read more about …

Hey all, while we're in the midst of reconfiguring our online merch shop, we've just placed the order for some new t-shirts (designed by the amazing Rob Helmstetter of Foundations Design).  We think they look fantastic and will be available soon, both on the website and at shows.  Sign up for our mailing list in the meantime so that we can be sure to let you know as soon as they go up for sale.  (click on the shirts to enlarge)