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Testify are a UK based tribute act that cover every aspect of Stevie's career. The band also pay homage to the late great Jimi Hendrix. England's a long way from Austin, Texas but we try to recreate the feel!
Texas Blues is a subgenre of the blues, and of course is not limited to Texas-based musicians. It has had various style variations but typically has been played with more swing than other blues styles. Texas blues differs from styles such as Chicago blues in use of instruments and sounds, especially the heavy use of the guitar. Musicians such as Stevie Ray contributed by using various types of guitar sounds like southern slide guitar and different melodies of blues and jazz. Texas blues also relies on guitar solos or "licks" as bridges in songs. Vaughan's blues style was strongly influenced by many blues guitarists. Foremost among them were Albert King, who dubbed himself Stevie's "godfather", Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, and Jimi Hendrix. The song "Rude Mood" is a direct influence (according to SRV himself) on a Lightnin' Hopkins tune called "Lightning Sky Hop".Stevie was also strongly influenced by Lonnie Mack. Stevie Ray Vaughan, who had idolized Mack since childhood, produced Mack's widely-acclaimed and commercially successful come-back album "Strike Like Lightning" in 1984. Vaughan is recognized for his distinctive guitar sound, which was partly based on using heavy guitar strings (anything from thirteen-gauge to 16-gauge) that he tuned down half-step. Vaughan's sound and playing style, which often incorporated simultaneous lead and rhythm parts, drew frequent comparisons to Hendrix; Vaughan covered several Hendrix tunes on his studio albums and in performance, such as "Little Wing", "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", and "Third Stone from the Sun". He was also heavily influenced by Freddie King, another Texas bluesman, mainly in the use of tone and attack; King's heavy vibrato can clearly be heard in Vaughan's playing. Another stylistic influence was Albert Collins. By utilizing his index finger as a pick a la Albert Collins, he was able to coax various tonal nuances from his ampsStevie preferred to make use of the immediate tonal capabilities of his guitar amplifiers, adding few effects. His effects in the mid-80's included the TS-9 version of the Ibanez Tube Screamer, a Vox wah-wah pedal, and a MXR Loop Selector. Vaughan was also well known for using the Fender Vibratone speaker cabinet. He acquired one in January 1984 and used about 3 of these throughout his career until his death. Despite rumors, Vaughan never used a real Leslie speaker in his career. Stevie also had a Boss DC-2 Dimension C chorus stompbox for a warbly, bright chorus effect. He also used loud volumes for dynamic, coaxing effects from the natural overdriven performance of his amplifiers
Stevie Ray's main guitars were Fender Stratocasters. His most famous was a sunburst 1963 Strat with a Brazilian rosewood veneer fingerboard fretted with Dunlop 6100 Jumbo fretwire; it had 1962 stamped on the neck, 1963 stamped on the body, but 1959 written on the pickups leading Vaughan to mistakenly believe it was assembled in 1962 from 1959 parts. On this particular guitar, he also had a left-handed tremolo installed. In 1980, Stevie needed a new tremolo due to repairs to the guitar, but could only find a lefty. He had it installed, most likely due to Jimi Hendrix's influence on his playing style.
This guitar was known as Number One. It had a D-shaped thick neck that was perfect for his large hands and thick fingers. It possessed a deep, dark growl of a tone that was immediately identifiable. The guitar also had a prismatic sticker just below the bridge with the word "Custom" in script letters. This sticker was given to Stevie by a friend soon after he bought it in 1973. It should be noted, Vaughan was given this guitar, known as Number One, as a gift by notable guitarist, Austinite and music shop owner Ray Henning, of Ray Henning's Heart of Texas Music. Vaughan also had some custom-made stick-on plastic letters reading "SRV" on one of the body cavities. Even though Number One used all stock Fender Strat parts, about the only original parts it possessed by 1990 were the body and the pickups. Over the years, Vaughan and Rene Martinez, his guitar tech, replaced the pickguard, tremolo, and neck.
The pickups were never overwound purposely, but were from a batch of pickups made at Fender in 1959 that had been overwound by mistake, producing Number One's distinctive sound. The neck was damaged during a stage accident, and a spare was used from another of SRV's Stratocasters. After he died, the original neck was put back on and the guitar was given to his brother
In 1994, the city of Austin erected the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Statue at Auditorium Shores on Lake Ladybird, the site of a number of Vaughan's concerts. It has become one of the city's most popular tourist attractions.
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