RESPONSE: The guitar is a Stratocaster knock-off, made by Squire. John Mayall himself cut it down to customize it and painted it red. John Mayall has a history of taking Fender Stratocasters (or Strat knockoffs) and cutting them down and decorating them with paint, carvings and inlays. This is his latest, painted with the same paint used on the front door of his house near Los Angeles! There's a practical side to his artistry, as well: He also customizes the cases for these guitars himself, to make them easy to carry and less weight to check with the airlines! --johnmayall.com

SUBJECT: stories: i was curious as to what kind of guitar John has on the back sleeve to the stories collection...It looks to be some kind of hybrid...squire headstock to a flying V body...Would you be able to identify that for me... great album!!!!!

RESPONSE:It is indeed a Squire that he cut down and painted, as well as crafted his own strap. He even cut down the guitar case to fit. Mayall wears it slung over one shoulder and prefers his own lightweight design. --johnmayall.com P.S. We answered this question earlier this year as well. See below. ("P.S. I got the idea of the strap over one shoulder from my idol Freddy King!"--John Mayall)
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BUDDY'S GEAR.....

SUBJECT: Buddys Foot pedal Guitar & Equipment.
Hi There I am anxious to now what does Buddy use for a foot pedal to get the sound for his guitar. Kindest Regards Paul Gosal

RESPONSE:"I TRY not to use ANY pedals! Sometimes I use a Dr. Z "Air Brake" power attenuator to keep the dang loud git-tar under control in the smaller, more acoustically 'live' rooms, which endears me a little more to the soundman. But only as a last resort, because I LOVE the natural tube overdrive I get from my Dr. Z amps and Scott Lentz guitar! The only pedal of any kind I used on the UK tour was a BOSS tuner (TU-2) stationed on top of my amp for a quickie tune-up between songs. Check out www.drzamps.com for details on the MAZ SENIOR 38 watt class 'A' amp! Details and reviews of the Scott Lentz guitars can be found at www.lentzguitar.com Thanks Paul..keep on pickin'!" -- BW

8 May 2003 Hello Buddy, I have a problem!! I want your "Ain't No Brakeman" sound. I think is the best guitar sound I have never hear. I love that distrorted warm plexi sound!!!! What stuff did you used? How can I obtain that sound less spend $$$$$? Please help me, I'm becoming crazy. Thank you.....your playing and tone are amazing!!! Maurizio - Italy

RESPONSE: Dear Maurizio: "Hi Maurizio, Thanks for your interest...The "Brakeman" rig was a '68 Marshall small box plexi 50 watt thru a borrowed Marshall 4X12 cabinet that was at the studio. Don't know what the speakers were, probably Celestion 75 watters. I think it was a JCM800 cabinet. The "Spinning Coin" album with "Brakeman" came out before I discovered Dr. Z Amps, www.drzamps.com which is what I use on everything now, and wholeheartedly endorse. The guitar was a '68 Gibson Les Paul Custom Black Beauty strung with D'addario XL115's (.011-.049) and fitted with jumbo fretwire. Don't spend all your money on old 'fashionable' gear, though, IT'S ALL IN YOUR HANDS AND HEART!! Good Luck, May the Force be with you! --Buddy Whittington " For more on Buddy's Gear, keep reading.

RESPONSE TO RESPONSE: Hi Buddy thank you for your fast reply. You are really the best!!! When will you come in Italy with John? My dream is to meet you. YOU ARE THE TONE!!! I spend all my time playing my strat over your tracks! Thanks and good luck to you Maurizio

Has Buddy recorded any solo records that are available for sale? Thanks.

RESPONSE: Not yet! We're all waiting, Buddy!!

SUBJECT: Buddy's guitar etc. Hi, my wife Jane and I saw you in Plymouth on 29th of Oct 2002. We had previously seen you on the 2000 tour. Brilliant music. Thanks very much. I am learning the guitar and have a few including a beautiful 68 American Strat. I have always loved the things and like to know what my favourite players use. I thought that Buddy was playing a Strat until I saw it close up afterwards. What was it? I was also interested in the Dr Z amps but they don't export them to the UK. They are extremely helpful though and responded to my E mail positively. We look forward to seeing you again.

RESPONSE: "It's a Stratocaster I think but I don't know what year it is. I'll ask him and get back to you on that".....John Mayall. Thank you for your letter and that was nice to hear about the Dr Z people. We probably won't be be able to find out what year the guitar is until the band gets back from the road in December. johnmayall.com

14 Apr Subject: buddy question Hi, loved the new cd "stories" was wondering if you can tell me what pickups buddy is using in his strat? Thanks, Bruce

RESPONSE: "Depends on WHICH Strat! I use and wholeheartedly endorse Seymour Duncan SSL-1's in my old '63 Strat(in the middle and treble positions.The neck pickup is the only remaining original Fender pickup circa 1963.) I have a Duncan Little '59 in the bridge position of my '73 Tele, and a Duncan Broadcaster in the bridge position of my '68 Tele. The guitar I've been playing on the road and in the studio for the last year and a half or so was built by Scott Lentz of San Marcos, Ca. Contact Scott at www.lentzguitar.com and Seymour Duncan at www.seymourduncan.com Thanks for your interest!"-- Buddy Also, see all of the above.

Hey, guys...My name is Marcos Uboldi and I have been a great John Mayall fan for many years. This past year I was able to see him twice here in Salt Lake City. The first time was a free concert @ the Gallivan Center. It was packed and the band just played incredible. The second time was @ the Zephyr Club. At this gig, I got to meet John and Buddy. They were very gracious and kind to me. Again, their performance was incredible and it just blew me away. I have a question for you, at both concerts the band always started playing without John. The first song starts off with Buddy singing and it goes into this really cool, funky thing. Where can I find this song? Anyways, much love to the band. Hope to see you in Salt Lake City once again....soon!!!Marcos Uboldi (12/21/02)

RESPONSE: The song you are referring to was written by Buddy and is called 'Romance Classified' and it can be found on the new CD 'STORIES'. Thanks for the enquiry".....John Mayall
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FREDDIE ROBINSON.....

We got lots of queries about Freddie Robinson. In 2001, we had a fan chime in who had tracked him down. Now, here is the latest UPDATE:
14 Mar 2004
SUBJECT: Freddy Robinson in scandinavia 2004
Hi Too all your fans of great Freddy Robinson.....Here is the news!
Freddy Robinson is playing on a Scandinavia Blues festival summer 2004.
See website: www.jeffersonbluesmag.com
From Leif Gjelstrup/Denmark
P.S. !... Listen to " rollin with the blues" new cd-set from John Mayall .... Freddy Robinson on guitar !!!!

18 Oct 2003
SUBJECT: I Am Freddie Robinson's Manager. Freddie Robinson / Abu Talib , needs his contact information up-dated . I am his manager " Vernell Jennings ". New address for his CD's : Abu Talib c/of American Music Legends, 6244 Sonoma Ave., Mojave California 93501. Make checks or m.o. out to : " Son Pat Records " $20.00 plus S&H. " Abu " has several new CD's of some great material as well as instrumentals that he's written and recorded. He's doing Jazz as well as Blues festivals in 2004. The website for booking and information is; American Music Legends, http://www.americanmusiclegends.com/ , he can be found on the blues page. E-mail to him can be sent to: contact@americianmusiclegends.com Vernell Jennings

RESPONSE: Thank-you!
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TEN YEARS ARE GONE.....

Ran across your site while doing a google search on John Mayall 'ten years are gone'. I have the vinyl of this but have been wondering for years if there is a cd version available. Do you know if it ever made it to CD? My vinyl is pretty worn out. Thanks in advance. Don

RESPONSE: We really wish it was out on cd too, and so do a lot of fans. try our link for ebay on our links page. Maybe one will turn up there for you!
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JON MARK & JOHNNY ALMOND.....

SUBJECT: Jon Mark Hi Again I noticed a lot of interest in Jon Mark on the Fan mail pages. Jon is in fact in New Zealand and is a part of the White Cloud music company. He is still recording but it is all ambient type stuff, musical interpretations of places he has been. He has made approx. 10 albums as a solo artist. Hope this helps Richard Brown

SUBJECT: mark/almond Why no mention of Jon Mark and Johnny Almond in your bio? Do you know what they are doing now ? Thank you, Bill Sutherland

RESPONSE: There have been several inquiries on our fanmail page for the past year. Jon Mark lives in New Zealand and Johnny Almond lives in San Francisco. Mayall's not heard from either of them in recent years. --johnmayall.com

Do you have any info on Johnny Almond, in terms of other CDs he may have contributed on (with or without John Mayall)? Thanks. Yours, Stan

RESPONSE: Johnny Almond was on "The Turning Point" "A Hard Road" "Blues Breakers with Clapton" "Empty Rooms" We don't know of his other recording history. He resides in San Francisco bay area. --johnmayall.com

19 Nov 2003
SUBJECT: Johnny Almond
Hi!
In response to readers' requests for info on Johnny Almond's recording career, there are at least two solo albums he did round about the time of Turning Point. They are called "Johnny Almond - Music Machine, Patent Pending" and "Hollywood Blues". Two terrific albums which I had, and which unfortunately were destroyed in a fire in 1972. I've been looking to replace them ever since without success. If anyone knows where they might be obtained, I would be eternally grateful to know!
Julian Graham

SUBJECT: Johnny Almond. I've been following your career since I was 15-that was 1969. I think half of my record collection is made up of your albums or that of your former bandmates. I've scoured the internet and was wondering if there were any kind of discography that you could guide me to that might provide me with a list of anything Jonny Almond appeared on other than your work or that of the Mark-Almond Band. Would also appreciate anything on Blue Mitchell or Freddie Robinson who both appeared on your Jazz-Blues Fusion album. (which even now always gets the attention of the uninitiated whenever I put it on the stereo) Thanks. Andrew D. Rahaim, Esq.

***RESPONSE*** We get questions on Jonny Almond on a regular basis.
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RESPONSE: No news yet due to immigration problems but we'll keep you posted via the site.

SUBJECT: Montreal, Canada. Hi John Love your music, been a fan of yours since Bare wires and hope you keep making music forever. Any idea when you might be back in Montreal.....i missed the last time you where here ( Montreal Jazz festival ) ... anyway come back soon I would love to hear you and the bluesbreakers play at Montreal place des Arts .....the sound is great there and i wouldnt miss it in the world. Take care John Mayall Dan

RESPONSE: Dear Dan: Thank you for your kind words. Mayall misses his Canadian fans, of course! Sorry to say that there are some visa problems with one of the Bluesbreakers for Canada. So trivial, since the rest of the world lets them in with no problem. --johnmayall.com

Hey John, Did you guys ever get that Visa thing into Canada fixed, it's sure would be nice to see you come to the Maritimes, we don't mind if you don't have one. Wayne.

RESPONSE: Not fixed
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"ROOM TO MOVE".....

SUBJECT: room to move Dear friends ! I'm writing these words for my uncle Karl in Austria/Europe . He is a real John Mayall Fan, always trying to play the blues-harp like him. Therefore he«d like to know what kind of blues-harp ( and which tonality) John is playing on "Room To Move". Please let me know, if you can help me. Thanx a lot and greetings from Austria

RESPONSE: John Mayall plays this song in D flat with an F# harmonica. (Marine Band brand)
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"MOVING ON".....

Are there any plans to reissue the fantastic LP "Moving On" (1973) on CD. After all these years I still enjoy that album a lot. Thanks for your answer in advance and a Happy 2002. Jan Hartsink The Netherlands

RESPONSE: None yet that we know of. But we get at least a couple of letters like yours a week. It's up to the record company. johnmayall.com

To JohnMayall.Com: I noticed on the web page fanmail section that someone else wrote in about the early '70's album "Moving On". This was one of my all time favorite albums. Through time and many moves, I have lost it. I'd love to see Polydor release it on CD. At the beginning of the album, there is a voice which sounds suspiciously like Bill Cosby, introducing the band. Any chance that it actually was? Its a question thats been bugging me for 20+ years. Thanks, Mike Foley, Cleveland

RESPONSE: John Mayall writes: "Yes indeed. On the album "Moving On", it was Bill Cosby"
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ART BOOK.....

SUBJECT: BLACK BOOK. Hi, can you help? Many years ago I saw a book featuring well known artists showing what else they could do and it contained a section on John's handyman skills and had highlighted a stove or fireplace that he had built. The cover of the book was black I believe. Can you help with the author or title?. Tell John and the boys that the two shows I have seen in England so far have been excellent. I hope and trust that Johns throat is better. Richard Brown

RESPONSE: Dear Richard: There WAS a black book, published in 1979. It was called "StarArt", designed and edited by Debby Cheshire. This book featured many musicians' artwork: John Mayall, Joni Mitchell, Ron Wood, Cat Stevens, Klaus Voorman and Commander Cody. It did in fact show Mayall's artistic handiwork. Most noteably: his stone fireplace, the painted pool bottom, quilts, and his carved guitars. It also featured almost his entire collection of his paintings and drawings (going back as far as 1950). All of this work burned up with his house in the Laurel Canyon fire of 1979. It was lucky that these works were immortalized in this book, or they would be lost forever. As a gift to Mayall after the fire, Ms. Cheshire had several of the paintings photographically reproduced in actual sizes and framed. You might be able to find some old copies of it knocking around in auctions and used book stores.     sincerely, Magnolia Blue
P.S. Mayall was thrown off by the description as a "Black Book". The paper book cover was a large black and white collage and drawing by Klaus Voorman that mimics The Beatles' "Revolver" cover. The hard cover WAS black.
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TREEHOUSE.....

SUBJECT: TREEHOUSE. Please can you confirm just where the treehouse was that John used to live in - was it in Cheadle Hulme (which is where I was told it used to be) or was it in Macclesfield? Cheers. GEMc

RESPONSE: It was in Cheadle Hulme, at the back of 23 Acre Lane, which at that time extended back into a field (it doesn't any more--the field AND the tree are long gone!) Also, as noted a few months ago, John Mayall was born in Macclesfield, but he never actually lived there.
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