A Patriotic Ode to Old Black
Neil Young’s guitar is a piece of ad-hoc American genius
‘He was always welcoming to stumbles and shakiness, to the problem of staying in tune.’
His secrets include a DeArmond adjustable-pole pickup, a Bigsby whammy bar, a loop bypass that makes his reverb unit go straight into the amplifier, a Whizzer, a foot switch in a red box, 5 Strobo tuners, an AC-powered MXR analog delay, an ancient Mu-Tron octave divider, tube reverb, a very old BOSS flanger in a blue metal box, the Echoplex, gold Herco Flex 50 picks, and more.
The invitation came from Jan via text, and without even looking at my calendar or inquiring how much the tickets would cost, I responded with an immediate hard yes. We would meet on Thursday at the Oyster Bar in the catacombs of Grand Central Station around six. We’d take the escalator down into the underbelly of our metropolis to the LIRR and catch the commuter train out to Forest Hills. I know what you’re thinking: Tennis! On grass! And you’re not entirely wrong. The wealthy Tudor suburb of Forest Hills was once the elegant home of the US Open, in the days of Stan Smith (see my all-white sneakers — my Stans — which came back into fashion one day in 1995 when I strutted my pristine pair down Bedford Avenue). A few steps into the crowded bar and I was met with the warmest reception from Jan, who handed me an icy Tito’s (one of the two he was double-fisting). I began to chill as the vodka took effect, falling into a harmonious reminiscence about the long haul of thirty-plus years …
