In this fourteenth episode of Tone Chasers & String Benders, co-hosts Chaz Charles and Dr. Porifera Glund continue their seemingly endless journey through the B's—and somehow manage to travel from the Fillmore East to Canadian jazz clubs, through electric blues, across the classical guitar repertoire and straight into the glorious noise of Babes in Toyland.

Along the way, the Doctor recalls seeing the Allman Brothers in their prime, including the extraordinary occasion when he wandered up behind Gregg Allman's Hammond organ, requested a song and actually got it played. There's a Chicago concert that didn't quite go according to plan, some serious discussion about the art of playing together rather than showing off, and the inevitable discovery that remembering rock history and having actually witnessed it are two entirely different things.

And somewhere in the middle of all that?

We encounter Canada's favorite heavy metal band, a discussion about talcum powder, and the Doctor's apparently inexhaustible supply of questionable recollections.

Featured guitarists in this episode:

Dickey Betts — The Allman Brothers' melodic Southern rock architect. We explore his interplay with Duane Allman, his contributions to the band's unmistakable sound and his subsequent adventures with Great Southern.

Ed Bickert — The Canadian jazz guitarist who made a Fender Telecaster sound like it belonged in the most sophisticated jazz clubs on the planet. An exercise in restraint, harmonic sophistication and knowing precisely which notes NOT to play.

Elvin Bishop — From the Paul Butterfield Blues Band to his own distinctive brand of blues-rock, we encounter a guitarist who knows his way around a groove.

Ernesto Bitetti — We put down the electric guitars and venture into the world of classical guitar, where the fingers do the talking and there's nowhere to hide behind an amplifier.

Kat Bjelland — Babes in Toyland's ferocious guitarist brings distortion, attitude and an entirely different definition of tone to our increasingly unruly alphabetical expedition.

Five guitarists. Five completely different musical worlds. Two hosts who probably shouldn't be allowed to operate heavy machinery.

Five more guitarists down,

930 to go!

1,000 Legendary Guitarists. A Fiver at a Time.

Only on the Boneless Podcasting Network.

The B’s refuse to leave.

In Episode 13 of Tone Chasers & String Benders, Chaz Charles and Dr. Porifera Glund continue their increasingly improbable alphabetical journey through 1,000 legendary guitarists with five players who manage to cover jazz sophistication, Texas swing, the invention of rock & roll, a genuine mystery man, and modern virtuosity—all before the guys can finally escape the letter B.

Featured guitarists in this episode:

George Benson – Before the smooth vocals and crossover stardom, there was one hell of a jazz guitarist. Benson sends Chaz and the Doctor into his early work, his unmistakable phrasing, the relationship between the notes he plays and sings, and the realization that “smooth” doesn't have to mean easy. The man can flat-out play.

Ray Benson – From one Benson to another, but that's about where the similarities end. The towering leader of Asleep at the Wheel brings Western swing, Texas-sized musical history and a Telecaster into the proceedings. Bob Wills inevitably enters the room, and the guys discover once again that following the guitar backwards usually opens several more doors than it closes.

Chuck Berry – Two notes. That's about all it takes. Chaz and Glund dig into the riffs, double-stops, movement, songwriting and guitar vocabulary that became part of rock & roll's basic DNA. There's the duck walk, memories of seeing Berry live, the question of just how much subsequent rock guitar traces directly back to Chuck—and, naturally, an encounter with the infamous John Lennon/Yoko Ono performance that sends everything briefly off the rails.

Skeeter Best – And then things get difficult. A respected jazz guitarist with an impressive résumé who proves remarkably hard to actually find. What begins as another entry on the list becomes an on-air musical investigation involving search results, wrong Skeeters, questionable recordings and the recurring Tone Chasers dilemma: how can someone be considered legendary when two guys with the entire Internet at their disposal can barely locate the guitar?

Nuno Bettencourt – Finally, the B's arrive in the modern age with one of the great technicians of his generation. Extreme, Pornograffitti, rhythm, melody, impossible-looking technique and a player whose chops never completely obscure the song. And when Nuno's connection to Eddie Van Halen enters the conversation, Chaz finds the performance that gets him every time.

And in between? George Benson guitar archaeology. Asleep at the Wheel. Chuck Berry's astonishingly economical recipe for rock & roll. John Lennon trying to play along. Yoko. The mysterious Skeeter hunt. Guitarists singing their own solos. Nuno paying tribute to Eddie. And another reminder that five names on a list somehow never means discussing only five guitarists.

Because around here, every guitarist opens another door.

Five more guitarists down.

935 to go.

Hosted by Chaz Charles and Dr. Porifera Glund.

Only on the Boneless Podcasting Network.

The B’s keep coming—and apparently they’re determined to give Chaz Charles and Dr. Porifera Glund their money’s worth.

In Episode 12 of Tone Chasers & String Benders, the alphabetical journey through 1,000 legendary guitarists rolls through early rock & roll, art-rock weirdness, Big Star melancholy, British pub rock and a guitarist whose name wasn’t actually his name. Five guitarists. Five completely different corners of the instrument. And, naturally, several doors that probably should have remained closed.

Featured guitarists in this episode:

Franny Beecher – Before rock guitar had figured out what it was supposed to be, Beecher was already tearing it up behind Bill Haley & His Comets. A jazz guitarist dropped into the middle of the emerging rock & roll explosion, Beecher brings the guys back to the days when this music genuinely sounded dangerous. There’s vintage footage, devil’s music, barbaric guitar playing—and the realization that somebody had to play those licks while Bill Haley stood out front.

Adrian Belew – Where do you start? Frank Zappa. David Bowie. Talking Heads. King Crimson. Robert Fripp. Discipline. Lone Rhino. “Big Electric Cat.” Belew’s ability to make a guitar sound like virtually anything sends Chaz enthusiastically into the weird while the Doctor becomes increasingly unconvinced that “genius” necessarily means “something I want to hear in the car.” And then Robert Fripp’s orbit opens yet another door.

Chris Bell – Big Star takes the show somewhere completely different. Bell’s guitar work and songwriting on #1 Recordlead into the extraordinary “I Am the Cosmos,” Alex Chilton, the strange fate of Big Star and one of rock history’s great cult figures—a musician whose influence became vastly larger than the audience he found during his lifetime.

Martin Belmont – From Ducks Deluxe to Graham Parker & The Rumour, Belmont brings the show into the sweaty world of British pub rock: economical playing, great hooks and guitar parts built to serve the song rather than announce themselves. Naturally, finding the guitar solo they're looking for becomes an adventure of its own.

Ariel Bender – Except Ariel Bender is really Luther Grosvenor, which is exactly the sort of thing this show was designed to stumble into. Spooky Tooth leads to Mott the Hoople, Ian Hunter, Mick Ralphs and the glorious theatrical racket of British ’70s rock. Somewhere along the way, Chaz finds himself unwilling to stop the record—which may be the highest honor Tone Chasers can bestow.

And in between?

Skechers somehow become a discussion of tone and value. Robert Fripp and Toyah wander into the proceedings. Chaz discovers music he could apparently write code to all day. Ducks Deluxe gets confused with Bebop Deluxe. Dr. Glund starts running dangerously low on old concert stories.

And then an old thread comes roaring back when Lothar and the Hand People finally get their promised investigation—only for the guys to discover that Lothar wasn't a person at all.

Lothar was the theremin.

At last: a digression with a point.

This isn’t a ranking. It isn’t a lecture. And at this point, pretending the rabbit holes aren't part of the methodology would just be dishonest. It's five guitarists at a time, one record leading to another, until somebody remembers there are still several hundred names left on the list.

Five more guitarists down. 940 to go.

Hosted by Chaz Charles and Dr. Porifera Glund. Only on the Boneless Podcasting Network. (rss.com)