Chris George - London Guitar Show Diary

The London Guitar Show for me has always been the same as for many other people, a great place to go and hang out with like minded people, check out all the latest guitars and gear as well as meet some of your heroes. I first started going to the show with my Dad when I was about 12, and we made it a date in our diary every year from then on.

One of the highlights for me (ironically) was going to the Marshall stand and getting a signed poster from Jim, they used to be on my bedroom wall in chronological order. The LGS was also where I won the ‘Young Guitarist Of The Year’ competition which brings us round to the Marshall connection…

Soon after the YGOTY thing, Marshall approached me to be their demonstrator, playing at shows for them around the country, and as it was to be, around the world. As you can imagine, it was a dream gig, especially as I was 17 at the time. After years of doing the backing track thing, the powers that be at Marshall said I could take a drummer and bass player out with me. My own band?! Hell, I don’t want that responsibility!!!

After a couple of different line ups, I met Farid (Medjane, drums) , while I was playing out in France, and a good friend of mine Rob (Butterfield, bass) said he’d be up for it (though he was half joking and he had no idea what he’d let himself in for!). We’ve been together now for around 18 months and things couldn’t be better, playing a shit load, and getting a real following. Although I’ve recorded/toured with loads of other artists over the years, the Marshall thing has always been there, and is something I remain passionate about.

This years LGS was the second time the three of us had done it and as every show we do, we were well looking forward to it. We played twice on the Friday, three times on the Saturday, and twice on the Sunday, the first of which was on the main stage, each set lasting around 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the length of Farid’s infamous ‘around the room’ drum solo. What follows is what goes on from our point of view at a show like this:

Thursday 4th May

Farid’s flight comes in as usual to Luton at around 9am. I go pick him up and by 10am we’re sitting in my back garden enjoying the surprisingly good May weather, shooting the shit about what we’ve been doing since our last shows a couple of weeks before and the finer details about the coming weekend. Rob swings by my place around midday and we head off, stopping for the obligatory pub lunch on the way at the Harvester at Junction 9 of the M1. After that we head straight to Wembley and take our guitars into the show. We head over to the Marshall stand and say hi to the guys who are busy unpacking the gear and building what is a stunning stand this year. They also have the ‘kin great big half stack that was built for the Frankfurt Musik Messe this year which sets the whole thing off.

After that we go to the Severn Suite which is the ‘Marshall Demo Theatre’ for the weekend. It’s a cool room but a shame it’s a trek from the main show. The gear’s pretty much all set up, Farid throws his kit together and we do a quick soundcheck. This year we’re promoting the Jimi Hendrix Stack at all the shows and it’s such a sweet amp to play. There’s also a TSL head, a Mode Four and a JMP-1 for Nick (Bowcott) when he turns up.

We head out and over to the hotel which is right next door to go and check in. We see Jim and his driver Steve in the lobby and sort out the most important business of where we’re going to eat tonight. Jim has booked ‘The Ugly Duckling’ restaurant down the road for the next 3 nights, it’s where we eat every year and Terry who runs the joint is a cool guy.

We get our keys and go over to the bar for a quick drink, then it’s up for a shower and back down later in the bar for around 7pm before we walk down the road to the restaurant. The whole crew from Marshall equals about 10 and it’s not a big place either. Terry is well pleased to see us all and we have a good old time catching up with each other, the Marshall guys are like second family to us, having travelled with them so much. Jim is on fine form, cracking jokes and generally taking the piss out of Farid’s bald head. After dinner it’s back to the bar until the small hours. If there’s one thing you should know about Jim, it’s that although he may be well into his eighties, he always hangs out late with the rest of us and is up at the crack of sparrows the next morning.

Friday 5th May

Farid comes knocking on my door around 9am, and we wait for Rob before going down for some lukewarm breakfast and then over to the show. We get to the Severn Suite and our old Pal Nick Bowcott has arrived, he’s come straight from New York via Heathrow and got to the show before us, and we’re staying right next door. I’ve known Nick for as long as I’ve been doing the shows for Marshall, about 8 years, he used to play in a band called Grim Reaper, but is probably more well known for his columns in Guitar World magazine, originally from here, he’s lived in Long Island, NY now for around 14 years and is product specialist for Korg out there, who are the distributor for Marshall in the States. So he definitely knows his shit, plus he’s left handed too, so always brings a nice bat I can try.

Nick was out in Frankfurt with us this year, opening with a backing track tribute to Dimebag Darrel, who he was very close friends with for over 15 years before that terrible night. So, here in London he’s gonna be doing pretty much the same thing plus getting up with us for a number or two. After catching up with Nick, we go and fly post the halls around the entrance with our posters and times we’re on etc. It’s an old trick but really does the job.

Our first show is around 11:30am, it’s Friday so obviously not quite as busy as the next couple of days are going to be but it’s still pretty damn good, and for that time of the morning we play great, we’re used to weird hours I guess, we’ve soundchecked at 7:30am before now…

In between shows we don’t get to do much really as it’s quite a quick turnaround our next show is 2:30pm which gives us around an hour to run back to the main part of the show and see a few people. Manage to finally meet Owen who is running this very website, spoke to him on the phone loads but actually can now put a face to a name. He’s a cool guy and very switched on.
After the second show it’s back to the bar and onto the restaurant and back to the bar again, you’re getting the idea of what this is really about now aren’t you? See my friend Michel Chavvaria from LAG Guitars in the bar, really nice guy, French (again).

He’s over here doing some promo with LAG now they’re getting quite well known in the UK. I have 2 of Michel’s guitars and they’re really great to play. Also catch up with assorted people I haven’t seen since the previous year’s show and probably won’t see again until next year.

Saturday 6th May

Busy day ahead, three shows, then after speaking to Les the sound guy from the main stage last night in the bar, we’re going to soundcheck after the bands have finished on the main stage in preparation for our slot on there tomorrow, which is cool.

Rob knocks on my door today, no sign of Farid so we knock on his, and he’s standing in a towel shouting in a thick French accent “ thought you said Eight-Thirty”. It is 8:30, and if there’s something I’ve learnt about being away with the band so much it’s that Farid’s timekeeping is shite considering he’s a drummer. He meets me and Rob down at breakfast 15 minutes later.
We head over to the show, and over at the Marshall stand catch up with our pal Nicko (McBrain, drummer for Iron Maiden). He’s here playing with Phil (Hilborne) and Geoff (Whitehorn) on the main stage. He starts telling me about the new Maiden album and how good it’s sounding and we chat and generally catch up. Then we go off and flypost with our different times on, fire up the Severn Suite and we’re off again. All three shows go brilliant, great crowds, the second show they were queuing all the way down the hallway which is always a nice feeling. Nick’s Dime tribute goes down great, especially to the people you could tell are big fans of Pantera and Damageplan. The third show we were joined by our old pal Bernie Marsden, we did a couple of really laid back blues tunes which made a nice contrast to the crap we usually play ha ha!!

See Phil (Hilborne) after our last show and sort out using the Marshall loan cabs that are on the main stage that he’s been using. The cool thing is, it’s only Farid’s kit we have to get over there for tomorrow as the Marshall guys have all the bases covered. Was good to see Phil, in the last year he’s got married and my wife and I have had a baby so it was lots of family talk. We wait for Doug Wimbish to finish on the main stage and the crew roll out Farid’s riser onto the stage, I swear, Farid is the fastest at setting his kit up, and pulling it down.

We do a quick soundcheck and everything is good, and everyone seems to know what they’re doing (which is always a result). Monitors are good and Les plays us a quick recording of the front of house mix. All sounds cool. We rush back to the hotel, quick change of t’shirt and catch up with the others on the way to the restaurant, out with us tonight as well as the usual crew are Bert and Maggie Weedon. Bert has been a friend of Jim’s for a long time, he’s a real gentleman with an excellent sense of humour, and he still plays everyday. I sit next to Maggie and catch up with her and Bert and what they’ve been up to.

When we get back to the hotel, I go straight up to my room like a good boy, as I want to be sharp for the morning.

Sunday 7th May

Wake up feeling good and excited about doing the main stage, though I’m still wondering just how many people we’ll have in there at 12:50pm on a Sunday.

Hook up with the boys and go over to the Severn Suite which looks a bit bare without Farids kit. The cool thing about that room is in between shows it’s really quiet, so it’s a nice place to chill out until the next one rolls round. My parents turn up with my niece, I go and get them in and they come over to the Severn Suite too. We grab our stuff and all head over to the main stage. The crew there put the gear out onto the stage once The Hamsters are done and before you know it we’re out there playing.

To our surprise, around 4-500 people have turned up which makes us feel great, the sound on stage is all good. Nick gets up with us for Losfer Words, and Farid has free run of the hall in his solo, thanks to a radio mic hanging round his neck. It all goes really smoothly and the crowd are with us completely.

Afterwards, as Farid gets his kit back over to the Severn Suite, I head down to the Marshall stand to meet my wife there who has brought our daughter along so she can see why Daddy has to go away every now and then, not that she really notices much at 8 months old! I bring them up to the Severn Suite where it’s nice and quiet, it’s like a George family gathering in there now as my sister and brother-in-law have turned up with my other niece too.
That afternoon our last show back in the Severn Suite is a lot of fun, my daughter loves it and is bobbing up and down and clapping in her pram while we play (ears firmly padded with cotton wool), and we generally have a good laugh to a room which is once again packed out.

After we’re done, the Marshall guys come in and pack the amps and other gear away, and we go over to the hotel bar for a last drink with Nick before we head our separate ways. We reflect on the show and what a great time we’ve had once again and talk to Nick about coming over for Music Live later in the year, which he’s up for.

We go out to the car park and say our goodbyes, Rob’s taking Farid back to the airport so I can go straight home with Melissa and Ellie. In an hour I’m home and it all seems a little quiet, thank God…