Top left corner under his name is the slogan 'guitarists have stuff to say too'. Gotta agree its not a guitar orientated site but i got the link from fender here
http://www.fenderplayersclub.com/resources/resources.htm

Scroll down to the artists section of that page and the link is next to his name.

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Mmmm...

On the other hand, it is not linked to from either of the "official" Knopfler websites:

http://www.markknopfler.com/links/

or

http://www.mark-knopfler-news.co.uk/links.html

It does carry some Knopfler tour info - but I suspect it is just a website put up by some Straits fan who has waggishly named his site after his hero. And then filled it with weird guff!

But I stand to be corrected. Knopfler certainly needs spanking if it is real!

Cheers - C

would be unlike brad to get the link wrong.

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Hahaha - well then it's impossible to doubt it any further! Case proven!

- C

PS Hey Ninj: whachathink about Mr dalegribble's problem with his Blues Junior, down the Strat Forum page? Much more your territory than mine...

i hope what i'm hearing about knopfler is wrong

me too mate. Unfortunately whoever wrote that article claims to be a doctor and is obviously educated. Which does fit MK's M.O. Whoever wrote it is speaking from a health conscious standpoint, hinted at by the references to keeping healthy and also dieting.

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I guess at heart I just don't want to believe that website is real.

Mark Knopfler is not my all time ultimate guitar hero, but he sure has influenced my playing a lot over the decades, including getting me started. So I just don't like to think the woolly minded twaddle on that site is really coming out of his head.

I wonder if there's any diehard Knopfler fans here who know for sure?

BTW - what's this about Knopfler being a doctor? He did an English degree at Leeds and worked as a journalist for a while - do I have that wrong?

Cheers guys - C

No Ceri your completely correct, although i thought he was a maths teacher. Definately educated to phd level though. The only real option to get a answer to this would be to approach MK's managnment about the validity of the site. Although Brad may be able to clear it up.
I'm also 100% with your regarding having my mental image of MK shattered, I'm quite distraught at the thought of the more conservative of my heroes getting 'off his head'. All i can put it down to is millionaire blues and the boredom of being too pampered, hence the health kick views expressed on the site too. Christine mcvie in numerous interviews expressed the need for a health regime as 'rock stars just dont do anything'.
You could safely say that you and I are typical of MK's fanbase, if both of us are shocked then something is wrong. The views expressed certainly dont match our mental image but that is something we've formed ourselves.

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wow... he just sank from my top 3 to my top 5...
but on the other side, don't we all experiment with all sorts of stuff?

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Jerm i did, but i cant say it didnt hurt me. I look on those times of my life with a good deal of regret for wasted time persuing a vain meaningless passtime. You dont need drugs to be spiritual, you need God. You only need drugs because you want them or are influenced by people who think you should have them. I find it very hard to believe that knopfler a intellegent man of 50 odd cant suss out something i discovered in 94 when i was 20 and quite thick. There are comments made on that site about megadeth in india. Now if this site is written by Knopfler he could do with looking up Dave Mustaine of megadeth who has kicked heroin, coke and booze more times than i can count. He finaly seems to have beat it now though. He also enjoys a 'spiritual' life once through a form of taoism now through christianity. Im sure he could point MK in the right direction without the need for ergot, salvia or diet fruits. The more i look at the writings on that site the more i think of a active mind thats been bored for years. If thats the case then we both know this course of action will only lead one way.

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I hope this isn't him. I always considered him to be one of the more level headed and normal Rock Stars, never really had a rep for being a weirdo,
but if this wingnut manifesto is really him, I can't keep that opinion.

Twelvebar if it is him i'm sure its a byproduct of being too rich for too long. Got rich, got famous, got everything he wanted. What do you get next? Not a product of 'wooly mindedness' as Ceri put it. I wouldnt dismiss his music because of his social life. Just the same way i wouldnt dismiss any of a umpteen artists i listen to that dont live like saints. I may not agree with what they do but it doesnt stop me enjoying the way they string some notes together. How many of us would slight Gilmour for his usages past or present. After all the image i formed of MK was exactly that, a mental image i formed. I made my initial post about that blog site out of shock not condemnation. Dont let it ruin your enjoyment of his music, just take it as a eye opener, along with the motto 'you never can tell'.

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I would never stop my love for Dire Straits and his solo stuff. Neck and Neck with Chet Atkins is scary good. but it will kind of make me sad, if he joins the rank of idle Rich wingnuts. that's all. While I will always admire his musicianship, Ceri is right, that website is 'Whooley minded Twaddle'( A great band or album name IMO.)Aren't you supposed to mellow out on the usage thing as you age?

in your quest to find the key to knopfler's sound,have you seen anything on tunings?I have one of my strats tuned to c# and that seems like about perfect for "once upon a time in the west".in that tuning the song would be played in b minor
and if the guy wants to get high,let it be alright,i know theres a lot of earth mothers out there that would like to see any kind of activity of this nature banned,but truth is drugs has played a huge part in the way music has taken shape.im not saying everyone should do it or not do it,,but lets be realistic ,getting high is and always will be part of the culture of artists seeking inspiration.
just my 2 cents,carry on,,,,,,

Wozzman, i think your onto something with the tuning I cant hear much tension in MK's strings. Although i do think down to C# may be too low. If you watch his old grey whistle test performance of eastbound train, it is pitched quite flat of the original recording. Which i'm told is in E but i hear in E#/Fb. The whistle test rendition i hear in D#,#. Who knows what he does for recording.
In regards the comments on his usages your right also. Where would the world be without any of the myriad of 60's heroes that were chemicaly dependant.

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