I'm going to jump in here with my usual counter-point on the subject of MK and the issue of substance usage. Please remember that these are strictly my opinions and as always should only be taken as such.

I will admit it freely...I've smoked "that other stuff" on and off for as long as I've played guitar (over 20 years). No, I've never done heroine, acid, coke or any of the more colorful substances...I simply never had any desire to do so. I don't "need" pot or anything else to play and in fact for band practice and gigs, I adamantly insist that everyone in the group has a "clear head" and is ready to play. Jam's, after a gig and especially song writing however are a very different issue. I do find that I'm a little more creative once I've had a few tokes of the good stuff...personally I find that it "opens my mind" a little...that whole altered state of consciousness if you will. Equally, I would also mention that I simply like it. I enjoy the feeling of "being high" (compared with being drunk or anything else). It's not that my life "sucks" or that I'm trying to get away from reality (although the occasional break can be nice), it's something I simply enjoy doing from time to time.

As has already been said, there are a great many people...some who many of us have loved and worshiped over the years who have been heavy substance users....names like Clapton, SRV, Hendrix and many others certainly come to mind (don't even get me started on the Grateful Dead!). I'm sure that each have had their own reason for doing it, creatively, recreational or otherwise. I don't see this as either a good thing or a bad thing as much as a matter that it simply is. For better or worse, it's a part of our culture and certainly a part of what made these people who they are and much of the music that many of us love came from these people while "under the influence". Whether or not it controls your life however is also a very different issue....why many of those folks have chosen to "beat their addiction". Regardless of whether they beat it or not, it -is- still a part of who they are.

Ultimately the greater majority of us are all addicted to something. Coffee, booze, "legal" drugs like pain killers (valume, Vicodin, etc) and even stuff like gambling and other things ARE an addiction...it's very much a part of human nature. Many of us need something. To borrow an old Cheech & Chong bit, "I used to be all messed up on drugs...now I'm all messed up on the lord". Be it drugs, booze, god, or whatever, if you're "messed up" you're messed up...simple as that. Anything that "controls your life" is a bad thing (IMHO). Some folks seem to think that trading drugs for spirituality is a "good" thing, but in reality you are just trading one addiction for another...it may not mess up your body as bad, but it certainly messes up your mind. Many people seem to feel that "drugs" will screw you up but more often than not the drugs are only part of an individual that's already screwed up to begin with...the problems were already there and the drug usage is just another manifestation of those problems.

Now as far as Mark Knoffler goes, the first thing I would say here is "don't believe everything you read on the internet". The truth of the matter is that while it is a wonderful source of information, it's also an incredible source of mis-information as well. The internet can be as bad, if not worse than the grocery store tabloids (Elvis, Jim Morrison and JFK are all living together taking care of three headed babies in the Conga!). Unless someone has spoken with MK personally or perhaps seen a video where he said "yes I am" (or "no I"m not"), I really wouldn't put too much stock in this as being anything more than just another rumor at best. Even there, I would add that if he were to definitively say publicly "Yes...I am going to try this stuff", it's -his- choice...I am in no position to pass judgment on the man (and neither is anyone here). Besides, who knows...he could try it once, have a "bad trip" and never do it again or he could try it and end up writing the most splendid piece of music ever heard by our generation. Either way though, it's -his- choice and his life and -if- this is true (and again that's a mighty huge "if" people), we should probably respect that. I'm sure at MK's age and with his vast years of being on stage that he is not naive and that he knows the "risks" should he choose to embrace such a thing.

Ultimately if...-if- it is true, it's not something that a bunch of people on an internet forum (even one as prestigious as this) are ever going to change. We could all sit here at our keyboards until the end of time typing "Don't do it Mark!" and it won't change a thing...-if- (there's that word again) he really and genuinely wants to do it, he's going to. Is it a pity or a shame or a waste? Only MK will know for sure. It really is as simple as that.


To the OP...just try Googling "Mark Knoffler Technique" and you'll find plenty of info.

Just my thoughts,
Jim

Haha: yes, this thread has certainly spun off at a tangent from the OP's original request...

Just for the record, I make no comment or judgement on anyone else's intake of coffee, booze or other substances. My phrase "woolly minded twaddle" refered to the prose style and silly ideas of whoever in fact wrote those webpages.

Knopfler studied English and practiced journalism for a while. I'd be most dismayed to discover that writing was genuinely his. But who knows?

Cheers - C

PS Hey Twelvebar: if you'd like to name a band Woolly Minded Twaddle please take that name with my merry blessings!

[quote="nikininja"]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.


alot of guys use that C# tuning,,,billy gibbons of zztop( asleep in the desert)
JOhn Fogerty of Creedence(midnight Special,Old Man Down the Road,Blue Boy,,ETC)JOhnny Winter,Robben Ford,and Im sure many many more,,,
tuning this low also lets you use monster logs for strings,on my C# tuned strat I strat out with a 13 and go to 56,,,its a very big sound sound to say the least...I have a 12 string thats tuned to C and that is way cool too........give her a try

Wozzman, thanks for the suggestion. I'll be sure to try it.
My only experience of down tuning comes from playing with a local metal band. I hated it for metal, absolutely no tension in the strings which i think metal needs to stop it turning to sludge.
The idea of exploring down tuning with my current penchant for softer more sedate styles is quite intriguing though.

Cheers mate, i'm on the case.

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No no and no

the large gauge strings are the trick to the feel of the guitar at that tuning,,,
when i first tuned it that way i had 10 to 52 and its just way to soft,,,,it was hard not to bend a string just by touching it,,,,if your serious about the tuning i suggest new strings and a way bigger gauge,,,,,of course if you like it then you will have to set the intonation for the bigger gauge
good luck

Solved

http://www.markknopfler.com/news/news_items.aspx?PostID=11609

Glad i was wrong. Atleast its come to light and been sorted eh.

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No no and no

haha i am relieved. Funny how something like that can give you strong feelings about someone you have never met. guess that just speaks to the power of music.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Phew! Nice work, man. Thanks.

Dunno, I've had a nasty taste in one corner of my mouth for weeks because of that site. The drugs part of it is none of my business and of no interest. It was the idea that MK had the kind of oafishness that was written there going on in his head that bothered me.

Nikininja 1 : Internet fakers 0

Cheers - C

I posted an apology on knopfler.com too. I had a suspicion that until i unearthed the foul fake it was little known. Same apology goes for fender forum readers too. Sorry for the confusion caused.

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No no and no

No apology required. You merely linked to a site you found - which looked legit, from the graphics and such. I think they call it "cyber-squatting" or some such, don't they?

A few years ago in the publishing world there was a chappie who bought up endless permutations of famous authors' names with .com, .net, etc on the end. Then filled those sites with offensive nonsense and offered to sell the authors the domains for large sums so's they could take the material down. That fella was eventually prosecuted and punished to a gratifying extent.

Unfortunately, unless the owner of the fake MK site tries to get money for it I don't know that he's done anything illegal. Though Mr Knopfler has enough cash to spend on lawyers to give it a try - not a wise target to take on, let's hope. Maybe it still counts as "passing off" even without requests for money, within which case it is a crime.

Cheers - C

his death will bring about his musical immortality,
"it's better to burn out than to fade away"

kudo's to whom who names singer and song

Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)-Neil Young

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It's a mix between Jazz and Funk, it's called "Junk"

hi,

totally new to the guitar thing (4 weeks but already obsessed).

You guys seem to be clued up on MK/DS. I am thinking of buying a Strat and love that early DS sound.

Is that sound down to the pick ups (i.e. the Texas Specials that run in the MK Custom) or will a similar sound be produced by a normal American Standard ?

Is it an amp setting ?

Newbie question I know, but I am plucking around on an acoustic at the moment so the whole electric guitar thing is a mystery.

Thx
T

TobiH

I think its just down to Knopfler. All his albums have a slightly different guitar sound, they all use different gear. I read once that Communique was recorded with the guitar direct into the mixing desk. Dunno how true it is.

Myself I stick mainly to the bridge and middle position on the selector switch of a stock strat. Avoid having a bridge tone control and avoid reverse wound middle pickups if you can. Look to BareKnuckles sultans pickups or I'd say fender 57-62's more than texas specials.

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No no and no

thx for the quick feedback !