September 3, 2026 • 18 mins
A Deep Dive into the Wildest Electric Guitars of '70s and '80s Hard RockFrom Flying V to Firebird, Explorer to Warlock-this is the untold story of the most outrageous guitars in rock history.Why did rock's greatest guitarists choose instruments that looked like weapons, spaceships, and abstract art?In Battle Axes, guitarist and music historian Sean Kelly explores the cultural and musical evolution of the world's most iconic "pointy guitars"-and how they helped define the sound and image of '70s and '80s hard rock and heavy metal.From the Flying V, Explorer, Firebird, and Moderne, to the rise of aggressive 1980s designs from Jackson/Charvel, Kramer, B.C. Rich, Dean, Ibanez, Hamer, and Lado, this is the story of how guitar design went from odd curiosity to arena-rock essential.Through deep research and interviews with legendary players, builders, and insiders, Kelly reveals how these instruments became more than tools-they became symbols of rebellion, speed, volume, and attitude.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
When I'm listening to a podcast, there are many times
that I lose interest. It just falls apart. So I
have to find something quickly to listen to while I'm
driving to work or while I'm at work. The thing is,
I have to have a choice and it has to
be made quickly. That's why we created Arrow.net. A-R-R-O-E.net. It's
right there for you when you have those moments where
you go, I'm not into this anymore. Enjoy your exploration. Sean,
(00:25):
I'm doing fantastic. And it's like, I've waited all these
years for a book like this because I always thought
I was the weird guy in the band. And I
swear to God, they wanted me out of there because
I had an Ibanez flying V. They didn't like it.
I did. I wanted to fight for it.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Oh, man.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Okay. I love this. I love this. I'm with you, brother.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
I'm still fighting artists to play my pointy guitars on stage.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
I mean, it's so strange. You know, we always talk
about how fast life goes by. My flying V is
going to be 50 years old next year, and I
still have it from my teenage years. I mean, I
don't want anybody to say he's still hanging on to
his past. No, it's a pointy guitar. You don't throw
away pointy guitars.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Oh, man. They become a part of you. They become
part of the physiology.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
And I can't imagine how many stories that you have
heard from all of these artists that, you know, you
can't take a pointy guitar and sit down with a
group of people at a Kumbaya festival and sit there
and play it like an acoustic.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
No, man.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
You know, it takes a discipline to learn how to
sit with those. A woman who's sat with a flying
V when you can't find your guitar strap knows that
the pain is real.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
So now, was the popularity of the pointy guitar, as
we're calling it, was it because of Gene Simmons and
everybody in Kiss were starting to demonstrate some things back
in the mid-70s, or does it go before that?
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Well, it's funny, you know, these guitars, when Gibson came
out with the modernistic series, they were flops.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
It was, you know, it was the dawn of the
space age, right? The space race between Russia and America.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
And Gibson wanted to come up with these crazy designs
that would compete with the Stratocaster. Because at that point,
the Stratocaster was a fairly adventurous shape.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
But it took off. It was ergonomic.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
It felt great and looked enough kind of like a
guitar that people were used to. But when Gibson came
out with the V and the Explorer and the Modern,
it was a little too much for the market at
the time. And it took the adopting of these guitars
by bluesmen like Albert King, by guys like Lonnie Mack,
who wanted Billy Gibbons, who wanted that sound, that Gibson sound,
(02:28):
but couldn't afford a Les Paul, right? So it was
a slow progression through the 60s, Dave Davies, Eric Clapton.
Then in the 70s, Uh, it's funny guys like Dean Zielinski,
Paul Hamer, Joel dancing. They start to see, Hey, there's
this new arena rock sound happening, but we're still playing
(02:49):
guitars from the fifties.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Kids were a part of that, you know, with Paul,
with his flying V's and his firebirds.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
See, I mean, we had Don Kirshner's rock concert. We
didn't have MTV. We sat there. We watched the midnight special.
We saw these live performances and they were up there
making these guitars look like that. They were like the
thing to have. And it's like we were being teased
by these weekly shows and not something that we got
every every what 15, 20 minutes on MTV.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
You know, J.J. French talks about in the book going
to the Fillmore and kind of getting hipped to the
Firebird and things like that.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Guys like Johnny Winter coming through. And you're right.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Like, you know, it was far and few between in
the 70s to be able to actually see stuff like this.
But yeah, I was a little bit after the Don
Kirshner rock concert thing.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
But going back and watching that footage, it must have
been very impacting.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
It was.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
It was.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Because you basically were waiting very impatiently for that midnight
hour to happen. Because, I mean, it was going to happen,
but your parents were going.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Go to bed.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
And you're going, I got to see the guitars. Don't
send me to bed yet. Let me see who's playing.
And that, to me, was the essence of what that
period was all about. It was the patience waiting for
everything to take place.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
And I can relate to a degree because in Canada here,
we didn't have MTV. We had much music and it
didn't come until a little later. And also it was
a paid service and not something my parents were willing
to pay for.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
So I remember waiting for shows like Friday Night Videos
and just.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Hoping that Quiet Riot might be on hoping there might
be a Def Leppard video to see what they even
looked like you know they were still the enigma the
veil of mystery or waiting for that monthly guitar magazine
to show up at the drugstore.
Speaker 5 (04:40):
Oh my god you just instantly you just sat me
back because I'd walk into those damn I would even
walk into a JCPenney and they would have those magazines
up there and you you just instantly became that two-year-old.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Child mom why why my mom mom why why why
can't I have it why can't I have Absolutely, man.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
And think about it. You know, it's funny.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
I'm working on a solo record, guitar record to go
along with the book. And the artwork we're designing is
designed to try and take you back to that.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
Feeling of opening up a guitar magazine and seeing an ad.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
And right down to the fonts, I even ripped off
a Vinnie Moore album for the font.
Speaker 5 (05:16):
Oh, my God.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
You know, the thing about it is, I know you
just mentioned that you're from Canada and I didn't hear
the word triumph come out of you. I'm going, wait
a second here. I mean, I'm American and triumph played
such a major role in my passage through time.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Well, dude, I will tell you, I am blessed to
share a friendship with Rick Emmett. And I've actually had
a chance to play with him a few times. And
he was gracious enough to give me a blurb for
the back of my book. And he's interviewed in this book.
And he plays a huge part in my pointy guitar story.
Triumph were very important.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
To us Canadian rockers.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
And it's so wonderful to see them back out on
the road and Rick back out there and bringing the
show to the States and seeing the impact.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
They were wonderful ambassadors for Canada.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
I want to go to Barnes & Noble. I realize
we can get it on Amazon, but I want to
go see physical, real people pick up this book and
watch their eyes light up because every guy, and I'm
going to tell you right now, every girl gets this
as well because Abby Kay out there in Nashville right
now is really bringing the pointy guitar back, but she's
doing it with a bass guitar.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
That's wonderful. And you know what? You're absolutely right. Think
about players like Lita Ford, you know, who is.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
Out there, you know, rocking like, you know, a hammer
destroyer and, and, and, or, uh, Hamer Explorer and people like,
you know, there's a whole new wave.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Of players like Alice Cooper, Nina Strauss. Alice just had.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Another amazing new female guitar player who's, I can't believe
that a 22 year old guitar player can have that kind.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Of touch, feel and tone. So it's, it's wonderful. You know,
these guitars are for everybody.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
I grew up in Billings, Montana, so we didn't have
a Sam Ash. We may have had some reliable music
or something like that, but I'll tell you where I
wanted my guitars was from the pawn shop because I
knew that's where attitude was and everybody was dumping their
copycat pointy guitars, but it didn't matter. I had to
have them, all of them.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Dude, I got to tell you, I've played Billings, Montana.
We played the Shrine Auditorium.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
And my band Crash Kelly did a U.S. tour, a
leg of an Alice Cooper tour. And it is still
one of the greatest rock and roll experience. I felt
like I was in a 1976 band. movie or something
that was ready to rock so Billings Montana has a
very special place in my heart and I wish I
(07:39):
could have visited some of those pawn shops.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Here's a full circle moment for you my book called
Halloween 78 takes place it's a teenage rock band that
plays at the Shrine Auditorium in Billings Montana and they
create a fake death because they wanted the headlines to
be famous that's what pointy guitars do You want to
be seen. You're going to do stupid things to be seen,
and people are going to remember you. But that's what
that book is about. From the Shrine Auditorium, where you played.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Well, brother, guess where I'm going to be going? I'm
going to be going online and looking for a copy
of that book.
Speaker 5 (08:07):
Oh, my God.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
You know, and the thing about it is, it's one
of those, and you being an author and somebody, you know,
a journalist as well and a historian, it's one of those,
it took 32 years to finally get published because I
couldn't release it. It was an 11th grade student that
wrote that me because I just wanted to rock. That's
all I wanted to do. And I thought, I'm going
to write books then. That's how I'm going to write.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
But doesn't that encapsulate the human spirit, right?
Speaker 3 (08:32):
We get inspired by these things, these periodicals.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Magazines, music, radio, all in the context of the culture
in which we're growing up.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
And I love that, man. And it inspires new art,
new things.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
And I think Battle Axe is really as much about
the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship and friendship as it
is about the physical guitar.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Please do not move. We'll be right back with Sean
Kelly coming up next. The name of the book, Battle Axis.
It's going to create a lot of conversation. We are
back with a man who has lived it. Sean Kelly,
you can be any age, a young little teenager talking
with a 90 year old man, and you're going to
(09:16):
make a connection. And this book is going to be
that super glue.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Oh, thanks, man. I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
I mean, because at one point in time, I mean,
you grew up in that age where people didn't put
their guitars away inside their cases. They hung them on
the frickin' wall, which really used to drive me crazy
because I was worried about the neck.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
I know, man.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
And when I think about it, you know, and I've had,
I have a lot of guitars. I've had some silly
mistaps over the years. More than a few headstocks have
met their maker. But, you know, you put those things
back on, they keep coming back to life, man.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
It's like Frankenstein's monster.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
So now, what what kind of stories did you get
out of the guitar case because that's that's part of
the personality as well and when when i would walk
in there with that i've been as flying v case
it was like people would look at me going well
that's not normal what the hell is he carrying with
him That's interesting.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
You know, as much as we dove into things, the
case itself really was revelatory, wasn't it? That could be
in and of itself. But yeah, man, I will tell you,
I love those chainsaw guitar cases. That was to me
when a guy had that. I remember there was a kid.
I went to high school with Pete command.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
I still remember his name and, and he could play
the solo to talk dirty to me when I was
in grade nine. I couldn't, but he had, he had
a Gibson SG, but it was one of those bright
Ferrari red ones, like an 86 in the chainsaw case.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
And I remember that. That case was not my case.
You know, I wanted his case.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Well, don't you think that because of books like yours
that there's a sharp increase in sales right now with
pointy guitars because you do go walking into stores right
now and you're going, oh, my God, they still do this.
But the thing about it is, though, is. And I
don't know how you feel about this. It's more of
a real electric guitar. You can make it sound like
a piano. You can make it sound like this. And
(11:09):
I'm thinking, it's not what we had, but I'm not
going to judge it. Whatever the imagination is today.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
Yeah, you know, it's funny. I do clinics for Charvel
Jackson guitars.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
And when I walk into a store, I can't believe
the young people who have them. but they also have
access to all the digital modeling technology. So, man, I
used to have to, you know, work at the local
grocery store, cut grass at the local cemetery for a
long time to be able to.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
Afford a new pedal. But right now, you can have.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
a world of amplifiers at your hand so they have
all these creative tools i think it's a wonderful thing.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
How many stories have you bumped into where we had
to sell our pointy guitar not sell it pawn it
off because the transmission had to be fixed in the
car or we had to fix something in the house
and the only thing of value that we had was
that damn pointy guitar and it bought you some peace
of mind until you could go back and get.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
It Oh, dude, I, I, I've, I've lost a lot
of beautiful instruments over the years, but I can't say.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
I lost them.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
It was always in the service of like, I remember
when my band crashed Kelly, we had a chance to
tour England with the London choir boys. I don't know
if you remember that band, but I had a chance
to tour England. And, you know, there was an agent
over there, but I had to get us over. Well,
I lost a lot of.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Nice guitars getting us over there. But you know what?
Speaker 2 (12:28):
That was in the name of rock and roll. And
other guitars came in their stead. Still, it's hard to
let go of a 78 Les Paul and a 72
Cream Strat.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
See, and we become instant kids, don't we? I mean,
you could walk into, I mean, you could be in
the worst mood of your life, a grumpy old man
syndrome kind of a mood. You walk in there, see
a pointy guitar, and all of a sudden you're going, yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Yeah now things are going right again.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
They're they're instant energizers and a guy i interviewed for
the book jonathan mancuta he's actually an actor on the
show lost he said it best he goes man it's
like christmas every day when you put in an order
for a new car and you're just rubbing your hands
together waiting to see what santa's gonna bring from the
ups truck.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
In Battle Axis, do you go into the storylines of,
oh my God, because these pointy guitars do fall off
their straps. They do fall to the floor. Other people
don't respect them like those who own them. I've got
dents and dings in mind, but by God, that's just
part of the rock and roll story to me. What
about others?
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Yeah, man.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Like, you know, there's there's classic stories about Randy Rhodes
bringing his sandalball in because he dropped it and smashed it. But,
you know, those things were built, built really well. And,
you know, a little bit of TLC can be brought
back to life. And I just I'm right now I'm
in a phase of buying 80s Charvels from Japan.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
They're just incredible instruments. And you know what? I look
for I don't look for mint. I like them played in.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
I like it when they're out of it, because to me,
there's a story behind that, whether it's a guy who
took it on the road and played the bars in
northern Ontario in Canada or some kid who, you know,
was just learning a Queensryche riff, got too excited, made
a move and, you know, hit the bedside lamp.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
There's there's a story behind every ding. And I like
I like that.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Can you imagine the story of music without Bootsy Collins?
If he didn't have his imagination locked in on those
guitars that helped make his image just, oh my God,
such an investment. I mean, I can't imagine without those
guitars what someone like Bootsy Collins would go through.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
Well, you know what, man? Think about it. Funkadelic. They
were like the kiss of soul, you know?
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Like the mothership lands and they are bringing the funk.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
And, you know, it's funny.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
I really focused on the 70s and 80s hard rockers,
but by far they were not the only people playing
pointy guitars.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Look at Prince and the Revolution. And, you know, it's interesting.
I ran out of space.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
It's a pretty thick book, but I ran out of space.
I could have gone on and on like Hondo guitars.
There was a proliferation of Hondo guitars in the Minneapolis area.
So all of a sudden that guy's like Des Dickerson,
you know, playing, playing Hondo explorers and Prince videos.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
Right.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
I was just going to say that's, you know, you,
you bring it up Prince and I'd have to say
that's exactly the reason why I think I glued myself
to MTV because Sure, Motley Crue was hot, but I
had to see what Prince was playing. I had to
watch those damn fingers of his.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
Man, you don't realize what an impact, because he was
such an all around virtuoso, all around genius. it's easy
to gloss over the incredible guitar player he was and
informed he was by classic rock radio by Neil Sean
from journey by Lindsay Buckingham. He took all those lessons,
but applied it to R and B to funk to jazz.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
Like a nonstop musical genius. His output was, it was incredible.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
See, you bring up Lindsey Buckingham and right away I'm going,
I would like to see him on a flying V
with the way that he can pluck those strings. And
to me, as far as I'm concerned, he was shredding
before shredding became cool. He was doing stuff on that
guitar that nobody had ever heard before. No wonder Mick
Fleetwood fell in love with him instantly.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Oh, I'm no kidding, man.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Like taking all those kind of Americana tropes, you know,
the finger picking, the banjo roll, doing it his own way.
But then also applying like the kind of the 60s,
the Peter Green blues thing, right?
Speaker 3 (16:28):
Applying all that.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
And you're right, because a flying V, a good flying
V has a very warm, special mid-range sound.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
And I really do.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
That's actually a really great observation. I associate that with Lindsay's.
that sound that cuts through an FM radio.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (16:44):
It's just there. It has the nose, the warmth, but
cuts through the mix and just like re-in it. You know,
it just hits you in the face.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Oh my God. I could talk to you all freaking day,
but he's got me on a 20 minute schedule. This
is so unfair, man. We're talking pointy guitars here, Bill.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
Come on.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
So dude, you got to come back to this show
anytime in the future. You're on to, I love the
fact that you're going to be doing solo guitars who
now you've really got my attention. Cause When you do that,
that all of a sudden becomes even more personable. And
that to me is going to bring even more people
into your storyline.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
I hope so, man.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
The Battle Axe album is going to come out in
fall of 2026 on Vault Press.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
We're really excited about it.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
I can't wait to share a copy with you, and
I'm looking forward to reading your book, too, man.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
This is exciting.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Well, remember, it was done by an 11th grader that
was really there at the Shrine Auditorium, and I hope
to God I paint a picture for you, because when
you're back there in that dressing room before hitting that stage,
I hope you relive your excitement about being there.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
Aw, man, I'm excited to read it. Thank you for that.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Well, you be brilliant today, and thank you for this
book because it is going to be a tool for
me to reach out with in the future because it's
a conversation starter.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Aw, man, I'm excited you feel that way. Thank you, Errol.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Be brilliant today, okay?
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Will do, man. I'll shine on. You shine on, too.
When I'm listening to a podcast, there are many times
that I lose interest. It just falls apart. So I
have to find something quickly to listen to while I'm
driving to work or while I'm at work. The thing is,
I have to have a choice and it has to
be made quickly. That's why we created Arrow.net. A-R-R-O-E.net. It's
right there for you when you have those moments where
you go, I'm not into this anymore. Enjoy your exploration. Sean,
(00:25):
I'm doing fantastic. And it's like, I've waited all these
years for a book like this because I always thought
I was the weird guy in the band. And I
swear to God, they wanted me out of there because
I had an Ibanez flying V. They didn't like it.
I did. I wanted to fight for it.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Oh, man.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Okay. I love this. I love this. I'm with you, brother.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
I'm still fighting artists to play my pointy guitars on stage.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
I mean, it's so strange. You know, we always talk
about how fast life goes by. My flying V is
going to be 50 years old next year, and I
still have it from my teenage years. I mean, I
don't want anybody to say he's still hanging on to
his past. No, it's a pointy guitar. You don't throw
away pointy guitars.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Oh, man. They become a part of you. They become
part of the physiology.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
And I can't imagine how many stories that you have
heard from all of these artists that, you know, you
can't take a pointy guitar and sit down with a
group of people at a Kumbaya festival and sit there
and play it like an acoustic.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
No, man.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
You know, it takes a discipline to learn how to
sit with those. A woman who's sat with a flying
V when you can't find your guitar strap knows that
the pain is real.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
So now, was the popularity of the pointy guitar, as
we're calling it, was it because of Gene Simmons and
everybody in Kiss were starting to demonstrate some things back
in the mid-70s, or does it go before that?
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Well, it's funny, you know, these guitars, when Gibson came
out with the modernistic series, they were flops.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
It was, you know, it was the dawn of the
space age, right? The space race between Russia and America.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
And Gibson wanted to come up with these crazy designs
that would compete with the Stratocaster. Because at that point,
the Stratocaster was a fairly adventurous shape.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
But it took off. It was ergonomic.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
It felt great and looked enough kind of like a
guitar that people were used to. But when Gibson came
out with the V and the Explorer and the Modern,
it was a little too much for the market at
the time. And it took the adopting of these guitars
by bluesmen like Albert King, by guys like Lonnie Mack,
who wanted Billy Gibbons, who wanted that sound, that Gibson sound,
(02:28):
but couldn't afford a Les Paul, right? So it was
a slow progression through the 60s, Dave Davies, Eric Clapton.
Then in the 70s, Uh, it's funny guys like Dean Zielinski,
Paul Hamer, Joel dancing. They start to see, Hey, there's
this new arena rock sound happening, but we're still playing
(02:49):
guitars from the fifties.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Kids were a part of that, you know, with Paul,
with his flying V's and his firebirds.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
See, I mean, we had Don Kirshner's rock concert. We
didn't have MTV. We sat there. We watched the midnight special.
We saw these live performances and they were up there
making these guitars look like that. They were like the
thing to have. And it's like we were being teased
by these weekly shows and not something that we got
every every what 15, 20 minutes on MTV.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
You know, J.J. French talks about in the book going
to the Fillmore and kind of getting hipped to the
Firebird and things like that.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Guys like Johnny Winter coming through. And you're right.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Like, you know, it was far and few between in
the 70s to be able to actually see stuff like this.
But yeah, I was a little bit after the Don
Kirshner rock concert thing.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
But going back and watching that footage, it must have
been very impacting.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
It was.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
It was.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Because you basically were waiting very impatiently for that midnight
hour to happen. Because, I mean, it was going to happen,
but your parents were going.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Go to bed.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
And you're going, I got to see the guitars. Don't
send me to bed yet. Let me see who's playing.
And that, to me, was the essence of what that
period was all about. It was the patience waiting for
everything to take place.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
And I can relate to a degree because in Canada here,
we didn't have MTV. We had much music and it
didn't come until a little later. And also it was
a paid service and not something my parents were willing
to pay for.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
So I remember waiting for shows like Friday Night Videos
and just.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Hoping that Quiet Riot might be on hoping there might
be a Def Leppard video to see what they even
looked like you know they were still the enigma the
veil of mystery or waiting for that monthly guitar magazine
to show up at the drugstore.
Speaker 5 (04:40):
Oh my god you just instantly you just sat me
back because I'd walk into those damn I would even
walk into a JCPenney and they would have those magazines
up there and you you just instantly became that two-year-old.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Child mom why why my mom mom why why why
can't I have it why can't I have Absolutely, man.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
And think about it. You know, it's funny.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
I'm working on a solo record, guitar record to go
along with the book. And the artwork we're designing is
designed to try and take you back to that.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
Feeling of opening up a guitar magazine and seeing an ad.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
And right down to the fonts, I even ripped off
a Vinnie Moore album for the font.
Speaker 5 (05:16):
Oh, my God.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
You know, the thing about it is, I know you
just mentioned that you're from Canada and I didn't hear
the word triumph come out of you. I'm going, wait
a second here. I mean, I'm American and triumph played
such a major role in my passage through time.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Well, dude, I will tell you, I am blessed to
share a friendship with Rick Emmett. And I've actually had
a chance to play with him a few times. And
he was gracious enough to give me a blurb for
the back of my book. And he's interviewed in this book.
And he plays a huge part in my pointy guitar story.
Triumph were very important.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
To us Canadian rockers.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
And it's so wonderful to see them back out on
the road and Rick back out there and bringing the
show to the States and seeing the impact.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
They were wonderful ambassadors for Canada.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
I want to go to Barnes & Noble. I realize
we can get it on Amazon, but I want to
go see physical, real people pick up this book and
watch their eyes light up because every guy, and I'm
going to tell you right now, every girl gets this
as well because Abby Kay out there in Nashville right
now is really bringing the pointy guitar back, but she's
doing it with a bass guitar.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
That's wonderful. And you know what? You're absolutely right. Think
about players like Lita Ford, you know, who is.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
Out there, you know, rocking like, you know, a hammer
destroyer and, and, and, or, uh, Hamer Explorer and people like,
you know, there's a whole new wave.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Of players like Alice Cooper, Nina Strauss. Alice just had.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Another amazing new female guitar player who's, I can't believe
that a 22 year old guitar player can have that kind.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Of touch, feel and tone. So it's, it's wonderful. You know,
these guitars are for everybody.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
I grew up in Billings, Montana, so we didn't have
a Sam Ash. We may have had some reliable music
or something like that, but I'll tell you where I
wanted my guitars was from the pawn shop because I
knew that's where attitude was and everybody was dumping their
copycat pointy guitars, but it didn't matter. I had to
have them, all of them.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Dude, I got to tell you, I've played Billings, Montana.
We played the Shrine Auditorium.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
And my band Crash Kelly did a U.S. tour, a
leg of an Alice Cooper tour. And it is still
one of the greatest rock and roll experience. I felt
like I was in a 1976 band. movie or something
that was ready to rock so Billings Montana has a
very special place in my heart and I wish I
(07:39):
could have visited some of those pawn shops.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Here's a full circle moment for you my book called
Halloween 78 takes place it's a teenage rock band that
plays at the Shrine Auditorium in Billings Montana and they
create a fake death because they wanted the headlines to
be famous that's what pointy guitars do You want to
be seen. You're going to do stupid things to be seen,
and people are going to remember you. But that's what
that book is about. From the Shrine Auditorium, where you played.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Well, brother, guess where I'm going to be going? I'm
going to be going online and looking for a copy
of that book.
Speaker 5 (08:07):
Oh, my God.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
You know, and the thing about it is, it's one
of those, and you being an author and somebody, you know,
a journalist as well and a historian, it's one of those,
it took 32 years to finally get published because I
couldn't release it. It was an 11th grade student that
wrote that me because I just wanted to rock. That's
all I wanted to do. And I thought, I'm going
to write books then. That's how I'm going to write.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
But doesn't that encapsulate the human spirit, right?
Speaker 3 (08:32):
We get inspired by these things, these periodicals.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Magazines, music, radio, all in the context of the culture
in which we're growing up.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
And I love that, man. And it inspires new art,
new things.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
And I think Battle Axe is really as much about
the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship and friendship as it
is about the physical guitar.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Please do not move. We'll be right back with Sean
Kelly coming up next. The name of the book, Battle Axis.
It's going to create a lot of conversation. We are
back with a man who has lived it. Sean Kelly,
you can be any age, a young little teenager talking
with a 90 year old man, and you're going to
(09:16):
make a connection. And this book is going to be
that super glue.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Oh, thanks, man. I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
I mean, because at one point in time, I mean,
you grew up in that age where people didn't put
their guitars away inside their cases. They hung them on
the frickin' wall, which really used to drive me crazy
because I was worried about the neck.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
I know, man.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
And when I think about it, you know, and I've had,
I have a lot of guitars. I've had some silly
mistaps over the years. More than a few headstocks have
met their maker. But, you know, you put those things
back on, they keep coming back to life, man.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
It's like Frankenstein's monster.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
So now, what what kind of stories did you get
out of the guitar case because that's that's part of
the personality as well and when when i would walk
in there with that i've been as flying v case
it was like people would look at me going well
that's not normal what the hell is he carrying with
him That's interesting.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
You know, as much as we dove into things, the
case itself really was revelatory, wasn't it? That could be
in and of itself. But yeah, man, I will tell you,
I love those chainsaw guitar cases. That was to me
when a guy had that. I remember there was a kid.
I went to high school with Pete command.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
I still remember his name and, and he could play
the solo to talk dirty to me when I was
in grade nine. I couldn't, but he had, he had
a Gibson SG, but it was one of those bright
Ferrari red ones, like an 86 in the chainsaw case.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
And I remember that. That case was not my case.
You know, I wanted his case.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Well, don't you think that because of books like yours
that there's a sharp increase in sales right now with
pointy guitars because you do go walking into stores right
now and you're going, oh, my God, they still do this.
But the thing about it is, though, is. And I
don't know how you feel about this. It's more of
a real electric guitar. You can make it sound like
a piano. You can make it sound like this. And
(11:09):
I'm thinking, it's not what we had, but I'm not
going to judge it. Whatever the imagination is today.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
Yeah, you know, it's funny. I do clinics for Charvel
Jackson guitars.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
And when I walk into a store, I can't believe
the young people who have them. but they also have
access to all the digital modeling technology. So, man, I
used to have to, you know, work at the local
grocery store, cut grass at the local cemetery for a
long time to be able to.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
Afford a new pedal. But right now, you can have.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
a world of amplifiers at your hand so they have
all these creative tools i think it's a wonderful thing.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
How many stories have you bumped into where we had
to sell our pointy guitar not sell it pawn it
off because the transmission had to be fixed in the
car or we had to fix something in the house
and the only thing of value that we had was
that damn pointy guitar and it bought you some peace
of mind until you could go back and get.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
It Oh, dude, I, I, I've, I've lost a lot
of beautiful instruments over the years, but I can't say.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
I lost them.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
It was always in the service of like, I remember
when my band crashed Kelly, we had a chance to
tour England with the London choir boys. I don't know
if you remember that band, but I had a chance
to tour England. And, you know, there was an agent
over there, but I had to get us over. Well,
I lost a lot of.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Nice guitars getting us over there. But you know what?
Speaker 2 (12:28):
That was in the name of rock and roll. And
other guitars came in their stead. Still, it's hard to
let go of a 78 Les Paul and a 72
Cream Strat.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
See, and we become instant kids, don't we? I mean,
you could walk into, I mean, you could be in
the worst mood of your life, a grumpy old man
syndrome kind of a mood. You walk in there, see
a pointy guitar, and all of a sudden you're going, yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Yeah now things are going right again.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
They're they're instant energizers and a guy i interviewed for
the book jonathan mancuta he's actually an actor on the
show lost he said it best he goes man it's
like christmas every day when you put in an order
for a new car and you're just rubbing your hands
together waiting to see what santa's gonna bring from the
ups truck.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
In Battle Axis, do you go into the storylines of,
oh my God, because these pointy guitars do fall off
their straps. They do fall to the floor. Other people
don't respect them like those who own them. I've got
dents and dings in mind, but by God, that's just
part of the rock and roll story to me. What
about others?
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Yeah, man.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Like, you know, there's there's classic stories about Randy Rhodes
bringing his sandalball in because he dropped it and smashed it. But,
you know, those things were built, built really well. And,
you know, a little bit of TLC can be brought
back to life. And I just I'm right now I'm
in a phase of buying 80s Charvels from Japan.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
They're just incredible instruments. And you know what? I look
for I don't look for mint. I like them played in.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
I like it when they're out of it, because to me,
there's a story behind that, whether it's a guy who
took it on the road and played the bars in
northern Ontario in Canada or some kid who, you know,
was just learning a Queensryche riff, got too excited, made
a move and, you know, hit the bedside lamp.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
There's there's a story behind every ding. And I like
I like that.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Can you imagine the story of music without Bootsy Collins?
If he didn't have his imagination locked in on those
guitars that helped make his image just, oh my God,
such an investment. I mean, I can't imagine without those
guitars what someone like Bootsy Collins would go through.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
Well, you know what, man? Think about it. Funkadelic. They
were like the kiss of soul, you know?
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Like the mothership lands and they are bringing the funk.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
And, you know, it's funny.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
I really focused on the 70s and 80s hard rockers,
but by far they were not the only people playing
pointy guitars.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Look at Prince and the Revolution. And, you know, it's interesting.
I ran out of space.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
It's a pretty thick book, but I ran out of space.
I could have gone on and on like Hondo guitars.
There was a proliferation of Hondo guitars in the Minneapolis area.
So all of a sudden that guy's like Des Dickerson,
you know, playing, playing Hondo explorers and Prince videos.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
Right.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
I was just going to say that's, you know, you,
you bring it up Prince and I'd have to say
that's exactly the reason why I think I glued myself
to MTV because Sure, Motley Crue was hot, but I
had to see what Prince was playing. I had to
watch those damn fingers of his.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
Man, you don't realize what an impact, because he was
such an all around virtuoso, all around genius. it's easy
to gloss over the incredible guitar player he was and
informed he was by classic rock radio by Neil Sean
from journey by Lindsay Buckingham. He took all those lessons,
but applied it to R and B to funk to jazz.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
Like a nonstop musical genius. His output was, it was incredible.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
See, you bring up Lindsey Buckingham and right away I'm going,
I would like to see him on a flying V
with the way that he can pluck those strings. And
to me, as far as I'm concerned, he was shredding
before shredding became cool. He was doing stuff on that
guitar that nobody had ever heard before. No wonder Mick
Fleetwood fell in love with him instantly.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Oh, I'm no kidding, man.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Like taking all those kind of Americana tropes, you know,
the finger picking, the banjo roll, doing it his own way.
But then also applying like the kind of the 60s,
the Peter Green blues thing, right?
Speaker 3 (16:28):
Applying all that.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
And you're right, because a flying V, a good flying
V has a very warm, special mid-range sound.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
And I really do.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
That's actually a really great observation. I associate that with Lindsay's.
that sound that cuts through an FM radio.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (16:44):
It's just there. It has the nose, the warmth, but
cuts through the mix and just like re-in it. You know,
it just hits you in the face.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Oh my God. I could talk to you all freaking day,
but he's got me on a 20 minute schedule. This
is so unfair, man. We're talking pointy guitars here, Bill.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
Come on.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
So dude, you got to come back to this show
anytime in the future. You're on to, I love the
fact that you're going to be doing solo guitars who
now you've really got my attention. Cause When you do that,
that all of a sudden becomes even more personable. And
that to me is going to bring even more people
into your storyline.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
I hope so, man.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
The Battle Axe album is going to come out in
fall of 2026 on Vault Press.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
We're really excited about it.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
I can't wait to share a copy with you, and
I'm looking forward to reading your book, too, man.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
This is exciting.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Well, remember, it was done by an 11th grader that
was really there at the Shrine Auditorium, and I hope
to God I paint a picture for you, because when
you're back there in that dressing room before hitting that stage,
I hope you relive your excitement about being there.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
Aw, man, I'm excited to read it. Thank you for that.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Well, you be brilliant today, and thank you for this
book because it is going to be a tool for
me to reach out with in the future because it's
a conversation starter.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Aw, man, I'm excited you feel that way. Thank you, Errol.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Be brilliant today, okay?
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Will do, man. I'll shine on. You shine on, too.
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