Stock up on the booze and Google Grandma's number -- it's holiday season again. Nothing wrong with settling down with a rum and eggnog and seeing the family members whose calls you forgot to screen, but this celebrated season also has a dark side. Yes, along with the snow, ice and awkward family gatherings, the holidays also blare “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and “Baby (It's Cold Outside)” everywhere: malls, TV commercials, even your car isn't safe.

There are only a handful of individuals who have pioneered the way music is played on the guitar, yet you would need more than both of your hands to count the number who follow in their footsteps. In fact, it may even become common practice to do so. Let’s take the classic model provided by Jimi Hendrix. The man undisputedly wrote the book on modern guitar playing, and we’d all be lying if we denied taking a page out of Jimi’s book every time we wrote a riff or lick.

After being a workhorse through this last long tour, in addition to a large chunk of touring earlier this year, my Framus Dragon head was in dire need of new tubes. I took the amp in to my repair guy, C. Wright, at Wrightfield to have the amp looked over and biased properly. We put a matched set of the reissue Mullards in it. It sounds great again!