electric guitar

The Jerrys Debut New Live Show

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My bandmates and I debuted our new live show on November 17 at Mama and Me Pizzeria in Homewood, Illinois. In all, we played 36 songs, including original music going back to Pop Go The Jerrys, as well as covers of songs by Chuck Berry, Herman’s Hermits, David Bowie, the Kinks, and others. In addition to playing a lot of songs live for the first time, we debuted our new drum head.

It was not our first time playing at the venue. On September 28, we played just over an hour after a rousing set by The Big Boppers. That evening, we played mostly original songs, but did include a few covers, including Tommy James and the Shondells’ 1966 hit, “Hanky Panky.” Originals included three songs from The Jerrys’ new six-song EP, The Wind Cries Jerrys: “Chicago USA,” “Ms Wonderful,” and “Anna Marie.” Watch “Ms Wonderful” live at Mama and Me Pizzeria below.

For the record, field-testing of my new Fender American Elite Telecaster guitar is now complete. Not once during the entire show did any string slip out of the nut. My repositioning the string guide to the “1960s Telecaster” position was the simple solution to a big problem. After a proper setup, the guitar should be ready to play for a long time.

Field-Testing the Fender American Elite Telecaster Guitar

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The Jerrys at Mama and Me Pizzeria 9/28/18

Last month I had the opportunity to field-test my new guitar, a black Fender American Elite Telecaster. The Elite is the best guitar I’ve ever owned. The first time I picked it up, I felt as though Fender had made the guitar just for me, perfect in every way. I couldn’t wait to use it at an upcoming show at Mama and Me Pizzeria.

Several songs into our set, however, I noticed that the first string had slipped out of both the nut and the string guide. As my style more closely resembles Pete Townsend’s than Segovia’s, I assumed the fault was mine and placed the string back where it belonged. No biggie—until it happened again. And again. In all, I must have repositioned the string a dozen times that night (it was the only guitar I’d brought). My “perfect” guitar had failed the test.

String Guide Placement

After more research than I care to admit, I concluded that Fender’s factory placement of the string guide did not provide adequate pressure on the string to keep it in the nut, at least for my playing style. In Fenderspeak, the guide had been placed in the “’50s Telecaster” position on the Elite instead of the “’60s Telecaster” position level with the A string tuner. Additionally, the fix seemed like something that even I could do, so I did it.

Fender American Elite Telecaster headstock with repositioned string guide

Since moving the string guide to the ’60s Telecaster position, I’ve played at full throttle, almost daring the string to come out of place. So far, the issue appears to be resolved, and the modification left only a small hole in the headstock where the guide had been originally. Field-testing of the American Elite Telecaster resumes at our next show.