Music Before the Money

Writing for the web is different.
Surfers often have short attention spans,
so you have to grab their attention with graphics and great text.

• Headlines: Like the pros do in the media, you have to grab them.
• Write inverted: Most people are taught to write from a foundation state of mind where you build up to the conclusion. Newspaper people know that you have to hit them with the meat first and then explain how you did it. This is an inverse pyramind.
• Use lists rather than paragraphs: Employ a style and method to your web documents that accommodate the scanning technique most readers use to get information.
• Spellcheck your work: Get an HTML authoring tool with a built-in spellchecker.
• Use plenty of subheads: People skim headings looking for specific topics—so use subheads liberally. If you started by creating an outline, your outline headings will automatically become subheads.
• Format headings as separate lines: or as a lead-in sentence to a paragraph.
• Bold text stands out: It’s best to use it sparingly, such as for lead-in headings at the start of a paragraph. Bold words scattered inside the text can be confusing.
• Use italics for emphasis: Italics help your reader hear the same emphasis you intended. Italics can help make your text sound more conversational.
• People read bulleted text: Condense important points to bulleted lists.
• Repeat your most important quotes: using pull quotes—quotes set larger and often in a different typeface.

My first real amplifier was a Garnet. It was the first one I saw with a fuzz effects unit built in. It was called a “Stinger” and by hitting the foot pedal you could get a distorted - albeit “cheesy” - sound that actually was a passable overdrive.

By the early ’70’s, Garnet was firmly established in most Canadian markets and had made strong inroads into America. All of the Garnet tube amps were designed by Gar Gillies Sr. Some of the more popular models were the PRO, REBEL, and BTO (big time operator) series. These three series all had two guitar heads and a suitably powered P.A. system.

The first P.A. system and amplifiers that the company built were for a popular Winnipeg group then called Chad Allen & the Expressions (soon to change their name to The Guess Who?). Many of the other local and Western Canadian groups liked the new sounds and power of the amps, and followed suit by ordering amplifiers and P.A. equipment. The band BTO were also avid users of the Garnet tube amps.

In all my view of the Garnet was very affirmative, Our bass player used the small Revolution Bass for a year. It was a portable amp with a 15″ speaker and did the trick for the Legions and other venues we played at the time. Like me he went to the Kustom series a year later.

I also forgot that they made a decent guitar, knock-offs of the Gibson line but good sounding instruments. So for a brief, shining decade-and-a-half Canadian companies made innovative, world-class band gear, until Japanese - and now Chinese - companies took over with their cheap labor.