Via VodkaPundit:
Gibson’s very success made it a fat target for federal prosecutors, whom Juszkiewicz alleges were operating at the behest of lumber unions and environmental pressure groups seeking to kill the market for lumber imports.
“This case was not about conservation,” he says. “It was basically protectionism.”
And this isn’t an isolated incident.
RELATED (and it’s Friday…)
[McLaren] had been exposed to the nascent New York punk scene in the last days of the New York Dolls and the early days of the Ramones. In fact, he managed the Dolls for a short period. Failing to collect monetary compensation for his duties, he took payment in the form of Doll’s guitarist Syl Sylvain’s white Les Paul custom, which he took with him when he flew back to London in 1975. (…)
In the hands of one Steve Jones, of Shepherd’s Bush, London, that Les Paul would become the basis of the Sex Pistols sound. (…)
Circa 1976 and 1977, [Mick] Jones [of The Clash — added by reader suggestion] relied on a Les Paul Jr. with P-90s plugged into an Ampeg V4 head and 4×12 cabinet. His early live sound was a boxy, nasal sneer that, while capable of cutting through the mix, lacked the depth of tone to carry the band’s newer, more complex material.
So during sessions for the band’s second album, Give ’Em Enough Rope, Jones began to upgrade. First up was a switch to what would become his signature ax for the rest of his time with the Clash, the Gibson Les Paul. Jones knew a good ax and he had many, including a sunburst ’58 Standard, a wine-red ’70s Custom, a white ’70s Custom, and a sunburst ’70s Custom. On the road in America in 1979, he picked up a rare all-white Gibson ES-295 that he used for a short period.
Jones first had an old ES 125 that he learnt to play on. He bought a red DC Junior in 1974, and another single cutaway Junior (also red) in 1975 (it was sprayed black with Strummers Tele, then smashed at a gig in 1978). After being signed to CBS, Jones bought a white DC Junior (seen on the show “Something Else, circa 1978) but it was rarely played. In late 1977 Jones bought a 1958 Cherry Sunburst Flametop Les Paul Standard, that hadn’t even been drilled for a pickguard (by 1981, he had the words “Dreads At The Controls), an idea Mickey Dread gave him). In 1978, he bought a late 50’s (thats right, it wasn’t a Norlin like everyone seems to think) black Les Paul Custom, seen at the Rock Against Rascism show in 1978. In 1979, he bought 3 new Customs, the white one was used on the show “Alright Now” in 1979, then put aside until 1982, a cherry one that was used in France, and while in France, he bought a Tobacco Sunburst 1968 Les Paul Custom (no video evidence, only in pictures of the French theatre of The London Calling tour). For the making of the “London Calling” music video, Jones bought a rare white ES-295 with P-90 pickups (his favourite kind of pickups) it would also be played on their 1981/82 tour in Texas. For the recording of the “London Calling” album, Jones used a black Stratocaster with a black PG and a maple neck. In 1981, right before the recording of “Sandanista”, Jones bought a late 50’s white (it had aged, and by then it was a light Cream) Stratocaster, that was used for the studio and live versions of their song “Straight To Hell” (seen at The Clash’s SNL performance in 1982, and at the US festival in 1983). Also that year (1981) Jones bought a Yellow DC Junior, it was used for one of the 16 nights at Bonds, and used on the “Rock The Casbah” video. In 1983, Jones was given a Bond guitar by a friend who worked for the company, it was used during the US festival, and with B.A.D.
