Tom North - Introduction
Tom North is a guitarist, vocalist, and composer. His musical palette is diverse; ranging from blues, rock, and jazz, to free experimental music. Tom North received a Ph.D. in music, specializing in computer music in 1989. While pursuing his studies emphasizing automated music composition, he was performing free improvisational music with his trademark stereo prepared electric guitar. He currently records and performs with this instrument as well as his trusty Fender Strat.
I Sing the Guitar Electric
His first electric guitar was a Gemco Stratocaster purchased for $19.95 that he got at age 14. (Gemco was a Southern California
department store similar to either KMart or Target today.) As it turns out, this guitar had a serious defect: the distance between
the nut and the first fret was incorrect. This created dire choices to use this guitar. You could play it as is but the intonation from the
first fret on would be off, hence out of tune. Or you could put a capo on the first fret which would make the neck position markers off
creating a mental condition known as guitar position dyslexia. Tom North decided to play it both ways; when playing alone, without the capo and
when playing with others, with the capo. When he finally got a real electric guitar, that could be tuned, it took several years of therapy to correct the
dyslexia. The intonation side effects are another story.
