Welcome to CindyLouWhoMusic! My name is Cindy Lester & this is my second music website which I'll devote mostly to guitars. I give private guitar & piano lessons in Malden, MO in beautiful southeast Missouri. I picked up my first guitar around age 12, taught myself to play & have enjoyed it ever since. I majored in music in college & also play piano,flute and a variety of other instruments. See the following pages for guitar and music related topics and email me at:
maldenmusic@myvcs.net  if you have requests for anything specific or if you have articles and/or photos to post here. This site be a work in progress. Happy playing!





For my other music website click on the link below:

www.maldenmusic.net





If you are interested in signing up for guitar or piano lessons, click below:

www.maldenmusic.net




Click on the guitar below for MySpace page

Wanna Play?

Do you play guitar and/or like to sing? I want to get a few  musicians together for a semi-regular musical get together. Maybe weekly, maybe monthly, my house, your house, church basement or wherever. Email me and let's see what we can come up with. My only requirement is that you leave your ego at home and just have fun. Musicians of all abilities would be welcome.
maldenmusic@myvcs.net

CHRISSIE HYNDE
Not Just a Pretender 

Chrissie Hynde was born in Ohio in 1951 and is best known for her work with the band The Pretenders. She joined her first band while a student at Kent State University where she studied art. In 1973 Hynde landed a job in an architectural firm in London but left after eight months. She unsuccessfully tried to start a band in France but returned to Ohio in 1975.  Hynde resurfaced in France in 1976 for another unsuccessful stab at forming a band. She found her way back to London in the midst of the punk movement.  Later, Hynde tried to start a group with Mick Jones from The Clash but it failed to take off. After several more unsuccessful attempts with different bands Mick Jones hired Hynde as his guitarist for his band's initial tour of Britain. Hynde's recollection of that period: "It was great, but my heart was breaking. I wanted to be in a band so bad. And to go to all the gigs, to see it so close up, to be living in it and not to have a band was devastating to me. When I left, I said, 'Thanks a lot for letting me come along,' and I went back and went weeping on the underground throughout London. All the people I knew in town, they were all in bands. And there I was, like the real loser, you know? Really the loser." 

Soon after a demo tape made by Hynde found its way to Dave Hill, owner of the label Real Records. Hill stepped in to manage her career and advised Hynde to take her time and get a band together. In the spring of 1978, Hynde met Pete Farndon (bass guitar/vocals) through a mutual friend. Hynde and Farndon then hooked up with James Honeyman-Scott(guitar/vocals/keyboards) and Martin Chambers (drums/vocals/ percussion), and called themselves The Pretenders. They recorded a demo tape and a single was released in 1979 ("Stop Your Sobbing/The Wait")and quickly hit the Top Thirty in UK. And the rest as they say, is history.

Chrissie Hynde appeared at Wembley Stadium on the 7 July 1984 providing back up vocals on the encores of Bob Dylan's sell out concert. Also appearing in the encores of that show were Eric Clapton, Van Morrison and Carlos Santana.

As the rare, successful female bandleader in the early days of punk and new wave Hynde's impact was far reaching and she inspired many other women to follow her lead. She usually plays a Fender Telecaster.

Throughout the mid 1980's and early 1990's, Hynde employed a string of session and professional musicians within the band, always keeping the name Pretenders. With many of the albums through this period, the only constant presence is her own, and the album art often reflects this (using her picture alone in some cases).

A new album has just been recorded with James Walbourne stepping in as guitarist in place of Adam Seymour. A sample song from the album, "Boots of Chinese Plastic", is available for listening on Chrissie Hynde's Myspace page. The band will perform several songs, old and new at the Koko Club in London on the 30th of July for an Itunes special, with tickets only able to be won and even then only by U.K. residents.

Hynde has 2 daughters and recently opened a vegitarian restaurant in her hometown of Akron, Ohio. She has also been in the news in recent years as a high-profile animal rights activist and a member of PETA. She is a confirmed vegetarian, and has also spoken out in favor of music file-sharing as a way for 'new artists' to be heard.

For more info on Hynde go to:

www.chrissiehynde.com

CARING FOR YOUR  ACOUSTIC GUITAR

Now that you own an acoustic guitar one of the things you need to do, besides learning to play, is learning a few simple things to help care for it.

Your acoustic guitar is made of thin wood and the wood is affected by heat and humidity. These two things are probably the most important factors to be aware of when it comes to your guitar. Most guitarists/luthiers recommend an average humidity in the 45%-55% range and temps between 72 and 77 degrees.
 In addition, any rapid changes in heat/humidity aren't good-a rapid increase in humidity can make the wood swell and too high a temp might cause glue to loosen under the bridge allowing it to fall off. Increased temp or exposure to cold could cause "checking" which are small cracks that develop in the lacquer finish.
Too dry a climate is also bad news for your guitar and may cause the guitar to develop cracks.
If your guitar has been exposed to freezing temps, the best way to warm it up is to leave it in the case, set indoors and allow it to warm gradually. Never set your guitar near a heat source-vent, fireplace, etc as this can cause over drying and too high a temp. Don't expose it to direct sunlight or leave overnight in your car.
Some experts recommend keeping your guitar in it's case with a humidifier at all times when you aren't playing it. I have to admit that I DON'T follow this advise for two simple reasons. First, a guitar left in it's case is less likely to be played and practiced. Secondly, in our southeast Missouri environment, we almost always have enough humidity and I've never had a problem with this. I always keep my guitars in their stands or better, their wall hangers. I like wall hangers because it keeps them up off the floor and away from our dog and cats. When I lived in the Colorado Rockies where our average humidity was about 20%, I did keep my guitars in cases more often with a humidifier in each one. Guitar humidifiers are small, cheap and come in all different kinds. As far as having too much humidity around here, if you have your guitar inside in an air conditioned environment, your guitar will probably not suffer.
I also clean the wood on my fretboard (fingerboard) every time I change strings, which for me is about once a month. I use lemon oil on the fretboard as well as the entire guitar when it needs a little cleaning. I've been using D'Andrea Lemon Oil for years and it lasts forever and doesn't cost much. Warning-use it very sparingly with a soft cloth-a little goes a long, long way. There are hundreds of guitar care products available today and you don't have to spend a ton of money to properly care for your acoustic guitar. Just a little common sense and a little cleaning will help keep your guitar sounding and looking good. One more thing, if you aren't going to be playing a guitar for a period of a few months, loosen the strings a bit before putting it away. This will help avoid too much tension on the neck. Happy playing!
cfl