Janick Gers

It's a shame there is no footage of Jan throwing his White Spirit Strat from the lightning rig during his solo on Monsters Of Rock festival with Gillan.
 
matic22 said:
It's a shame there is no footage of Jan throwing his White Spirit Strat from the lightning rig during his solo on Monsters Of Rock festival with Gillan.
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Isn't it though?

The Strat Janick played in White Spirit was a copy, and he has said in the last few years that he still has it "but it's had a new neck". I wonder why that might have been ...

Potentially my favourite Janick quote is "I use Fenders on stage. They don't break unless you drop them from a great height." A lesson learned?
 
Black Abyss Babe said:
Isn't it though?

The Strat Janick played in White Spirit was a copy, and he has said in the last few years that he still has it "but it's had a new neck". I wonder why that might have been ...

Potentially my favourite Janick quote is "I use Fenders on stage. They don't break unless you drop them from a great height." A lesson learned?
Click to expand...
No. The White Spirit Stratocaster is a white 70's Strat with maple fingerboard. It's the first real Strat Janick had. It recieved a new neck (a copy of his 64 Strat) when the original neck gave up, because of use and abuse some time during the 90's and it's still used as the IM guitar. He also has it at his house all of the time to play.

janick-GILLAN.jpg


He is holding the White Spirit Strat in his hands in this photo in it's original state. The copy you are talking about, is probably the Greco, which is bottom right.

FYI: Bottom (L-R): 64 Stratocaster that Ian Gillan gave him, 70's Stratocaster in black that was later stripped to natural finish, 61-62 Stratocaster in white, Greco lawsuit Strat.

During the NPFTD tour he only had White Spirit Strat and the 64 with him. If you look at the footage, you'll see how worn the neck on the WS Strat is.
 
Forostar said:
The White Spirit guitar is black:
z212-e1443564190510-1024x657.jpg
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It could be that Janick had 2 strats at this time. But it's also quite possible that he fucked up in the interview.

This Strat pictured here, could very well be the one that was stripped to wood later (with Union Jack sticker and changed pickguard).
 
In "Run to the Hills" Janick's "first proper electric guitar" is described as "a white Gibson Fender Stratocaster" (whatever that is). As it was purchased partly with money received from his mum for his 18th birthday this would have been early in 1975 and as White Spirit started in the summer of that year I imagine that he would still have been using this guitar at the time. He must have acquired the black one a bit later on.
 
Black Abyss Babe said:
In "Run to the Hills" Janick's "first proper electric guitar" is described as "a white Gibson Fender Stratocaster" (whatever that is). As it was purchased partly with money received from his mum for his 18th birthday this would have been early in 1975 and as White Spirit started in the summer of that year I imagine that he would still have been using this guitar at the time. He must have acquired the black one a bit later on.
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Than it is the white Strat he holds. I remember him saying that he still uses the White Spirit Strat today on Iron Maiden and that it has been re-necked in the IMFC interview a few years back.
 
Anyway, he did use that black guitar in White Spirit. And I'm surprised, matic, that you've never talked about it before. The pic I posted came from the White Spirit album! Not exactly a source to look over. ;)


Others pics found via google:
ebf3_3.jpg


Graeme Crallan (on drums) with Janick when White Spirit played the Reading festival in 1980:
2929926858_23fe2b9534.jpg


Video of black guitar on Reading 1980:

This one looks white:
white-spirit-cheetah-neat.jpg


This vid features both the black and the white guitar (if they are different ones!)
 
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Forostar said:
Anyway, he did use that black guitar in White Spirit. And I'm surprised, matic, that you've never talked about it before. The pic I posted came from the White Spirit album!
Not exactly a source to look over.


Others pics found via google:
ebf3_3.jpg


Graeme Crallan (on drums) with Janick when White Spirit played the Reading festival in 1980:
2929926858_23fe2b9534.jpg


Video of black guitar on Reading 1980:

This one looks white:
white-spirit-cheetah-neat.jpg


This vid features both the black and the white guitar (if they are different ones!)
Click to expand...

It seems that Janick had both 70s Strats during White Spirit. He seems to have an obsession of black ones being his main ones and white ones his backups. So this proves that Jan's first Strat could've been the white one.
 
So we've basically established that the term "the White Spirit Strat" is not a unique description then!

@Forostar, thanks for those pictures - I don't think I've ever seen the first two before :).
 
I just saw that the whole Gillan's in album is on YT (poor quality).

Track 2 apparently features Janick. If that's true, Janick is a lot less conservative as a guitarist than I thought before. The rythm guitar is a baritone / 7 string. (But I assume that Janick only did the solo).

The solo is very, dare I say, Adrian-esque.

Edit: That's Michael Lee Jackson n the 7 string/baritone. Janick only did the solo and slide playing.
 
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