We recently interviewed Scott Masuno who played the guitar during high school and college in a band first known as "Hidden Dimensions" then as "Oneida" (Utopian Community). He brought 2 guitars and his amp.

Scott brought a Japanese Fender Stratocaster replica and a Gibson "Les Paul". He said that during the 50's and 60's Gibson and Fender were the 2 main guitar companies. He showed us how the pickups work and how the tone of the guitar changes depending on which one you use. Most rock guitarists put the tone all the way up to 10 and put the amp on the loudest. But some amps have something called a "Dirty Channel" that allows for the raw sound you get when the amp is at 10 without as much volume.

He said that most rock songs have major chords and 16th note strumming patterns. Rock is originally from blues. The standard blues is 12 bar blues which consists of 4 bars of the root chord, 1 bar of the 4 chord, 1 bar of the 1 chord, 1 bar of the 5 chord and one bar of the 4 chord. Some examples of 12 bar blues in rock are the old Batman themesong, and "Rock-n-Roll" by Led Zepplin.

Scott got started on music through ukulele lessons in elementary school. His dad bought his mom a guitar from JCPenney. He read the pamphlet that came with the guitar and learned his first chords. They were similar to the ukulele fingerings. He started on his cousin's electric during intermediate school.

He and his friends formed Oneida in high school where they played at dances. They played mostly popular music. Bands like 3 Dog Night, Santana, Blood, Sweat & Tears, and Chicago were popular then. Senior year they played 3rd at the homecoming dance. The 3rd spot was saved for the best band.

Eric Clapton was a big influence to him as a guitar player. lso Terry Kath, the guitar player for Chicago abd Carlos Santana. Jimi Hendrix was a very agressive guitar influence. He dressed strangely and would wreck his guitars. He burnt his guitar and the '67 Monterey Bay Rock Festival.

Scott brought some of his CD's for us to listen to. The song "Crossroads" by Cream was an example of 12 bar blues. The 3 members of the band sort of go off in their own styles but come back together again. One song by the Chicago Transit Authority (now known as Chicago) started out with a clip from protests at the Chicago National Democratic Convention.