H otLinks
Preparing for the pub quiz at your local drinking establishment? This month, Web Content
Editor Joe Coffey explores two websites that’ll get you ready for trivia.
MisterGuitar.com
Fun Trivia.com’s Guitar Quizzes
We could argue all day about who deserves to be called the greatest guitarist ever, but one thing is clear – there is only one Mister
Guitar and that is Mr. Chet Atkins. There are, of course, many corners of the internet dedicated to honoring this legend, but we’re
fond of MisterGuitar.com, the official website of Chet Atkins.
The site’s best feature is its collection of “When I Met Chet”
stories, all submitted from readers. There are currently 68 stories
available for reading, and each one leaves you with the impression that Atkins was a remarkable individual. The fact that he was
a master fingerstyle player who influenced scores of guitarists,
including many greats, is implicit; these first-person narratives
range from a kid sneaking backstage at the Opry to blow-by-blow
accounts of session players getting a call out of the blue for the
gig of a lifetime.
MisterGuitar.com is a great starting point for any web foray into the
Nashville icon’s music and career. It has plenty of information about
the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society, which is a separately organized group of folks who appreciate Atkins’ legacy. The site also
has a collection of biographical links, his discography, details about
his 13 Grammys and links to biographical information on some of
Atkins’ friends (Jerry Reed, Steve Wariner, etc.). One of the site’s
more popular features is the ChetBoard, a forum where people
post comments and links to all things Chet-related, or at the very
least within the realm of fingerstyle picking.
The site is not slick. There is no glitzy flash page with moving
images and synchronized audio. There is no comprehensive search
function that allows you to navigate the site with keywords. The
site is down-home and folksy and exactly what you would expect
from Mr. Guitar: a nice place to visit with a clear effort to emphasize the fans.
Chat about Chet at misterguitar.com
Just as baseball fans can be divided along the lines of mere
fans and stat geeks, the guitar universe has its Cliff Clavens,
too. We’ve all had conversations with that annoying guy who
takes pride in knowing which basses Jerry Only from the Misfits
uses, or who the guitarist was on Paul Simon’s 1983 song,
“Allergies.” No matter what the conversation is about or where
it seems to be going, that guy finds a way to drop as many fac-toid bombs as possible.
But in the interest of disclosure, many of us are that guy – we
might as well quantify just how much guitar knowledge we’re
toting. FunTrivia.com hosts dozens of guitar quizzes, available
in both HTML and Flash, with the following ranges of difficulty:
average, tough, difficult, very difficult and impossible. After taking a quiz you can see the percentage of people who answered
each question correctly. You can also see how you ranked
among other quiz takers, but for that you have to create a free
Fun Trivia account which also has a ranking system that rewards
you points for your cerebral performances and awards you “fun
badges” after you’ve kicked enough trivial ass.
Want a taste? Answer questions like, “What guitarist played
with Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers before becoming
a national authority on missile defense?” and “Who was the
original guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers?” to warm up.
When you’re ready to roll, answer questions like, “Which guitarist has never played with David Bowie (publicly), neither on
tour nor on a studio album?” to achieve guitar trivia nirvana.
So now you have a way to further prepare yourself for those
guitar knowledge showdowns. And in case you didn’t know:
Skunk Baxter knows a thing or two about missiles, Hillel Slovak
was the original Red Hot guitarist and David Gilmour never
played with Bowie.
Take the challenge at funtrivia.com (search under “guitar”)
