Battle Axes: A Hard Rockin' History of Pointy Guitars is a love letter to the wildest shapes and designs of rock 'n' roll's most beloved instrument, the electric guitar. Sean Kelly, who has played with some of Canada's most iconic recording artists, dives deep into the evolution of famous "pointy" guitar designs like the Flying V, the Firebird, and the Explorer through careful research and conversations with renowned guitarists, designers, luthiers, fans, and social media influencers. Battle Axes features in-depth interviews with past and present members of KISS, Def Leppard, Alice Cooper, Twisted Sister, Guns N' Roses, Skid Row, Stryper, Quiet Riot, Ratt, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Triumph, MSG, Racer X, Autograph, BulletBoys, and many more. Along the way, Kelly explores how the Space Age guitar designs of the '50s, once deemed too wild, odd, and just too ugly for mass consumption became talismanic weapons of mass distraction. We learn how outlier companies like Hamer, Dean, B.C. Rich, Kramer, Ibanez, Charvel/Jackson, and Lado capitalized on the '80s trend toward faster, louder, and more outrageous guitar playing by creating instruments that offered visual shock value that matched the hot-rodded modifications necessary to compete in the arena rock era.
Battle Axes: A Hard Rockin' History of Pointy Guitars is for any musician or fan of classic '70s and '80s hard rock. Careful with this book … it could poke your eye out! Battle Axes is an exploration of the talismanic qualities of rock 'n' roll's wildest and boldest guitar designs and the impact of the guitarists who play them. Features exclusive commentary from famous guitar heroes as well as from passionate hobbyists and the designers of the guitars themselves.
Sean Kelly is a Juno-nominated Canadian musician who has performed with Nelly Furtado, Dee Snider, Coney Hatch, Helix, and Crash Kelly. In 2023, he was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame as a member of Lee Aaron's band. By day, Sean is a music teacher with the Toronto Catholic District School Board. He lives in Toronto, Ontario.
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• TRACES THE HISTORY OF POINTY GUITARS all the way back to the 1950s, with the Flying V, the Explorer, and the Moderne, to see where the phenomenon began. The focus of the book is on the hard rockin' 1970s and '80s and the music and guitars of KISS, Judas Priest, Mötley Crüe, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, and others.
• A PASSIONATE TOPIC: With 2.9M members in r/Guitar on Reddit with countless threads about all sorts of electric guitars, various Facebook groups (including a 19K-member "Pointy Guitars" group!), there is heated debate as to which pointy guitar is the best.
• CONNECTION TO TWISTED SISTER: Sean Kelly performed in Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider's Rock & Roll Christmas Tale. He's also toured and recorded with Nelly Furtado, Lee Aaron, Coney Hatch, Helix, Gilby Clarke, Rough Trade, Alan Frew (Glass Tiger), Harlequin, Honeymoon Suite, and his own band, Crash Kelly.
