In 1985 Guitar World ran a photo essay of Johnny Winter, Dickey Betts, and Brian Setzer displaying their tattoos. Johnny’s photo also graced the cover of Easy Riders: Tattoo Magazine of Skin Art in 1989. Getting tattooed exposed Johnny’s skin, and his music, to a new audience. “A lot of bikers like my music now that didn’t before I got tattooed,” he says. “More bikers bought my records because they identified with me.” A line drawing of Johnny’s Lazer guitar, a streamlined instrument that resembles a Steinberger bass, accompanied the 1989 interview “Rockin’ Tattoo Blues.” He bought it from luthier Mark Erlewine in the early 1980s, but didn’t start playing it until 1984, when he broke a string on his Firebird.Erlewine, who made the Automatic guitar for Johnny’s friend Billy Gibbons in ZZ Top (as well as Don Felder of the Eagles and Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits), brought a Chiquita, a guitar about a foot shorter than a Stratocaster, to Johnny’s gig at the Austin Opry House. Johnny liked the Chiquita. The following year, Erlewine showed him a Lazer, a lightweight full-scale guitar, and Johnny bought a black model. “I remember trying it and liking it,” says Johnny. “It feels real good and it s pretty lightweight. The Lazer is a little bit easier to play than the Firebird. The action is as high, but the strings pull easier. It sounds close to a Fender. It’s a better sounding guitar than the Firebird; it’s more biting and has more of a treble sound. But I still use the Firebird on slide songs; the slide still sounds better on the Firebird.”
Source: Sullivan, Mary Lou. Raisin' Cain: The Wild and Raucous Story of Johnny Winter
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