Shoes & Obits

What's black and white and red all over and is going to court?

Eddie Van Halen is suing Nike, claiming the shoe company ripped off his iconic paint job, as seen on his Frankenstein guitar (above) for its new line of Dunk shoes (upper left in the picture above). Van Halen says he came up with that pattern for the guitar in 1978 and patented it in 2001.

Earlier this year he came out with his own line of funky shoes (upper right) and he says Nike has done him irreparable harm and damage by copying it. The Nike lawyers say the don't see the similarity.

Too bad the trial can't be held in the restroom at Stancill's Guitar studio. As you can see, the decor, which is a tribute rather than a profit-fueled trademark infringement, is perfect ...

Several well-regarded -- although not necessarily well-known -- guitarists have died lately. Most recently, Bob Bogle of the Ventures died this week at the age of 75. The Ventures' instrumental work influenced scores of guitarists and that was Bogle playing lead on their biggest hit, "Walk Don't Run."

Huey Long (no relation to the Louisiana political family) died last week in Houston. He made it to 105 after a career that included playing with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and the Ink Spots.

Fort Worth boy Stephen Bruton (right), who died of cancer in May, was an especially witty songwriter, as well as a solid player. He was Kris Kristofferson's guitarist during Kristofferson's prime and had been a force in the Austin scene for a long time as a solo act, with the Resentments and as a producer. Bonnie Raitt, with whom Bruton also played, played an Austin show shortly after his death and cried her way through one of his songs, “Too Many Memories.”

You've got to like a guy who can come up with lines like: "She wasn't really smiling, only showing me her teeth" and "You can kiss my ass 'til my hat pops off."