Fred Fried is a very interesting guitar player. His extended harmonies and use of a nylon 8 string guitar are a strong indication of his forward musical thinking. The New York born musician now resides in Cape Cod, MA and splits his time between teaching and mostly local gigs.
In 1982 the New Jersey/New York bar scene was at its peak. The drinking age was 18 and as long as you could show an ID that you were of age, you were in. It didn’t need to be a real, it didn’t need to have a photo. If it did…it didn’t need to be of you! It was that easy.
In 2004 I was honored to interview film and television music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas. Alexandra has directed the music selection, licensing, and placement for such critically acclaimed hit TV shows including Grey’s Anatomy, Rescue Me, Chuck, Gossip Girl, The O.C., Boston Public, Mad Men, Carnivale, Supernatural, and many more. She has also been the music supervisor for such motion pictures as the wonderful character study, Water For Elephants and The Dilemma. Alexandra has also supervised the music for all four of the films in the blockbuster Twilight motion picture franchise, (the fourth film in the Twilight series, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 will be released this November 18, 2011 with Alexandra producing the soundtrack, which is due for release on November 8, 2011 on her own Chop Shop Records label).
Stepping into Paul Reed Smith’s office, my eyes immediately were drawn to the framed photos on the wall nearest the door. There were shots of Smith with Carlos Santana and the legendary Ted McCarty, past president of Gibson Guitars. To the right stood a small troop of electric guitars without pups and a PRS acoustic nearby. It wasn’t the pristine office one might expect to find in the corporate headquarters of an internationally known senior executive, but one of a working man. The pickup-less electric guitars appeared to be projects in mid-shift, waiting for Paul and his PRS team to rummage through their collective mind and come up with new ideas or solutions to creative challenges. Smith appears to be a restless man, who’s never quite satisfied and always has something cookin’.
Chickenfoot – the supergroup featuring guitarist Joe Satriani, drummer Chad Smith and former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and frontman Sammy Hagar will be releasing their long awaited new CD on September 27th simply entitled – Chickenfoot III.
Roaming the grounds of Paul Reed Smith Guitars this weekend has us bumping into people, searching for the lost chord on some of those fancy PRS axes and digging into the history of PRS while reading about and gawking at some early PRS models and prototypes. And earlier today, we sat down with Paul to get his insights into the guitar building industry. We also talked about Orianthi’s new gig with Alice Cooper, a remarkable unreleased track by Celtic guitarist Tony McNamnus, and the new SE line-up of amps. So, we decided to put out a “mix of pix” to show the diversity of happenings at Experience PRS 2011.
Experience PRS is a special event. Not only is it one of the guitar world’s only (and definitely the first) single-manufacturer trade shows, where dealers come from around the country to secure their wholesale purchases of Paul Reed Smith guitars and amps, it also gives regular old dudes a chance to see the PRS factory in all its splendor. And by splendor, we mean bare efficiency and palettes and palettes of virgin wood.
Experience PRS 2011 proves once again that the company is not standing still in the face of daunting economic conditions around the world. With a new line-up of SE acoustic guitars and high quality, yet affordable, SE amps they’re targeting the younger set, yet given the current recessionary times allow those watching their budgets closely to pony up for some new gear. Still, it’s a forward leaning strategy that must weigh risk with potential gain. And these days, gain means retaining market share almost as much as expanding it.
The folks over at PRS Guitars have been busy this past year, and the fruits of the efforts are currently being undraped to dealers and the press at Experience PRS, the guitar manufacturer’s own trade show. One of their most exciting new additions is the expansion of their Student Edition (SE) models of guitars to include an acoustic model, the PRS SE Angelus.
In a poignant moment at Experience PRS 2011, Paul Reed Smith introduced Robert Lee Coleman, with a guitar history that included stints with the Godfather of Soul, James Brown and the masterful Percy Sledge.
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