With his formidable music industry connections and hard won experience, international marketer Peter Wolf launched his company, Brandwolf, while working his magic getting the word out on the new Knaggs Guitar brand and producing his own brand of music.
Starting up a guitar business in this economic downturn takes a lot of confidence in one’s abilities to design, build, market and sell, in fact, in nearly any economic climate you’ve just got to have the talent and the guts to live that kind of dream.
In May 1994, a popular cultural phenomenon swept the nation when the motion picture adaptation of The Crow was released. A brilliant and starkly vivid visual realization of the adult underground cult graphic novel by author and illustrator James O’Barr, it became something of an instant legend due to the tragedy of it being the final performance of the truly gifted and eloquent actor, Brandon Lee, (son of martial arts actor and legend Bruce Lee). Lee was accidentally killed by a malfunctioning prop gun on the film’s set during the making of the film.
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’.
Summer’s here, NAMM is just around the corner and ready to stage the newest music gear and other products at the Nashville, Tennessee convention center from July 21 to July 23, 2011. This year, attendance is expected to reach over 12,000 visitors to the NAMM event, which will serve as a key focus for music merchants from around the world.
“Austin City Limits” has lovingly embraced every style of music and likewise opened its arms to an array of legends and stylists; the great Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Alison Krauss, and so many more. It has earned a world-class, legendary reputation for showcasing, above all, a monumental who’s who of guitar greats. The program has introduced and showcased a dazzling constellation of stars whose measure has more than placed them as glittering fixtures among the firmament. From rising unknowns receiving their first due and exposure to seasoned veterans, from international stars to influential mentors, the show has meant a lot to a great deal of artists, and they don’t hesitate to say so.
It’s a bright Spring day, the sun shining, as Lickona, a genuine, affable, and now, a longtime native Texan, chats with me from his true home, his office at PBS affiliate KLRU in Austin, Texas, home to “Austin City Limits”. Lickona begins with how “Austin City Limits” all came about. Its inception was the brainchild of its original creator, Bill Arhos. Arhos was already the Program Manager for the local PBS affiliate.
With the decline of Gibson and Fender over the years, two things have happened to the guitar industry, there has been a dramatic rise in more affordable, foreign-made guitars, and the private, small luthier market has also grown in leaps and bounds. There is something about working one-on-one with a master maker that turns a normal guitar into a piece of treasured art. Jazz guitar virtuoso Jack Grassel recently teamed up with luthier Dan Smocke to build Jack’s perfect guitar, and the resulting instrument is absolutely first rate.
Music industry reps, up and coming bands and legendary rock stars are all set to descend on Toronto for the 29th annual Canadian Music Week held from March 9th to the 13th, 2011. Besides featuring 800 bands as well as tons of workshops and panels geared towards performers, songwriters and industry reps, there will also be appearances by three of the biggest names in the business, Sammy Hagar, Nikki Sixx and Melissa Etheridge.
Jimi Hendrix Stratocasters: Eight Fender Tribute Guitar… 
Joe Satriani Interview – Satchurated: Live in Montreal 
Chord Scale Theory and Linear Harmony for Guitar Ebook 
The Burst Brothers Talk About Vintage Guitars, Julien’s… 
Metallica Master of Puppets Guitar Tab: Free Metallica … 
Dio Live at Donington ’83 and ’87 Set for Release 
Trevor Rabin: Jacaranda Album Review 
Martin Guitar Museum Tour 
Look Back at the Millionth Martin Guitar 
30 Days to Building Better Guitar Technique: Volume 1 
Do you love the guitar and all things guitar related? 
