Envision in your mind’s eye a stage that resembles a demented Santa’s workshop straight from Hell, a pants-less Santa Claus, several wicked snow blowing elves, and three sexy girls pulling Dee on a hot rodded sleigh. Sound like a Christmas fairy tale? Not quite, more like the Twisted Christmas Spectacular at the Best Buy Theater in New York City!
When one thinks of Brazilian guitar, the soft sounds of a classical guitar playing Bossa Nova or Samba usually comes to mind. But, there is a new generation of Brazilian guitarists that are stepping beyond expectations, branching out to the modern Jazz-Rock-Funk Fusion genre and taking Brazilian guitar into new and exciting directions.
Clapton: The Ultimate Illustrated History by noted rock author, Chris Welch, landed in our shop a short while ago and at first glance, we knew it was worth checking out. Sure, there’s the Clapton connection, but the book exudes high quality and we’re familiar with past books by Welch.
According to a press release, C. F. Martin & Co. is bringing exciting new instruments to the 2012 Winter NAMM convention in Anaheim, CA this January. The legendary acoustic guitar company is unveiling 15 innovative guitars and ukuleles that will bolster the brand’s already premiere line of stringed instruments.
I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical when I first started to check out the Amplitube App and iRig attachment for the iPad (also available for the iPod and iPhone). As someone that grew up in a day and age when if you wanted a new amp sound, you bought a new amp, and the best effects were single pedals or the occasional multi-effects unit that beat expectation.
Guitarist and educator Matt Warnock has recently announced that he will be giving away his new eBook “5 Essential Jazz Guitar Scale Techniques” to readers who sign up to his free weekly newsletter. Readers will also get a free copy of his previous eBook, “10 Essential ii-V-I Licks for Jazz Guitar,” when they sign up to the newsletter, which goes out every Monday at 6am EST.
In this installment, we’ll take a closer look at the head region in a little more detail. While it is not the emphasis of this work to explain all the subtleties and nuances of the physics behind the working acoustic guitar, this series can help one get more familiar with much of the anatomical features of a common acoustic guitar.
For those who are Fender obsessed and love the contours and sounds of Fender guitars, author Tom Wheeler’s latest book, The Dream Factory: Fender Custom Shop, offers up the comprehensive story of the Shop, complete with its compelling history, a series of stunning photos, highlights on some very cool CS axes, and the inside scoop on the genesis of the Custom Shop straight from some of the custom builders.
There are few guitarists on the scene today that can boast the performing and teaching career that Sheryl Bailey has built up over the past decade. Not only have her albums been well received, and she is constantly performing as both a leader and side woman, but she has built a reputation as one of the top jazz guitar teachers anywhere, through both her video releases and her work at the Berklee College of Music.
Throughout the history of music, artists across the board have drawn upon personal experience to inspire their songwriting. Whether it be tales of love won and lost, dealing with personal demons or experiences growing up in an interesting family, songwriters will often dig into their personal past when looking for new inspiration. Singer and songwriter Jeremy Schonfeld is an artist with a personal story to tell and he does so with powerful emotional drive and first-rate musicianship on his latest work Iron and Coal.
