Posted January 30, 2012 at 9:01 am | No comments
It’s hard to believe that it’s been over 40 years since the formation of the Scorpions, back when Rudolf and his brother Michael drove their rickety red VW bus from one small pub to another, from one back yard to another in their home state of Lower-Saxony to rock out. Fast forward to 2010 when the band announced to the world that it would be retiring…but not before releasing a new CD, Sting in the Tail and undertake a Farewell World Tour that will take them 3 years and circle the globe….a few times.
Posted in: Interviews, Rock Interviews
Posted January 25, 2012 at 7:55 pm | One comment
Someone has to represent the new guard of young blues guitarists, and since 1995, Kenny Wayne Shepherd has been carrying the flag with a reckless abandon. All five of his studio albums have topped the Billboard Blues chart, the most recent being 2011’s How I Go, which was the first to feature Kenny himself on vocals along with his usual vocalist Noah Hunt.
Posted in: Blues Interviews, Industry Interviews, Interviews
Posted January 23, 2012 at 7:01 am | One comment
Tom Wheeler’s been coming to NAMM since the early 1970s, he’s been the editor of the best known guitar magazine in the world, has written a series of outstanding books about guitars, including his most recent, The Dream Factory: Fender Custom Shop, and has built a professional reputation as a highly respected and bonafide guitar historian.
Posted in: Interviews, NAMM Show
Posted January 23, 2012 at 6:57 am | No comments
It’s London, May 28, 2007 and I’m with a rock icon, drummer Simon Kirke, the backseat driver of two legendary hard rock bands, Free and Bad Company. People know Simon as “the drummer”, but hand the softly spoken Englishman a guitar and he’ll pull out the stops. He is also an accomplished singer and songwriter equally adept at piano and on guitar. Before he helped found the group Free, he could be heard pounding his U.K made Hayman drum kit with an actor’s son and child prodigy blues guitarist, Paul Kossoff in a group named Black Cat Bones.
Posted in: Classic Rock, Interviews, Rock Interviews, Uncategorized
Posted January 11, 2012 at 11:58 am | No comments
Here’s a fond look back with Terry Lickona, producer of “Austin City Limits,” in an interview right after the first ACL Festival came to a close
Posted in: Industry Interviews, Interviews, Rock Interviews
Posted January 10, 2012 at 12:53 pm | One comment
Saturday, September 28, 2002 and Sunday, September 29, 2002 marked a historic milestone event and a dream come true for PBS’s televised live music showcase, “Austin City Limits,” with the inception and staging of the inaugural Austin City Limits Music Festival. The first ACL Music Festival was a major success and watershed music event. Since the Festival’s first kickoff year in 2002, it has progressed from its beginnings into a landmark annual event. It is recognized and acclaimed by music artists, music fans, and music industry mavens as one of the most anticipated, significant, and influential yearly music festivals.
Posted in: Industry Interviews, Interviews, Jam Band Interviews, Rock Interviews
Posted January 8, 2012 at 8:29 am | 2 comments
Some musicians develop a plan while on the road to success, one that involves taking chances and making changes. Amid this strategy there’s a burning desire to perform and the ambition to hone a craft to its perfection with respect to both tone and technique. Instrumental musicians especially, know that they have to possess something diverse, a sound that differentiates them from the rest, one that sustains interest and curiosity. Without a vocalist, the lead instrument must have a voice of its own, one that speaks to the listener with a personality, resplendent with passion and emotion.
Posted in: Blues Interviews, Interviews
Posted January 3, 2012 at 12:34 pm | No comments
In January 2007, Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel was handed a Golden Guitar award for “Best Instrumental Performance” at the Country Music Awards of Australia for “Gameshow Rag/Cannonball Rag” a track off his latest album, The Mystery, released in 2006.
Posted in: Fingerstyle Interviews, Interviews
Posted December 21, 2011 at 3:02 pm | One comment
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.
Posted in: Industry Interviews, Interviews
Posted December 20, 2011 at 8:45 am | One comment
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.
Posted in: Industry Interviews, Interviews
