Interview: Austin City Limits Producer Terry Lickona Part II
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
After over a decade of paying his dues, a fountain of good fortune is flowing endlessly for slide guitar virtuoso extraordinaire Derek Trucks. During these years of nonstop, grueling touring, he has built a name for himself as the bottleneck boogie guitar player to be reckoned with. Trucks has coordinated countless tours and recordings, playing with his own group, The Derek Trucks Band, played alongside mentors and kin The Allman Brothers Band and has appeared on numerous side projects and guest work from the Frogwings to Phil Lesh.
With a career that spans five decades and multiple genres, it’s no surprise that guitarist Tommy Emmanuel is respected by players and music fans the world over. His unique finger style technique of playing with all ten fingers has dazzled and amazed even legends, so much so that Emmanuel was presented with the “Certified Guitar Player Award” by the great Chet Atkins, an honor earned by only four other guitarists before Atkins’ death in 2001.
Legendary bass player Jack Casady has fired up his bass guitar on stages with the likes of Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna, Jimi Hendrix, Warren Zevon, John Lee Hooker, Rusted Root, John Lee Hooker, members of The Grateful Dead, Gov’t Mule and Crosby, Stills, Nash& Young. Working with Jorma Kaukonen, Grace Slick and the rest of the crew of Jefferson Airplane, Casady laid down bass lines for such monumental songs as “White Rabbit”, “Volunteers” and “Somebody to Love.”
Edge of Paradise might be a new band, but when you’re your debut album includes the rhythm section of bassist Tony Franklin (Blue Murder, The Firm) and drummer Gregg Bissonette (David Lee Roth Band), you know you’re already in great shape. Now add the powerhouse vocals of Margarita Monet and Dave Bates’ towering guitars and you have a record essential to any fan of melodic metal.
