With 20 years of experience under his belt, Bill Gaal has been a musician, touring the world, packing houses and pleasing a legion of fans in the early ’00s metal band Nothingface. Not only did he play bass, but he sat behind the boards, serving as a producer, engineer and mixer, having co-written and co-produced all of Nothingface’s five releases.
Being a professional guitarist I’ve had a lot of teachers over the years. These teachers ranged from my very first music store teacher who showed me the five positions of the blues scale, to renowned guitar educator and performer Roddy Ellias, and everything in between. I’ve been lucky in that each of my teachers was able to push me to the next level of my playing, helping me build the career as a guitarist that I have today.
You may not have heard of Bob Boykin, but it’s a near certainty that you have heard him play. It’s always inspiring and equally uncanny how some guitarists have the creative juice to produce work that can fit into a broad spectrum of the performing arts. Bob Boykin has been a “go to” session player in Los Angeles and Nashville and a performing artist with some of the country’s top acts. He has also written an impressive body of music that regularly finds its way into top television programs and commercials as well as major motion pictures.
Take rock guitarist Phil Collen of Def Leppard, combine him with the dynamic intensity of an iconic drummer in Paul Cook from The Sex Pistols, add a soul stirring rhythmic bass of Simon Laffy from Girl, and throw in the experience of selling over 80 million records, 2 achieving diamond status…and you’ve got Manraze, an electrifying London based alternative dub-punk-rock band.
Tim Mahoney has had the kind of career that every aspiring rock guitarist dreams of. As the lead guitarist for the popular rock band 311, Mahoney has no doubt been inspiring fans to pick up the guitar and learn to play ever since their first album, Music came out in 1994. It is no wonder why he is such a popular player and has acquired legions of fans. His groove is incredible, he has a very melodic soloing style, he plays clean, he plays dirty, and he might even have more riffs than Jimmy Page.
Lemmy Kilmister (Motörhead), Slim Jim Phantom (The Stray Cats) and Danny B. Harvey (Rockats, 13 Cats, Lonesome Spurs), have teamed up in the high-energy, “take no prisoners” combo HeadCat to remind the world how real rock ‘n roll is supposed to sound! HeadCat serves up a delicious melting pot with flavors of rockabilly, punk, blues and undeniable rock ‘n roll!
It all started in 2004, when Phil Collen, after 20+ years as lead guitarist for Def Leppard, decided to express himself via another creative outlet – something a bit closer to his musical home.
With Paul Cook (Sex Pistols) on drums and Simon Laffy (Girl) on bass, Manraze was formed and released their debut album SURREAL in the summer of 2008. This debut album was chock full of rebellious in-your-face mantras (“Turn it Up”, “This Is”, “Running Me Up”) ranging from hardcore punk to dub.
As the story goes, Ratt helped pioneer Hollywood’s legendary Sunset Strip sound and scene. After an 11 year wait, the band returned in April of 2010 sounding fired up and better than ever with Infestation, a heavy, riff driven CD reminiscent of their early days as a band. Ratt was able to reinvent their sound by rediscovering their strengths, shuttling listeners to a time when metal ruled the earth and real musicians wore spandex and make-up.
Like a mixture of dangerous chemicals, equal parts guitarist extraordinaire (Phil Collen – Def Leppard), rudeboy rock drummer (Paul Cook – Sex Pistols), and the righteous rhythms of a badass bass player (Simon Laffy – Girl), all together you have one hell of an explosive combination. Add to this concoction the experience of selling 75 million records and the attitude that comes from being at the top of your game and you’ve got MANRAZE. The long awaited and highly anticipated sophomore album, titled punkfunkrootsrock, will be unleashed upon the masses on August 2nd.
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.
