Posted June 15, 2011 at 6:40 am | 3 comments
Brazil seems to grow great guitarists as easily as it grows the palm trees that line the country’s boulevards and streets. Some of the greatest players to ever live have come from this South American guitar breeding ground, such as Baden Powell, Raphael Rabello and Yamandú Costa just to name three. With such a rich guitar history, it is no wonder that Brazil continues to develop and produce some of the best young guitarists on the planet. With a strong recording catalog already in his library, a series of high-profile concerts and the ability to compose, interpret and improvise at a world-class level, Ouro Preto based guitarist Tabajara Belo is a player that deserves to be counted as one of the country’s finest guitarists.
Posted in: Classical, Classical Interviews, Interviews
Posted June 14, 2011 at 6:49 am | One comment
Allele (pronounced Uh leel) is Wally Wood (vocals), Mason Romaine (guitar), Giancarlo Autenzio (drums), Tim Tobin (bass), and Kelly Hayes (guitar). All of these musicians, formerly known only to each other as “local boys” that once played in various bands around the Jacksonville, Florida area, comprise a group of incredibly sharp, talented musicians that deliver a clear message that rock n roll is not a joke, nor is it dead. After their first CD, Point of Origin, there were tours, followed by Wally’s departure, then a regrouping of the lineup with Wally’s return and Lane’s departure.
Posted in: Interviews, Rock Interviews
Posted June 13, 2011 at 6:05 pm | No comments
New York City jazz guitarist Chris Taylor’s music transports jazz aficionados on a sonic wave that is both aurally and imaginatively appealing and one that is magically visual in its coloration and drive. East Coast jazz can be grounded in traditional jazz, but some artists dig into the improvisation mode to channel the essence of their musical palettes in very personal journeys. And from what I’ve heard of Taylor, his willingness to drive hard into improvisation can be tastefully melodic and fearless.
Posted in: Interviews, Jazz Interviews
Posted June 13, 2011 at 5:06 am | 6 comments
Todd Rundgren has gone through many musical phases in his long career. He started out with the blues, got into garage rock for a bit with the group Nazz, and then began his solo career, which had people hailing him as “the new pop-wunderkind” after the release of his 1972 gold-certified double LP Something/Anything?. Later on, Rundgren got more into psychedelia and progressive rock with his band Utopia.
Posted in: Blues Interviews, Interviews
Posted June 10, 2011 at 7:40 am | No comments
Noah Benardout is a name that I expect we’ll hear a lot this summer. Backed by some of the top session players in the business, the young singer-songwriter nails down some superb pop-soaked melodies on his EP that includes a punchy romp called “Haley.”
Posted in: Indie Rock Interviews, Interviews, Singer Songwriter Interviews
Posted June 5, 2011 at 7:49 am | 4 comments
The soaring and steady relevance of straight-up hard rock and heavy metal isn’t going anywhere. As a matter of fact, ask any hard rock or metal fan and you’ll get an earful about its longevity and importance. Music is universal, that’s a fact; take every genre out of the equation, dissecting them all one by one and you may find a bit of relentless “loyalty” in hard rock fanship – and the heavier the music, the better.
Posted in: Interviews, Metal Interviews
Posted June 4, 2011 at 9:12 am | 3 comments
What we perceive as a good show is the product of many people working onstage and many working offstage as well. Lousy tone or a messy stage can ruin an otherwise good performance. John Sinks may not be a well-known name, as he spends most of his time working out of sight, but he has helped the likes of Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Dweezil Zappa and The California Guitar Trio bring their craft to the audience. He has a long experience “in the field” (“in the trenches”…) as Stage Manager, Road Manager, Live Recording Engineer, Guitar Tech, Studio Engineer, Technical And Strategic Liaison: all of this means solving problems and making the show run smoothly.
Posted in: Industry Interviews, Interviews
Posted June 4, 2011 at 6:31 am | No comments
Paul Reed Smith hardly needs an introduction. He is the man behind one of the most successful guitar companies of all time, with an artist roster that already includes the likes of Carlos Santana, Orianthi, Howard Reese and Tim Mahoney, and that seems to be growing by the week. Millions of players around the world have come to know and love PRS guitars, and over the decades the company has developed an army of devoted dealers, distributors, fans and players.
Posted in: Industry Interviews, Interviews
Posted June 3, 2011 at 9:33 am | No comments
After reaching the top of the Country music world, Canadian guitarist, singer and songwriter Terri Clark decided to move away from the major label world that she had lived in for her whole career and went out on her own for her 2009 album The Long Way Home. This departure has only seemed to strengthen the Country star as she gets the best of both worlds, being able to have complete creative control, while working with distributors to help get her music out to a global audience; two things that would make countless other major label artists jealous.
Posted in: Country Interviews, Interviews
Posted June 3, 2011 at 8:55 am | No comments
At one point in time, which seems like eons ago, music was about creating art. It was about pushing boundaries, defying the mainstream and allowing artists to explore their creativity in an unbridled fashion. Then, sometime around the second half of the 20th century, corporations realized that music could be commoditized, and the world of commercial, Pop-driven music was born. Gone were the days when music was made as an art, now it was designed in corporate board rooms using test groups and marketing schemes.
Posted in: Interviews, Rock Interviews
