Posted May 5, 2011 at 8:35 am | One comment
Louisiana-born Kenny Wayne Shepherd grew up on the blues. From the age of seven he had a guitar in his hands and kept at it until five years later he was on stage with Jump Street Five blues group guitarist Bryan Lee. At 17, Kenny produced his first album, Ledbetter Heights, that sat at the Number 1 spot on Billboard’s chart for five months earning a Gold Certification. The album tracks were both hot and soulful, reflecting a love of rock ‘n’ roll and his deep appreciation for Chicago,Texas and Delta blues.
Posted in: Blues, Blues Interviews, Interviews
Posted May 5, 2011 at 7:56 am | No comments
You’re on stage or in the studio and you throttle your whammy bar, only to get back into your groove with a guitar that’s so far out of tune you wanna crawl from the wreckage. Or you’re in the audience and you’re getting fed up while the guitarists are fumbling around tuning up their guitars. It looks like a California firm, Evertune, has come up with a win-win solution to the age old vexing problem of guitars getting pummeled out of tune at the most critical times.
Posted in: Guitars and Gear, Industry Interviews, Interviews
Posted May 4, 2011 at 3:00 pm | No comments
Legendary guitar and piano/keyboard virtuoso, Tony MacAlpine’s new selftitled album, to be released June 21 on Favored Nations, marks a highly-anticipated return to solo work after a prolific decade of output with his bands, including prog-metal-fusion trio
Planet X; GRAMMY-nominated jazz fusion outfit CAB; power metallers Ring Of Fire; as well as performing keyboard and guitar duties in Steve Vai’s double platinum DVD-selling live band “The Breed” from 2001-2006. “When I set out to write a new album, I quickly realized that my urge to once again create and define myself as a solo artist had returned with a vengeance,” said MacAlpine. “This is my strongest album to date. I can’t wait to hit the road and play it live.”
Posted in: Guitar Tab, Instrumental Interviews, Metal
Posted May 4, 2011 at 8:22 am | 11 comments
David Coverdale and company return to their no-holds-barred, bluesiest, sexiest rock n’ roll roots with Whitesnake’s 11th studio album, Forevermore, the band’s first in more than two years. Coverdale has reignited an explosively fruitful vein of creativity with guitarist and co-writer-producer Doug Aldrich, guitarist Reb Beach, drummer Brian Tichy and Michael Devin on bass. As with all Whitesnake’s albums, Coverdale unleashes his incomparable vocal chops with emotional fervor. Armed with an arsenal of key players, the CD shows the world that the “snake” is an unstoppable wall of guitars!
Posted in: '80s Rock, Guitar Hero Interviews, Interviews, Rock Interviews
Posted May 3, 2011 at 2:54 pm | No comments
There is a fad that emerged in the ‘90s of older bands getting back together to do reunion tours, farewell tours, 2nd farewell tours, 3rd farewell tours, bringing the same old thing to their fans and charging tons of money for tickets. The focus seemed to be on making ends meet and buying a bigger house than the music. But, there are some bands that have gotten back together in recent years who have kept the focus on the music, and even more importantly, written and recorded new material for their fans to enjoy, old and new alike.
Posted in: '80s Rock, Interviews, Rock Interviews
Posted May 2, 2011 at 8:49 am | No comments
With the online guitar learning community exploding over the past decade, several names have risen to the top of the heap as the leaders in online guitar education. One of these players is Jimmy Bruno, and recently Jimmy has branched out on his own, after working with another company on a previous website, to launch a new site called the Jimmy Bruno Guitar Workshop. If the past is prologue to the future, then this site should be a great resource for guitarists of all levels and backgrounds that are looking to better themselves as players, and all at a very affordable price.
Posted in: Interviews, Jazz, Jazz Interviews
Posted May 1, 2011 at 9:11 am | One comment
With the decline of Gibson and Fender over the years, two things have happened to the guitar industry, there has been a dramatic rise in more affordable, foreign-made guitars, and the private, small luthier market has also grown in leaps and bounds. There is something about working one-on-one with a master maker that turns a normal guitar into a piece of treasured art. Jazz guitar virtuoso Jack Grassel recently teamed up with luthier Dan Smocke to build Jack’s perfect guitar, and the resulting instrument is absolutely first rate.
Posted in: Guitars and Gear, Industry Interviews, Interviews
Posted April 28, 2011 at 8:20 pm | No comments
Not only does Hawaiian-born ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro make his little four-string axe gently weep, he also makes it sweep, soar, and sing. In his hands, the ukulele roams the halls of folk, jazz, flamenco, rock, funk, the blues, bluegrass and classical music. Along with his astonishing talent, Jake’s winning smile and generous personality have been recognized by the State of Hawaii that has named him a Goodwill Ambassador for the island paradise.
Posted in: Country, Country Interviews, Interviews
Posted April 26, 2011 at 7:09 am | 3 comments
Featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live, written up in Guitar World Magazine, been a featured guest with Buddy Guy multiple times at his Legends Blues club in Chicago, and just celebrated his 12th birthday. Yep you read that last part right. Most guitarists would be happy with having the chance to have one of those accomplishments on their resumes by the middle of their careers, yet East Coast Blues sensation Quinn Sullivan has been there and done that, and he still has four years to wait to get his driver’s license.
Posted in: Blues, Blues Interviews, Interviews
Posted April 25, 2011 at 4:22 pm | No comments
Craig Hopkins, author of The Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan, has written a book to fill the appetites of all SRV fans. His book offers readers a comprehensive account of key milestones in SRV’s short, yet monumental music career. More importantly, Craig provides insights into Stevie’s humanity and generosity of spirit. I caught up with Craig just after he’d published his book to discuss how his interest in Stevie emerged and the path he took that resulted in his outstanding contribution to the SRV legacy.
Posted in: Blues, Blues Interviews, Interviews
