It’s early September. Wylde’s home from Ozzfest where he did double duty with Ozzy and Zakk’s own Black Label Society (BLS). Time to rest? Hardly. He’s up at 4 a.m. doing whatever it is he has to do as hard as he can do it. The BLS motto of Strength, Determination, Merciless, Forever is no marketing gimmick. The son of a now 87-year-old WW II D-Day Omaha Beach veteran, combat intensity is in Zakk’s blood.
Australian guitarist, Tommy Emmanuel, has gifted the world with some of the finest acoustic guitar playing to adorn the planet. He’s an itinerate touring musician who sparkles on stage with his ability to caress, cajole and occasionally slap beautiful acoustic arrangements out of his beat up Maton guitars. Emmanuel captivates his audiences with his humorous patter, world-class guitar playing and the percussive antics he unleashes on his six-strings.
Tone. It’s the one thing that every guitarist searches for, spending countless hours and dollars trying to personalize in their sound. Great players such as Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Eric Johnson have all become known as much for their unique tones as they have the notes that they play. Illinois based guitarist extraordinaire Eric Mantel is a player who understands the importance of tone, and how effective a solid tone can be when coupled with a well-written melodic idea, something that seems to be lost on many of today’s up and coming players.
We don’t get a lot of electronic music coming our way at Guitar International, and I have to admit that my own lack of experience with the genre left me with stereotypes and misconceptions of a genre that is often labeled on one side of the spectrum as club music, and on the other, academic based composition. When Ricky Graham’s new album Signals Under Tests came across my desk, I was a bit hesitant at first because of the genre label, but man am I ever glad that I sat down and gave this record a chance. It has turned out to not only be a very enjoyable listening experience, but has also opened my eyes and ears to the electronic genre, especially the guitar’s role in this music.
RATT, like many hard rock bands born out of California in the early ‘80s, were staples on MTV with such hits in heavy rotation like “Round and Round,” “You’re in Love,” “Way Cool Junior,” and “Wanted Man.” In 1984 they released their debut LP Out of the Cellar, and throughout the mid-to-late ‘80s, released a barrage of commercial hard rock LPs including Invasion of Your Privacy, Dancing Undercover and Reach for the Sky.
HellYeah is a Supergroup comprised of Grammy nominated and chart topping musicians – drummer Vinnie Paul, vocalist Chad Gray, guitarists Greg Tribbett and Tom Maxwell as well and bassist Bob Zilla. As HellYeah they also have an impressive history. Their debut album has sold nearly 400,000 copies in the US and produced two Top 10 Active Rock singles “Alocohaulin Ass” and “You Wouldn’t Know.” Their second CD, Stampede debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200, making it their highest-charted album to date.
Modern rockers Irvine have recently released a video for their single “Welcome Home.” The song features strong lyrics, great musicianship and a vocal hook that sticks in in your head and just won’t let go. Irvine brings a maturity to their songwriting and performances that one would expect from a band much older and experienced, a testament to their natural talent and ability to play off their strengths.
Prior to a sold out show at the Best Buy Theater in NYC, I had a chance to speak with guitar Keith Nelson of Buckcherry while out on tour with HellYeah for the Jägermeister Music Tour. We talked about what fans can expect on this tour and even gave us the inside scope on the very beginnings of a new Buckcherry CD.
2010 was a huge year for Florida based metal band Nonpoint as the band’s eighth studio album Miracle was released to critical acclaim, helping to launch the band to the top of the modern metal world after 13 years of working together as a band. The album immediately grabbed the attention of promoters worldwide and 2010 saw high-profile Nonpoint performances at some of the world’s biggest music festivals including Ozzfest, Rock on the Range Summerfest and the legendary Download Festival.
Very few musicians will be able to accomplish and achieve as much success and acclaim as guitarist Fareed Haque. His career is still in full force with many endeavors yet to come, but so far he’s worked with an incredible number of diverse artists that range from Sting, Paquito D’Rivera, Joe Zawinul, Vieaux Faraka Toure, Dave Holland, Larry Coryell, Kurt Elling, Zakir Hussein, and the list just keeps going and growing.
