We recently had acoustic guitar legend Tommy Emmanuel drop by the Acoustic Nation studio.

In addition to an exclusive interview and lesson, he also treated us to an intimate performance of his track, “Hope Street.”

Inspired by the unlikely combination of George Harrison and Keb’ Mo’, the tune implements Emmanuel’s trademark picking style along with some genius melodic work.

It’s hard to not have a smile on your face while watching him perform this song.

To find out more, visit www.tommyemmanuel.com, and if you see a tour stop in your town, don’t miss the opportunity to see this guitar master up close!

We’re pretty serious about reporting on serious musicianship.

But even we couldn’t resist the downright ballsy silliness of this video. Yes, we admit it…we couldn’t look away!

It’s Stuart Crouts performing “The Final Countdown” on his kazookeylele. His what?

We presume this is a homemade, one-of-a-kind instrument, and Stuart seems to be a master!

Crouts hails from Edinburgh, Scotland, and has used his quirky sense of humor creatively here and on other selections found at thenoisypocket.bandcamp.com.

Kudos to him for doing something we’ve never seen before!

Check it out:

Steve Stine, highly sought-after guitar educator, teaches live online group and private classes at Lessonface.com. His popular course, "the Players Series," kicks off September 6, 2014. Head here for more information.

Hey, guys. Welcome back to my Absolute Fretboard Mastery series. In this month’s edition of the column we’re going to be delving into a very useful visual technique called the CAGED chord system.

There are quite a few ways of approaching the CAGED chord system, but what I’m going to try to do is keep it as simple as possible and give you a practical understanding of the system so you can start applying it in your own playing.

When most people start learning guitar, the first chords that they learn are often the A, C, D, E and G open chords. And the CAGED chord system is a chordal shape that can be used to navigate the fretboard using the C, A, G, E and D open-chord shapes, in that particular order, to ultimately be able to spot any major chord all across your fretboard.

Let’s start off by learning the CAGED chord system in the key of C so that you can bridge this theory with what we learned about the C major scale in last month’s lesson.

What I want you to do first is play a C major chord in its first open position:

In terms of the CAGED chord system, this is the first or “C” position. The next position in the system is the “A” position. So the next step in the system is to move up to the third fret and play a fifth string C major bar chord. Which, as you should know by now, uses the “A” chord shape:

You also can keep in mind at this point that if you ever play a fifth-string barre chord, the “C” position of the chord is to the left.

The next position of the C chord in the CAGED system, which is the “G” position, looks like this:

Something I should mention at this point is that the first step here is in understanding how a chord is spread out over these five positions across the fretboard. Actually playing these chords might take some getting used to since they’re fairly foreign.

The next position of C is the “E” shape in the CAGED system, and that looks like this:

This is a position that should look familiar because it is, in fact, the sixth-string barre chord.

The fifth position of the C chord in the CAGED chord system is the “D” position, which looks like this:

And then we go back to the “C” position for a C chord, which is one octave higher than our starting chord.

And that’s how you play the same chord across the fretboard using these five chordal shapes; which is what the CAGED system is all about.

This might seem pretty complicated at first, so I don’t want you to make things harder for yourself by thinking you need to learn each and every chord across the fretboard using the CAGED system right away. Instead of trying to learn seven different chords in the CAGED system off the bat, start off by absolutely mastering one chord until you can easily spot it and play it across the fretboard.

Once you’ve done this, using the CAGED chord system for any other chord becomes a cinch. If you know your sixth-string barre chords (and, if you’ve been following this series, you should), you’ll know that whenever you play a sixth-string barre chord, which is an “E” shape in the CAGED system, your “G” shape is below you and the “D” shape is above you.

So if we were to take an A chord, the “E,"“G” and “D” positions would look like this:

And in the same way, when you play any fifth-string barre chord, you’ll know that according to the CAGED system, the “C” shape is below you and the “G” shape of your chord is above you. Which means as long as you know your sixth- and fifth-string barre chords, you pretty much have the CAGED system covered.

So, for example, if you needed to figure out the CAGED positions of the G chord, the first thing you need to do is figure out the lowest position of the G chord you can play, which in this case is the open G chord. Then you’ll know that next you’ll have a G chord in the “E” position and a “D” position and so on and so forth. The other shortcut is to simply find a G sixth- or fifth-string barre chord and figure out the surrounding CAGED positions of the chord.

Remember, the point of this month’s lesson isn’t to be able to play one chord all over the fretboard. There's a much bigger picture to this that we will get into next month. For now, master this concept of the CAGED chord system until you’re able to visualize any chord across your fretboard with ease.

"The Players Series," a 12-week course with Steve Stine covering rock fundamentals, soloing and blues, starts September 6, 2014. Click here for more information and to enroll.

Steve Stine is a longtime and sought-after guitar teacher who is professor of Modern Guitar Studies at North Dakota State University. Over the last 27 years, he has taught thousands of students, including established touring musicians, and released numerous video guitar lesson courses via established publishers. A resident of Fargo, North Dakota, today he is more accessible than ever before through the convenience of live online guitar lessons at Lessonface.com.

The all-new October 2014 issue of Guitar World is available now!

In the new issue, we celebrate blues giants Stevie Ray Vaughan with an in-depth examination of his 30 greatest recordings — from “Texas Flood” to “Riviera Paradise,” from “Couldn’t Stand the Weather” to “The Sky is Crying." Read about how Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton) didn’t walk into Jackson Browne’s Down Town Studio in Los Angeles in late 1982 with highfalutin plans about recording their monster debut album. In fact, their sites were set much lower.

Also, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett teaches you how to play like the great bluesman SRV. Then blues legend Buddy Guy pays tribute to his late friend. We go up close and personal with Stevie’s favorite Strat, which is now on display at the Grammy Museum in L.A.

Then, Guitar World features John 5, the prophet of the Telecaster who shows us some rare mint-condition Teles from his collection and talks about his latest album, Careful with That Axe.

Next, as the prog legends take their classic Fragile and Close to the Edge albums on the road, guitar virtuoso Steve Howe sits down for a talk about the making of those groundbreaking productions.

Finally, as the curvaceous Fender Stratocaster marks six decades of innovation and influence, Guitar World celebrates its legacy via 60 players, songs, solos and historical moments.

PLUS: An ode to the late Johnny Winter, a PureSalem guitar review, Satchel's Man of Steel column returns and much more!

Five Songs with Tabs for Guitar and Bass

• Stevie Ray Vaughan - "Look at Little Sister"
• Stevie Ray Vaughan - "Testify"
• Scorpions - "Rock You Like a Hurricane"
• Within The Ruins - "Gods Amongst Men"
• Magic - "Rude"

Head to the Guitar World Online Store now!

This is an excerpt from the October 2014 issue of Guitar World. For the rest of this story, plus our Stevie Ray Vaughan 60th-birthday blast features, the 60th anniversary of the Fender Strat, lessons, tabs and reviews of new gear from TC Electronic, Seymour Duncan, Prestige Guitars and more, check out the October 2014 issue at the Guitar World Online Store.

As Yes take their classic Fragile and Close to the Edge albums on the road, guitar virtuoso Steve Howe sits down for a talk about the making of those groundbreaking prog productions.

“Somebody called me the granddaddy of prog-rock,” Steve Howe says with a laugh.

“I’m not ashamed to be called that. But the thing that matters most to me is musicality. I don’t think prog is all about technical playing. Much more important are your musical ideas. What choices and decisions are you making in the music? If that’s still an intelligent force within the music, then I like being considered a part of prog.”

More than just a part of progressive rock, Howe is one of the music’s great originators. From the moment he joined Yes in 1970, he staked out a bold and vast territorial range for the guitar in a musical form often dominated by keyboard virtuosos like Keith Emerson and his former Yes bandmate Rick Wakeman. What those guys needed banks of pianos, organs and synthesizers to achieve Howe could often attain with just six strings and a boundless imagination.

His contribution, moreover, transcends prog-rock or any single musical genre. Steve Howe is one of the most distinctive and original guitarists in all of rock, a brilliant musical colorist whose evocative volume pedal swells and echoey textures possess all the subtle and complex expressiveness of the human voice itself. Howe’s palette has always been incredibly broad, drafting everything from classical and flamenco fire to psychedelic expansiveness to jazzy archtop electric abstraction into the rock guitar vocabulary.

At age 67, he’s still in top form, as can be clearly heard on the brand new Yes album, Heaven & Earth. On the disc, Howe is joined by longtime Yes members bassist Chris Squire, drummer Alan White and keyboardist Geoff Downs, who has been an on-and-off Yes-man since 1980.

On vocals is the group’s newest member, Jon Davison, who joined in 2012 and does a superb job of channeling the dulcet melodicism of original Yes vocalist Jon Anderson. Davison even shares Anderson’s spiritual perspective on lyric writing and fondness of Indian guru Paramahansa Yogananda.

While some tracks on Heaven & Earth evoke the prog symphonic majesty of Yes’ Seventies heyday, others skew in a lighter pop direction more in keeping with radio-friendly Eighties Yes recordings, such as their 90125 album. But in working with legendary producer Roy Thomas Baker (Queen, the Cars, Smashing Pumpkins), on Heaven & Earth, Howe had one supreme mandate.

“I told Roy, ‘It’s gotta be Yes.’ ”

The prominent presence of Howe’s guitar work on the album is a sterling guarantee that the disc does indeed sound like Yes. Howe’s inventive melody lines and otherworldly textures are woven deep into the polychromatic musical fabric. Never an overtly flash player, Howe will nonetheless sometimes conclude a tuneful guitar passage with a brief burst of sheer incandescent brilliance. The effortlessness with which he executes these dazzling little interludes offers understated testimony to his mastery of his instrument.

“I don’t think guitarists should concentrate on being guitarists,” he says. “They should concentrate on being musicians. Being a guitarist can be a dangerous thing if you just want to race off and steal the show all the time on bended knees with your tiddly tiddly tiddly. I think that’s pretty dead in the water. I daresay most people agree.”

Once famed for bringing a vast arsenal of guitars with him onstage and in the studio, Howe has taken a more streamlined approach in recent years. His rig is based largely around his Line 6 Variax guitar and Line 6 HD500/Bogner DT50 digital modeling amp and pedal board, which allow him to cover a wide range of traditional guitar and amp tones.

“I think the Variax is one of the most overlooked instruments in the guitar universe,” he says. “The first time I saw it, I knew it was made for me. I like affordable guitars that can make lots of sounds and textures. I’ve got to tell you, the Strat, ’58 Les Paul and [Gibson] ES-175 models, in particular, are sensational on the Variax. Okay, it doesn’t feel like a Les Paul. But when you plug it in and it sounds like one, what’s the problem?”

Howe does augment this digital setup with several “real” guitars in his live rig, however, all of which made it into the studio for the Heaven & Earth sessions. These include his mid-Eighties red Fender Stratocaster; a 1955 Fender Telecaster which he has modified with a humbucker in the neck position, six-saddle bridge and Gibson-style toggle switch; a Martin MC-38 Steve Howe signature model acoustic; a Fender dual-neck steel guitar; and a Gibson Steve Howe signature model ES-175 electric archtop.

“That one is actually Number One—the first-ever Steve Howe production model 175,” he says. “And I added a third pickup to it, because at the time I was using it cover the sound of the [Gibson] ES-5 Switchmaster that I used on Yes’ Fragile album.”

This signature model 175 is based on Howe’s 1964 ES-175D, his first serious electric guitar, purchased new when he was just 17 and an instrument with which he has been closely associated ever since. These days he uses the guitar only in the U.K. where he lives, “because the airlines have been such an effing pain in the butt over the years,” he says. “But I have actually got a ’63 175 as well, which a friend of mine in Fort Wayne [Indiana] found for me. That was there with me in the studio as well.”

Another key instrument for Howe onstage and in the studio is his guitarra portuguesa, or Portuguese guitar. Heard on the track “To Ascend” from Heaven & Earth, it is also featured prominently on classic Yes tracks like “Your Move/All Good People” and “The Preacher The Teacher” and “Wonderous Stories.” Strung in six double-string courses, the instrument is tuned unconventionally by Howe: [low to high] E B E B E Ab.

This is an excerpt from the October 2014 issue of Guitar World. For the rest of this story, plus the rest of our Stevie Ray Vaughan Top 30 feature, the 60th anniversary of the Fender Strat, columns, tabs and reviews of new gear from TC Electronic, Seymour Duncan, Prestige Guitars and more, check out the October 2014 issue at the Guitar World Online Store.

A few weeks ago, Limp Bizkit released a new song, “Endless Slaughter,” for free download via their website.

Now they've released an official music video for the track.

Check it out below and let us know what you think in the comments or on Facebook!

Avenged Sevenfold’s reissue of their second album, Waking The Fallen: Resurrected, is available now via Hopeless Records.

In honor of the re-release, the band has shared the original first-cut music video for "Unholy Confessions," a song off the album.

Check it out below and let us know what you think in the comments or on Facebook!

Enter to a ‘Waking the Fallen: Resurrected’ black vinyl box set with exclusive 7-inch single here.

Noooo! It can't be! Summer is just about over.

But here's something to help ease you into autumn. It's ten great live acoustic tours that will be sure to warm your musical heart as the leaves change color.

Are you looking for a raucous good time, or a meaningful musical moment? There's something here for everyone, I assure you!

I'll be at most of these when they hit the Boston metro area, and I advise you to mark your calendar as well.

So, get off your couch, put your laptop in sleep mode and get out there and see some amazing live shows. You won't regret it!

Jason Mraz

Have you checked out Jason Mraz's new album, YES!? Really great writing, fun to listen to, all the elements that lead to a great live show.

Mraz knows how to do it!

Since getting his start 15 years ago performing in coffeehouses in his adopted city of San Diego, Mraz has brought his positive message and soulful, folk-pop sound to rapt audiences around the world through his recordings, vibrant live performances, and philanthropic efforts.

With YES!, Mraz has released his first-ever acoustic album, which he wrote and recorded with his friends in the L.A.-based folk-rock band Raining Jane.

“The whole album is the product of yes,” says Mraz. “Whether it’s Raining Jane saying yes to our annual songwriting retreats, which led to this collection of songs, or my label giving us the green light to let them become my next album. If anyone on our journey had said no, we wouldn't be where we are. YES! really is the connector.”

Here's "Love Someone" from YES!

Aug 26 Davies Symphony Hall San Francisco, CA
Aug 28 Pantages Theatre Hollywood, CA
Aug 29 Pantages Theatre Hollywood, CA
Aug 30 Pantages Theatre Hollywood, CA
Aug 31 Comerica Theatre Phoenix, AZ
Sep 02 AT&T Performing Arts Center Winspear Opera House Dallas, TX
Sep 03 AT&T Performing Arts Center Winspear Opera House Dallas, TX
Sep 05 Cullen Performance Hall, University of Houston Houston, TX
Sep 06 Tobin Center for the Performing Arts San Antonio, TX
Sep 07 Bass Concert Hall Austin, TX
Sep 09 FOX THEATRE Atlanta, GA
Sep 10 Ryman Auditorium Nashville, TN
Sep 12 Citi Wang Theatre Boston, MA
Sep 13 Citi Wang Theatre Boston, MA
Sep 14 The Bushnell - Mortensen Hall Hartford, CT
Sep 17 Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts New York, NY
Sep 18 Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, CUNY Bronx Bronx, NY
Sep 19 Colden Auditorium at Kupferberg Center for the Performing Arts, Queens College Queens, NY
Sep 20 St. George Theatre Staten Island, NY
Sep 22 Radio City Music Hall New York, NY
Sep 23 Radio City Music Hall New York, NY
Sep 26 Royal Albert Hall London, United Kingdom
Sep 27 Corn Exchange Cambridge, Uk
Sep 28 Lowry Theatre Manchester, United Kingdom
Sep 30 Casino de Paris Paris, France
Oct 01 Carre Theatre Amsterdam, Netherlands Sold Out
Oct 02 Alte Oper Frankfurt, Germany
Oct 03 Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Germany
Oct 07 Place Des Arts Montreal, Canada
Oct 08 Massey Hall Toronto, Canada
Oct 09 Massey Hall Toronto, Canada
Oct 11 Benedum Center Pittsburgh, PA
Oct 12 Academy of Music Philadelphia, PA
Oct 13 Warner Theatre Washington, DC
Oct 15 Palace Theatre Columbus, OH
Oct 16 Peabody Opera House St Louis, MO
Oct 17 Riverside Theater Milwaukee, WI
Oct 18 State Theatre Minneapolis, MN
Oct 21 Benaroya Hall Seattle, WA
Oct 22 INB Performing Arts Center Spokane, WA
Oct 23 Queen Elizabeth Theatre Vancouver, Canada
Oct 24 Keller Auditorium Portland, OR
Nov 05 Murat Theatre at Old National Centre Indianapolis, IN
Nov 06 Fox Theatre Detroit, MI
Nov 07 Chicago Theatre Chicago, IL
Nov 08 The Chicago Theatre Chicago, IL
Nov 11 Orchard Hall Tokyo, Japan
Nov 13 Grandcube (International Convention Center) Osaka, Japan
Nov 14 Forum A Tokyo, Japan

More at jasonmraz.com

Can’t wait to check out the new album, Allergic to Water.

Set for an October 14 release on DiFranco's groundbreaking Righteous Babe Records label, Allergic To Water was recorded at her Victorian home in New Orleans and at a larger studio in an old church.

Throughout the disc, DiFranco, her small group and a couple prominent guests create melodies that are lilting and funky, imaginative and personal: so personal that she also took the lead in producing and mixing the record.

Here's Ani's "As Is" Live

Tue 10/14/14 Kalamazoo, MI State Theatre
Wed 10/15/14 Chicago, IL Old Town School of Folk Music
Fri 10/17/14 Madison, WI Barrymore Theatre
Sat 10/18/14 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
Mon 10/20/14 Lincoln, NE Lied Center for Performing Arts
Wed 10/22/14 Bloomington, IL The Castle Theater
Fri 10/24/14 Kansas City, MO Uptown Theater
Sat 10/25/14 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
Sun 10/26/14 Tulsa, OK Cains Ballroom
Mon 11/10/14 Brownfield, ME Stone Mountain Arts Center
Tue 11/11/14 Brownfield, ME Stone Mountain Arts Center
Fri 11/14/14 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
Sat 11/15/14 New York, NYTown Hall
Mon 11/17/14 Washington DC Lincoln Theatre
Tue 11/18/14 West Long Branch, NJ Pollak Theatre Monmouth University
Thu 11/20/14 Boston, MA Berklee Performance Center
Fri 11/21/14 Norwalk, CT Norwalk Concert Hall
Sun 11/23/14 Concord, NH Capitol Center for the Arts

More at http://www.righteousbabe.com/blogs/ani-difranco-news

Brandi Carlile

Brandi Carlile’s concerts are always intimate affairs – even when she’s headlining venues like the Beacon Theatre, Red Rocks Amphitheatre and the Chicago Theatre – but this fall she’s upping the intimacy quotient even further with the “Pin Drop Tour.”

Carlile will be playing completely unplugged – no amps, no microphones – at small theatres that are uniquely suited to such performances. She will be joined onstage by The Twins (band mates/co-writers Tim and Phil Hanseroth) and cellist Josh Neumann.

Dates are sold out but maybe you’re lucky enough to know someone with a ticket!

Here's "Keep Your Heart Young"

Brandi Carlile – “Pin Drop Tour”
10/1 – Portsmouth, NH @ Portsmouth Music Hall
10/3 – Cambridge, MA @ Sanders Theatre
10/4 – Philadelphia, PA @ Perelman Theater
10/6 – Vienna, VA @ The Barns at Wolf Trap
10/7 – Vienna, VA @ The Barns at Wolf Trap
10/9 – New York, NY @ New York Society for Ethical Culture Concert Hall
10/10 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Carnegie Lecture Hall
10/13 – Chicago, IL @ Old Town School of Folk
10/14 – Chicago, IL @ Old Town School of Folk
10/15 – Stoughton, WI @ Stoughton Opera House

More at brandicarlile.com/tour

There’s some bands that just have it. That unnamed something that makes for an amazing live show.

Did they make a deal with the devil to get to that place? Who cares!

Devil Makes Three will tour in support of their release I'm A Stranger Here.

Part road songs, part heartbreakers and part barnburners, I'm A Stranger Here is described by frontman Pete Bernhard as a "very dark record thematically, lyrically and sonically."

The Santa Cruz, Calif. by way of Vermont trio will surely show you a grand time. Check ‘em out!

Here they perform "Hallelu" at the Fresh Grass Festival.

09/13/2014 Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavilion
09/14/2014 Burlington, VT Grand Point North Music Festival
10/02/2014 Lancaster, PA Chameleon Club
10/03/2014 Charlottesville, VA Jefferson Theater
10/04/2014 Chattanooga, TN 3 Sisters Festival
10/07/2014 Charlotte, NC Visulite Theatre
10/08/2014 Charleston, SC The Music Farm
10/09/2014 Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theatre
10/10/2014 Richmond, VA The National
10/11/2014 Asheville, NC The Orange Peel
10/12/2014 Knoxville, TN Bijou Theatre
10/15/2014 Columbia, MO The Blue Note
10/16/2014 North Kansas City, MO Harrah's Kansas City - Voodoo Lounge
10/17/2014 Tulsa, OK The Vanguard
10/18/2014 Ozark, AR Harvest Music Festival
10/22/2014 Jacksonville Beach, FL Free Bird Live
10/23/2014 Orlando, FL The Beacham
10/24/2014 Fort Lauderdale, FL CULTURE ROOM
10/25/2014 St Petersburg, FL State Theatre
10/28/2014 Gainesville, FL High Dive
10/29/2014 Athens, GA Georgia Theatre
10/30/2014 Birmingham, AL WorkPlay Theatre
10/31/2014 Nashville, TN Marathon Music Works
11/01/2014 Lexington, KY Cosmic Charlie's

Find out more at http://www.thedevilmakesthree.com/

Dave Rawlings Machine

I'm not on the West Coast anymore, but if I were I'd be hightailing it over to check out the Dave Rawlings Machine.

The Dave Rawlings Machine released its acclaimed debut record, A Friend of a Friend. (Acony) in November 2009, and it sounds as good today as it did then.

This was the first record by Rawlings, the guitarist, producer, singer and songwriter best known for his work with Gillian Welch and Old Crow Medicine Show.

Dave Rawlings Machine features Dave Rawlings, Gillian Welch, John Paul Jones, Willie Watson and Paul Kowert.

Here they are performing "To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High)"

September
22 - Missoula, MT - The Wilma Theater
23 - Spokane, WA - Bing Crosby Theater
24 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre
25 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
27 - Eugene, OR - McDonald Theater
28 - Arcata, CA - Van Duzer Theatre
29 - Grants Pass, OR - Rogue Theatre
30 - Redding, CA - Cascade Theatre

October
1 - Santa Cruz CA - Cocoanut Grove
3 - Sonoma, CA - Gundlach Bundschu Winery
4 - San Francisco, CA - Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
5 - Santa Barbara, CA - Lobero Theatre
6 - Los Angeles, CA - The Cathedral Sanctuary at Immanuel Presbyterian Church

Tickets can be purchased via www.daverawlingsmachine.com/tour/.

Ok, I might be a little biased about this one. I just think that LP’s 2014 release, Forever For Now is truly remarkable.

The extraordinary LP has announced she will headline a series of West Coast dates in September, including a show at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles on September 26th

Forever For Now was produced by Grammy winner and Warner Bros. Records chairman, Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Dave Matthews Band).

Songs like "Heavenly Light,""Tokyo Sunrise," and "Into the Wild" (also heard in the Citi commercial) are brightly hopeful, showing the work of an artist always expanding and digging deeper.

She’s fantastic live!! A don’t miss!

Here's "Into The Wild" live:

Upcoming LP tour dates are as follows:
09/18 Seattle, WA Neumos
09/19 Vancouver, Canada Fortune Sound Club
09/20 Portland, OR Alhambra Theatre
09/21 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
09/23 Santa Ana, CA Constellation Room
09/24 San Diego, CA Casbah
09/26 Los Angeles, CA Roxy Theatre

More at www.iamlp.com

Shovels & Rope

I just got turned on to Shovels & Rope, and I’m betting they know how to treat an audience.

Shovels & Rope is the acclaimed award-winning husband and wife duo of Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent. Their new album, Swimmin' Time releases today.

Swimmin' Time is the follow up to the band’s 2012 breakthrough debut O’ Be Joyful, which received fantastic support in the press, from great reviews to major features to TV appearances to year-end lists.

Shovels & Rope took home two of the top honors, Song of the Year (“Birmingham”) and Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2013 Americana Music Awards.

Swimmin’ Time features 13 new songs that maintain a subtle aquatic theme throughout.

Can’t wait to hear more!

Here’s the first single off their new album, “The Devil Is All Around”

Aug 27, 2014 WFPK Waterfront Wednesday Louisville, KY
Aug 30, 2014 Sonic Boom instore - 3pm Seattle, WA
Aug 31, 2014 Music Millennium instore - 3pm Portland, OR
Sep 4, 2014 Amoeba instore - 6pm Hollywood, CA
Sep 18, 2014 Ziggy's Wilmington, NC
Sep 20, 2014 Jefferson Theater Charlottesville, VA
Sep 22, 2014 Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
Sep 23, 2014 Music Hall Of Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY
Sep 24, 2014 Union Transfer Philadelphia, PA
Sep 26, 2014 Royale Boston, MA
Sep 27, 2014 Royale Boston, MA
Sep 28, 2014 Corona Theater Montreal, QB
Sep 30, 2014 Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto, ON
Oct 1, 2014 St. Andrew's Hall Detroit, MI
Oct 2, 2014 Vic Theater Chicago, IL
Oct 3, 2014 First Ave Minneapolis, MN
Oct 4, 2014 Turner Hall Milwaukee, WI
Oct 5, 2014 Barrymore Theatre Madison, WI
Oct 7, 2014 The Bluebird Bloomington, IN
Oct 8, 2014 Bijou Theater Knoxville, TN
Oct 9, 2014 South Carolina State Fair Columbia, SC
Oct 10, 2014 Georgia Theatre Athens, GA
Oct 29, 2014 Cain's Ballroom Tulsa, OK
Oct 30, 2014 Stubb's Outdoorsw/ Hayes Carll Austin, TX
Oct 31, 2014 Fitzgerald's: Upstairs Houston, TX
Nov 1, 2014 Untapped Festival Dallas, TX
Nov 4, 2014 Crescent Ballroom Phoenix, AZ
Nov 5, 2014 Belly Up Tavern Solana Beach, CA
Nov 7, 2014 El Rey Theater Los Angeles, CA
Nov 8, 2014 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA
Nov 9, 2014 Crystal Ballroom Portland, OR
Nov 12, 2014 Rickshaw Theater Vancouver BC
Nov 14, 2014 Pink Garter Theater Jackson, WY
Nov 15, 2014 Ogden Theatre Denver, CO
Nov 16, 2014 Fox Theatre Boulder, CO

More at shovelsandrope.com

Trevor Hall surprised fans with the release of 2014’s Chapter of the Forest, and what a nice surprise it was!

His upcoming “Small is Beautiful” tour should be incredibly intimate and exceptional.

The “Small is Beautiful” tour will include stops in Vancouver, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston and New York City. See the full list of dates below.
Hall just wrapped up a 30+ city amphitheater tour with Michael Franti’s Soulshine Summer shows.

“This album is inspired by simplicity, by the roots of life, and by the beauty that one finds in solitude and in nature,” says Hall.

Here's Hall's live "Wish Man"

Check him out here:
September
10 San Francisco, CA Slim’s
12 Portland, OR Aladdin Theatre
13 Seattle, WA Nectar Lounge
14 Vancouver, BC Media Club
16 Missoula, MT Top Hat
18 Salt Lake City, UT The State Room
20 Ft. Collins, CO Aggie Theatre
21 Aspen, CO Belly Up Aspen
24 Lake Tahoe, CA Crystal Bay
27 San Juan Capistrano The Coach House
28 Los Angeles, CA The Troubadour

October
7 Charleston, SC Music Farm
10 Tampa, FL The Ringside Café
11 Orlando, FL The Social
12 Jacksonville, FL Freebird Live
14 Asheville, NC Grey Eagle
15 Atlanta, GA Eddie’s Attic
17 Ozark, AR Harvest Festival
18 St. Louis, MO Off Broadway
19 Evanston, IL Space
21 Cleveland, OH Music Box
23 Burlington, VT Higher Ground
24 Boston, MA Middle East
25 New York, NY Gramercy Theatre
26 Vienna, VA Jammin’ Java
28 Philadelphia, PA World Café Live
29 Fairfield, CT Stage One

More at: http://thevillagers.tumblr.com/tour

David Gray has been on tour in support of his new album Mutineers and he'll continue on traveling throughout the U.S. this Fall.

The new album is super strong. The kind of music that sticks in your had long past the listening point.

The collection finds the singer-songwriter steering into unfamiliar territory while cultivating a pugnacious but respectful relationship with his own history.

Some of my favorites from the album include the lead single, "Back In The World," and the eclectic track "As The Crow Flies." Check it out and then go see him!!

Check out “Back In The World”:

28-Aug Oakland, CA Paramount Theatre
29-Aug Reno, NV Silver Legacy Casino
30-Aug Las Vegas, NV The Joint @ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
31-Aug San Diego, CA Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
3-Sep Los Angeles, CA Greek Theatre
21-Sep Phoenix, AZ Comerica Theatre*
23-Sep Dallas, TX Majestic Theatre*
24-Sep Austin, TX ACL Live at Moody Theatre*
26-Sep New Orleans, LA Saenger Theatre*
27-Sep Houston, TX Bayou Music Center*
29-Sep Clearwater, FL Ruth Eckerd Hall***
30-Sep Miami Beach, FL Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theatre*
4-Oct Red Bank, NJ Count Basie Theatre*
5-Oct Wallingford, CT Toyota Presents Oakdale Theatre*
7-Oct Toronto, ON Massey Hall*
9-Oct Louisville, KY Palace Theatre**
10-Oct Pittsburgh, PA Benedum Center**
11-Oct Columbus, OH Palace Theatre**
12-Oct Milwaukee, WI Riverside Theatre*
14-Oct Minneapolis, MN Northrop at the University of Minnesota**
15-Oct Kansas City, MO Uptown Theatre**
17-Oct St. Louis, MO Touhill Performing Arts Center**

More at http://davidgray.com/

Critically acclaimed trio The Stray Birds will embark on a fall US tour beginning September 18.

The band will be touring in support of their second full-length album, Best Medicine, out October 21 on Yep Roc Records.

I know you haven’t heard it yet, but take a leap of faith and check them out! From what we’ve previewed, it’s gonna be gorgeous!

Formed in Lancaster, PA in 2010, The Stray Birds consists of Maya de Vitry (vocals, guitar, banjo, fiddle, piano), Oliver Craven (vocals, guitar, resonator, fiddle), and Charles Muench (vocals, bass, banjo).

The itinerary includes a stop in Nashville at the Americana Music Festival and Conference, in addition to appearances in Philadelphia, Duluth, Boston, New York City, and more. Full list of dates below.

Hear new single “Best Medicine” below:

September 18 The Listening Room | AmericanaFest Nashville, TN
October 3 Eastern Mennonite University Harrisonburg, VA
October 17 WXPN ‘Free@Noon’ Philadelphia, PA
October 21 Club Cafe Pittsburgh, PA*
October 22 Campus Theatre | Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA
October 23 World Café Live Philadelphia, PA
October 24 Godfrey Daniels Bethlehem, PA
October 26 Tellus 360 Lancaster, PA
October 28 The Southern Charlottesville, VA
October 29 Ashland Coffee & Tea Ashland, VA
October 30 ISIS Music Hall Asheville, NC
November 1 Evening Muse Charlotte, NC
November 2 Red Clay Theatre Duluth, GA
November 12 The Ark Ann Arbor, MI
November 15 Natalie’s Worthington, OH
November 16 G.A.R. Hall Peninsula, OH
November 19 Caffe Lena Saratoga Springs, NY
November 20 One Longfellow Square Portland, ME
November 21 Higher Ground Burlington, VT
November 22 Circle of Friends Franklin, MA
November 23 Iron Horse Music Hall Northampton, MA
November 24 Rockwood Music Hall New York, NY
December 2 The Southgate House Revival Newport, KY
December 5 Music On Main Street N. Wilkesboro, NC
December 6 Cat’s Cradle Carrboro, NC
December 9 8x10 Baltimore, MD
December 14 Club Passim Boston, MA

*Album Release Day

Find out more at www.thestraybirds.com.

What if there were one place where you could tune in to see ALS Ice Bucket Challenge videos by your favorite rockers, guitarists and music-biz hangers-on?

Dream no more!

Because there are new Ice Bucket Challenge videos being posted every day, we've decided to make one file out of them, updating it daily — or at least whenever something applicable or interesting comes along.

Right off the bat, below, you'll find videos by Jason Becker, Joe Satriani, Nita Strauss and the Alice Cooper Band, John Mayer, Foo Fighters, Ronnie Wood, Corey Talyor, Eddie Vedder, Geddy Lee and well, the list goes on. Hopefully!

For more about the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge (and to donate), visit alsa.org.

Let the videos begin! If you know of Ice Bucket Challenge videos by other artists, let us know about them in the comments below or on Facebook! That's what this is story is for.

Warren Haynes’ longtime and beloved guitar tech, Brian Farmer, died Sunday, August 24, at his home near Nashville. Farmer died peacefully in his sleep. He was 53.

"He was a close friend, a devoted worker and a lover of life,” Haynes said. “We traveled around the world together and shared many experiences—mostly while laughing. He will be missed by a huge circle of friends and family."

Farmer was extraordinarily dedicated to his craft, to the world of guitars and amps, to Haynes and all his projects—and to the music itself. People like Famrer keep the wheels turning and the gears greased and the guitars in tune. The shows don’t happen without them—and no one did any of this better, with more dedication, heart and soul than Farmer.

Farmer began working for Gov’t Mule in 1998, brought to the band by his old friend, bassist Allen Woody, who died almost exactly 14 years earlier. Prior to joining the Mule crew, Farmer worked for Johnny Cash for eight years before the Man in Black retired from touring. Farmer was exceedingly proud of his close relationship with Johnny and June Carter Cash.

“When Johnny retired, I ran into Allen and said, ‘You need to hire me, you need to hire me,’ Farmer told Hittin' the Note magazine.

Months later, Gov’t Mule needed a guitar tech and Woody called his old friend. In the subsequent years, Farmer became an indispensable part of the operation, teching Haynes’ guitars and serving as the band’s equipment manager and stage manager.

Farmer has been by Haynes’ side for every gig the busy guitarist has played since 1998—with Gov’t Mule, the Allman Brothers Band, the Warren Haynes Band, the Dead, Phil and Friends and others.

Farmer and Haynes developed an extremely close working relationship.

“We have looks that we give each other,” Farmer told Hittin' the Note. “An eyebrow, a flick of the wrist… a shrug of his shoulders …I've learned to listen for things. I can tell sometimes when he's close to breaking a string. With the Mule, I sometimes come out to adjust his amplifier before during and after songs.”

"He was one of a kind,” Haynes said. “He lived and breathed his job. He knew a lot more about guitars and gear than I did so I could trust him to keep things working in a technical manner so I could concentrate on the music.”

Said Allman Brothers Band manager Bert Holman, ”Brian was a very dedicated, very loyal, very skilled technician. He was from the old school and would help anybody and everybody do their job. If something of Derek or Gregg’s blew up, he’d be the first guy to grab a flashlight or tool and run across the stage because he was a team player. His standard line to any request was, ‘Just tell me what you need.’ Brian always had your back. He was kind to the fans and tried to give them as much time as he could without taking his eyes off the ball, which he never, ever did.”

Farmer also had a very close relationship with the Gibson Custom Shop, working with them on all of Haynes' custom guitars.

“Brian was more than a visitor to Gibson Custom,” said Rick Gembar, Gibson senior vice president and general manager of the Custom Division. “We were blessed to get to know him over the years as he came and went on behalf of Warren. During those years, he built relationships with everyone, from the front desk to the craftspeople, to me personally. He was a friend, well respected as a technician and genuinely admired for his kindness as much as for his tireless work ethic and attention to detail. Seeing him come through the door was always a welcome sight to the people here.

"On behalf of everyone here at Gibson Custom, I send our deepest condolences to his family, Warren, Brian's friends and all others that he touched during his time.”

Farmer’s death was greeted with shock and grief across the Internet by fans and musicians alike. It is hard to imagine many other rock and roll road crew members who were more respected and beloved. Among those expressing their sorrow and respect on Twitter were Phil Lesh—“Fare thee well, Farmer; I love you more than can words can tell”—and Derek Trucks.

The latter summed things up beautifully in a series of #ThankYouFarmer tweets: “People like Brian Farmer are the backbone of all live music. Without the hard work of folks like Farmer we'd be lost.”

Alan Paul is the author of One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band.

Boston’s Will Dailey is thrilled to announce the release of National Throat, available today worldwide via WheelKick Records.

National Throat is a career defining release for Will Dailey. Inspired by a failing business relationship, wherein he felt like he was a” passenger on a sinking ship,” Dailey willingly walked away from the largest label in the world, took charge and involved his fans in a communal creative process through Pledge Music to make National Throat.

“It will be a unique experience,” Will first wrote to his fans, “a one of a kind process. When the day is done, you will have elevated my music to a whole new level. A true artistic community will be built here.” And come they did, in droves. Inspiring Dailey to make the best work of his career.

Dailey has been very outspoken about the new found clarity and artistic freedom he found making this record which he has shared with American Songwriter, Arena.com and wrote a series of pieces on his music making process for Guitar World’s Acoustic Nation.

The title National Throat was inspired by a protest essay written by John Phillip Sousa called "The Menace of Mechanical Music." Faced with the advent of the recording of music (the invention of the Gramophone) and an onslaught of innovation, Sousa feared the sacred creative entity he had dedicated his entire life to serve would be forever ruined by technology. Nearly a century later, with music treading on similar fault line, Dailey asks these same questions with National Throat.

National Throat showcases Will's triple threat talent of singing, songwriting and playing. Sousa was wrong to preemptively mourn the loss of “songs that stir the blood and fire the zeal,” of “songs of home, of mother, and of love, that touch the heart and brighten the eye.” These songs flourish and surge with vigor in National Throat.

Will is the recipient of numerous Boston Music awards and his music has been featured in over fifty films and television shows. As a performer Will has shared the stage, and held his own with artists such as Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and collaborated with Grammy and Oscar winning producer T-Bone along with Ryan, Bingham, Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crowe, Rosanne Cash and more on the Ghost Brothers Project.

Dailey will be doing a select number of east coast shows before taking National Throat overseas on a tour through France.

More at www.willdailey.com

Alright, you’re about to get schooled by Eric Johnson (again).

While it’s typical to see Johnson deliver his signature smooth and soaring electric lead playing, here we see him with an acoustic in hand.

And, no surprise, his delivery in “Tribute to Jerry Reed” is drool-worthy.

Plus he’s got amazing hair!

According to the YouTube description, the clip comes from Johnson’s DVD, Live From Austin, TX '84.

Check it out below, and tell us what you think in the comments box or on Facebook. Enjoy!

Find out more at www.ericjohnson.com.

For several years, Cinderella guitarist Jeff LaBar had always promised to make good on his quest to record a solo album.

After years of waiting, the time has finally arrived. LaBar’s new album, One for the Road, was recorded in Nashville with long-time friend and engineer Ronnie Honeycutt and features mixing by Cinderella bandmate Fred Coury, with mixing and mastering by Chris Collier (KXM, Lynch Mob, Lita Ford).

What’s unique about LaBar's first solo endeavor is that not only does it showcase LaBar’s guitar playing, but it also highlights his singing and songwriting prowess. Aside from drums by Tesla’s Troy Luccketta, all of the instruments and vocals on One for the Road are performed by LaBar, a true "solo” album.

The new album also captures the magic and spirit of a genre of music LaBar helped define. “No Strings” has a classic Cinderella feel, while songs like “Asking for a Beating” and ”Nightmare on My Street” take on a far heavier edge. Then there’s the acoustic-flavored “Hello or Goodbye,” which speaks to LaBar’s folk influences.

I recently caught up with LaBar and asked him about One for the Road, which was released today, August 26, plus guitars and more!

GUITAR WORLD: What was the inspiration behind One for the Road?

I had been threatening to do a solo album for quite a while. I've been a singer all of my life and actually started singing around the same time I started playing guitar, so I've always had it in me and always wanted to do it.

When Tom [Keifer] announced he was going to be putting out a solo album, which also meant Cinderella was going to be put on hold, my manager Larry [Morand], my wife Debi [Salazar] and everyone around me finally called me on it and said now is the time. So with the help of Troy Luccketta from Tesla and my engineer, Ronnie Honeycutt, I laid down a few tracks.

How would you describe One for the Road?

It's a little taste of all of my musical influences. When I started out, I was playing acoustic guitar and singing to folk music like the Eagles, Crosby Stills & Nash and Cat Stevens. Then I discovered bands like Yes, Genesis and Pink Floyd. From there, I got more into Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. The five songs I'm singing on this record represent each of those heavier influences.

What were some of the differences you encountered working on this album as opposed to a Cinderella record?

I think one of the biggest challenges was that I didn't have those three other guys in there with me. Over the years, we've all leaned on each other in the studio to help each other out. With Cinderella, it was always four minds and a producer. For this project, it was just me and Ronnie.

Let’s discuss a few tracks off of the new album. “Hello Or Goodbye” isn't the kind of song we've come to expect from you.

Yeah, that song is a little bit more in the vein of Fleetwood Mac. It could even be a country-style song.

What about "Nightmare on My Street"?

That one started out in my basement studio. I was in a heavy metal kind of mood and set up a beat on a drum machine and did some jamming. That’s actually how I come up with most of my riffs.

Is there any place else where you find inspiration?

Some of the music for the album I originally wrote at a Cinderella sound check, after Fred [Coury] got his drums together and started playing a beat. That was actually where I came up with the riff for "Asking for a Beating."

What was your setup like for recording the album?

I still have my white, now nicely yellowed, 1980 Custom Shop Les Paul. That's my main guitar and the one I used for all of the heavy stuff you hear on the album. I also have an old Strat I used for the clean stuff and a Telecaster for “Hello or Goodbye." For the acoustic songs, I used an Alvarez 12-string and an Epiphone six-string.

There seems to be a lot of chemistry in the “band” that was put together for the video for “No Strings." Do you have plans to tour?

I’d like to, and we’re working on it. The chemistry you mention comes from the fact that it's actually my son Sebastian on guitar. He plays for a band called Mach 22. The video also features my good friends Jasmine Cain on bass and Matt Arnn on drums. My wife Debi also makes an appearance.

What satisfies you the most about completing your first solo album?

Because I had been threatening to do it for so many years, the fact that I did it was a big accomplishment. It finally took my friends and loved ones to really encourage me to do it. I hope it makes and impact and that people enjoy it.

What would you say has been the highlight of your career overall?

The most memorable things are all of the “firsts." Like the first time I walked into an arena when we were opening for David Lee Roth's first solo tour and saying, "Oh my God! I'm playing here!" Or the first time I got a gold record, which was on that same tour. Then there’s the first time we toured Japan or the first time we headlined on the Long Cold Winter Tour with our own lighting and backline. Things like that are my favorite memories.

James Wood is a writer, musician and self-proclaimed metalhead who maintains his own website, GoJimmyGo.net. His articles and interviews are written on a variety of topics with passion and humor. You can follow him on Twitter @JimEWood.

If you’re wondering what it would take to start recording your songs, you've come to the right place.

First things first, you'll need a computer with a decent soundcard.

Then start saving up now for these!

DAW
You will need a DAW – or digital audio workstation - to record your sounds. Garageband, Logic, ProTools, Ableton Live, and Nuendo are the popular ones. You can find free trials to check them out. There are also other free programs online, but these are the most used.

AUDIO INTERFACE
An audio interface is what allows you to get audio signals in and out of your computer. It converts analog audio to digital audio to work with your DAW, and it converts it back to analog so you can hear it. There are many types of Interfaces with different levels of features at a wide range of prices. You’ll have to do some research to choose what is best for your needs.

MICS
If you record in mono a large capsule cardioid condenser mic is ideal.
If you are recording 2 things at once or in stereo, youll need two mics. You can use the same time of mic or get another one specifically for the type of instrument you play.
Keep in mind condenser mics needs phantom power. Make sure your settings are changed for phantom power on your interface when using these types of mics. It is a common mistake people make.

CABLES
You will need XLR and ¼ inch cables at the very least. Mics usually require XLR connections. Check the lengths you need. Shorter cables are always best for less interference and they generally cost less, but check how much you need in your own setting and plan ahead.

HEADPHONES and STUDIO MONITORS
Headphones are necessary for recording, and some people mix in them, too. They should be closed back, to prevent bleeding into your mic.

You should have studio monitors. Studio monitors give you a much more accurate sound than regular speakers that are usually tweaked to sound good or have more bass, etc. You’ll need to hear what is really going on in order to make a proper mix.

MIC STANDS
You will definitely need a stand for recording vocals at least.

POP SHIELD
It’s important to have one of these to attach to your mic stand. It will reduce plosives in vocals. These shields are inexpensive and with condenser mics they are definitely necessary.

TUNER
Some DAW’s have built in tuners. You may have to tune several times during recording.

MUSIC STAND
You may need one of these to prop your charts.

Shop around, this doesn't have to cost a fortune. Just about all of this stuff works just fine used, too.

Dorit is a rock singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and Middle Eastern Dancer. She has performed internationally on concert stages, TV, film, and theatre, and has inspired many students to find to their own expression through music and dance. Dorit’s current goal is to self produce her album and complete an acoustic guitar she hand built as a teenager at the Bronx High School of Science. Her influences include Led Zeppelin, Middle Eastern music, Latin music and old school hip hop -- anything with great rhythm. Find out more about Dorit here>>

Below, check out a demo (and informational) video about the BeatBuddy — "the first guitar pedal drum machine."

From the company:

BeatBuddy was invented out of frustration at not being able to find a drum machine that enabled hands-free live control of a beat.

Other drum machines were either complicated table-top devices that are difficult, if not impossible, to control while jamming or are loopers that grant no control of a single repetitive beat loop — no fills, no rhythm changes, no accent hits, no tap tempo, no pause/unpause feature, and of course no computer interface.

With detailed input from the musician community, the BeatBuddy was designed to be the perfect solution to this frustration: The power of a drum machine with the simplicity of a pedal.

For more information, visit myBeatBuddy.com.

Earlier today, wsj.com premiered a new Johnny Winter song, "Where Can You Be," which also happens to feature ZZ Top axman (and fellow Texan) Billy Gibbons.

The song is from the late Winter's new album, Step Back, which will be released September 2 through Megaforce Records.

The album features collaborations with an impressive list of legendary guitarists, including Brian Setzer, Eric Clapton, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Perry, Gibbons and more.

You also might want to check out another song off the album, a searing cover of Elmore James'"I Can't Hold Out" that features Ben Harper. You can hear it here.

Winter died July 16 at age 70.

For someone who spent a mere seven years in the spotlight, Stevie Ray Vaughan left behind an impressive amount of recorded material.

He released four studio albums, a double live album and a Vaughan Brothers album (recorded with his big brother, Jimmie Vaughan), not to mention enough leftover live and studio material to fill several posthumous albums and a box set or two.

He even found time to perform on albums by several other artists — from Teena Marie to Stevie Wonder to Don Johnson to Lonnie Mack — pretty much always with fiery results.

With that in mind, here are Vaughan's top five guest appearances as a guest or session guitarist during his "famous" years, 1983 to 1990. We'll discuss his pre-fame session work in another story (maybe).

Just so the Vaughanophiles are clear, this list does not take into account Vaughan's 1983 Canadian TV studio appearance with Albert King — or anything recorded in a TV studio, a radio studio or a studio apartment.

It also doesn't include his 1987 recording of "Pipeline" with Dick Dale because that track is credited to the duo, so neither guitarist is the other's "guest."

[[ Pick up the new October 2014 issue of Guitar World magazine, which features SRV on the cover and celebrates the 60th anniversary of his birth with a "Top 30 Performances" list, a feature about his Number One Strat, the current SRV Grammy Museum exhibit and more. The issue is available now. ]]

05. A.C. Reed, "Miami Strut," from I'm In the Wrong Business! (1987)

A.C. Reed was a respected Chicago-based sideman who started his lengthy career in the Forties and worked with a host of big names, including Magic Sam, Son Seals, Albert Collins and Buddy Guy.

"Miami Strut" is a funky instrumental that features Vaughan playing a Strat through a Leslie cabinet, its revolving speaker providing an exceptionally "wet" sound. Note how he plays around Reed's catchy tenor sax riffs, making his guitar an integral part of the track. Vaughan's guitar solo starts around 1:22.

Because the album, which also features Bonnie Raitt, was released in 1987, it represents a lost period in Vaughan's discography, since Soul to Soul came out in 1985 and In Step came out in 1989.

WHILE YOU'RE AT IT: Check out "These Blues Is Killing Me" from the same album. Vaughan's guitar solo starts around 2:06. That's Reed on vocals.

04. Bennie Wallace, "All Night Dance," from Twilight Time (1985)

Here's Vaughan guesting with another sax player — this time Bennie Wallace (with Dr. John) — on another blues-based instrumental, a lengthy shuffle called "All Night Dance" from Wallace's now-out-of-print 1985 Twilight Time album. The song also was featured on the Bull Durham soundtrack album in 1988 — and even that's out of print (Good luck finding it for less than $60 on Amazon Marketplace or eBay!).

Stevie's guitar solo starts around 3:24, and he really pours it on, dialing up his Soul to Soul sound and including several signature SRV motifs and bends.

Like a great songwriter who sometimes relegates jaw-dropping tunes to the cutting-room floor or non-album B-sides, Vaughan recorded this brilliant guitar solo one random day in his career — and then just moved on to the next gig, never really looking back.

03. Johnny Copeland, "Don't Stop by the Creek, Son," from Texas Twister (1984)

Texas blues guitarist and singer Johnny Copeland (father of blues singer Shemekia Copeland) invited Vaughan to play on two tracks on his Texas Twister album. On "Don't Stop by the Creek, Son," Copeland, a fine player in his own right, stepped aside to let Vaughan handle all the lead work.

Although Vaughan's Strat was mixed a little too low in the original vinyl mix (It had to compete with Copeland's acoustic guitar), "Creek" is a fun, engaging, upbeat track with a catchy melody and some nifty guitar work from start to finish.

It's worth noting that the original 1984 Black and Blues version of Texas Twister featured two tracks with Vaughan on guitar — "Don't Stop by the Creek, Son" and "When the Rain Stops Fallin'." However, when the album was reissued by Rounder Records in 1986, "When the Rain Stops Fallin'" was gone — and it's still gone. iTunes sells only the 1986 version of the album

02. Lonnie Mack, "If You Have to Know," from Strike Like Lightning (1985)

Serious Vaughan fans got a nice bonus in 1985: Alligator Records released Lonnie Mack's masterful Strike Like Lightning album, which was co-produced by Vaughan and Mack, one of SRV's many guitar idols (Check out Mack's classic 1964 album, The Wham of That Memphis Man!).

Vaughan plays on several songs on the album, but he actually plays and sings on "If You Have to Know," making it the closest thing to a straight-ahead bonus SRV track. Check it out below.

WHILE YOU'RE AT IT: From the same album, be sure to get a taste of "Oreo Cookie Blues," which features Vaughan on acoustic guitar, predating "Life By the Drop" and his Unplugged appearance by five years ...

... and don't forget "Double Whammy" (a new recording of Mack's early Sixties instrumental hit "Wham!" featuring Vaughan and Mack duking it out in E), "Hound Dog Man" and "Satisfy Suzie," which you can hear below.

01. David Bowie, "Cat People (Putting Out the Fire)," from Let's Dance (1983)

Come on, you knew something from David Bowie's Let's Dance album had to be No. 1 on this list.

Let's Dance served as the world's introduction to Vaughan, who, with Bowie, invented something new by adding Texas-style blues guitar to contemporary, dance-based pop music — raising eyebrows, expectations and bank accounts for all involved.

Vaughan plays lead guitar on several tracks, including two of the album's many mega-hits ("Let's Dance" and "China Girl"), but guitar-wise, the song that truly kicks collective ass is the less-famous "Cat People (Putting Out the Fire)." It's also got the album's healthiest serving of SRV; he solos in the middle, adds Albert King-style bends throughout and then solos near the end of the song.

Note that Bowie recorded two studio versions of this song in the early Eighties; be sure to seek out the Let's Dance version (not that there's anything wrong with the other one).

WHILE YOU'RE AT IT: It just feels wrong to leave out the album's title track — which millions of people can credit as the first time they heard Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Click here to read about THREE MORE SONGS featuring SRV!

Welcome to the bonus page! I don't think too many people get this far. Poor them ...

Here are three extra tunes that feature Vaughan as the guest guitarist, each interesting in its own way.

Please note that we seriously wanted to include "Bumble Bee Blues" from Brian Slawson's 1988 album, Distant Drums, but it's not available on YouTube. You can always track down the CD on eBay for about $5.

Anyway, here we go:

Stevie Wonder, "Come Let Me Make Your Love Come Down," from Characters (1987)

While the Vaughan-heavy video below is promising, it's also misleading.

Sadly, the finished studio recording of this 1987 Stevie Wonder track features much less of Vaughan's playing, although he can be heard closer to the end of the song, going head to head with B.B. King. So make the most of this video!

Don Johnson, "Love Roulette," from Heartbeat (1986)

What's interesting about this one? First of all, Miami Vice star Don Johnson released an album in 1986. Second of all, he got Vaughan to play on it. Third of all, the album reached No. 17 on Billboard's Hot 100.

The album, Heartbeat, was a star-studded affair that also featured Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers Band, Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones, Dweezil Zappa and Willie Nelson. Johnson eventually recorded one more album, 1989's Let It Roll.

Vaughan's solo on "Love Roulette," which you can check out below, starts around 2:51.

And then there's this thing, which is from a weird late-Eighties commercial filmed in New Zealand. We don't know what to make of it (and we don't really like it), but we figured we'd share:

Photo from Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: Stevie Ray Vaughan album cover

Damian Fanelli is the online managing editor at Guitar World. Follow him on Twitter. Or not. Whatever.

Be sure to pick up the October 2014 issue of Guitar World magazine, which features SRV on the cover and celebrates the 60th anniversary of his birth with a "Top 30 Performances" list, a feature about his Number One Strat, the current SRV Grammy Museum exhibit and more. The new issue is available now at the Guitar World Online Store.

Maryland-based teenage rock band Bad Seed Rising released their debut EP, Charm City, earlier this year on iTunes via Roadrunner Records.

Today, the group has teamed up with Guitar World and Revolver to premiere the lyric video for “King Kong.” Check it out below and let us know what you think in the comments or on Facebook!

For more about Bad Seed Rising, visit their official website and follow them on Facebook.

The blokes at ESP Guitars have posted a demo video for the company's new E-II ST-2 model, which was reviewed by Guitar World's Paul Riario in our September 2014 issue.

Best of all, the video features none other than Mr. Scary himself, George Lynch!

In the clip, which can check out below, Lynch puts the guitar through its paces and provides a detailed, helpful demo.

The E-II ST-2 is made at ESP's factory in Japan. For more information, visit espguitars.com.

Credited by Rolling Stone as having given "the singer-songwriter genre a much-needed jolt,” composer/singer-songwriter David Poe has issued numerous literate, melodic, major-label collections as a solo artist.

At the same time, his songs have done well in the hands of others; they've been recorded by pop-rockers Grace Potter and Daryl Hall, Broadway composer Duncan Sheik and jazz singer Curtis Stigers.

Poe’s eclectic compositions have also appeared in TV shows, including Dexter and Nashville, and in theatre productions such as Shadowland, the landmark dance piece by American troupe Pilobolus.

In addition to his duties as a world-touring troubadour and in-demand songwriter, Poe also has collaborated with uber-producers T-Bone Burnett and Larry Klein and is a Composer Fellow of the Sundance Institute.

Songcraft recently cornered this talented New Yorker, now living in Los Angeles, as his latest album, God & The Girl, neared release to talk songwriting, deities and the women who love them.

GUITAR WORLD: First off, congrats on the new album. I love it. It’s very smart, with this beautiful quality of hushed intensity to it. And God & The Girl is such an amazing album title, the allusions are unending. Do titles serve as sparks of inspiration for your songwriting or are they more just a necessary result of the process?

"Hymn & Her" sounded glib. The album title refers to the subject matter of the songs. Half concern faith, half concern love, or the lack of either. Some of them, like "The Devil" and "When I Fly," are an attempt to address both, to compare spiritual and romantic love.

A song’s title is its thesis statement, the bumper sticker, the controlling idea. Traditional pop songs are a lot like old jokes: something happens three times — three verses — and the chorus is the punch line.

On your self-titled debut album, you had the chance to work with producer extraordinaire, T Bone Burnett. From a compositional standpoint, what does a producer of that caliber bring to the table in terms of the formation of a song?

Every producer imparts special information; Emile Kelman encouraged minimalism. Brad Jones taught me about layering. Larry Klein has deep intuition. Rick Parker conjures a vibe. Pete Min is a master of process. John Alagia understands how tonality impacts songs. Steve Rosenthal knows history. Ed Ackerson rewrites it. Buddy Miller captures lightning in a bottle. They all do.

T Bone can love a record into being. In the studio, enthusiasm works wonders, and having the enthusiasm of someone who is an American hero is powerful. He is known as a unique producer who has come to the rescue of the culture multiple times, but T Bone is also one of our great songwriters, and his solo projects, especially Tooth Of Crime and all that came after it, are, to me, as influential as records like Bone Machine or Time Out Of Mind.

So yeah, having an experienced songwriter produce the debut of an aspiring songwriter made sense. Working with him was inspirational. Still is. Always is.

You’ve done a solid amount of co-writing. Do you approach that process any differently than you would when writing solo? Is the creative head-space the same or different?

As a co-writer, my job is to help gather wood and build the fire. Sometimes you’re in the wilderness rubbing flint and steel until there’s a spark. Sometimes a burning bush appears. I keep a match in my back pocket.

The goal is to help create something an artist can sing for the rest of their career, starting with a fundamentally sound lyric and melody. There are a lot of factors in the making of a hit song, and some of them — marketing, bribery, the politics of the music business — have nothing to do with art. A songwriter’s responsibility is to render a beautiful thing that is simple but profound and enhances rather than betrays the culture. The Pilobolus choreographer and founder Robby Barnett says, “The idea is the best idea until there’s a better one,” which is a good approach to any collaboration.

Another way to say it is “don’t negate, create.” Rather than say “I don’t like that,” say “how about this?” It’s important to be generous with your creativity and to have faith that the song will arrive. When it doesn’t, take a walk.

To date you’ve written pop music, music for theatre and music for the screen. Are all aforementioned exercises just slight variations of the larger process, or do you approach writing for each genre differently?

A good song works in any genre, but not necessarily in every medium. Music married to a narrative is its own thing, magical when it works, and everyone feels it.

What’s the most important piece of compositional/songwriting advice you’ve absorbed in your experience at the Sundance Institute?

Be brave enough to edit and revise. Or reject. No music is ever wasted. Every chord progression you learn, every bit of discarded lyric or melody will suit a future piece.

The Sundance Institute encourages innovation and serves as an antidote for that sect of the entertainment industry that has a deep contempt for the general public – the ones who say “people are stupid,” even though we’re smarter as a culture than we ever have been. When aspiring artists collude with that sect in order to have a hit, the culture gets flooded with pap and confused. But the best artists have always been at the vanguard of social change, and the pursuit of a distinct vision is its own reward. For me, the reward is in the writing process, especially when others sing a song I’ve worked on. They always sing it better than I ever could, and the thrill I get from hearing it is like when people sing "Happy Birthday" to you, then give you cake.

Mark Bacino is a singer/songwriter based in New York City. When not crafting his own melodic brand of retro-pop, Mark can be found producing fellow artists or composing for television/advertising via his Queens English Recording Co. Mark also is the founder/curator of intro.verse.chorus, a website dedicated to exploring the art of songwriting. Visit Mark on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.