Peavey Electronics has announced the expansion of its licensed The Walking Dead line of instruments and accessories, all of which feature graphics from The Walking Dead, the popular comic and TV show.
Designed for serious collectors and musicians alike, these new instruments will feature highly detailed artwork.
"We are very pleased to be working with Skybound, the creators of The Walking Dead," said Peavey founder/CEO Hartley Peavey on the company's website. "The immense popularity of The Walking Dead comic and cable TV show will allow us to get our products in the hands of an entirely new market and will expand our range of designs."
For more information about Peavey's The Walking Dead guitars and accessories, check out the new video below and visit peavey.com.
It’s the perfect time of year to add to you guitar collection. And what better way to do so than with customized and autographed electrics! Enter now for you chance to add one of these limited-edition pieces to your personal collection. Each guitar would make a killer display piece and are all completely playable!
It’s the perfect time of year to add to you guitar collection. And what better way to do so than with customized and autographed electrics!
We're giving away two guitars autographed by Angels & Airwaves and the Misfits (See the photo above), plus two custom Epiphone guitars (See the photo below).
Enter now for you chance to add one of these limited-edition pieces to your personal collection. Each guitar would make a killer display piece and are all completely playable!
I’m guilty of having committed a serious crime: I've leaned my guitar against my amp or in a corner when playing out.
Why do I do this? I’m a minimalist when it comes to the gear I bring to a gig.
D&A Guitar Gear has released the IceStand. It’s touted as a guitar or bass stand that can fit in a gigbag and be set up in two simple steps, all while weighing less than your average 20-foot guitar cable.
So now I have no excuse; there are no small parts to lose in the abyss of a dimly lit club, and it will fit easily into my guitar or cable bag. Folded up, it can even fit into a coat or pants pocket, but that might drum up some weird looks at the gas station before or after the gig.
There are two IceStand models: the Electric and the Acoustic. The Acoustic model is taller with a wider base, 5 and a half inches vs. the Electric model’s 2-and-a-half-inch base. The IceStand is built from a durable translucent material. All parts that come in contact with your guitar are coated in a black polymer material to avoid unwanted scratch marks.
The stand comes with a lifetime guarantee against manufacturing defects. I’ve dropped and stepped on both of my IceStands in the few short weeks we’ve been together, and they’ve been completely forgiving.
I’d recommend these to just about any guitarist or bassist for home or gig use. My only caution would be to players who use oddly shaped instruments. My B.C. Rich Mockingbird and Fender Jazz Bass sat on a slight angle, potentially putting them in danger of an unobservant pet or drunk lead singer. Pictured below, I have a Strat, P-bass, Les Paul and dreadnought acoustic sitting perfectly on the IceStand.
Web: heydna.com Street Price: $26.99 Electric model, $29.99 Acoustic model
You can't believe everything you read on the Internet, but Billy Voight is a gear reviewer, bassist and guitarist from Pennsylvania. He has Hartke bass amps and Walden acoustic guitars to thank for supplying some of the finest gear on his musical journey. Need Billy's help in creating noise for your next project? Drop him a line at thisguyonbass@gmail.com.
Jamestown Revival have announced a string of tour dates around the west coast this December. The band will be touring beginning on December 8 in San Diego at Lestats, before playing in Los Angeles on December 10 at the Troubadour. The tour continues with dates in San Francisco, Seattle, and other cities, before ending on December 21 in Denver at the Bluebird Theater. For the details of the full itinerary, see below.
Jamestown Revival are touring in support of their most recent release, The California EP. The EP features three new songs and one cover, all self-produced by the band. The EP provides a taste of what's to come on the band's upcoming debut album, to be released next year. One such song is "California (Cast Iron Soul)," which lends its name to the EP, and is a fitting ode to The Golden State. Stream "California (Cast Iron Soul)" at the link below.
Jamestown Revival - "California (Cast Iron Soul)":
Jamestown Revival is made up of Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance, two close friends who grew up together in the small Texas town of Magnolia. From a young age, they shared a love for music as well as the outdoors. About an hour north of Magnolia, TX, there was some old family land with a dilapidated ranch house where they spent the better part of their adolescence.
At one point or another, music from Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Everly Brothers, to fellow Texans Willie Nelson, Guy Clark, and Stevie Ray Vaughan found it's way through an old pair of speakers that sat on the back porch. The pair spent the day exploring that thousand-acre plot of land, and when the sun went down they took to the records of the songwriters and bands that inspired them.
At the age of 22, they moved to Austin and began to craft a sound of their own. Deeply rooted in harmony, they merged the sounds of the South with classic American, and Western rock. Looking for adventure, as well as a change of pace, they eventually made the decision to head west and make the move to Los Angeles, CA. There, the duo wrote the songs that would become The California EP and their upcoming full-length debut.
In order to capture the spirit of the music, the two found a log cabin high within the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. The pair, along with their band and engineer, set out to convert it in to a temporary recording studio. With wild moose right outside the window, and aspen leaves spinning in the wind, they tracked 14 songs. Performed live, with no headphones, and entirely to tape, the process captured the moments in the room.
Jamestown Revival Tour Dates
Dec 08 - San Diego, CA @ LEstats
Dec 10 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Troubadour
Dec 11 - Redlands, CA @ Hangar 24 Craft Brewery
Dec 12 - San Francisco, CA @ Brick and Mortar
Dec 15 - Bellingham, WA @ Green Frog Acoustic Tavern
Dec 16 - Seattle, WA @ Fremont Abbey
Dec 17 - Spokane, WA @ The Bartlett
Dec 19 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Bar Deluxe
Dec 21 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
Massachusetts post-rockers Caspian have been road-dogging in support of their new EP, Hymn for the Greatest Generation. They've also been compiling a few essential survival tips for the touring musician. In this latest installment, guitarist Philip Jamieson reveals the band's pedalboard secrets when it comes to creating a wall of sound.
Each of us delivers four different pedal tricks consistent with our never-ending attempt to blanket you with an immersive wall of sound every night.
Have at them below!
Philip Jamieson: I’ve been messing around with the decay level on my Strymon BlueSky in conjunction with live loops I create on the fly with the Line 6 M9. I have the Strymon toward the end of my signal flow, which is essential here. Have the mix level of the Strymon at 100% and the decay level at 0%. Record a loop on the Line 6, maybe add a harmony or another texture, and once you have what you want looped up, slooowwwwly turn the decay knob up to 100% on the BlueSky. The once-dry loop you had will slowly ameliorate into a thick, cloudy haze. It’s like listening to your defined, clear melody evaporate into thin air and start floating away, morphing into a drone. Switch the BlueSky to the Cathedral setting for added effect, though it can get messy. I prefer the Plate setting. I use this at the beginning of the end on “Gone in Bloom and Bough” live.
Jonny Ashburn: Rolling back your tone knob on your neck pickup in combination with a fuzz pedal like the Big Muff or Daddy O makes for a killer and very different distortion sound. This trick definitely works best with dual humbuckers. You end up with a Robert Fripp kinda sound.
Erin Burke-Moran: One thing I love to mix up is delays. Using multiple delays can be a very interesting way to color your sound. A specific setting I enjoy consists of two delays and the added touch of a reverb pedal. Start with the first delay on a normal repeat setting with the feedback at about 12 o’clock or a little more to add some depth to what you are going to play. The second delay in your chain should be set to a reverse delay with the effect level all the way up. On most pedals, this should leave you with only the reverse delays coming through while the initial signal is cut. Douse this in some reverb and bring the treble knob on your guitar down almost all the way (I like to solo the neck pickup and use my volume knob to dial back a little bit of the punch). This gives you a sound that reminds me of a soft, delicate wind. It’s excellent for quiet ambient moments.
Jani Zubkovs: As a bass player, my board is very basic. A small detail I use to create a different sound involves my Caroline Cannonball Custom, which is the multi-colored pedal in the center of the board. It’s an amazing distortion pedal handmade in South Carolina, then hand painted by a local artist. Anyway, the right switch is for the distortion channel, but if you hold down the left switch while the pedal is activated, it enters into what they call “Havoc” mode. Basically, the pedal loops the signal through itself and creates all sorts of noise and sustain. I’ll activate this switch near the end of a song or when some sort of epic part is needed.
A YouTube sensation, Igor Presnyakov’s videos have been viewed over 200 million times! He currently has almost 300 videos online with covers ranging from One Direction to Led Zeppelin.
Born in Moscow, Russia, Presnyakov studied classical guitar at a nearby academy and eventually graduated both as a guitarist and a conductor for ensembles. In the late ’70s he used to lead several hard-rock bands as a lead guitarist, vocalist and arranger.
In 1991 he relocated to the Netherlands to start his solo career, which has now spanned over 20 years. Since he moved to Europe he started discovering fingerpicking and eventually created his unique acoustic guitar-style which is influenced by various musical genres.
Igor is a contemporary guitar player, who arranges and composes in an orchestral way; combining percussion, bass, harmony and melody at the same time. His arrangements of popular songs bring a very interesting approach to the original compositions, giving them a totally new perspective.
Igor has performed at several guitar festivals in Europe and is playing concerts all over the world. In the end of 2012 Igor recorded his latest album: IGGYFIED which has been released in 2013, it includes a selection of his finest covers and some originals works.
Check out his performance of Metallica’s “Fade to Black” here:
This video is bonus content related to the December 2011 issue of Guitar World. For full print reviews, lesson tabs and more, look for the December 2011 issue of Guitar World on newsstands now, or purchase this issue in our online store here.
Jimi Hendrix's stature as rock's greatest guitarist is by now an absolute and indisputable fact. In this month's edition of "In Deep," I'll examine his genius within the realm of rhythm guitar.
Let’s begin with a breakdown of the intro to the live version of “Little Wing,” transcribed in this issue [see page 136]. Before we begin, keep in mind that, as was his nature, Jimi never played any song exactly the same way twice. Live or in the studio, he always strove for spontaneously inspired performances of every song. For guitarists, this offers a vast treasure of musical lessons to be learned when studying any one of Hendrix’s compositions.
This version of “Little Wing,” recorded at what is acknowledged as the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s greatest live performance—on February 24, 1969, at London’s Albert Hall—differs in many subtle but fascinating ways from the studio track heard on Axis: Bold as Love. In the pickup and through bar 1 [see the transcription for this and other “Little Wing” examples], Jimi first strikes muted strings by lightly laying his fret hand across the fretboard. This is followed by an expressive slide down from the 12th fret; Jimi barres across the top two strings while lightly fretting the sixth string at the 12th fret by wrapping his thumb over the top of the fretboard.
Across beats three and four, he works off a 12th-position Em7 chord shape, striking different pairs of strings in conjunction with single notes to create a “chord/melody” effect.
In bar 2, Jimi plays a third-position G major chord by fretting the sixth-string bass note with his thumb and choosing not to barre the index finger across all six strings or fret the A string with the ring finger, which frees up his pinkie to embellish the chord with fast hammer-ons and pull-offs on the G and high E strings. The same approach is used for bar 3 over Am.
Notice how he moves smoothly from sounding pairs of strings to single notes while weaving an evolving and forward-moving rhythm part. Back over Em7 on bar 4, Jimi uses the seventh-position shape to execute a series of delicate hammer-ons and pull-offs, setting up the chord change to Bm in the next bar, which is also played in seventh position.
Using Bf to shift down to Am in fifth position, on beat two he begins with a ring-finger barre across the D, G and B strings at the seventh fret to hammer up to the ninth fret on the D string with the pinkie. This is followed by a full arpeggiation of C on beat three into incorporation of C/E on beat four, sliding up to E on the A string’s seventh fret.
Bar 7 features Hendrix’s signature “sliding sus2” voicings, as Gsus2 slides up to Asus2 and then down to Fsus2. Though the thumb is used to fret the low bass notes throughout, keep this finger loose as to limit the amount of pressure that the palm of the hand exerts against the back of the neck. In bars 8 and 9, Jimi utilizes fifth-string-root voicings of C and D major, wrapping up the intro with chord-melody figures based on D/Fs.
Let’s now expand on the rhythm techniques Jimi uses on this version of “Little Wing.” In FIGURE 1, I begin with the same G major voicing found in bar 2, but I incorporate more elaborate hammer-ons and pull-offs on the top three strings as well as utilize quick finger slides and hammer-ons based on the G major pentatonic scale (G A B D E).
Another great example of Jimi’s inventiveness with this chord form is heard on his Monterey Pop version of Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone.” In FIGURE 2, I fret only the sixth, fourth and second strings while sliding between G and Fsus2 chord voicings, incorporating the open G string throughout to provide a powerful sustaining quality.
Similar in execution is Jimi’s rhythm part to the intro and verse sections of “Love or Confusion” from Are You Experienced. In FIGURE 3, I emulate this part by adding quick hammerons and pull-offs on the B and G strings within both the G5 and Fsus2 voicings. The “sliding sus2” chords of “Little Wing,” alluded to in FIGURE 4, also appear in another great Hendrix ballad, “Castles Made of Sand.” FIGURE 5 offers an extended version of sliding these chord forms up and down the fretboard.
Now let’s apply these techniques to a few chord progressions. In FIGURE 6, I move from sixth-string-root G, Am, Bm and C voicings back to G while adding quick hammers and pulls within each voicing. In FIGURE 7, a similar approach is taken for C-Bf-F along the lines of Hendrix’s classic “The Wind Cries Mary.” Live versions of this song reveal great inventiveness over the one chord, F, along the lines of FIGURES 8 and 9.
In FIGURE 10, fifth-string-root voicings are used to illustrate other chord embellishment ideas. As always, feel free to experiment with your own inventions once you have these techniques firmly under your fingers.
The last example, FIGURE 11, illustrates a few more commonly used Hendrix techniques for embellishing a sixth-string-root chord, with quick hammer/pulls on the G string followed by a chord resolution to A/Cs. You’ll hear great examples of this on Jimi’s “Bold as Love.”
The eighth edition of the Experience Hendrix Tour will launch in March 2014.
The month-long tour, which is presented by BandFuse: Rock Legends, will bring together a diverse group of artists paying homage to the genius of Jimi Hendrix.
This year’s lineup ranges from Zakk Wylde to Buddy Guy, Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Dweezil Zappa, Los Lobos’ stalwarts Cesar Rosas and David Hidalgo, left-handed blues rocker Eric Gales, Texas guitar gods Doyle Bramhall II and Eric Johnson, Bootsy Collins, Mato Nanji and, from Serbia by way of Memphis, Ana Popovic.
The rhythm section, as always, includes bassist Billy Cox, the only player, apart from Jimi Hendrix, who was part of both the Band of Gypsys and the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Chris Layton, the drummer who, along with the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, was a founder of Double Trouble.
Below, you can check out GuitarWorld.com's exclusive videos of Kenny Wayne Shepherd (top) and Billy Cox (bottom) discussing the tour.
The tour officially begins in Dallas at the Verizon Theater March 11 and then roars through the Midwest and mid-Atlantic regions with stops in St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Washington and Detroit with more than 20 dates. For all the dates and ticket information, head here.
This year's Experience Hendrix Tour is the focus of the Jimi Hendrix Guitar Competition, which was announced last week. The competition, backed by Sony Music's Legacy Recordings, IK Multimedia, Talenthouse along with Experience Hendrix, LLC offers entrants a chance to win a performing slot on one of the tour dates next year as well as a cash prize plus gear.
Contestants are invited to submit a video of their performance of a Hendrix track with the winner selected by a team of judges including Janie Hendrix, producer/engineer Eddie Kramer, Guitar World editor Brad Tolinski and musician Dave Stewart.
For more about the contest, and to find out how to enter, visit talenthouse.com.
Learn to play in the styles of Doc Watson, Tony Rice, Clarence White, Lester Flatt and more of your favorite bluegrass guitarists!
Master the basics of bluegrass, plus learn the standard tune “Whiskey Before Breakfast.”
This lick pack will teach you standard strum accompaniment patterns in the keys of C and G, alternating bass lines, walk-ups, hammer-on and pull-off embellishments, flatpicking melodies, banjo-style forward and backward rolls, “old-timey” and traditional Irish fiddle-style licks with unison notes and “floaters,” and much more!
Welcome to Part 2 of "Learning Mozart's 25th Symphony in G Minor" (Check out Part 1 here).
Hopefully, the first part didn't cause too much trouble.
This new section highlights something I mentioned in the first lesson. It took some time for me to arrange this for the guitar because there are many layers of violins playing individual notes.
To play a single layer would result in a loss of dynamics and important harmony. Therefore, I decided to combine as many of the parts as I could. I will admit I had to move a few notes up or down an octave to make all the layers fit, but I am happy with the results.
Just a reminder: The correct tempo of this piece is around 160 bpm, but feel free to take it as fast as you want!
Part 2 has nothing particularly challenging in terms of speed, but some of the chord shapes might be tricky. You'll need dexterity to change shape accurately at the correct tempo. Part 2 starts with the same theme at the beginning of Part 1. In fact, every section in Part 2 follows a theme based around the same notes (G - D - Eb - F#) but played a different way each time.
The first time is similar to the beginning of Part 1, but this time we have a moving bass line, usually played on a cello. When combined into a single arrangement for the guitar, you create a pedal tone where the high voice pedal is the root note while the low bass outlines an arpeggio. The main challenge of this section is skipping strings between the high pedal tone and the moving bass.
As with everything, begin slow and gradually increase the speed. I prefer to play this section entirely with a pick, but you might find it easier to pick the low notes and use your picking-hand second finger to play the high notes.
Following this, you repeat the same theme but played with thirds. This is pretty simple, and for this section I would advise you to play everything with your pick and second finger (hybrid picking). Everything in this section is played two notes at a time. I find this technique sounds much better than playing both notes with a single pick stroke. If this confuses you, watch the video I made to highlight this technique. For the wide intervals at the beginning of each bar, you must use this technique regardless.
This section ends with a tricky alternation between two chords, which at the correct speed (160 bpm), can be difficult. The key is to play each chord with the correct fingering. You should treat this section like any other scale exercise and practice slowly to a metronome.
Once you've mastered Part 2, try combining with Part 1 and playing both together. Good luck!
Will Wallner is a guitarist from England who now lives in Los Angeles. He recently signed a solo deal with Polish record label Metal Mind Productions for the release of his debut album, which features influential musicians from hard rock and heavy metal. He also is the lead guitarist for White Wizzard (Earache Records) and toured Japan, the US and Canada in 2012. Follow Will on Facebook and Twitter.
Electro-Harmonix has introduced its new Nano Big Muff Pi pedal. Check out the demo video — featuring guitarist Bill Ruppert — below.
From EHX:
"The new Nano Big Muff Pi works and sounds identical in every way to our classic NYC Big Muff Pi. We simply shrunk it without changing its rich sustain and legendary sound.
"For more than 44 years, the Big Muff Pi has helped define the sound of rock guitar. Revered by contemporary guitarists and rock legends alike, everyone wants a piece of the Pi. Now you can have it in our time-honored classic chassis, or our new, compact nano design."
Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers made their late night television debut last night with an appearance on TBS’ Conan.
The band performed “Little Too Late,” the first single from their recently released self-titled album.
Watch the band perform “Little Too Late,” click here:
Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers released their self-titled debut album in late August on Little Sur to glowing praise and landed #10 on the New Artist Billboard Chart. Other highlights for the band this year include a feature on CBS This Morning with veteran correspondent Anthony Mason and performances at Newport Folk Festival, Bonnaroo, Hangout Music Festival and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass.
The band kicks off 2014 with a Winter tour including headlining dates at The Fillmore in San Francisco, CA and the Bowery Ballroom in New York City. The band will also make its debut appearance at the Stagecoach Festival in Indio, CA in April.
Paste Magazine cheers, “Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers have already had a landmark year…” and Blurt raves, “Anyone who’s seen Nicki Bluhm perform live knows she’s the real deal.”
Tour dates:
DEC 31 | El Rey Theatre | Chico, CA $
JAN 16-19 | Jungle Jam | Jaco Beach, Costa Rica
JAN 23 | Soho | Santa Barbara, CA
JAN 25 | The Fillmore | San Francisco, CA
FEB 06 | The Moon | Tallahasse, FL ^
FEB 07 | Georgia Theater | Athens, GA ^
FEB 08 | Ziggy’s | Winston-Salem, NC ^
FEB 09 | Motorco| Durham, NC
FEB 11 | Hamilton | Washington, DC
FEB 12 | Ramshead Live | Baltimore, MD ^
FEB 13 | Union Transfer | Philadelphia, PA ^
FEB 14 | Bowery Ballroom | New York, NY %
FEB 15 | The Sinclair | Cambridge, MA %
FEB 16 | The Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun | Uncasville, CT
FEB 18 | Basement | Columbus, OH
FEB 21 | The Fillmore | Denver, CO ^ *
FEB 22 | Winter Wondergrass | Avon, CO
FEB 25 | State Room | Salt Lake City, UT
FEB 27 | Doug Fir Lounge | Portland, OR
FEB 28 | Doug Fir Lounge | Portland, OR
MAR 01 | Neumos | Seattle, WA
MAR 03 | Humbrews | Arcata, CA
APR 25-27 | Stagecoach Festival | Indio, CA
$ - w/ The Mother Hips
^ - w/ JJ Grey & Mofro
% - w/ Joe Pug
* - w/ Keller Williams
Below, you can see GuitarWorld.com's exclusive video from this weekend's upcoming episode of Austin City Limits.
One of the highlights of the episode, which is devoted to the 2013 Americana Honors & Awards, is a guitar-heavy performance of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" by Stephen Stills and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Stills' old Buffalo Springfield bandmate, Richie Furay, is also featured in the clip.
The episode, which was recorded live at the Americana Music Association's 12th Annual Honors & Awards ceremony in September at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, is hosted by Jim Lauderdale.
Other performers include Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, Shovels & Rope, Dr. John, The Milk Carton Kids, Duane Eddy, John Fullbright and Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison.
The episode will air Saturday, November 23, on PBS (Check local listings). For more about the episode and Austin City Limits, visit acltv.com.
Got a question for your favorite guitarist? Let us be your go-between. The concept is easy — you submit your queries and we pass them on to some of the world's greatest guitarists. Only the sharpest and funniest questions will be used.
This month, we're giving you the chance to ask Scorpions guitarists Matthias Jabs and Rudolf Schenker anything you want!
Just email your questions to dearguitarhero@guitarworld.com and put "Scorpions" in the subject line. Remember to include your name in the email body, so you can get credited in the magazine, and impress and annoy your jealous friends!
On the heels of a knockout performance of “Running Wild” on Late Show with David Letterman, Nashville’s Moon Taxi premieres an acoustic video for their current single, “The New Black.”
Moon Taxi have also announced that they will be releasing a 6-song acoustic EP on December 17th via digital partners entitled Acoustic on West 56th, which was recorded in New York City earlier this Summer. All the songs off the acoustic EP are tracks from the band’s acclaimed album Mountains Beaches Cities that was released on September 10th, 2013.
Watch the acoustic video for "The New Black" here:
Moon Taxi is currently on an extensive US tour, which took them through Voodoo Festival in New Orleans, and will culminate in their hometown of Nashville for their annual New Year’s Eve show at Marathon Music Works.
Remaining Moon Taxi 2013 tour dates:
11/21 Dallas, TX @ Trees
11/22 Starkville, MS @ Ricks Cafe
11/29 Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
12/5 Raleigh, NC @ Southland Ballroom
12/6 Richmond, VA @ Capital Ale House
12/8 Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel
12/20 Birmingham, AL @ Workplay Theater
12/31 Nashville, TN @Marathon Music Works
Below, watch Mr. Big, Niacin and Talas bassist Billy Sheehan demo and discuss DiMarzio's Will Power bass pickups. These are the exact pickups Sheehan uses in his signature Yamaha basses.
Sheehan also discusses his overall setup and his new band with Richie Kotzen and Mike Portnoy, the Winery Dogs.
For more about DiMarzio's Will Power pickups, visit dimarzio.com.
Here at Acoustic Nation, we’re all about shining a spotlight on great, up-and-coming songwriters worthy of attention. That’s why we’re proud to partner with our friends at SongTownUSA, West Coast Songwriters, and Los Angeles Women in Music to bring you the Acoustic Nation Songwriter Spotlight Competition.
This contest is open to members of these organizations only. Not a member? Well, we highly encourage you to check out one of these groups for yourself. Each one provides advice, tips and a thriving community for musicians and songwriters. If you’re looking to sharpen your skills and make connections, this is the place to be.
Every month we'll be spotlighting one or more folks from these great organizations that have proven worthy of mention! So guess what that means? You can enter every time you write another great song and we'll keep posting as long as we find songs we love.
So, have a special song in mind? Enter into the competition for a chance at some serious exposure. Those selected will receive a spotlight write-up right here on AcousticNation.com, which will include a photo, video or audio embed, plus links to your site.
Here’s some fine print. Your songwriter’s membership selection will be verified, and by applying for the Acoustic Nation Spotlight, you consent to have your music and likeness shared on AcousticNation.com as well as our affiliated sites and social media. You must provide us with a photo if you are selected.
Following an impressive debut album, Vertical Mass Grave, Chicago-based prog/sludge trio Czar have released their sophomore album, No One Is Alone If No One Is Alive, via Cracknation Records.
The album, an expressive 44-minute slab of heavy sludge full of clean guitar tones and old-school industrial elements, is truly a worthwhile piece of music for any fan of heavy music.
Below you'll find GuitarWorld.com's exclusive premiere of the track "Aortic Flower," which symbolizes the overall vibe of the album.
Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive premiere of new music videos — and debut singles — by Jon and The Jones and AM Aesthetic. You can check out "Firebreather" and "We Caught Fire" below.
Jon and The Jones, a bluesy-rock-alt combo, and AM Aesthetic, an alt-rock trio, represent the first efforts from BHi Music Group, a new label headed by music industry and digital entertainment exec Dick Wingate.
"I'm pleased to launch Big House Music (BHi) with two great New York-area artists and writers, Jon and The Jones and AM Aesthetic, alongside two multi-talented entrepreneurs, Christian Cedras and Krista Retto," Wingate says. "Their musical and business instincts, ability to execute strategic partnerships and 24/7 dedication were so compelling that they drew me to venture back into the A&R/label side of the business.
“I was highly impressed by their early development of Jon Moodie (Jon and The Jones), and we worked as a team to build a band around him and continue to develop their sound. We also signed and developed AMA over the last few months, and we're looking quite seriously at two other acts.”
“Firebreather” and “We Caught Fire” are being offered as free downloads for a limited time. Both songs precede second singles and full albums that are scheduled for early 2014.
When I was a young'un in the early '80s, still new to the guitar and looking for great players to inspire me, I asked a few adults, including my father, to recommend some great guitarists, people I should listen to and learn from.
Every one of them, Dad included, mentioned Eric Clapton. (Note: He was cool enough to mention Eddie Van Halen too.)
So imagine my surprise when I went out and bought Clapton's latest album at the time, the fairly subdued Money and Cigarettes.
Yes, there were catchy songs, a nice clean Strat sound and a guest appearance by Albert Lee, but the young version of me asked, "Where's the fire? Where are the big solos? Why isn't Clapton giving Stevie Ray Vaughan a run for his money?"
A little later on, I found out the brilliant, country-flavored second guitar solo from the live version of "Cocaine" (from 1980's Just One Night) wasn't played by Clapton. It was, in fact, Albert Lee. More frustration!
I had caught Clapton at a laid-back time, guitar-hero-wise — right at the end of his country-inspired, "Strat, direct into the amp" phase. He started breaking out the heated solos again on Behind the Sun, Journeyman, From the Cradle and other albums, of course. And his playing at Cream's 2005 reunion show was stellar.
Anyway, it didn't take me long to discover the adults' reference point in terms of all the Clapton hubbub: the Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton album — and pretty much everything he ever did with Cream. Now this, well ... this was something special. This was the Eric Clapton my father & Co. were remembering. This was the "Eric Clapton of the Mind."
From the Bluesbreakers through Cream (1966 through 1968), Clapton was — simply put — one of the best, most explosive and influential guitarists on the planet — and Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck lived on that planet. And while footage of Clapton during this era is rare, we have access to a very fine (although oddly edited) video of Cream's farewell concert, which was filmed November 26, 1968, at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the site of their 2005 reunion.
The video, which you can watch below, captures the explosive version of Clapton. It also shows him (and Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker) backstage, explaining how a Gibson's volume and tone knobs work and demonstrating his celebrated "woman tone." (Head to 16:53 to see him backstage with his guitar.)
I've grown up a lot since my Money and Cigarettes disappointment days; I can appreciate exactly what Clapton was going for; I know he got very tired of the long, loud jams with Cream (as would I).
Anyway, here's hoping you enjoy this little bit of time travel.
Damian Fanelli is the online managing editor at Guitar World.
