This video is bonus content related to the March 2014 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now, or in our online store.

Pedal boards can be the bane of performing guitarists.

They’re complicated and bulky, and if just one connection fails, your rig is rendered silent until you can track down the offending plug or wire.

On the other hand, all-in-one pedal-board solutions are most often maligned for relying too heavily on low-cost, low-fidelity digital-chip sets that don’t deliver the sonic goods of a traditional pedal. T-Rex’s new Magnus effect board bridges the gap between these two ideologies, offering four of the company’s boutique-quality effects in an easy-to-use, inexpensive and programmable package.

Steve Stine, highly sought-after guitar educator, teaches live group and private classes at LessonFace.com.

Welcome to the second installment of my "Absolute Fretboard Mastery" series.

In our last lesson, we ran through the five major and minor pentatonic scale patterns and covered a technique called "meandering."

I hope you’ve practiced hard and you’re ready for this next lesson in the series.

In this installment, I want to continue improving your knowledge of the fretboard by touching on the topic of chords. Most of you probably know all your chords, but what I want to do with this series is really build your knowledge of the fretboard from the very ground up.

So, as with the last lesson, we’ll be starting off with the basics and making sure you know all your chords with absolute certainty.

Let’s start off by learning the essential 10 open chords — these include six major chords (A major, C major, D major, E major, F major and G major) and four minor chords (A minor, B minor, D minor and E minor).

The first step when learning these chords with our concept of absolute understanding is being able to visualize them across your fretboard; the same way we did with the minor and major pentatonic scale patterns. At the end of the day, you need to be able to look down at your fretboard and instantly visualize where these chords are.

The second step when learning these chords involves a little technique that I call "bouncing." When it comes to learning chords, muscle memory is a huge part of the process; which means that your fingers need to be able to instinctively form the chord shapes as soon as you decide to play them. What a lot of beginner players do when learning chords is that they hold a chord and strum it over and over again.

The problem with doing this is that it really isn’t teaching the muscle memory involved with the chords to your fretting hand. With "bouncing" what we’re going to do is first hold the chord and then slightly raise your fingers off the strings, while holding the chord shape, and then set them back down again. By doing this you’re improving your fretting hand’s muscle memory so that it’ll be able to form these chord shapes quickly and accurately.

The third thing I want you to work on when learning these chords is the clarity with which you play them. What I want you to do here is to hold a chord and then strum it string by string. This way you will be able to hear if you’re holding down on each note of the chord accurately.

Once you have these 10 open chords mastered, I want you to start learning the basic sixth-string and fifth-string power chords.
Insert power-chords chart

You’ll notice that with power chords that we’re only playing three strings. For example, with the sixth-string power chords we’re only playing the sixth, the fifth and the fourth strings, so it's important that you lightly touch the remaining strings to deaden them out so that they do not ring out. It’s the same for the fifth-string power chords, and I like to go a step further and lightly mute the sixth string by touching it with my index finger so that it doesn’t ring.

The great thing about power chords is that you can move them around anywhere on the fretboard. And this is why I wanted you to learn the notes on your sixth string in the last lesson. Because the first note of the power chord is its root note, by knowing your notes on the sixth string you are able to play virtually any power chord.

For instance, if you’re playing a sixth-string power chord on the seventh fret, which is a B, you are playing a B power chord. In the same way, once you learn your notes on the fifth string, you can play virtually play any fifth-string power chord you want.

So another task that I want you to focus on this month is learning all the notes on the fifth string with absolute certainty. And since you’ve already learned the notes on the sixth string, you can start cross-referencing notes across these two strings. So when you’re locating a note on the fifth string, immediately locate the same note on the sixth string.

And as we continue learning notes across the rest of the strings you’ll be able to see the notes across your fretboard vertically as well as horizontally. This will all contribute toward your absolute knowledge of the fretboard. Again, I understand this might seem basic to intermediate and advanced players, but these first steps are crucial toward absolute understanding.

The next topic I want to cover in this lesson is that of the major, minor and major 7th barre-chords on the sixth string and fifth strings.

If you take a close look at these chords and the notes that make them up, you’ll notice that these barre chords are actually open chords moved up the fretboard. For example, the sixth-string major barre chords are actually the open E major chord moved up the fretboard.

You’ll also notice that the power chords we learned earlier are actually the same as these barre chords. For example, the first three notes of an F major power chord are the same as the first three notes of an F major power chord. The barre chord simply bars the remaining strings and adds the note that makes the chord a major or minor. So while power chords aren’t differentiable as major or minor, barre chords are, and generally have much fuller and more expressive sounds.

For the second part of this lesson, I want you to go back to the "meandering" technique I spoke about in the first lesson of this series. But this time around I want you start introducing little stops and pauses into your "meandering" to create melodic phrases. While doing this I want you to pay attention to the length of each phrase and aim to vary your phrases as much as possible. This is a crucial first step in making sure that your playing doesn’t become too rigid and monotonous.

I hope you enjoyed this lesson, and I really hope that you do practice hard. And remember, sometimes it can feel like you’re learning things that you already know, but powering through that feeling is a small sacrifice when you realize that you’re laying a solid foundation to truly great playing.

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.

LessonFace.com offers live online music lessons via videoconference, allowing you to access top teachers in a wide variety of instruments from anywhere with a broadband connection. Steve is offering a live online group class for intermediate players this summer called “The Players Series” via the LessonFace.com platform. More information about live online lessons with Steve is available at lessonface.com/player.

These videos are bonus content related to the March 2014 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now, or in our online store.

Last month, I presented some effective exercises to add to your everyday practice regimen to keep your chops in tip-top shape.

This month, I’d like to continue on this theme and give you three more great exercises designed to sharpen your fret- and pick-hand skills while also broadening your fretboard knowledge.

FIGURE 1 is an exercise that moves across two adjacent strings at a time, starting from a higher string and moving to the adjacent lower string.

PART ONE

PART TWO

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 Behemoth guitarist/vocalist/mastermind Nergal anything you want! From his deep extreme metal history to his recent battle with and recovery from leukemia...nothing's off limits!

Just email your questions to dearguitarhero@guitarworld.com and put "Nergal" 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!

Watch the wild video for "Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel," from Behemoth's forthcoming CD, The Satanist:

Photo by Jimmy Hubbard.

Universal Music Group's Verve Records is proud to announce the signing of acclaimed Australian duo The Falls. Verve's Chairman David Foster states, "Their perfect blend of harmonies and heartfelt songs represent the very best kind of contemporary folk-based music," going on to add "I couldn't be happier to welcome them to the Verve Music Family."

The one time couple that recently made the move to the states will release their debut EP Into The Fire on February 18th.

Along with Harpers Bazaar calling The Falls "uniquely beautiful" and KCRW spotlighting the duo as an "Artist You should Know," Melinda Kirwin and Simon Rudston have also been catching the attention of fellow musicians. The Falls have already toured and been personally asked to go on the road with The Lumineers, Of Monsters and Men, Passenger and Natalie Maines of The Dixie Chicks.

Verve's GM Robert Smith says that with Into The Fire,"The Fall's join our label's long standing tradition of artists who speak from the heart and standout from the crowd. It's individual, distinctive and worldly."

Here The Falls'"Into The Fire" here:

Kicking off 2014 with performances at this year's Sundance Film Festival, The Falls will embark on a two-month tour with Delta Rae beginning February 15th. The duo will also perform at SXSW and numerous festivals this summer. Tour dates below.

Stay tuned for more news!

Tour Dates (more to be announced):

February 15th 9:30 Club Washington, DC*
February 20th Jefferson Theater Charlottesville, VA*
February 21st World Café Live Philadelphia, PA*
February 25th Bowery Ballroom New York, NY*
February 27th Ridgefield Playhouse Ridgefield, CT*
February 28th Port City Music Hall Portland, ME*
March 1st Royale Boston, MA*
March 6th Cat's Cradle Carrboro, NC*
March 7th Lincoln Theater Raleigh, NC*
March 10th Rocnation Party Austin, TX
March 21st Bluebird Theater Denver, CO*

* With Delta Rae

Find out more at facebook.com/musicfromthefalls

During the 2014 Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, California, the Guitar World crew visited the Jim Dunlop booth to check out — and hear — several new pedals from the company.

In the video below, Jim Dunlop Manufacturing's Bob Cedro and Bryan Kehoe provide a guided tour of one of the loaded Dunlop pedal boards at the NAMM Show. You can hear several pedals in action, including the MXR Phase 99, the MXR Micro Amp Plus, the MXR La Machine, the MXR Super Badass Distortion, the Way Huge Swollen Pickle, a Fuzz Face Mini and more.

For more about Jim Dunlop, visit jimdunlop.com.

[[ Guitar World at NAMM 2014: Gear updates, photo galleries, videos and more! ]]

I saw Gary Clark Jr. play at SXSW a couple of years ago. OK, I guess “saw” is loosely applied here.

There was a huge crowd and I watched from down the street while sitting on a curb.

What has been apparent since day one is that Clark knows his way around a guitar. And apparently that includes acoustic!

Clark won a GRAMMY this year for Best Traditional R&B performance for his song “Please Come Home.” And yes, I dug around and found a nice acoustic performance of that song.

But it’s this performance of a nice, gritty, live acoustic blues played on a resonator guitar that really floats my boat. It’s the “Next Door Neighbor Blues.” Whaddya think?

Find out more about Gary Clark Jr at http://www.garyclarkjr.com/

I’ve seen them; you’ve seen them—those gut-wrenching photos or videos of someone’s precious vintage guitar being crushed in the baggage carousel or launched across the tarmac by a malicious or careless baggage handler.

You’ve argued with airline personnel at the ticket counter about your right to carry your guitar onto the plane, no extra baggage fee required.

You’ve been told you have to buy an extra seat in order to bring your instrument aboard.

You’ve pleaded with attendants at the gate, begging them to let you carry your guitar onto the plane, only to be told that it must be “gate checked” (a term, I’m sure, designed to have us believe that these items are somehow safer under the plane than other items. True? I’m leery).

You have also seen, I hope, Dave Carroll’s hilarious song and video “United Breaks Guitars,” and if not, check it out here.

And you’re terrified every time you have to fly, because some airlines let you, some don’t, and you’re never sure which will, which won’t, and when.

WELL, WONDER AND WORRY NO MORE!! I was tipped off to this by a blogpost by a guy named Ari, and here it is:

In 2012,President Obama signed into law the ‘‘FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012,’’ which, along with provisions for enhancing runway safety and easing restrictions on transporting lithium batteries, contains the following text:

SEC. 403. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL—Subchapter I of chapter 417 is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘§ 41724. Musical instruments
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL—
‘‘(1) SMALL INSTRUMENTS AS CARRY-ON BAGGAGE.—An air carrier providing air transportation shall permit a passenger to carry a violin, guitar, or other musical instrument in the aircraft cabin, without charging the passenger a fee in addition to any standard fee that carrier may require for comparable carry-on baggage, if—

‘‘(A) the instrument can be stowed safely in a suitable baggage compartment in the aircraft cabin or under a passenger seat, in accordance with the requirements for carriage of carry-on baggage or cargo established by the Administrator; and

‘‘(B) there is space for such stowage at the time the passenger boards the aircraft.

For instruments too large to fit in an overhead or under your seat, you can bring them aboard but you do have to buy another ticket:

‘‘(2) LARGER INSTRUMENTS AS CARRY-ON BAGGAGE.—An air carrier providing air transportation shall permit a passenger to carry a musical instrument that is too large to meet the requirements of paragraph (1) in the aircraft cabin, without charging the passenger a fee in addition to the cost of the additional ticket described in subparagraph (E), if—

‘‘(A) the instrument is contained in a case or covered so as to avoid injury to other passengers;

‘‘(B) the weight of the instrument, including the case or covering, does not exceed 165 pounds or the applicable weight restrictions for the aircraft;

‘‘(C) the instrument can be stowed in accordance with the requirements for carriage of carry-on baggage or cargo established by the Administrator;

‘‘(D) neither the instrument nor the case contains any object not otherwise permitted to be carried in an aircraft cabin because of a law or regulation of the United States; and

‘‘(E) the passenger wishing to carry the instrument in the aircraft cabin has purchased an additional seat to accommodate the instrument.

Wooooo-hoooo!!! And did you notice that the time to determine whether there’s sufficient space for your guitar is at the time you board the aircraft??!?!?!

So, no more deciding as the plane fills up that your guitar takes up too much room and they’ll have to gate check it fit more suitcases in.

Does everyone in the aviation industry know about this law? Well, probably not. Will you still have to argue with those who don’t, well, probably. Best practice? Carry the text of the law with you, inside your guitar case so you’ll have it if you need it.

And then? Celebrate, guitar players around the globe!!! When you fly in the U.S, anyway, you may rest assured: your rights are secure, as is your beloved guitar.

For those of you who need to read the complete text of the Act, here you go. Read it before bedtime. It’ll put you right out. Sweet dreams.

Singer-songwriter Laura Zucker wins audiences over with a hard-won perspective and a positive spin. The powerful imagery of her songs and stories ring so true you might think she’s read your diary – and you’ll find yourself humming her infectious melodies for days to come. She’s a two-time finalist in the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk competition in Texas, 2013 West Coast Songwriters Association Best Song of the Year, and has received numerous accolades and awards from the organizations around the world. She has released three CDs of original songs and is poised to release the 4th, "Life Wide Open," early this fall. More at LauraZucker.com

Guitar World magazine presents its new Blues Greats subscription offer!

Get one year of Guitar World plus a new digital EP, Legacy Recordings Presents: Blues Greats! Past & Present.

You'll receive 12 issues of Guitar World and this instantly downloadable digital EP featuring six classic blues songs:

• “Lord, I Just Can’t Keep From Crying” by Blind Willie Johnson
• “Revenue Man Blues” by Charley Patton
• “Albert’s Shuffle” by Mike Bloomfield
• “Dallas” by Johnny Winter
• “Damn Right, I’ve Got The Blues” by Buddy Guy
• “Get On With Your Life (LIVE)” by the Allman Brothers Band.

If you subscribe today, you’ll start your subscription with the brand-new March 2014 issue of Guitar World, featuring Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield, Johnny Winter and Duane Allman.

All this for just $14.95!

Click HERE to subscribe and download the EP right now!

Today, GuitarWorld.com presents a high-quality video of late guitar legend Mike Bloomfield performing "Drinkin' Wine" with the Electric Flag at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.

The clip — which represents Bloomfield's debut gig with his new high-energy band — is from a new documentary, Sweet Blues: A Film About Michael Bloomfield, which combines vintage audio interviews and live performance footage with new interviews with Bloomfield’s friends.

The film is part of From His Head to His Heart to His Hands, a career-spanning box set that was released today, February 4, via Sony’s Legacy imprint.

Although he often is overshadowed by Eric Clapton and Fleetwood Mac's Peter Green, Bloomfield — with his Sunburst 1959 Gibson Les Paul — set the pace for the disruptive fervor of the 1960s youth revolution with his greasy mix of Chicago blues and freak-out frenzy.

The box set, which includes three CDs and one DVD, includes previously unreleased recordings, such as Bloomfield’s first demos (including "Hammond's Rag,"which you can check out on GuitarWorld.com), which were recorded for John Hammond in 1964.

In addition to solo material and performances by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and the Electric Flag, the box set offers a hefty serving of Bloomfield’s session work for other artists, including Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters and Janis Joplin. It even includes his final live performance, which took place at a 1980 Dylan concert.

For more about Bloomfield and the new box set, check out this in-depth feature from our sister publication, Guitar Aficionado, and the new March 2014 issue of Guitar World, which is available now at the Guitar World Online Store.

For more about Bloomfield, visit his Facebook page.

[[ Guitar World’s Blues Greats Subscription Offer: Get one year of Guitar World plus a new digital EP, 'Legacy Recordings Presents: Blues Greats! Past & Present,' featuring “Albert's Shuffle" by Mike Bloomfield! ]]

Remember when federal agents raided the Gibson Guitar factory in Nashville a few years ago?

Well, the guitar maker is striking back — in a way — with its new Government Series II Les Paul.

The guitar, which comes in the company's Government Tan finish, is made from the actual rosewood that was seized by the government during two raids.

The model starts at $1,099.

From Gibson:

Government Series II Les Paul Great Gibson electric guitars have long been a means of fighting the establishment, so when the powers that be confiscated stocks of tonewoods from the Gibson factory in Nashville—only to return them once there was a resolution and the investigation ended—it was an event worth celebrating. Introducing the Government Series II Les Paul, a striking new guitar from Gibson USA for 2014 that suitably marks this infamous time in Gibson’s history.

From its solid mahogany body with modern weight relief for enhance resonance and playing comfort, to its carved maple top, the Government Series II Les Paul follows the tradition of the great Les Paul Standards—but also makes a superb statement with its unique appointments.

A distinctive vintage-gloss Government Tan finish, complemented by black-chrome hardware and black plastics and trim, is topped by a pickguard that’s hot-stamped in gold with the Government Series graphic—a bald eagle hoisting a Gibson guitar neck. Each Government Series II Les Paul also includes a genuine piece of Gibson USA history in its solid rosewood fingerboard, which is made from wood returned to Gibson by the US government after the resolution.

And because it’s a Gibson, the Government Series II Les Paul is a pure and powerful tone machine. Aided by a pair of Dirty Fingers+ pickups, among the hottest humbuckers Gibson has ever produced, this historic Les Paul is ready and willing to wage war on tonal timidity—and to get you heard in the process!

Add a set of high-quality Grover tuners, a black hardshell case with Government Series graphic, a Certificate of Authenticity personally signed by Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz, and legendary Gibson quality and craftsmanship: this is one mighty Les Paul that you’ll want to confiscate quickly and turn to your own creative devices. The Government Series II is limited by the availability of qualifying woods, so seize yours now from your authorized Gibson USA dealer.

Body and Neck

The Government Series II Les Paul is crafted in the image of the original Les Paul Standard, with a carved maple top and solid mahogany back with modern weight relief for improved playing comfort and enhanced resonance. The glued-in mahogany neck features a comfortably rounded late-’50s profile, while the unbound fingerboard—with a Corian nut, 22 frets and traditional trapezoid inlays just like the very first Gibson Les Pauls—is made from solid rosewood returned to Gibson by the US government.. And, the guitar looks superb with its unique Government Tan finish in vintage-gloss nitrocellulose lacquer.

Pickups and Electronics

The guitar carries a pair of Gibson’s super-hot Dirty Fingers+ pickups for maximum rock action. Among the most powerful humbuckers Gibson has ever produced, these will drive your amp of choice into über-crunch and singing lead tones, while cleaning up beautifully for subtler moments. They’re mounted “open coil” with no covers, and wired through the traditional four-knob control section with three-way selector switch.

Hardware

A classic Tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece anchor it all down for outstanding resonance and sustain, while Grover tuners represent a significant upgrade up top—all plated in black chrome. Plastics are all black, and the black pickguard is hot-stamped in gold with the Government Series eagle graphic.

Cases and Coverage

The Government Series II Les Paul comes protected in a black Gibson hardshell case. Backed by a Limited Lifetime Warranty and Gibson’s 24/7/365 Customer Service, the package includes a truss-rod wrench, owner’s manual and a Certificate of Authenticity personally signed by Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz.

For more information and three more (very small) photos, visit gibson.com.

This is an excerpt from the March 2014 issue of Guitar World. For the rest of this story — as in, the other 49 Greatest Eric Clapton Guitar Moments of All Time — plus features on Mike Bloomfield, the Layla sessions, Johnny Winter, Don Felder, Guitar World's Readers Poll results and more (including gear reviews and John Petrucci's monthly column) — check out the March 2014 issue at the Guitar World Online Store.

07. Spoonful
Cream—Fresh Cream (1966)

Just as “Crossroads” introduced a new generation of music fans to the mystique of Robert Johnson, Cream’s “Spoonful” brought extra exposure to Willie Dixon, who wrote the song, and Howlin’ Wolf, who originally recorded it in 1960.

And while Howlin’ Wolf’s stark-and-dark version is haunting in its own right, Cream’s take on the song—driven by Clapton’s guitar and Jack Bruce’s heavy bass—moves it several steps further along.

Clapton’s solo, which starts at 2:23, seems almost playful at first, as if he’s toying with the listener, but at 2:46, things take a sudden and profound turn toward the dramatic. He plays a series of notes—virtual howls and moans—high on the neck, punctuating them with several perfectly timed cracks at his low E string.

At 3:31, he launches into a completely new melody, taking Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker along for the ride. Clapton’s tone on the track, a unique dense, reverb-drenched sound that only a Gibson humbucker could produce, stands alone in Cream’s canon and in Clapton’s entire discography.

At Cream’s live shows, “Spoonful,” like several other songs, gave the band members plenty of room to stretch out, as can be heard on the sensational, nearly 17-minute-long version on Cream’s Wheels of Fire.

[[ Guitar World’s Blues Greats Subscription Offer: Get one year of Guitar World plus a new digital EP, 'Legacy Recordings Presents: Blues Greats! Past & Present,' featuring songs by Mike Bloomfield, Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter, the Allman Brothers Band and more! ]]

For the rest of this story — as in, the other 49 Greatest Eric Clapton Guitar Moments of All Time — plus features on Mike Bloomfield, the Layla sessions, Johnny Winter, Don Felder, Guitar World's Readers Poll results and more (including gear reviews and John Petrucci's monthly column) — check out the March 2014 issue at the Guitar World Online Store.

Since its beginnings in 1982, Doug Marks’ Metal Method has become one of the most successful rock guitar courses of all time.

What started out as a supplement to help him achieve his own dreams of rock stardom, Marks’ lessons have taught guitarists everything from fundamental shapes and barre chords to improvising leads and writing songs.

From his early days of snail-mail cassette tapes and booklets to today’s digital downloads, Marks continues to inspire and make thousands of guitarists better players.

I recently caught up with Marks, who told me about “Speed and Accuracy for Lead Guitar," his first new lesson in years. In the program, Marks uses his easy-going teaching style to present rapid-fire three-note-per-string patterns that increase essential skills. Marks also discussed his Hawk project from 1985, which was associated with some very familiar musicians.

GUITAR WORLD: What prompted this new program?

Last year, I started giving Skype guitar lessons. It was the first time I had given actual private lessons since I put together Metal Method. As I watched students work through the course, I was able to see first-hand one of the biggest struggles most students face: lack of precision due to a lack of focus. It was working with students through Skype that really inspired me to get to work on something new.

Tell me about "Speed and Accuracy For Lead Guitar."

Ninety-nine percent of all leads are played with just three simple, fundamental shapes, and what this lesson focuses on is showing you how to play them to perfection. Learning to play these shapes perfectly will develop the muscle memory you need to make everything you play sound more precise.

What kind of practice regimen do you suggest guitarists follow?

What you practice really depends on your objective. For example, a lot of my students might have a goal to complete my basic course. If that’s the case, then half of your practice time should be spent working on the course, but the other half should be spent on things like learning your favorite songs or maybe even writing songs of your own.

It can’t all be about guitar instruction. You’ve got to have some fun with it or else you’re going to lose interest. With "Speed and Accuracy," I suggest taking 30 days to emphasize practicing the drills to see how far you can go.

What was practice like for you when you were learning to play?

I started playing in cover bands when I was in 18 and played in them throughout my 20s. Once I got serious, I started practicing a lot, and there was a time where I treated it as though it were my full-time job. But practicing back then was so much different from now. The one thing I was able to learn was how to really listen to recordings and develop a good ear. That’s something that’s missing from a lot of today’s players. Today, it’s too easy to just get tabs off the Internet or watch YouTube videos.

Can you tell me the origin of the Hawk project and some of the musicians you worked with on it?

In 1985, I found vocalist Charles Morrill and we started writing material together. At the time, he was playing in a band with his brother David called Black Night. We then recruited bassist Lonnie Miller [now Lonnie Vencent — Bullet Boys, King Kobra] and drummer Scott Travis [Judas Priest, Fight, Racer X]. This became the first lineup of Hawk, and the only lineup to ever play live. Except for me, the 1986 album had none of the original members.

What prompted you to start Metal Method?

I was living in Denver and didn’t have a band or even a job. That was when a friend of mine, who was an instructor, turned me on to teaching. I started to teach people as a way for me to make an income and after two years decided to make the move to Los Angeles.

After the move to LA, I had students back in Denver who still wanted lessons. So I started putting together some packages to send back to them. They encouraged me to keep going with mail order, and that’s what got me started. I decided to sell a few guitars, buy some ads and see what I could do. It was originally my plan to just make enough money to start a band, but after a few years it became so successful I couldn’t stop.

What satisfies you the most about Metal Method after all these years?

I hear a lot of different stories from people who took my lessons and tell me it changed their lives. Whenever I hear those stories, they’ll usually start out something like, “I know you’ve heard this before." But from my perspective, it’s very gratifying. I never get tired of hearing them.

Do you have a good story about knowing when a band just isn’t working out?

One afternoon, one of the “bands” I was in was rehearsing for a very important Roxy show in Hollywood. Some of the band members were so “partied out” from the night before that they were asleep in the equipment room. So I was there rehearsing with a roadie playing bass and another member who was in pretty rough shape too.

I remember just looking around the room and thinking, “I can’t do this anymore!” So I rented a U-Haul and started loading up the equipment. One of the band members asked me what was going on and I quoted Kenny Rogers: “You got to know when to hold ‘em. Know when to fold ‘em. Know when to walk away. Know when to run ... I’m running!” [laughs].

For more about Metal Method, visit metalmethod.com.

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.

The John Butler Trio, whose new album Flesh & Blood is released today, are currently on their North American tour which kicked off last night with a sold out crowd at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City – one of two sold out shows in New York.

The band performs at the Music Hall in Williamsburg tonight! Additional sold out shows include Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver and San Francisco.

The band will be featured this Friday, February 7th, on the nationally syndicated WXPN/NPR radio program World Café.

The trio also announces three initial summer concert dates - Friday, June 6th at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, CO (w/ Frank Turner); Saturday, June 7th at the Crossroads Festival in Kansas City, MO (w/ Frank Turner) and Tuesday, June 17th at New York’s Central Park Summerstage.

List of all tour dates is below and more summer tour dates to be announced shortly.

Flesh & Blood is John Butler Trio's sixth studio album and the long-awaited follow up to the band’s internationally acclaimed 2010 release April Uprising.

The first single “Only One” is already Top 10 on the Triple A Indicator chart and the album is Top 15 on the Triple A Non-Commercial chart. Check it out:

February 2014 Tour Dates:

2/4 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg – SOLD OUT
2/6 Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall – SOLD OUT
2/7 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre - SOLD OUT
2/8 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre – SOLD OUT
2/9 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
2/12 Missoula, MT - Wilma Theatre
2/14 Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre
2/15 Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom – SOLD OUT
2/16 Vancouver, BC- Commodore Ballroom – SOLD OUT
2/18 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
2/20 San Francisco, CA – The Independent – SOLD OUT
2/21 Los Angeles, CA - Fonda Theatre
2/23 San Diego, CA - House of Blues

Initial Summer Tour Dates 2014
6/5 Boulder, CO – Fox Theater
6/6 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheater
6/7 Kansas City, MO – Crossroads
6/8 Ozark, AR – Wakarusa Music Festival
6/17 New York, NY – Central Park Summerstage

Find out more at johnbutlertrio.com/

Nashville Pussy guitarist Ruyter Suys just can’t get enough.

And with constant touring, recording and writing in the mix, her life is a lot like a Nashville Pussy record — fast and loud.

Her husband, Blaine Cartwright, plays guitar alongside her in Nashville Pussy, and when they aren’t hard at work on that, they're usually out touring and writing with a host of other projects.

Nashville Pussy’s latest album, Up the Dosage, is raw and reckless. Littered with filthy lyrics, sexy licks and heavy riffs, it is rock and roll to the core. I recently spoke to Suys about Up the Dosage, her rock and roll life and her extensive gear collection.

GUITAR WORLD: It’s been five years since the last Nashville Pussy release, From Hell to Texas. What have you been up to?

Well, in the Nashville Pussy world, it's constant touring. Blaine and I also have a radio station called Slinging Pig Radio through Slinging Pig records, and in the last year we’ve written and recorded with four of the bands through that. See, we accidentally get downtime and then — bam — we join a band.

Blaine wound up reuniting with his old band, Nine Pound Hammer, and they toured and recorded an album. Then he started a whole new band with the Remnants called Kentucky Bridge Burners, and they recorded an album. I’m on about 80 percent of that, playing mandolin and keyboards. When he was in Europe with Kentucky Bridger Burners, I joined a comedy metal band called Dick Delicious and the Tasty Testicals. We recorded an album and toured.

We did two tours. We did one with Nashville Pussy and the Dwarves. Then we did our own solo tour, which was fucking insane, and I’m totally impressed no one went to jail and we all came back alive.

The new Nashville Pussy album, Up the Dosage, came out last month. How does that fit in among all your other projects?

We always collect riffs. Between one album and the next we spend a lot of time just laying down groovy tracks and keeping them close to you, in your voice memos on your iPhone or a cassette or what have you. We’re just always collecting riffs, so when it came time to record this album you just go back to the files and find out what rocks.

The writing of the songs and the recording of the album didn’t take more than a month total. It went really fast, and I think most of it was from being pent up. We hadn’t done this in a while with Nashville Pussy, so when we got to the studio and it was just kinda like you hadn’t got laid in a while, y’know? We were all just fucking ready to go, and it just came out really fast.

Where did you record it?

We recorded at Nitro Sonic in Lexington, Kentucky. It’s kind of like our little home away from home. We’ve got all types of shit there. The producer/engineer Brian Pulito is the old Nine Pound Hammer drummer. He quit the band to start his own studio, and we’ve sort of got this partnership going on with him right now.

We keep all of our gear there that we don’t take on the road, and we collect shit everywhere we go. You collect amps and guitars, fucking keyboards, mandolins and violins and anything that goes "bing!" Our house was just overflowing with gear, and one day we decided, we’re taking this all to Kentucky.

We managed to load up most of our shit and bring everything to the studio and essentially store it there and it can be used by anyone who records there. We have a shit load of Marshalls there, the Fender Rose, the Warwick. I have a giant Yamaha speaker cabinet for vocals or piano, and we got all these guitars we collected over the years hanging up there. It’s our little oasis.

So with all this gear you've collected, what do you use to record?

Ah, man, my setup is always like a Marshall half-stack and an old pre-'70s Champ. Those are my sounds. I’ve got my SG Standard. It’s glorious; I have a number of them.

Were you searching for a specific tone on the record? Did you know exactly what you wanted?

We just used what we liked, but that little Champ has been taking over the sound more and more as the years go by. We only use it in the studio. It’s like a foot high and classic Jimmy Page. Neil Young used one too. It’s just got a fantastic fucking sound and a single speaker. You can’t bring it on the road. We were splitting the signals with one line going to the Marshall, some on the Fender and then the Champ. We’d go back and forth leaning more toward the Marshall or the Fender. But as the recording progressed, we were just going straight Champ.

It was almost all Champ. It’s got such a fucking great sound and, of course, we put it in a hallway instead of like in a booth, and everyone had to be really quiet when they’d walk over. We eventually just started miking it more and more in this hallway, and it just sounded fucking phenomenal. That little itty-bitty thing put out so much great sound.

How was it working with Rick Beato? Was this your first time doing an album with him?

Yeah, he’s a friend of the band. We had mixed it on our own and we really liked it. When we played it for Rick, he was like, "Man, I think I can do it better." So we gave it a shot and he did one song and played it for us and everyone was like, "Oh yeah, we gotta let him do the whole fucking thing.” I think he was itching to do something heavy. He managed to really bring out a good fucking solid punch.

Before we met we had this hilarious conversation on the phone. He was like, “Well, what do you want out of this album?” So I said, “I’m a guitar player,” and he goes, “What does that mean?” So I say, “What do you think I’m gonna say?” He answers, “You’re gonna tell me to turn up the guitars.” I said, “Exactly.” So if I don’t have to tell you to turn up the guitars, then everything is fine.

That explains one of the songs you wrote for the album — "White and Loud."

This is a message to all you countries out there that have a fucking 90-db limit at a public fucking festival. Jesus Christ, man, there's nothing more disheartening than being at sound check and them telling you the snare is too loud. You know we have Marshalls, right?

Well, you have to crank those.

Exactly, man. You don’t buy a Marshall stack to be the quietest thing in the house. The whole idea is to drown out my mother.

On the song "Hooray for Cocaine," you’re playing mandolin. How long has that been going on?

Yeah I’m playing a mandolin on that one for the high girly vocals. I’ve been playing mandolin seven years or so. I don’t really practice it or anything like that, I just kind of have a Jimmy Page problem, where he played mandolin so I want to play mandolin. And it’s fucking fun to play. It’s like playing speed metal, that shit. I just keep the mandolin when we’re touring, and on the bus I’ll jam along with whatever music we’re listening to. It’s a fun little challenge to get your fingers across the little frets.

When you guys are playing live, do you stick to the record or is there some jamming going on?

We usually have a little area where we jam out. We have a couple of songs that require jamming. We used to do "Nutbush City Limits," a Tina Turner song, and that always had a nice little hook we could just fuck off for a while and do whatever the hell we wanted. We’ve almost always had a song that required a section like that. So yeah, there’s always an element of jamming. And I’m not exactly tied to any of my solos. I have a tendency to make shit up a lot. Whatever feels good at the time.

What was the first guitar you ever owned?

The first guitar I had was my dad’s, a Yamaki acoustic. He still has it and it absolutely plays like butter. I had found an old Silvertone, which kind of has the Les Paul shape, three pickups, a blender knob, the finish of a dinner cloth. I found it in some dude's garage and he let me have it for free. I got someone to hook up the electronics. I still have that guitar. It’s the magic guitar; we wrote so much Nashville Pussy on that thing, it’s ridiculous. If Blaine and I ever got divorced, that’s what we would fight over. The first guitar I ever purchased was a Telecaster made by Mann and it looked like what Jimmy Page played so I bought that.

What are you most proud of on Up the Dosage?

I’m insanely proud of my solos. There are a couple of them that’ll make me cry if I listen to them. There’s just some heavy-duty energy going on on some of this shit. I love the solos on "Rub it to Death" and "The South’s Too Fat to Rise Again." I cut a lot of these things live and stuck with my first take on about 95 percent of this shit. It was the easiest recording I’d ever done; the shit just flew out of me. It was kind of like I wasn’t even there, it was just whatever the music was and it was just really fun.

Here are We Butter The Bread With Butter guitarist Marcel Neumann’s tips for touring the U.S. — from the perspective of an international band. (We Butter The Bread With Butter are from Germany.) And speaking of touring, the band hits the road in the U.S. next week. Check out all the tour dates right here.

01. Expect the unexpected!

If you fly to a foreign country, you won’t be able to bring all of your own equipment. Of course, you think you know exactly what equipment you've rented, but in the end it’s often totally different — a different color, different tune.

Or you get an amp that has no gain. What are you going to do when you play metal? There are two options: Go to the next music store and buy the next-best distortion pedal — or play the whole afternoon with this shitty amp till your fingers do what the amp needs. I prefer option 3: Tell the rental company you can’t deal with it, and have them find an amp that was made for the music you want to play.

Guitar renting is also a big deal because you really need to get to know your new friends. These guitars will react totally different than the ones that stayed at home. It’s another kind of feedback, different handling and so on. Very important: Make sure you take the right adapters with you!

02. The bigger the better?

When you, as a non-American, take your first steps into a real American Wal-Mart, you won’t believe your eyes. Everything, and I mean everything, is bigger than you'll ever see in another supermarket. In fact, it’s not a supermarket. It’s more like a giant megastore where you can get everything you've ever dreamed about (or not!). There are wagons that chauffeur people through the hallways. I'm serious: They don’t even need to walk when they “go” shopping.

At the entrance, you can choose your favorite XL milkshake and, of course, there's an extra-large drink holder in the wagon that gives you a ride for your shopping tour to make sure you don't burn extra calories that day. The hallways are bigger than in every other supermarket. The products you can buy are bigger than anywhere else. There are ketchup bottles twice as big as my hand. Everything comes in a family package. But what should you do if you only need to feed a single household?

03. Climate change is happening right in front of your door

If you wonder about the climate change everyone is talking about, just drive for two weeks with an American bus and American crew through the U.S. and you will experience a whole different level of climate change. It doesn’t matter if it’s totally hot, medium warm or cold outside. There is this little thing called air conditioner that is everywhere you go.

If you just want to have a break in a nice little restaurant with your band mates, make sure to take a pullover with you — even if it's 110 degrees outside! And of course, If you're always in the middle of a climate change, you will get sick. So here's some advice, something your mother would tell you: Eat your vitamins every day. Which leads me to another point ...

04. The land of fast success, fast money and fast food

In Europe, they tell you America is the land where you can get rich even if you start as a dish washer. It’s fast and easy — like their food. I think that is one of the things where the prejudices are true. Fast food surrounds you everywhere and every day. It’s hard if you care about your nutrition and you need to go to a fast-food restaurant every second day. If you're lucky, you can order vegetable sticks instead of the fifth burger in one week. It’s also very funny if you can explain to one of your crew members that oranges and lemons could help him out with his cold — which he obviously got from the air conditioner in the bus!

05. Be special or go home

There you are: You've finally landed on a stage where all the great rock stars of the 20th century started their career, ended up with it or showed their justification to be one of most famous artists or bands in the industry. And then you ask yourself: What can I leave behind?

In the U.S., you are really often confronted with these situations because there are many locations that made history. You cannot just play there and drive forward. You are on a mission. You carry responsibility.

So every night, especially in these historical locations, you should force yourself (and your band) to be special, to create something new, something people wouldn’t expect. Maybe it’s corny, but you can really leave an impression if you dare to be different. It’s one of the things that really came back in my mind by touring the U.S. because there are such beautiful historical venues where you can feel the breath of the old rock stars!

Guitarist Marcel Neumann is a member of Germany's We Butter The Bread With Butter. For more about the band, check them out on Facebook.

Jim Dunlop has introduced its new MXR Custom Shop La Machine pedal.

The pedal serves up thick, shaggy retro fuzz that’s tailor made to drive the raw sounds of ’70s-style hard rock and modern garage rock.

Based on a vintage circuit, the La Machine features an Octave switch that adds an octave up tone to your fuzz signal to create a raw, searing sound. Use the simple Output, Tone, Distortion control interface to shape the sound of your fuzz signal.

• Thick, shaggy retro fuzz
• Tailor-made for raw ’70s-style hard rock and modern garage rock
• Octave switch adds searing octave up fuzz voice
• True bypass switching

MSRP: $199.99

For more information, visit jimdunlop.com.

[[ Guitar World at NAMM 2014: Gear updates, photo galleries, videos and more! ]]

Ovation® is proud to announce the Celebrity Elite series of acoustic-electric guitars.

Masterfully built with eight beautiful finish options, the new Celebrity Elite models have a classic mid-depth Lyrachord® cutaway body style and an improved quartersawn scalloped “X” bracing design.

Replacing the existing Celebrity Deluxe Series, the new Celebrity Elite line consists of two tiers of models: Celebrity Elite Plus and Celebrity Elite.

The Celebrity Elite Plus line features figured tops, beautiful multi-wood epaulet combinations and upgraded abalone appointments on the purfling and fret markers along with the OP-4BT preamp with Ovation Slimline Pickup.

Figured tops include Trans Blue Quilt Maple (CE44P-8TQ), Figured Koa (CE44P-FKOA), Padauk (CE44P-PD) and Spalted Maple (CE44P-SM).

Available in Sunburst (CE44-1), Natural (CE44-4), Black (CE44-5) and Ruby Red (CE44-RR) finishes, the Celebrity Standard CE44 features a solid spruce top and is appointed with pearloid microdots on a rosewood fingerboard, multi-wood epaulets, and the Ovation OP-4BT preamp with Ovation Slimline Pickup.

“The new Celebrity Elite Series has been designed to capture the essence of that renowned Ovation Elite sound: full and focused low-end, excellent balance, and great projection” says Jason Barnes, Ovation product manager. “With upgraded materials and bracing, the Celebrity Elite Series delivers our greatest value to date with the iconic Elite design.”

The Ovation Celebrity Elite Plus is available for $749.50 (MSRP). The Ovation Celebrity Elite is available for $649.50 (MSRP).

Visit www.ovationguitars.com for more information.

Beneath his slightly imposing, greaser-type haircut and still-strong English accent, Alex Turner may not want you to know he can write just as great a heartbreaker ballad as he can a fuzzed-out rocker.

The band Turner fronts, Arctic Monkeys, have come a long way since they burst into rock’s consciousness less than decade ago.

Nonchalantly tossing off what seemed like a hundred words a minute, all of them witty, wry, and pointed; Alex Turner was unlike any frontman rock had previously seen.

Arctic Monkey’s debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, showed a band that almost seemed as impatient with themselves as they were with the world around them.

Playing in dynamically engaging fits and starts while Turner narrated in a sort of Nick Carraway-esque voice of the incredibly colorful and vivid characters that inhabited his world, Arctic Monkeys immediately established themselves as a band with incredible potential.

As they developed over of the course their next four albums, Turner and the band frequently put on brilliant displays of their musical versatility. On their most recent effort, AM, they alternated funkier songs like “Do I Wanna Know?” and the note-perfect “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?” with touching, engaging ballads like “Mad Sounds” and “No. 1 Party Anthem.”

For those not as familiar with Turner’s style, his ballads may be slightly surprising. But I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say they’re actually what he’s best at. Turner’s softer tracks reveal an incredible sense for detail, melody, and how lyrics can shape a song musically just as much as it can thematically.

To that end, I can’t talk about Turner’s softer side without discussing his EP Submarine. His only solo release to date, Submarine is a collection of five acoustic tracks (six if you count the brief intro that is reprised later in the EP in the form of a full song) he wrote for the British coming of age film of the same name.

A beautifully filmed tale of a lovestruck but selfish teenager, Submarine is unremarkable on its own merits. But Turner’s soundtrack brings the simple story vividly and brilliantly to life with his acoustic ballads.

The EP’s first two, full tracks are two of the best Turner has ever penned. “Hiding Tonight” and “Glass In The Park” flawlessly capture the raw simplicity, excitement, and uncertainty of early teenage romance. Turner recognizes the powerful nostalgic element of these early romances, and frames them perfectly.

The lyrics and gorgeous melodies of these two tracks are so effortlessly executed that you’ll probably find yourself walking down memory lane to a simpler time yourself as you hear them. There’s an undeniable physicality to these songs. They’re not just nostalgic, they’re strong enough to engage all of the senses in your memory of these times. You won’t just remember say, your first kiss, off-hand. You’ll be able to smell the air of where you were, hear the sounds that surrounded you at the time, and fully immerse yourself in a memory. It doesn’t even have to be a memory; it could be the present.

View the video for “Hiding Tonight” here.

Regardless of the time frame or location of the memories it may bring back to the listener, Turner’s acoustic soundtrack to Submarine is as cinematic as the film itself. His songwriting is dazzling at every turn; giving life to feelings that wouldn’t otherwise be able to take form, to express themselves. Turner accomplishes on each track what each and every one of our favorite songs do for us. They take you to another time, and another place.

More at www.arcticmonkeys.com

Jackson Maxwell is a freshman at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is double majoring in history and journalism. He is a staff writer for the Massachusetts Daily Collegian and has his own music blog entitled “Two Dudes, Two Computers” with his friend Zach Newman. You can follow him here at twodudestwocomputers.tumblr.com/ or http://themotorcade.tumblr.com/