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Thirty Guitar Legends — Including Eddie Van Halen, Dimebag Darrell and Jeff Beck — Choose the Song They'd Most Want to Be Remembered By, Part 1

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From the GW Archive: This feature originally appeared in the May 2002 issue of Guitar World. The story has a "time capsule" theme: We asked several veteran guitarists to choose the one song they'd most want to be remembered by after many years. Here we are, 11 and a half years later (Does that qualify as "many"?), opening the time capsule to examine its contents! Enjoy!

A few decades ago, NASA sent a probe called Voyager straight out of the solar system. Its mission: to make contact with alien intelligence.

The capsule was crammed with artifacts — including greetings in more than 50 languages — intended to convey information about Earth's cultures. But just in case those items failed to communicate across language barriers, NASA also included a recording of Chuck Berry performing his rock and roll masterpiece "Johnny B. Goode."

For a while after Voyager's launch, the joke around the agency was that a reply had been received from an alien civilization: "Forget the scientific shit," went the message. "Send more rock and roll!" But what songs should be sent? We at Guitar World decided the logical place to start would be the musicians themselves.

In a project that started almost five years ago (hence the inclusion of George Harrison), we began asking many of the most influential guitarists in rock, blues and metal one deceptively simple question: "If you had to put one of your songs in a time capsule to be opened sometime in the future, which would you choose, and why?"

Check out Part 1 of the story below.
Look for Part 2 Monday, November 18.

Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen), "Jump"
1984 (1984)

"I'll probably be playing "Eruption" at every show for the rest of my life, but I guess my time capsule choice would have to be 'Jump.' At the time I really wanted to do something challenging.

Diver Down, the album just before 1984, was half cover tunes, and I hated it. Our producer had told me his theory that if you redo a hit, you're halfway there. But I'd rather bomb with my own shit than make it with someone else's.

So that's when I built my own studio, 5150, which was a major step for me — not to prove any point but just so I could be myself and experiment musically. People were telling me, 'You can't use keyboards, you're a guitar player!" So that's when I wrote 'Jump.' Musically, it was a real departure. We had the challenge of integrating the keyboards and synths with the guitar for the first time.

"The word 'pop' comes from 'popular,' meaning a lot of people like it. Ninety-nine percent of the reason I make music is to, hopefully, touch people with it. And this one touched the most people — so far."


Dimebag Darrell (Pantera), "Fucking Hostile"
Vulgar Display of Power (1992)

"I think the kind of music we play will stand the test of time for however long. But if I had to pick just one, I'd go with the powerful, off-the-cuff statement that is 'Fucking Hostile.'

"When it came out it definitely set the tone and pace for what we were about. I also think our boy Philip [Anselmo, vocals] got it perfectly right lyrically and we got it perfectly right musically.

"So I believe that if somebody heard this song 500 million years from now, they'd go, 'Goddamn, these motherfuckers knew what they were talking about and sure had their jamming skills down'. Plus, I think people will always be hostile, which is another reason I went with this one."


John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin)

"D'yer Mak'er,"Houses of the Holy (1973)
"Stairway To Heaven,"Led Zeppelin IV (1971)

"I'd put 'D'yer Mak'er' in a time capsule so I would never have to hear it again or have to explain how to pronounce the title. There were only two types of rhythms that Bonzo [John Bonham, drums] hated playing — shuffles and reggae.

"We were jamming in the latter style at Stargroves, the house we rented from Mick Jagger, and John was going along with it out of politeness, I think. Unfortunately, the jam turning in to a proper song. He did play some marvelous fills, but for me, the whole thing was buttock-clenchingly embarrassing.

"I would also include 'Stairway To Heaven,' but for more positive reasons. It contains all the classic Zep elements, from folk/Celtic through jazz and r&b to hard rock. It also encapsulates the soft-to-heavy dynamics that the band was famous for.

"As for my own performance, it made me smile when a journalist once told me that he considered the bass line at the end of the song one of the finest ever recorded. Unfortunately, it happens to be underneath one of the finest guitar solos ever recorded!"


Kirk Hammett (Metallica), "Motorbreath"
Kill 'Em All (1983)

"I chose it because it has the breakneck tempo we were so fond of in our early days — plus the lyrics set the tone for our lives over the next 10 years.

"And unlike the songs we wrote later, 'Motorbreath' is under four minutes long!"


Robby Krieger (The Doors), "Light My Fire"
The Doors (1967)

“I feel that ‘Light My Fire’ encapsulates the feel of the 1967 Summer of Love. Being in San Francisco or anywhere in California that summer seemed to be the beginning of a whole new way of life. One day at rehearsal, Jim [Morrison, vocals] suggested we all try and write some songs. I went home that night and wrote ‘Light My Fire’—it was the first song I’d ever written.

"The long solo section was based on the modal playing of jazz great John Coltrane. Up until Miles Davis did Kind of Blue and Coltrane recorded ‘My Favorite Things,’ jazz had been mainly bebop, which involved a lot of fast, tricky chord changes.

"So these guys thought, It’s easy to play over a bunch of chords and sound cool—but what can you do over just one or two chords? Can you play something that’s not just pentatonic—that’s based on a mode, a scale—over one chord, and take it farther out than anybody else has gone?

"That was the start of modal playing, which influenced many rock musicians. My long, modal solo in this song was done over the same two chords John Coltrane soloed over on his version of ‘My Favorite Things’—A minor and B minor. So ‘Light My Fire’ helped light a fire for a new generation and opened people’s minds to a new vision. Almost four decades later, the song seems to remain timeless.”

Warren Haynes (Gov't Mule), "Mule"
Gov't Mule (1995)

"'Mule' is a uniquely Gov't Mule song. I've never hear another song that sounds similar to it.

"There are riffs that could be traced back to some of our early influences — which stretch from Cream to Hendrix to Miles Davis and James Brown — but the way the thing is structured doesn't really remind me of another song. And that was always important to us — that most of our songs can't be traced directly back to other songs.

"'Mule' was written at the last minute in rehearsal, right before recording, and it's a first take, so that solos were on the fly — totally spontaneous. It has an awesome bass like from Allen Woody and [Blues Traveler vocalist] John Popper guests on harmonica.

"And it has a political message; the title refers to the fact that when the America slaves were free they were promised '40 acres and mule' by the U.S. government, which most never received. Here we used ti as a broader metaphor about social oppression in so many aspects of modern society."


Joe Satriani, "Time"
Live In San Fransisco (2001)

“If we can assume that they have DVD players in the future, then I would pick ‘Time’ from the Live in San Francisco DVD, because, for better or worse, it captures what we actually do night after night around the world.

"Although it’s near impossible for me to look at myself on a television screen, I’ve learned to accept that that’s what everyone’s been seeing and hearing for all these years, and I have not yet been thrown in prison for doing it.

“The song is interesting to me, compositionally, because the verse is almost like a child’s melody played over the simplest riff. Then the second part of the song jumps into all of this complex harmony and a whole bunch of key changes. The solo section recreates the same scheme, and eventually the song changes meter. The song provides a wild journey of how to construct an interesting instrumental.”


Ace Frehley (Kiss), "Shock Me"
Love Gun (1977)

“I picked this song not only because it’s a well-known Kiss anthem but because it has deep personal significance for me. The song is based on an actual life-threatening experience I had onstage with Kiss in the Seventies in Lakeland, Florida.

"At the beginning of the concert I was coming down the staircase and when my hand touched the railing I was electrocuted, thrown back and knocked out for about 10 seconds.

"The roadies carried me down the rear staircase, behind the wall of Marshalls. I woke up with electrical burns on my hands and totally shaken. Paul [Stanley] announced what had happened, and the concert was delayed for approximately 10 minutes. The whole audience starting chanting ‘We want Ace, we want Ace!’

“I was so disoriented from the incident that I really didn’t think I was going to be able to do the show. But when I heard 15,000 people chanting my name, my adrenaline started pumping and all I could think was, The show must go on! I continued, even though I had almost no feeling in my hand for the remainder of the concert. All I can say is thank God my guardian angel was hovering above me that evening.”


Jeff Beck, "Where Were You"
Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop (1989)

“This is probably the best thing I ever wrote, and it’s a milestone in my playing. It’s where I began to forge a unique new style. The key thing was discovering how I could use bent harmonics.

"That’s basically taking false harmonics and, by bending the whammy bar, constructing melodies and tunes with it—which is something I took even farther on my last album, You Had It Coming. The inspiration for ‘Where Were You’ was the Bulgarian female choir record Mystere des Voix Bulgares. It’s so astonishing when you hear it—it’s like a religious experience.

"When these women all hit a note together, it’s the most amazing sound you’ve ever heard. They sing these kind of broken scales with quarter-tone intervals. It’s extremely emotional music. I realized this was another tonal palette I could experiment with, because the guitar is capable of doing that, particularly with bent harmonics and the whammy bar.”


Michael Schenker (M56) "Lipstick Traces"
UFO-Phenomenon (1974)

“This is one of the first songs I did with UFO, when I was just 18 years old. I’m sure I could pick it apart and find places where a bend is out of tune or something, but the song itself has always been magical for me.

"I have always had very good technique and that has been important to me, but it is not an end in itself—it is a means of expressing just what you want to say, and I feel I did that with this beautiful melody.

"I express every emotion I have through my music—from the darkest and angriest to the most passionate and joyful—but ultimately I have to pick the song that gives me the biggest sense of calm and pace. Because when it comes down to it, I am a romantic guy.”


Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), "Killing in the Name"
Rage Against The Machine (1992)

“ ‘Killing in the Name’ contains some of my favorite elements of guitar playing: it’s got the huge riff, the propulsive chorus and the ‘angry insect’ guitar solo.

"The song also features a dissonant breakdown, followed by the ‘cavalry charge’ outro, which makes for a fine rocking time all around. These are all things that I enjoy, and that was the very first time they all came together in one song. ‘Killing in the Name’ was RATM’s first single, and it launched our sound as a band as well as my sound as a guitarist in a defining way.

"I have two parallel voices in my guitar playing—the quirky-noises-as-musical-passages concept and the anthemic riffage—and they are well-represented in this song.”


Joe Strummer (The Clash), "If Music Could Talk"
Sandinista! (1980)

“On my recent album, Global a Go-Go, I had this breakthrough where I was able to do the album from my intuition rather than from my intellect. Me and the band just turned up every day, and it was like the music was telling us what to play. Music, lyrics, solos—it was all of one piece, done in the moment.

"When I think back, the only similar experience happened when the Clash hit New York after touring, and we went right into the Sandinista! sessions. It was very similar in that we had nothing prepared, and a lot of the album just took off by itself. On ‘If Music Could Talk’ I recorded two vocals: one on the left side of the stereo mix, and the other on the right side. And the two vocals were done one right after the other.

"I just love hearing those vocals, even though it doesn’t fuckin’ work that well, because I can hear myself extemporizing, straight off the bat, on my feet, in the moment. And as I was reminded on my last album, music really can talk—to us and through us.”


George Harrison (The Beatles), "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
The Beatles (1968)

“When we actually started recording this song it was just me playing the acoustic guitar and singing it [this version appears on the Beatles’ Anthology 3—GW Ed.], and nobody in the group was interested. Well, Ringo [Starr, drums] probably was, but John [Lennon, guitar/vocals] and Paul [McCartney, bass/vocals] weren’t.

"When I went home that night I was really disappointed. I thought, Well, this is really quite a good song—it’s not as if it’s shitty! The next day I happened to drive back into London with Eric Clapton, and while we were in the car I suddenly said, ‘Why don’t you come and play on this track?’

And he answered, ‘Oh, I couldn’t do that—the others wouldn’t like it.’ Eric was reluctant because there hadn’t ever been any prominent musicians on our records. Finally, I said, ‘Well, sod them! It’s my song and I’d like you to come down to the studio.’

"So Eric showed up, and suddenly everybody started behaving and not fooling around so much. And the song came together nicely. Eric didn’t think his playing sounded ‘Beatles-ish’ enough. So we put the ‘wobbler’ on it, which is what we called ADT [Artificial Double Tracking, the basis of flanging—GW Ed.]

"When I played it in concert with Eric over the years he would play it differently every night. Gary Moore did some shows with me and he also played exceptionally well on this one. I think guitar players like this song because it was structured in a way that gives them the greatest excuse to just wail away.”

Stay tuned for PART TWO of "One for the Ages" Monday, November 18.


Metallica's Kirk Hammett to Join Exodus and Death Angel on Stage at First Annual Fear FestEvil

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Today, Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett announced via Facebook that he’ll be joining Exodus and Death Angel — two of the headliners at his inaugural horror convention — on stage during their encores.

The event, which has been dubbed Kirk Von Hammett’s Fear FestEvil, will take place February 6 to 8 at San Francisco’s Regency Ballroom. Exodus will be joined by Carcass that Friday; Death Division and Orchid will play before Death Angel on Saturday.

It should be noted that Hammett was the founding guitarist of Exodus before joining Metallica.

From the Fear FestEvil folks:

"Created to honor the weird, the wonderful, the eclectic and the things that make your hair stand up on end, the heavy doors of collector/curator/historian/guardian Kirk Von Hammett’s crypt will be opened to the public to display the finest acquisitions in his extensive collection of horror memorabilia, which includes rare movie posters and props, costumes, models, masks and toys from various eras.

"Private 'Crypt' tours, signing sessions and live music will be included in the three-day event."

For more information on the event, visit fearfestevil.com.

Win a Midnight Guitar Strap or T-Shirt from Orion Guitar Gear!

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Teaser Content: 

Orion Guitar Gear is giving away one Midnight guitar strap and a T-shirt to one winner — and T-shirts to 10 other winners! The T-shirt winners can choose from these two designs. The blue one is called Flight; the red one is called Garage. Orion Guitar Gear fitted T-shirts are made in the U.S. of 100 percent premium cotton.

Orion Guitar Gear is giving away one Midnight guitar strap (pictured above) and a T-shirt to one winner — and T-shirts to 10 other winners!

The T-shirt winners can choose from these two designs. The blue one is called Flight; the red one is called Garage. Orion Guitar Gear fitted T-shirts are made in the U.S. of 100 percent premium cotton.

The Midnight guitar strap features dark blood-red stars on black crocodile embossed leather, matching red stitching and held together with big gunmetal buckles.

Orion’s patent pending pick-pocket design makes sure you always have a pick within reach, and each strap comes in an Orion Guitar Gear Case. Orion straps are durable yet soft and extremely comfortable to wear.

Just fill out the contest entry form below!

All entries must be submitted by January 31, 2014.<p><a href="/official_contest_rules">Official Rules and Regulations</a>
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Guitar World's New Special Edition: 'Metallica — 30 Years of the World's Greatest Heavy Metal Band'

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James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo and Lars Ulrich — these are the men of Metallica.

For 30 years, they have been the reigning kings of the heavy metal world, and deservedly so.

With such landmark albums as Master of Puppets, ...And Justice for All, Metallica and Death Magnetic, Metallica steadily evolved, progressing beyond the limits of the thrash-metal barrier without ever wavering in their goal to be the best heavy metal outfit on earth.

In Metallica: 30 Years of the World's Greatest Heavy Metal Band, you'll read about the storied band's rise to prominence in some of the most powerful articles ever published in the pages of Guitar World magazine.

• Learn how Metallica coped with the accidental 1986 death of original bassist Cliff Burton.

• Read about the writing and recording of such legendary albums as Kill 'Em All, Master of Puppets, the Black Album and Load.

• Sit alongside guitarist Kirk Hammett as he reconnects with his guitar teacher, Joe Satriani.

• Go behind the scenes of the making of the group's revealing documentary film, Some Kind of Monster.

• The 100 Greatest Metallica Songs of All Time: Guitar World ranks them from first to worst.

It's all right here, in Metallica: 30 Years of the World's Greatest Heavy Metal Band - the myths, the memories, the triumphs, the tragedies of America's foremost heavy metal team.

It's available now at the Guitar World Online Store for $19.95.

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Up-Close Video: Jeff Loomis Plays "Miles of Machines"

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While checking out our Twitter feed this morning, we noticed a random tweet from a guitarist:

"I don't think you can fully appreciate how incredible @jeffloomis is until you attempt to play a couple of bars of from 'Miles of Machines.'"

We couldn't agree more!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the track, which is from Loomis' 2008 solo album, Zero Order Phase, we've included a very close-up, fan-filled video of Loomis playing the song at the Schecter booth at the 2013 Winter NAMM Show.

If you can't get enough of Loomis in action, be sure to watch him tackle Jason Becker's "Perpetual Burn" right here. Enjoy!

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Video: December 30, 1993 — Nirvana Play Their Final Los Angeles Show

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Some "new" old video has surfaced on YouTube.

On December 30, documentary filmmaker Dave Markey posted this clip of what would wind up being Nirvana's last-ever show in Los Angeles.

The show, which was staged at the LA Forum, pre-dates Kurt Cobain's April 5, 1994, suicide by just a few short months.

Here's the info Markey posted along with the video:

"20 years ago tonight (December 30, 1993) I stood on Kurt's side of the stage at my hometown's Los Angeles Forum and captured the last set I would see of this band. A band that I had worked with, toured with; people that I would call my friends. A band that both the world and myself really loved (can't really say this has happened since.)

"Within just a few short months it would sadly all be over. Sharing a few songs here; a couple covers Vaselines' Jesus & Bowie's Man Who Sold The World) and All Apologies. I'm glad to have documented this show, as well as their pre-fame fun in 1991."

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Jack White Announces He's Finishing Up His Next Solo Album

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According to a recent online chat with his fans, Jack White is working on two new albums, one of which is a solo disc, the followup to 2012's Blunderbuss.

"I'm producing two albums this month, and finishing them," White wrote in the chat. "One of them is mine."

This news isn't surprising, since White has been noticeably busy in recent months. He's working with the Dead Weather again, and the band are releasing a series of singles that will lead up to a new studio album — the band's third — in 2015. He's also been recording with the Raconteurs since February 2013.

In November, White confirmed he's collaborating with Elton John on a project called American Epic. You can read more about that here.

Oddly enough, White's Third Man Records recently announced the release of four White Stripes singles — "Seven Nation Army,""I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself,""The Hardest Button to Button" and "There's No Home for You Here"— from the band's 2003 album, Elephant.

Third Man Records also recently announced the release of its first effect pedal, a fuzz pedal called the Bumble Buzz. You can read about it here and watch White's official demo video below.

Spice It Up: Blues and Eastern Fusion, Part 2

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The last time we discussed the search for exotic sounds — and how to blend them with more-familiar blues — we explored the flavors of Hungary.

This time, we're going to sample some Egyptian spices.

While this might seem like a long flight with no connections, there’s more here than meets the eye.

Egyptian Pulp Fiction

In my previous column (See the link above), I used the Hungarian minor scale in A (A B C D# E F G#). I used it in a bluesy way, and someone commented that it sounded "Arabic." Well, there’s a lot of truth in that; if we start this scale from its 5th degree, we’ll get the “Arabic scale”: E F G# A B C D#, which is also known as the minor gypsy scale, Byzantine scale and double harmonic major scale.

You’ll probably recognize the scale if you’ll listen to Dick Dale’s version of "Misirlou," which was was in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. It’s worth mentioning that this piece was originally composed as a Greek folk song about an Egyptian girl.

“Arabic scale” is a misleading term, as there is a whole different system of Arabic music “scales” that are called maqamat (The singular form is "maqam") and are used more as a technique of melody improvisation rather than in a theoretical way. The closest maqam with the same intervals would be Shad Araban in the key of G (G Ab B C D Eb F#), which I'm going to fuse with blues now.

The most interesting thing about this scale is the half-step neighbors G has on both sides: F# and Ab. This idea on all its variations can be heard in many genres, from Django Reinhardt’s gypsy jazz solos to war leitmotifs in film music. But this is my take on how they can be used with blues:

TAB1.png

In these three examples, I used elements from known blues licks in minor and major pentatonic blues scales and added the tanginess of these exotic notes. I find this combination fascinating because it allows the expansion of simple phrases into longer interesting melodies without over-complicating it.

The “Arabic” effect here is due to the famous augmented second interval that appears twice in this scale (Ab-B, Eb-F#) — hence the name “double harmonic." You can use the following backing track to practice this multicultural marriage:

Tips to Remember

There are two good ways to remember the Arabic scale. First, take a triad of the chord G (G B D) add the triad of the minor 2nd chord Ab (Ab C Eb) and finish with the major 7th (F#). Have a look at the first bar for an illustration:

TAB2.png

The second bar shows the Cm Hungarian scale (C D Eb F# G Ab B), which is as aforesaid the “cousin” of the Arabic scale. This position also can work well with the 4th degree (Cm) in 12-bar blues and for which you may use licks from the previous lesson by transposing them accordingly.

Watch this space for the next column in this series, which will blend blues with Far Eastern sounds.

Udi Glaser is a guitarist, guitar teacher, composer, producer and journalist. He has been playing all types of guitars and styles for more than 22 years and has been teaching them for more than 10 years. He holds a bachelor's degree in musicology and philosophy and attained a sound-engineering diploma and an Orchestrating Producing for Film and Games certificate, for which he received a scholarship in the name of Jeff Beck. Visit his website and follow his Facebook page or Twitter feed.


Jake E. Lee Is Back in Action with Red Dragon Cartel, a Band that Shows Off More Than His Considerable Guitar Chops

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This is an excerpt from the February 2014 issue of Guitar World. For the rest of this story, plus our "Van Halen 1984 Revisited" cover story with Eddie Van Halen and features on Ozzy Osbourne and Zakk Wylde, Tosin Abasi, Steel Panther, Five Finger Death Punch and John Petrucci's monthly column — check out the February 2014 issue at the Guitar World Online Store.

You Don’t Know Jake: Once dismissed as an Eighties rock relic, Jake E. Lee is back in action with Red Dragon Cartel, a new band that shows off more than just his considerable guitar chops.

“For a while, it was pretty uncool to be me,” Jake E. Lee admits, speaking to Guitar World from a Las Vegas recording studio late one December evening.

It’s something of an unexpected statement, but what is even more surprising is the fact that Lee is saying anything at all. Back in the Eighties and early Nineties, when he was slaying arena stages with Ozzy Osbourne and his own group, Badlands, the San Diego–raised ax man was a bona fide guitar god, with a beautifully liquid and limber playing style that, much like his serpentine stage moves, seemed to flow from him effortlessly.

And yet, save for a few low-key recordings, it’s been more than 20 years since most rock and metal fans have heard anything new from the guitarist.

Until now. Earlier this year, after decades of relative inactivity, the 56-year-old Lee announced the creation of a new band, Red Dragon Cartel. The group, which he formed with friend and Beggars & Thieves bassist Ronnie Mancuso (and which also features singer D.J. Smith and drummer Jonas Fairley), recently released its self-titled debut album. It’s a hard-hitting, 10-song collection that features guest appearances from artists like Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander, In This Moment’s Maria Brink and former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno.

It also highlights Lee’s inimitable guitar playing and, perhaps most importantly to him, showcases his talents as a composer. “I was never too comfortable being seen as just a shred guy,” he says. “I was always more interested in the song.”

GUITAR WORLD (EXCERPT): How did Red Dragon Cartel come together?

It was real casual. About two years ago, Ron [Mancuso] just approached me about doing something. I hadn’t done anything in a while, and I can’t say I really had any plans to. But he had been talking with [producer] Kevin Churko [Ozzy Osbourne, Five Finger Death Punch], who has a studio here in Vegas, and they both thought it’d be interesting to see if I was interested in playing. I had ideas that I’d saved up for the last 15 years or so, and Ron and I started to go through them. Since we didn’t have a band, per se, and it was just the two of us writing and recording, we figured we’d just do like a Slash or Santana thing and reach out to different guys to see if they’d want to sing on different songs.

You mentioned that some of the riffs on the new album date back more than a decade. Did you have a lot of material stockpiled?

Oh, yeah. I had hundreds and hundreds of little WAV files in a folder on my computer. Some of them were fully fleshed-out songs, and others were just, like, five-second riffs. The one with Maria [Brink], “Big Mouth,” that was probably one of the first things I ever recorded onto a computer, back in ’96 or ’97. The opening guitar thing you hear on the record, that’s the actual original track I recorded back then. So it’s 16, 17 years old. And the most recent thing I wrote was what became the first song on the album, “Deceived.” That was probably from a few months ago. All the others fell somewhere in between.

So you’ve been recording all these years, but without any explicit intention to release anything to the public. What was the goal?

I was just stockpiling ideas. I still had a desire to make music, but at a certain point, particularly in the mid Nineties, I didn’t see any interest from people. I’d kind of outlived my shelf life, especially since I was a part of—and I hate saying it—the hair-metal thing. So there weren’t a lot of interesting opportunities coming my way. It was always people from that one genre wanting me to make more music like that. Or, because I also had Badlands, it was blues-rock guys that wanted to form blues-rock bands. But I’d already done those two things and I was looking to do something else, something more musically exotic, maybe. But I wasn’t cool anymore, and I was shot down a lot.

Photo: Angela Boatwright

For the rest of this story, plus our "Van Halen 1984 Revisited" cover story with Eddie Van Halen and features on Ozzy Osbourne and Zakk Wylde, the return of Jake E. Lee, Tosin Abasi, Steel Panther, Five Finger Death Punch and John Petrucci's monthly column — check out the February 2014 issue at the Guitar World Online Store.

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Jeff Beck Announces New Studio Album for 2014

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You can add Jeff Beck's name to the list of major artists prepping new studio albums for 2014.

The following news item recently appeared on Beck's redesigned website:

"After taking a very short, well-earned break post his recent tour with Brian Wilson, Jeff has been spending most of his time with his new band in the studio. We won’t say too much at present. Suffice to say — Watch this space — It will be Epic!!!"

The band in question is Rhonda Smith (bass), Lizzie Ball (violin), Jonathan Joseph (drums) and Nicolas Meier (guitar). The can see the whole gang in the photo to the left.

The new, still-unnamed release will be Beck's first studio album since 2010′s successful Emotion & Commotion, which peaked just outside the Top 10 on Billboard's albums chart. The album featured his cover of a Puccini aria, "Nessun Dorma," which earned Beck a Best Pop Instrumental Performance Grammy.

Beck has been busy of late. As mentioned above, he recently completed a tour with Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson and is featured on Wilson's still-upcoming album. According to Beck, the album has "the flavor of Pet Sounds. Once you hear it, you'll be whistling the songs for the rest of your life." Beck plays guitar on several tracks.

Beck also appears on Fun on Earth, the recently released album by Queen drummer Roger Taylor. He plays on "Say It's Not True," which you can hear below. The track is Taylor's remake of the first Queen studio single to feature Paul Rodgers on vocals. The song, which was written by Taylor, was originally released in 2007 to benefit Nelson Mandela's AIDS foundation.

For more about Beck, visit jeffbeckofficial.com.

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Sid Selvidge's Classic 'The Cold of The Morning' To Be Re-Released on Omnivore Recordings

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Sid Selvidge’s The Cold Of The Morning is a mid-’70s Memphis classic that almost never saw the light of day. Selvidge and producer Jim Dickinson (Big Star, Ry Cooder, The Replacements) created this 12-track song cycle live in the studio in 1975, with Selvidge on vocals and guitar, plus Dickinson on piano with Memphis’ iconic Mudboy and the Neutrons on two tracks. The cover photo was by William Eggleston. The record seemed destined for greatness.

But when Peabody Records’ benefactor decided not to put it out at the last minute, he gave the rights to the recently pressed LP to Selvidge, who drove down to the plant, loaded up his car and distributed the discs himself. The album eventually found its way into regional stores and the national press, even reaching the Cashbox charts; this was enough to take Selvidge to New York. But life intervened, and bigger record deals were not in the cards.

On March 11, 2014, Omnivore Recordings will issue this indelible piece of the Memphis music canon on CD (unavailable for more than two decades and with newly discovered bonus tracks) and on LP for the first time since its original release. The LP, the initial run of which will be pressed on blue vinyl, will contain a download card for the entire album plus bonus tracks.

Co-produced by Sid’s son, Steve (The Hold Steady), The Cold Of The Morning has been expanded to include six previously unissued tracks from the original sessions. (The CD/digital contains the full 18-track playlist; the LP has the original 12 tracks with a download card for the full 18 songs.) Consisting of originals, blues standards, and Broadway classics, the record is not only a snapshot of a time and place, but of Selvidge himself. The package includes rare photographs and an in-depth essay by Bob Mehr of Memphis’ Commercial Appeal.

Selvidge would eventually turn Peabody into a boutique label, issuing records by Cybil Shepherd, and even Alex Chilton’s solo debut, Like Flies on Sherbert. He continued to record, releasing a 1993 album on Elektra and a triumphant swan song, I Should Be Blue, in 2010. The Greenville, Miss. native and former DJ also co-founded the syndicated Beale Street Caravan radio program, beaming the influential music of Memphis to the world.

But it all began on The Cold Of The Morning. “He said, ‘Look, I’ve made my classic record,” recalls his son, Steve. “It was almost like he was apart from it. It really was the perfect capturing of the perfect moment, and it made for his most perfect statement.”

Here's a wonderful preview to get you going. "Miss the Mississippi and You."

Track Listing:
1. I’ve Got A Secret (Didn’t We Shake Sugaree)
2. Frank’s Tune
3. The Outlaw
4. Boll Weevil
5. Wished I Had A Dime*
6. Judge Boushé
7. Then I’d Be Satisfied With Life
8. Danny Boy
9. Lazrus‡
10. Many A Mile
11. I Get The Blues When It Rains*
12. Miss The Mississippi And You

Bonus Tracks: Included On CD And As Digital Download On LP:
13. East St. Louis Blues
14. Wild About My Lovin’
15. Keep It Clean
16. Atomic Power
17. Wished I Had A Dime* (Alternate Take)
18. Ain’t Nobody’s Business

More at http://omnivorerecordings.com

Led Zeppelin to Reissue First Three Albums This Year

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Led Zeppelin will start releasing their catalog reissues this year, Rolling Stone reports.

The project will kick off with the band's first three albums, Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin II and Led Zeppelin III.

A news item that briefly appeared on Jimmy Page's website last week announced the reissues — and mentioned "some of [Page's] own material from the archives" that also is expected to arrive in 2014.

Page first announced the reissues in November 2012, during an interview with Mojo, implying the series would begin in 2013.

"There are a number of Led Zeppelin projects that will come out next year," Page said. "There are different versions of tracks that we have that can be added to the album, so there will be box sets of material that will come out starting next year. There will be one box set per album with extra music that will surface."

Page added that each album would be released in its own box set and that each box set would contain alternate versions of the band's songs. It also was revealed that Page is working on the remasters.

"The catalog was last remastered 20 years ago," he told Rolling Stone. "That's a long time. Everything is being transferred from analog to a higher-resolution digital format. That's one of the problems with the Zeppelin stuff. It sounds ridiculous on MP3. You can't hear what's there properly."

Last October, Robert Plant announced he had stumbled upon a few long-lost Zeppelin recordings that might be included on an upcoming box set by the legendary British band.

"I found some quarter-inch spools recently, and I had a meeting with Jimmy [Page], and we baked them up and listened to them, and there's some very, very interesting bits and pieces that probably will turn up on these things,"Plant told BBC 6.

"I'm desperately trying to get this one track or the two tracks of John Paul Jones singing lead. And so far he's up to giving me two cars and a greenhouse not to get them on the album. Oh, John, wherever you are ... you can't wait to hear yourself singing all over the world! La la la la la la la ... ."

Stay tuned for more information about the upcoming reissues.

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LP to Hit The Road With Kodaline Beginning February 8

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Celebrated singer/songwriter/performer and ukulele player LP has just announced that she will hit the road with Irish rock band Kodaline for a winter tour, which kicks off on February 8th in Toronto and wraps up at Chicago's Bottom Lounge on March 7th. Click here to view a message from LP.

LP is sure to reveal new tunes she has completed for her highly anticipated full-length debut album, which will be released next year. In April 2012, the Los Angeles-based artist released her debut EP for Warner Bros Records, a CD + DVD package titled Into The Wild: Live At EastWest Studios, which received rapturous reviews.

Here's a song off that release, "Into The Wild," which might sound familiar. It was featured in a Citibank national TV ad campaign.

LP's tour dates with Kodaline are as follows:

02/08 Toronto, ON Phoenix Concert Theatre
02/09 Montreal, QC La Sala Rossa
02/10 Montreal, QC La Sala Rossa
02/12 New York, NY Webster Hall
02/13 Philadelphia, PA World Café Live - Downstairs
02/14 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
02/15 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
02/17 Atlanta, GA Terminal West
02/18 Nashville, TN Exit In
02/20 Austin, TX The Parish
02/21 Dallas, TX House of Blues - Cambridge Room
02/25 San Diego, CA Casbah
02/26 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
02/27 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre
03/02 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater
03/03 Kansas City, MO Record Bar
03/04 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry
03/06 Columbus, OH A&R Music Bar
03/07 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge

Find out more at www.IamLP.com

Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi Hoping to Complete Cancer Treatment This Year

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Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has announced he expects to finish treatment for cancer at some point this year.

In a New Year's message posted on his website, Iommi thanked his fans for their ongoing support and said he hopes to get the "all clear," health-wise, in 2014.

"We've some good things lined up for the coming year, firstly the Grammys, then some dates in the U.S. and Canada, and in the summer a quick trip round Europe," Iommi wrote. "I should also be finishing my regular treatment and I’m hoping to not get so tired, all positive."

As has been widely reported, Iommi has being undergoing treatment for lymphoma. He was diagnosed in January 2012.

"When we were writing this album and he was going through his treatment, I thought to myself, 'He ain't gonna fucking make it. How can he?,' Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne told NME last year. "He'd come down some days and look so tired. He's a good guy, Tony. And he's a fucking great guitar player. I just keep my fingers crossed it don't return."

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Video: Woman Performs Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan on the Gayageum, a Traditional Korean Instrument

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Check out these videos of a young woman — Luna Lee — performing iconic tracks by Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan on the gayageum, a traditional Korean zither-like instrument.

The gayageum has 12 strings, although some variants have been made with 21 strings. It is probably the best-known traditional Korean musical instrument. (Thank you, Wikipedia!).

First, she tackles Vaughan's "Scuttle Buttin'," followed by Hendrix's "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)." Chances are Luna's a Vaughan fan, since both of these songs appear on his 1984 album, Couldn't Stand the Weather.

For more gayageum videos by Luna, head here. She also covers Hendrix's "Bold As Love" and a few tracks by acoustic guru Tommy Emmanuel.


Achieving Absolute Fretboard Mastery, Part 1

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

Happy New Year, guys! And welcome to the first edition of my new series, "Absolute Fretboard Mastery."

What is absolute mastery? Well, one thing that I’ve noticed throughout my years as a guitar teacher is that a lot of players tend to go around in circles in terms of the knowledge that they acquire.

They sometimes tend to learn various theories and techniques and end up forgetting them over time, which in turn means they have to spend time relearning these things over and over again. And getting stuck in this sort of run-around process means they never make full use of the time they spend with the instrument.

So what I want to do over the course of this year is introduce you to various concepts and techniques with the ultimate goal of enabling you to improvise across the entire fretboard comfortably and confidently, using pentatonic and diatonic scales. I’m going to break down this knowledge into three categories:

01. Your knowledge of the fretboard
02. Phrasing across the fretboard
03. Your technical ability.

Some of the ideas and ideas I write about might seem very basic, and they might be things you already know. But by the end of this series, they should all come together to give you absolute understanding and mastery of your fretboard. And by that point, you will eliminate any sort of doubt or hesitation that you may have when navigating your instrument.

Take scales, for instance. Sometimes when guitarists learn to play scales, they tend to do so in a very one-dimensional way. I refer to as this learning with blindfolds on. For example, if a player were to play a scale in one position and were to try and move up the fretboard, without absolute mastery of the fretboard they’d only be able to move up and simply play that second position. But by achieving absolute fretboard mastery, you will be able to connect these positions together, and ultimately view and connect the entire fretboard as one cohesive whole.

So let’s get started.

In today’s lesson, I’d like to start off by introducing you to the five minor and major pentatonic shapes and help you master these positions.

Minor-Pentatonic-Positions.png

Major-Pentatonic-Positions.png

What I want you to do first is start with the first position of the A minor pentatonic, starting on the fifth fret, and play it up and down using down strokes and alternate picking. And remember, the goal here isn’t just to play this position up and down, but to absolutely memorize and master it.

Next, what I want you to do is move up the fretboard to the second position of the A minor pentatonic and do the same. If you play close attention to what you’re playing, you’ll notice that you’re playing the same notes as you did in the first position. And you’ll also start to see that the second position of the A minor pentatonic scale fits in like a puzzle piece with the first position.

For example, the following in the first position:

1_9.png

Is the same as this in the second position:

2_7.png

Or say for example you were to play this in the first position:

3_5.png

It would be the same as this in the second position:

4_2.png

Next, what I want you to do is start playing these same notes across all five positions. So you’ll have your first position starting on the fifth fret, second position on the eighth fret, third position on the 10th fret and the fourth position on the 12th fret. And when you come to the fifth position on the 15th fret, you’ll see that you can play the same position, an octave lower, on the third fret.

What I want you to do this month is to memorize these five positions on the fretboard in the key of A minor. And if you find it hard to memorize all five positions, focus on the fifth position starting on the third fret, the first position starting on the fifth fret and the second position starting on the eighth fret. This way you’ll have a big block across the fretboard that you can play within. Once you familiarize yourself with these positions you’ll start to visually see how each position is linked across the fretboard and that really is the goal of this exercise.

Once you’ve mastered these five positions in the key of A minor, the next thing I want you to do this month is to memorize the five positions of the A major pentatonic scale. When you do this, you’ll notice again how the positions entwine with one another.

The third exercise I want you to do this month is to memorize the notes on the sixth string.

Notes_on_the_Guitar.png

Now at first this can seem quite intimidating, so here’s a little short cut: What I want you to do is first memorize the notes on the odd-numbered frets. So if you’re open string is an E, your first fret is an F, the third is a G, the fifth is an A and the sevnth is a B.

You also can use your fretboard markers to memorize these notes because there are markers on the third, fifth and seventh frets. And next on the eighth and 10th frets you have a C and a D. And then once you reach your 12th fret, which is an E, the notes repeat all over again.

Once you have the notes memorized in this way, locating the flats and sharps won’t be a problem. To play a flat note all you have to do is move one semitone (one fret) lower and one semitone upwards for a sharp note. The reasons that I advise beginners against learning the notes on the fretboard all at once including the sharps and flats is that sometimes it can get overwhelming and students tend to start counting to locate notes. But by approaching the task of learning the notes this way, we’re able to learn them with absolute certainty without needing to count them.

The next exercise that I want you to work on this month involves a technique that I call "meandering." This is the phrasing section of this series. And basically what I want you to do here is to see how long you can move around your fretboard in a certain key (A minor pentatonic, for instance) without stopping. But remember, this is not supposed to be a musical exercise, so you don’t have to worry about sounding musical. The point is to see how well your brain and your hands can navigate your fretboard without getting stuck. So all you need to worry about is to keep playing while using as much of the fretboard as possible.

The third category of exercise, which is the technical aspect of this series, is meandering to a metronome while steadily increasing your tempo. So once you’re able to "meander" steadily at a tempo of 120 bpm, you can knock it up gradually. Or you can do the same to a simple jam track. And while you’re doing this, keep in mind that the point isn’t to play fast or musically, but to utilize as much of the fretboard while playing constantly.

While these first few exercises might seem incredibly basic, they really are some of the cornerstones of great guitar playing. So I hope you practice hard, and I look forward to our next lesson.

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.

Video: Jeff Beck and Stevie Ray Vaughan Perform "Jeff's Boogie" in 1984

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For this week's flashback video, we head to Honolulu, Hawaii.

That's where, in 1984, Jeff Beck joined Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble on stage to play an impressive mini-set that included "Jeff's Boogie," an instrumental track from the Yardbirds' 1966 Roger the Engineer album.

In the great-sounding video below, Beck and Vaughan take turns playing the solos in the Cliff Gallup-inspired tune. Jimmie Vaughan was also in attendance that night, by the way (I know this because I have an old VHS of this show).

If you're not familiar with the original Yardbirds version, be sure to check it out; it's pure vintage Beck.

Note that this scene took place five years before Beck and Vaughan's 1989 tour.

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Clay Withrow Talks 'Between The Madness,' New Album by Oklahoma Prog-Rockers Vangough

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Vangough’s new album, Between The Madness, is the third studio project from the Oklahoma City-based prog-rock band.

It also marks the debut of new drummer Kyle Haws, who joins bassist Jeren Martin and founder/vocalist/guitarist Clay Withrow on the 70-minute project.

Between The Madness is a multi-textured combination of vocal and instrumental tracks that were produced by Withrow and mixed by the band’s longtime engineer, Sterling Winfield.

In this interview, Clay Withrow discusses the challenges of finding musicians who understood his vision, how Vangough evolved from something of a one-man project to a collective, and what teaching college-level classes has taught him about his own work.

GUITAR WORLD: Is there much of a scene for this type of music in Oklahoma?

Not at all, unfortunately. I mentioned Fates Warning and Dream Theater. They always skipped Oklahoma when they were on tour, so we ended up driving to Dallas or Austin to see them. The closest we get is Atlanta. That’s where we have to drive before we hit the progressive scene, and then the East Coast and further north.

How difficult was it for you to find musicians?

It was a long process. That was the early story of Vangough. It started out as my own project. I called it the Clay Withrow Band. I wasn’t creative enough to come up with a cool name. I had friends of friends who played instruments, and I kept upgrading as I was going through the process through the years. I got to the point where I had one of the best drummers in the city, and then one of the best bass players, and it led to this status that “Vangough happens to have some of the best musicians.” That helped me scout for people whenever I needed them. Now I feel I’m in the lucky position where if I need somebody for whatever reason, they know they’re playing with the best in the business locally.

How much did the previous groups have in common with what became Vangough?

I absolutely think it did affect my direction, because early on it was just me in the same basement, and it was kind of a pastiche of this sound and that sound. When our first drummer, Brandon Lopez, joined the band, that had a huge effect. I remember thinking, This will affect how I write in the future. I’m going to write more stuff like this because this guy can handle it. Then, when we got Jeren, he brought a lot of experience in terms of his ear being attuned to what sounds good, what blends well together, and which parts need to be expanded upon.

He’s been a huge factor in how I write. When we got Kyle for this album, he was my long-lost soul mate. When he joined, I thought, Why didn’t we meet when I was in high school? We sat in the basement for hours and woodshedded. That, more than anything, affected how I wrote music, because for the first time ever I had a drummer who was willing to sit down with me every day and just jam and see how things unfolded. Going forward, that’s going to be one of the biggest factors in how Vangough evolves sonically and arrangement-wise.

You are a trained musician and you teach college classes. How did that come about?

I did take some guitar lessons in high school and some voice lessons when I was in college, and I remember sitting through a few music theory classes at OU when I was studying there. That was the extent of my formal training. When I got the offer to teach at the University of Central Oklahoma, I went to town doing my homework. I bought every music theory book that I could and I studied my ass off. It was like going to school again, but on my own.

I would take out my pencil and my notation paper and go through them. In a very short period of time I taught myself what I could so that I could teach it. I know that sounds crazy, but I felt like a fraud being in that position and being able to teach when I didn’t go through an actual degreed program like they were going through. But I got that opportunity because Manikin Parade and Game On! caught a lot of people’s attention at the school. Strangely enough, Manikin Parade got passed around to some of the directors and the CEO of the school, and they were all fans of the CD.

I’m good friends with the director, but this was before, it was very early on, and when I asked, they told me that it was because of Vangough and that the CD helped me get in the door. That’s probably the best thing Vangough has done for me monetarily, ever. I am still teaching. Typically, I teach between three and five classes in a semester. I teach songwriting and music business studies.

What are the teaching challenges in our world of limited attention spans and people who can’t put their phones away?

That was a big challenge for a long time. Teaching is something I had to learn day to day, and early on it was very difficult. I remember having to put on a different hat and telling students to put away their phones and not do this and that because it’s not conducive to what we’re doing in a classroom. It is a challenge, but I feel like the students that we have now are getting better and there’s less of that. The school has been around for about four years. I don’t run into it as much as I did at the very beginning.

How does teaching make you a better student of your craft?

For example, I’ll have the students work on a project, whether it’s for business or songwriting, and they’ll come up with something that I hadn’t really considered. They’re coming up with great ideas and I will totally admit that it was a brilliant idea. I’ll leave the classroom and make a note on my phone: “Do this when you get home.” It’s been a huge benefit, actually.

That’s why I love teaching — not just because I feel like I can impart everything I’ve experienced in the business, but also because sometimes you need somebody in a role of leadership to direct things and the students will come up with great things on their own. I’m at a point with music theory where I’m very confident. It’s burned into my brain because I use it every week. As far as guitar and singing, I have to stay on that on a regular basis because it’s a skill I feel that I lose very quickly if I’m not persistent.

Photo courtesy of Vittek Public Relations

Read more of Clay Withrow’s interview here.

— Alison Richter

Alison Richter interviews artists, producers, engineers and other music industry professionals for print and online publications. Read more of her interviews right here.

NAMM 2014: NAMM Metal Jam to Feature Michael Angelo Batio, Metal Jam All-Stars

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Present and former members of Whitesnake, Dio, Anthrax, Korn, King Diamond, Rising Force, Alcatrazz and more will take part in the 2014 NAMM Metal Jam Wednesday, January 22, at the Whiskey A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

The show was organized by DeathRiders/original Anthrax vocalist Neil Turbin and Dave Reffett, guitarist and GuitarWorld.com blogger.

Turbin and Reffett will co-headline the event with Michael Angelo Batio and the Metal All-Star Jam, which will feature present/former members of Whitesnake, Dio, Anthrax, Korn, Rising Force, the Iron Maidens and more.

The event also will feature present and former members of Ted Nugent's band, Alice Cooper's band, Starz, Agent Steel, Holy Grail, Scar Symmetry, Nitro, Chastain and more. You can check out the complete lineup below. It takes place one day prior to the 2014 Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, which runs January 23 to 26.

NAMM Metal Jam is an all-ages event.

Check out the details:

What: NAMM Metal Jam 2014
Featuring: Michael Angelo Batio, Neil Turbin, Dave Reffett and the NAMM Metal Jam All-Stars (See lineup below)
Where and When:Whisky A Go Go, 8901 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. PST Wednesday, January 22; all ages
Tickets:ticketweb.com

More information:nammmetaljam.com

Scheduled to appear:

The “Metal Jam” portion of the show will feature an array of guest all-star performers. The official lineup of artists on this year’s event is:


• Derek St. Holmes (Ted Nugent) - Vocals, Guitar
• Glen Sobel (Alice Cooper) - Drums
• Michael Devin (Whitesnake) - Bass Guitar
• Rowan Robertson (Dio, DC4) - Guitar
• Mark Boals (Dio Disciples, Ring Of Fire, Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force) - Vocals
• Michael Angelo Batio (Solo artist, Nitro, Holland) - Guitar
• Neil Turbin (DeathRiders, Anthrax) - Vocals
• Dave Reffett (Shredding The Envelope) - Guitar
• Matt Thompson (King Diamond) - Drummer
• Bill Hudson (Emphatic, Circle II Circle, Cellador) - Guitar
• Ralph Santolla (Obituary, Deicide) - Guitar
• Per Nilsson (Scar Symmetry) – Guitar
• Aquiles Priester (Angra, Hangar, Vinnie Moore)
• Andrea Martongelli (Arthemis) - Guitar
• Mike Hansen (Hurricane, George Lynch, Steve Vai) - Drums
• Tony Cavazo (Hurricane) – Bass Guitar
• Mitch Stewart (Circle II Circle) – Bass Guitar
• Jeff Williams (Onslaught) – Bass Guitar
• Eli Santana (Holy Grail) - Guitar
• Courtney Cox (The Iron Maidens) - Guitar
• Linda MacDonald (The Iron Maidens) - Drums
• Kirsten Rosenberg (The Iron Maidens) - Vocals
• Rigo Amezcua (Agent Steel) - Drums
• Juan Garcia (Agent Steel, Masters of Metal) - Guitar
• Shane Gibson (Korn) - Guitar
• Robert Cardenas (Possessed, Agent Steel) – Bass Guitar
• Jeff Bowders (Paul Gilbert Band, G3, POD) - Drums
• Veronica Freeman (Benedictum) – Vocals
• Leather Leone (Chastain) – Vocals
• Clammy (Exciter) – Bass Guitar
• Greg Walls (Anthrax) – Guitar
• Howie Simon (Alcatrazz, Nelson) - Guitar
• Dino Deluke (Sledd, Nemesis) - Drums
• Peter Deluke (Sledd, Nemesis) - Keyboards
• August Zadra (Dennis DeYoung (Styx) Band) – Guitar
• Michael Lee Smith (STARZ, Looking Glass, Hellcats) - Vocals
• Steve "Zeus" Johnstad of Mayday, Son, NRG - Vocals
• Thane Farace (Ghost Of War, Bloodied Angels) - Guitar
• Stuart Fujinami (Reverend, Heretic) – Guitar
• Annie Grunwald (Formless) - Guitar
• Sean Elg (DeathRiders, Nihilist) - Drums
• Arnold Gonzalez (DeathRiders) - Guitar
• Michael Lopez (DeathRiders) - Bass
• Casey Trask (DeathRiders) – Guitar
• Joe Gettler (Razormaze) – Guitar
• Xander Demos (Sabbath Judas Sabbath) - Guitar
• Joe Rose (Michael Angelo Batio’s Intermezzo album) - Guitar
• Lisa Margaroli (Celebrity Trash) - Vocals
• Dan Lauzon (Entropy, E-Force)

Special host MC: Caleb Smith of New Zealand’s The Sick Room radio show. Sponsored by Madison Amps LLC.

Video: Black Label Society Announce Release Date for New Album, 'Catacombs of the Black Vatican'

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As we've reported, Black Label Society have been gearing up to release a new album in the spring. Today, however, the band announced its official release date.

Catacombs of the Black Vatican, their ninth studio album, will be out April 8.

The band also has released a brief video teaser for the new album, and you can check it out below.

The clip finds guitarist Zakk Wylde delivering the lines, “Face your fear. Accept your war. Destroy and conquer. Within the catacombs of the black vatican.” The clip also shows the words “Strength,’ “Determination,” “Merciless” and “Forever.”

Black Label Society recently parted ways with guitarist Nick Catanese and added a new guitarist, Dario Lorina of Lizzy Borden. “I’m excited to officially announce that I’ve joined Zakk Wylde in Black Label Society,” Lorina said. “I’d like to extend sincere and heartfelt gratitude to everyone for your continued support and warm welcome. It truly means the world.”

For more about the new Black Label Society album, check out the all-new February 2014 issue of Guitar World. For more info, head to the Guitar World Online Store.

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