Entries for January, 2009

Steampunk and Gator Guitars

Not one but two guitar-related posts on Neatorama.com yesterday. I think I’d probably pass on the Gator Guitar, but I can see that it might have an appeal for some: Can you “gatorize” my guitar if I send it to you? Yes, the fee starts at about $350 plus shipping. The guitar will be shipped [...]

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BBC 80′s Greatness: Rock School

Back in the 80′s, when I thought nothing of spending 4 hours in my drummer’s basement jamming on Smoke on the Water, singing into cheap Radio Shack microphones, I would occasionally stumble across a PBS/BBC show called Rock School. The idea of such a show was nothing short of revolutionary for me because I’d never [...]

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Mike Stern in NYC

Hmm. It’s all about New Jersey today. Nj.com has an article on Mike Stern today to promote his upcoming gigs in NYC: Mike Stern with the Yellowjackets. When: Tuesday-Feb. 8, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Where: Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St. near 6th Avenue, New York. How much: $20-$35 cover; $5 minimum. Call (212) 475-8592 [...]

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Northern Jersey Guitar Theft Ring

Seems there’s a crime wave happening in Northern Jersey (where I live). The thieves are targeting relatively high-end guitars. From the North Jersey Crime Examiner: It’s probably no coincidence that more than $11,000 worth of pricey guitars have been taken in a string of separate thefts in several North Jersey towns. If the names Fender, [...]

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Resurrected Guitar Heros

Fun guitar article posted over on Music.IGN.com about 6 guitar greats who’ve released albums recently. Everything got cranked up about a thousand notches with the introduction of Eddie Van Halen a few years later. Van Halen single-handedly revolutionized the guitar—in all aspects of tone, to how it was played and even constructed. Spawning hordes of [...]

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R. I. P. John Martyn

Influential folk/blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter John Martyn has died at 60. From Rolling Stone: British singer-songwriter John Martyn, best known for his 1973 album Solid Air, died today, January 29th, at the age of 60. A note on Martyn’s official Website reads, “With heavy heart and an unbearable sense of loss we must announce [...]

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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Events

Reader Paul from PositivelyCleveland.com wrote to me on behalf of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to let me know about the events planned for the induction ceremony. As I wrote in an earlier post, Jeff Beck and Metallica are among the inductees. Here’s what’s what: – Wednesday, April 1 – The Rock and [...]

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Shredding on an 11-String Guitar

Robert “Rob Guz” Gustafsson from the band M. A. N. plays this  unusual 11-string guitar, which he designed himself. (via BlabberMouth.net)

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Johnny Marr’s Guitar Collection

Johnny Marr, ex-Smith’s guitarist, has an amazing guitar collection. I love this Gold Top. (via MagnetMagazine.com)

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Inside Wechter Guitars

Rick Landers from ModernGuitars.com posted an article yesterday about guitar maker Abe Wechter and Wechter Guitars, which includes an interview with Abe. Guitar builder, Abe Wechter, has come a long way since opening his first guitar business in Seattle, Washington, over 30 years ago. During that time, Abe found himself immersed in world-class guitar building, [...]

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Phew. Guitar Nipple was Just a Hoax!

And so was Cello Scrotum. This from a bizaare news story over at ABC News. The Murphys think the “guitar nipple” letter was also a prank. “The following Christmas we sent a card to Dr. Curtis of guitar nipple fame, only to discover that he knew nothing about it — another joke we suspect,” the [...]

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Inside Electro-Harmonix

BoingBoing Video today has a feature about Long Island City, New York’s Electro-Harmonix, legendary guitar effects and vacuum-tube manufacturers. What I want to know is, do you think being an Electro-Harmonix guitar pedal tester would get tedious or would it always be fun? Not sure whether the video gets cut off at the end or [...]

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Jazz Improv TV

I just stumbled across a site I can’t believe I’ve never seen before:  JazzImprov.tv. It seems to be from some combination of Jazz Improv Magazine and guitar-lesson site TrueFire.com. They’ve got “channels” devoted to jazz performances, lessons, etc. At the moment, I’m only able to get a couple of the videos.

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Crash Course in Jazz Guitar History

Simon Jay Harper has a great article today over at AllAboutJazz.com entitled The Story of Jazz Guitar. He included lots of videos/clips of players through the ages including Eddie Lang, Django Reinhardt, Charlie Christian, Joe Pass, George Benson, and more. Good stuff. While in its early days, jazz guitar was considered a rhythm instrument alongside [...]

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17th Annual Long Island Guitar Festival

Hot off the presses from Long Island University: Internationally renowned musicians will teach and perform at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University at the 17th Annual Long Island Guitar Festival March 26 – 29, 2009. The festival will feature performances, workshops and master classes by renowned guitarists including Paul Galbraith, Cavatina Duo (Denis [...]

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