Here's an arrangement that Tommy put together back in 1990! It has since grown to include other songs but this is the original medley that was on The Journey Continues album.

The PDF Handout & MP3 Jam-track for my latest YouTube Guitar Lesson,
"Dominant 7th Pentatonic," ...is now available for download on my Blog-Site.

Follow the link below to download the Handout and Jam-Track:
http://www.andrewwasson.com/recent_posts/2013/06_june/june_2013.php#jun28

Chinese rock star Wang Hongbin has given some truly shocking performances in his time.


When he's at his best, he has a pretty electrifying stage presence.


Wang creates lightning with a Tesla Coil where he lives in Fuzhou in China's Fujian province and hooks himself up to it to shoot 500,000 volts through his body.

Inventor and founding member of the band Wang Zengxiang, moonlights as an electrical engineer and made his first Tesla Coil in 2007.

He soon realised that he could meld his passion for electricity with his love of music and formed a 10-man band, making all members don ferroalloy metal suits.

With the suits, they play guitars, violins and drums as bolts of lightening shoot from them and their instruments to the beat.

See All the Photos...

The guys over at Marshall Amplification's YouTube page have posted a brand-new video that demos the company's Joe Satriani Signature JVM410HJS model head.

Check out the video, which features UK guitarist Chris George.

The opening piece for my June 28th, 2013 YouTube Guitar lesson,
"Dominant 7th Pentatonic."

I hope you enjoy the lesson on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/user/creativeguitarstudio

Donations keep the FREE lessons coming - Please consider!
www.andrewwasson.com/donations.php

Published on Jun 26, 2013


After over 15 years of being a Metallica fan, and a campaign of epic proportions - I have finally had the chance to sit down with the legend, the king, the master of puppets himself, Mr James Hetfield!

Thanks to the wonderful people who supported the 'Basel Meets Metallica' campaign for making this possible, this journey started with a random video upload a few years ago, developed into a full fledged Facebook/Twitter campaign and materialized in an epic sit-down.

Finally, the great people of Du and Flash who saw a great story, and made it happen for the underdog!

LEMMY INTERVIEW:

The iconic Motorhead's bassist Lemmy has recently chatted with Artisan News at this year's Golden Gods Awards ceremony. During the interview, Lemmy spoke about the recent death of Slayer's Jeff Hanneman:

"Obviously it's terrible. I don't know how you could say anything else. It's just awful. We toured with him a couple of times ... I knew him. He was a friend of mine."

Raw interview of Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead in its entirety talking about the death of Jeff Hanneman of Slayer, tour plans, how far they're through making a new Motorhead album, success, and of course the Golden Gods award and winning.



 

You probably never imagined Dave Mustaine from Megadeth teaming up with Kenny G (of all people) to make a comedy skit promoting the new Megadeth album "Super-Collider." Well, after you finish saying, "No Way," check out this crazy video...

Ever wondered what it would be like if Phil Anselmo had his own cookery show? No? Honestly, neither did we. But the important thing is that someone did.

Joey Siler from Pantera tribute band "Good Friends and a Bottle of Whiskey" has put up this video animation of what a Phil Anselmo cookery show might look (and sound like), and it's totally hilarious!

Harmony and Theory - Unit One

CONTAINS:
• Key Signatures Overview (PDF handout)

• 6 page Course Handout (PDF), incl. all Written Assignments and Answer Key.

• 9 min. MP3 Instructional Audio Course Component

• Includes 15 min. free video lesson download (filmed in HD)

SALE: $7.99 Digital Download Size: 4.3 MB

The long awaited Creative Guitar Studio "Music Theory" Course begins it's release - starting today! 

Today marks the release for UNIT ONE of my Music Theory Course (that I know many of you have been long awaiting). In UNIT ONE we cover, "Intervals." The course comes with the following; 

- Key Signatures Overview (PDF handout)

- 6 page Course Handout (PDF), incl. all Written Assignments and Answer Key.

- 9 min. MP3 Instructional Audio Course Component

- Includes 15 min. free video lesson download (filmed in HD)

The special release price is only $7.99. 

Each week I plan on releasing a new Unit! To purchase your copy of, "UNIT ONE - Intervals," follow the link to my website below:

http://www.creativeguitarstudio.com/pages.php?page=cart&action=details&vid=57

Zakk Wylde played a three-night stand at New York City's Iridium Jazz Club earlier this month, and some official video from his June 12 show has been posted on Wylde's YouTube page.

Check out Wylde and his Black Label Society bandmate Nick Catanese performing a fully acoustic rendition of "The Blessed Hellride" below. "The Blessed Hellride" is the title track from Black Label Society's 2003 album.

The black and white video, which includes performance shots, crowd shots and scenes from the Iridium neighborhood (1650 Broadway), was directed by Justin Reich.

A three-piece band made entirely from robots plays guitar, drums and keyboard alongside Japanese pop singers in Tokyo on Monday. The trio, called Z-Machines, was designed by engineers and academics at Tokyo University, who hope to one day send them to play in space... The robots performed to a crowd of around 100 people and were accompanied by Japanese pop group Amoyamo!

This isn't the first time robots have come to the limelight as a band... German "Heavy Metal" robot band "Compressorhead" guarantees itself to be the only 6 tonne metal band in the world.Their rider expressly requests hydrolic fluid, motor-oil and a Fork-lift! See video below...

Premier Guitar interviews legendary Jazz guitarist John Scofield... taking us behind the scenes of his new album, "Überjam Deux," and dishes on everything from relic’d guitars to Dead tunes...

You could make a case that John Scofield gets bored easily. “Maybe a little bit,” he says with a laugh. Even a cursory glance at his output from the last decade reveals he has tackled everything from straight-ahead modern jazz (ScoLoHoFo’s OH! and Enroute) to an old-school R&B Ray Charles tribute, and even New Orleans gospel (Piety Street). Yet within each new musical outfit, Scofield’s edgy, Vox-powered tone comes through loud and clear.

On his latest album, Überjam Deux, Scofield reunites with the same outfit that was on his 2002 album, Überjam. It shares the same forward-thinking approach his previous employers, Miles Davis and Billy Cobham, explored in the heyday of jazz-fusion.

Read More...

This week's GuitarBlog will cover how to use the Diminished Scale to create interesting Bluesy guitar licks. The methods explained will deal with both, 'Blending,' the Diminished along with the Minor Blues Pentatonic Scale from the same roots, (i.e., using "A Diminished Scale" along with the "A Blues Scale" over an "A7" chord).

The second method will include performing the Diminished Scale from off of the 3rd chord tone of any Dominant 7th chord, (i.e., Over an "F7" chord use the "A Diminished Scale.").

Both methods will be fully explained and will have guitar lick examples demonstrating the effects of the application. An 'in-position' Diminished Scale scale pattern will also be shown on-screen during the video lesson.

All examples will utilize on-screen TAB and diagrams.

Thanks to Josh in Milwaukee, WI. USA for writing in with this weeks question!
- Andrew

Curious about metal veterans "Black Sabbath" but don't know where to start? Here's 10 tracks, selected by London's the Guardian news, to ease you into Sabbath fandom...

1. War Pigs Summed up by newschicken: "The song has it all - politics, state-sanctioned murder, power chords, heavy rifts and dirty funk."

2. The Wizard Bitwize wrote: "There is a real psychedelic blues feeling to the song which for me encapsulates the Sabbath in a nutshell. Uplifting and unnerving at the same time."

3. Black Sabbath The first track from the bands self-titled debut album, released in February 1970. Queenofclubs praised its "sheer darkness and chilling atmosphere."

4. Iron Man One of the band's most popular songs, and one that highlights their musical diversity.

5. Paranoid The title track from the band's 1970 album. Fred McElwaine on Twitter says: "If you don't like this, you wont like the rest."

6. Fairies Wear Boots DanLeShan tweets: "Fairies Wear Boots, great changes melodically throughout. Classic."

7. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath Matt Ev on Facebook said: "The sludgy breakdown riff in Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is one of the greatest things ever to happen in music."

8. National Acrobat As featured on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Joe Bongiorno says: "Because it's brilliant and has a lot of the components that Sabbath incorporated into their music, it's heavy, but also mellifluous and hypnotic, its mysterious and dreamy, jammy, funky and jazzy."

 9. N.I.B The first-person lyrics are sung from the point of view of Lucifer, who finds himself falling in love. Bless.

10. Planet Caravan A less raucous track than some on the list. David Bose on Facebook suggests it'll give listeners "a gentle start before hittin 'em with the big guns."

Joe Bonamassa and George Benson Jazz and Blues Common Threads


Musicians Friend caught up with American blues rock guitarist and singer, Joe Bonamassa and ten-time Grammy Award-winning musician and jazz guitarist, George Benson at the Comerica Theatre in Phoenix, AZ for this tremendeously rare and candid conversation about their respective influences and the common thread between jazz and blues.

Just a wonderful interview!

In this short (00:54) viral YouTube video guitar player, "Ben Lapps," plays guitar tapped-fingerstyle while bouncing a basketball - in time!


Commentators within the YouTube video's comment section are debating 'whether or not' the video was shot in real-time - with the guitar mic'd live... Or, if perhaps, (due to the crystal clear audio quality), the short-film is somewhat of a video /audio hoax, in where the guitar part was possibly pre-recorded and then the pre-recorded audio was over-dubbed /mixed alongside of the live audio mix recorded on-site...

I'll admit, the audio of the guitar part is incredibly crisp and clean. However, so is the audio of the basketball hitting the pavement. Was there a boom mic involved? Was there possibly a very high-quality wireless lavalier microphone? 

In my personal experience boom mics of a very high quality could indeed generate this very clear style of recorded audio track. However, there's the question of, "why would a teenager make an off-the-cuff YouTube video using an expensive high-quality boom mic?" 

In regard to the use of a wireless lavalier microphone... I do not personally believe that one was utilized here. Because, any of them that I've ever employed for audio, (even extremely expensive units), have never generated this type of crystal-clear high-end audio quality. 

Anyway, feel free (if you're interested), to weigh-in and leave your comments... 

Is this audio in real time, or is it a very well produced YouTube fake /hoax video? 

Let me know here or on FaceBook! Thanks!

Andrew Wasson of Creative Guitar Studio answers a viewers question...

Q: I play guitar with a pick. And, I liked that video you had on, "Demystifying Picking Direction," how we don't have to always use; down-strokes, up-strokes or alternate picking. But, my thing I have troubles with is just being a good overall picker. My troubles are coordinating my picking so that it is always smooth. I guess it will never be perfect, but I'd like to become really good. How can I? Namish -- Kanpur, India

A: Picking technique is extremely important so it's very good that you've taken a solid interest in developing it to another level. In doing this, it is very important to realize that there are a number of factors that need to be addressed (daily) for a long period, (perhaps up to a full-year), until you burn in the kinds of results that you'll need to solve most, if not all, of your picking dilemma's. The best thing in the world that any student can do is to design their own picking exercises that will cover the main areas that they want to get really good at. These areas should include the basic alternate picking, some economy picking, and some all down and all up studies. The other side of this is to also include all of the important picking durations like; the Straight -- "Eighth-note & Sixteenth-notes," as well as, the Triplet -- done as, "Eighth-note & Sixteenth-note," feels. At the other side of your picking development is the use a metronome. Use the metronome on both a good collection of very short studies (as short as one bar in length), and longer studies as well. In the video I zoom in on the neck, and demonstrate a collection of original picking exercises that you can use as a starting point for the creation of your own exercises!

The opening piece for my June 21st, 2013 YouTube Guitar lesson,
"Creating Picking Exercises."

 I hope you enjoy the lesson on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/user/creativeguitarstudio

Donations keep the FREE lessons coming - Please consider! www.andrewwasson.com/donations.php

Premier Guitar's Rebecca Dirks catches up with Living Colours' Vernon Reid at Park West in Chicago, IL, where she discusses the killer set-up used by Reid for his live dates during their 2013 U.S. tour.

Vernon Reid's Guitar:
  Vernon relies on a Parker "Vernon Reid Signature MaxxFly," with EMG SAX neck and middle pickups and an EMG 81X bridge pickup, along with a Roland CK-kit-GT3 MIDI pickup and Floyd Rose tremolo. He strings up with D'Addario Jazz Rock .011 - .049, (same strings that I use),  and he uses all sorts of picks (a self-proclaimed "plectrum fetishist") as another way to play around with his tone.

Vernon's Signal Processing: 
 Vernon uses mainly a Roland VG-99 (the brains of the setup) into two Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifiers in stereo. The signal goes from the Parker's hex pickup to the VG-99 to a DOD Passive Mixer, which splits the direct guitar out from the VG-99 to a Zoom G3 (used for auto wah), a laptop with Guitar Rig Mobile Interface with programmed sounds controlled by a Roland FC-300 and Ableton Live controlled by a Keith McMillan SoftStep, Line 6 M9 (for modulation), and Eventide H9 with expression pedal, all running through a Mesa/Boogie Lonestar combo. It also goes through an iRig interface to iPad with Amplitube and Live FX and a Roland GR-20 that runs direct to the house. All the signal processors are parallel to each other, blended in and out with expression pedals.

Doug Wimbish's Bass Rig is also discussed...
                               Read More over at Premier Guitar's website...

Guitar World ranks the top-10 songs you should learn how to play - to SCORE!

When you first started playing guitar, it was to get girls, right?

Perhaps you were influenced by the party scene in Animal House where the collegiate folkster attracts a gaggle of swooning females by strumming his acoustic and singing “I Gave My Love a Cherry."

Of course, there are plenty of other songs that work just as well, (and rock a bit harder). For fun & laughs Guitar World compiled the 10 listed below to help you - up your game.

Seriously, though: If you intend to add these pieces to your act, Good Luck, but don’t blame us if you meet up with your own personal John Belushi.

10. “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You,” Led Zeppelin
09. “Your Body Is a Wonderland,” John Mayer
08. “Baby I Love Your Way,” Peter Frampton
07. “You and Me,” Lifehouse
06. “Wonderful Tonight,” Eric Clapton
05. “Name,” Goo Goo Dolls
04. “Just Like Heaven,” The Cure
03. “Melissa,” Allman Brothers Band
02. “Crash,” Dave Matthews Band
01. “More Than Words,” Extreme        

In what is sure to be a heart-wrenching and eye-opening article, Guitar World will release an interview with Kathryn Hanneman in the publication’s August 2013 issue. The thrash icon’s wife starts from the very beginning, detailing the night when Hanneman contracted necrotizing fasciitis but refused to seek medical attention...

Kathryn Hanneman recounts:

"Jeff had been visiting a friend in the L.A. area. He was in the Jacuzzi one night relaxing, and he had his arm over the side, and he felt something, like a bite or a prick. But of course he didn’t think anything of it. He came home about a week later, and he was pretty well lit when he came through the front door. He wasn’t feeling well, and he just wanted to go upstairs and go to sleep."

Read More...

Last night, the Rolling Stones performed at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center, (the first of two shows in the US' former capital), with another special guest joining the legendary rockers on-stage during their ongoing, "50 and Counting Tour."

Country guitar icon Brad Paisley, joined the band for "Dead Flowers," a country-flavored track from the 1971 Stones album; Sticky Fingers.

In celebration of Rolling Stone's pot-centric new issue, they've presented this 'fully-baked' list of the 40 best stoner albums ever. Their picks range from 1970s black-light warhorses to keyboard-drenched, slow-toke faves from the 2000s, (with enough variety to soundtrack any kind of buzz.

Their criteria? 
"We wanted albums that were especially great for blazing along with, but also just plain great, period – meaning they also had to sound awesome when you're not high as a giraffe." 

Read More...

At the end of May, employees at Guitar Center’s flagship store in Manhattan overwhelmingly voted to form a union of its fifty-seven retail workers. The national Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) organized the win, marking what the union hoped would be the first of many such votes around New York City and the rest of the country.

Brendon Clark, 28, was one of the workers who voted to unionize. Clark has been working at Guitar Center for four years.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Clark.

“Our grievances have been at play for at least six or seven years, the main thing being how we’re paid and our compensation. No one ever considered a union, and a lot of that is because of how the company has not necessarily blocked unions, but just kind of blocked any way for employees to maybe press on the issue.”

Read More...

Spaceman Came Down | Learn Guitar With David Brent...


Again, not much teaching going on, but this is David Brent so what do you expect?

In this 5 min. spoof guitar lesson video comedian character (Created by Ricky Gervais), answers a few silly questions from his imaginary "students." Questions like, "Are you single," and "What is the fingering for an A minor," are brushed off, but then he 'invents' a few strange songs with the highlight being, "Spaceman Came Down." All in all, not much of a real lesson, however mildy entertaining over a morning coffee!

Just a few hours ago, the gang over at MetallicaTV posted a new video recap of Metallica's March 1, 2013, show in Melbourne, Australia.

The first part of the 20-minute video shows Metallica in serious rehearsal mode. At around the 11:38 mark, we see the band on stage performing a 1991 Black Album track, "My Friend of Misery," which was written by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Jason Newsted.

Enjoy! And be sure to check the other official "MetOnTour" videos, which Metallica are posting, right here.

Blackmore's Night released their new studio album, Dancer and the Moon, June 11 through Frontiers Records.

Among the album's highlights is an instrumental track called "Carry On...Jon," which Ritchie Blackmore wrote as a tribute to his former Deep Purple bandmate Jon Lord, who died in 2012 at age 71.


On the nearly six-minute-long minor-key track, which you can hear above, Blackmore employs a creamy, overdriven Strat tone. The track has an organic, almost live feel to it; you can even hear what sounds like Blackmore flipping his five-way pickup switch at the 1:01 mark.

Blackmore recently discussed the track with New Jersey's Star-Ledger newspaper:
We were snowed in ... the engineer and myself, the producer, we had nothing to do. I said, ‘I have an instrumental I’ve vaguely finished. Do you want to try it?’

Read More...

Fender is excited to announce a brand new series release for the 2013 summer season. Dubbed as the Satin Series, it comes as a fresh and warm addition to an already potent Fender Guitar line-up.

Through a whole new light, and wrapping in four remarkably beautiful satin urethane body finishes, the Satin Series adds a lively touch to the Standard Telecaster and Standard Stratocaster models.

 
Available in new Flame Orange, Ocean Blue Candy, Arizona Sun and Blaze Gold, the Satin Series will be this summer’s can’t-miss guitar series.

For the Standard Stratocaster Satin, other features include an alder body, maple neck with “modern C” profile and satin urethane back finish, 9.5”-radius rosewood or maple fingerboard with 21 medium frets, three single-coil pickups with five-way switching, three-ply black-white-black pickguard and black plastic control knobs, and a vintage-style synchronized tremolo bridge.

Features for the Standard Telecaster Satin include, a Rosewood fingerboard with 21 jumbo frets, dual single-coil pickups with three-way switching, three-ply black-white-black pickguard and black plastic control knobs, and a six-saddle string-through-body bridge.


The New Fender Guitars' Satin Series 2013 release marks the beginning of a sensational summer season for Fender.

For more information on the Satin Series, go to the official Fender website.

If you've ever caught yourself shredding on air guitar, we've got some news for you: The art of imaginary jamming might be getting a whole lot fancier — and maybe even a little less silly.

Designer Eugene Wang has developed a concept for a wearable device that allows you to practice your instrument on the go.

Using motion technology, (in the style of Leap and Myo), Wang's proposed Guitar Soundbrace would have the power to transform your arms and fingers into instruments!

To get set up, musicians would first calibrate the sensor-packed bangles by playing an actual guitar, (with the Soundbrace attached), to determine baseline measurements for different chords. That way, when you jam sans guitar, the bracelets would be able to measure distance to determine where your hands are on the "fretboard."

You'd also be able to — for better or for worse — hear what you're playing, as the Soundbrace has been designed to come equipped with a headphone jack.

At present time however, Soundbrace doesn't yet exist outside of computer renderings, but what do you think? If it hit the market, would you buy it? Or does it taint the art of the air guitar?

Today Ultimate Guitar released their, "Top 10 Wah Guitar Riffs," with Jimi Hendrix's, "Voodoo Chile" coming in at #1... 


"This week we asked UG readers to nominate and vote for their favorite wah guitar riffs of all time. The wah pedal, (which in many cases is probably the award-winning Cry Baby by Dunlop), is one of the most original and easily identified guitar effects in the world. Nothing sounds cooler, and few sounds transcend genres so easily as the wah pedal.

But who uses it best?

See the complete results of their top-10 Wah Guitar Riffs poll released today right here.

Q: I'm a big fan of the Memphis Soul sound. Especially the classics by Otis Redding and Sam & Dave. Those weren't the days of guitar hero virtuosos, but guys like Steve Cropper had great feel with their riffs. Could you make a lesson on simple guitar ideas that, "Play to the Song?" I'm curious as to what your suggested approaches might be! Morris -- Atlanta, GA. USA

A: There's certainly something smooth and in the pocket about all of those slick guitar parts found in some of the classic; Bill Withers, Sam and Dave, or Al Green songs. And, guitar players like Steve Cropper had that unique way of playing for the song, devising those flawless guitar riffs and interesting compact licks & fills that really define both his talent and the great music that he co-wrote and produced. In order to make a study of how to approach, "Playing for the Song," we need to adopt a few simple attitudes, such as; the "Less is More Principle," and the overall ability to, "Imply Chords," with small lines and double-stops. In the video I focus in on the guitar neck and run through a collection of musical examples for things that you can start doing right away to help, "Play to the Song."

Guild Guitars has released a very cool video documenting their custom shop...

“The Guild Custom Shop represents the very finest in pure Guild craftsmanship and well over half a century of heritage as a premier U.S. guitar maker. From the picturesque and pastoral environs of Guild’s traditional New England home to the peerless skills of its luthiers, and from the elegance and sonic range of its instruments to its reverent dedication to old-world guitar craft, the Guild Custom Shop presents the best of Guild’s best for the world’s most discerning guitarists.”

“The tone, look and playability of Guild Custom Shop guitars are as beautiful as their birthplace and as rich as the region’s history. The U.S. Northeast has long been one of the world’s greatest acoustic guitar-making centers, with a wealth of fine native tone woods and traditions of handmade guitar craft. Guild was founded there in 1953, in New York; later moving to New Jersey and then Rhode Island.”

“The Guild Custom Shop resides in a wonderful centuries-old brickwork mill in New Hartford, Conn., on the banks of the Farmington River amid beautiful Northeastern woods. There, Guild’s most talented luthiers take great pride in crafting the finest Guild guitars ever offered. Through their devoted passion to building the highest-quality guitars possible, Guild Custom Shop instruments themselves seem imbued with the area’s beauty and history, and with 60 years of Guild tradition and acclaim.”

Find Out More...

The opening piece for my June 14th, 2013 YouTube Guitar lesson,
"Playing for the Song (R&B Style)."

 I hope you enjoy the lesson on YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/creativeguitarstudio

Donations keep the FREE lessons coming - Please consider! www.andrewwasson.com/donations.php

Robert Cray has won Grammys, sold millions of records and achieved mainstream success with music that fuses blues, soul, rock 'n' roll and more. His most recent album Nothin But Love proves he's as energised and expressive as ever, underlining his position as an all-time great of the electric guitar.

Hear what Robert had to say when he sat down with Guitarist magazine in mid-2012. He also brought a Strat along too...

A PREMIER GUITAR D.I.Y. TUTORIAL: 
In this step-by-step tutorial, Nashville guitar tech John LeVan shows you how to convert a standard acoustic flattop into a high-strung guitar.

He also offers valuable tips on checking neck relief and action, carving a bone string nut and filing nut slots, and carving and intonation a bone saddle.

Bonus! Want to hear a high-strung guitar in action?
 ...Check out the short demo following this how-to video.

Watch the entire 90-minute broadcast below...
Jim Horton hosts the Live YouTube Streaming Hangout in New York with Black Sabbath.
In celebration of the release of 13, (Black Sabbath's new album), Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler participated in a live Town Hall event that was broadcast on YouTube and Google+. 

For the first time worldwide, fans get to see the premiere of the 30 minute documentary along with the official videos for God is Dead? ...and End Of The Beginning.

Guest hosts; Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Brad talk about the new album, '13', and answer fan questions.

The broadcast included an interview with the band, an online QandA session with fans, an exclusive Black Sabbath documentary, the band's complete performance of "The End of the Beginning" (from CSI) and more.

Osbourne and Butler were on the scene at Angel Orensanz Foundation For Contemporary Art in New York City. Tony Iommi was beamed in from Birmingham, England. 13 drummer Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine) and Osbourne's son Jack joined in via Google+ Hangout from Los Angeles.

The event was hosted by comedian Jim Norton (the first face you see when the video begins), who was one of the many highlights at Guitar World's roasts of Zakk Wylde and Dee Snider.

Today's average music festival goer prefers to get drunk and take drugs rather than watch the live bands... new poll 'discovers.'

...Poll also 'discovers' that 25% of people have had sex with a stranger while at a festival.

According to the latest research, the average member of the festival crowd prefers spending their time; drinking, doing drugs and having sex over watching the bands play.

MSN recently asked 2,000 festival goers regarding their concert behavior, discovering that only 45 percent of the crowd attends festivals for the actual music, naming the atmosphere and a chance to escape the everyday routine as some of the main reasons for going, NME reports.

The result also point out that 47 percent have done something they would "never consider doing outside of the music festival environment" at one of the music events. About 25 percent admitted sleeping with a stranger at a festival, 21 percent said they used drugs and 13 percent got involved in a fist-fight.

Even the older generations showed similar behavior patterns; nine percent of the middle-aged, (aged between 45 and 54), festival goers admitted taking drugs, 20 percent drank heavily, while 10 percent said they had slept with a stranger.

Professor of Cultural Studies at Salford University George McKay gave his comments on the poll results, saying, "Festivals are deeply rooted in the carnival tradition, which is to invert everyday expectations of normal behavior. Historically, carnivals would have a 'lord of misrule' who oversaw the revelries and subversion of the ordinary rules of life. Music festivals continue to be places where we can escape reality and subvert the rules - whatever age we happen to be."

Read More...

TC Electronic has announced one of the biggest names on the TonePrint artist roster yet: Steve Vai. The guitarist has contributed a TonePrint for Hall Of Fame Reverb called Ocean Machine.

Vai’s signature Ocean Machine TonePrint is FREE and it is available now through the tcelectronic.com apps page...  just go to: Apple iOS and the Android phones and tablets.

The company describes Ocean Machine as a very natural-sounding reverb with a bit of chorus and Vai's precise parameter and EQ settings...

“To put it simply, I think it’s totally awesome Steve Vai has done TonePrints," said Tore Mogensen, business manager for guitar at TC Electronic. "He’s worshiped by guitarists far and wide, plus I’ve been a fan since forever, so meeting him was definitely a perk. I think Ocean Machine turned out great and has a wide range of applications. A must try!”

As a bonus, TC Electronic will be giving away a Hall Of Fame Reverb signed by Vai. Entry is simple and straightforward. Just click "Like" on the TC Electronics Facebook page.
The competition ends on July 2.

For more information about the Ocean Machine TonePrint, visit tcelectronic.com.

New Aristocrats album “Culture Clash” Out July 16, 2013 

As you know by now, Culture Clash, the upcoming genre-defying full-length album by THE ARISTOCRATS, can be purchased as part of a deluxe package that contains a bonus DVD called, “Accept The Mystery: The Making Of The Aristocrats’ Culture Clash”, a 33-minute DVD documentary shot while THE ARISTOCRATS were tracking the album in Nashville, TN.

Containing both studio footage and exclusive interviews with each member of the band, “Accept The Mystery: The Making Of The Aristocrats’ Culture Clash” is a special behind-the-scenes look at THE ARISTOCRATS that fans have never seen before.

Read More...

Legendary electric blues /jazz guitarist shows his gorgeous vintage guitar 1960 Tele...

Guitarist Magazine recently caught up with the legendary Robben Ford, who described the gorgeous vintage Tele that's all over his back catalogue:

"It's a '60. I bought that in a guitar shop in San Francisco called Black Market Music. I really wasn't looking for it. We just went to a music store, maybe to get strings or something when I was on the road, touring, and I saw the guitar. I thought immediately of Mike Bloomfield, because on one of the Butterfield Blues Band records, there's a picture of him and Butterfield and he's playing this white Tele that looks just like that."

"So, I went over, picked it up and started playing it - and I couldn't leave the store without it. Honestly, prior to that time, I never would have even considered a Telecaster. I never would have gone: 'I gotta go out and get me a Telecaster.' But this guitar was sitting there, so I started to play it, and by the time I'd finished I had to have it."

"I play it 50 per cent of the time, now. It's such a good guitar - it's kinda the workhorse. If I can only have one guitar, this thing will work for just about everything - almost. It was a great find and I'm so glad that I got it."

Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time... A few years back, the editors of Guitar World magazine compiled what they felt was the ultimate guide to the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time.

The list, which has been quoted by; countless artists, websites and publications around the world... starts with Richie Sambora's work on Bon Jovi's “Wanted Dead or Alive” (Number 100) and builds to a truly epic finish with Jimmy Page's solo on "Stairway to Heaven" (Number 1).

To quote our "Stairway" story that ran with the list, "If Jimmy Page is the Steven Spielberg of guitarists, then 'Stairway' is his Close Encounters."

Today Guitar World kicks off a summer blockbuster of our own — a no-holds-barred six-string shootout. We're pitting Guitar World's top 64 guitar solos against each other in an NCAA-style, 64-team single-elimination tournament. Every day, Guitar World will be asking readers to cast their vote in a different guitar-solo matchup as dictated by the 64-team-style bracket, (which will be shared soon!).

Follow Here...

They may never buy your album, yet they'll live-stream you eating breakfast... It's the ever-changing, younger music fan of 2013, and the focus of a just-released report from MTV Research.

Here are 7 attributes of this young, still-emerging, and radically different audience group often dubbed Millennials. Depending on who you are, this may be just a part — or 100% — of your fanbase.

(1) They Crave Mundane Intimacy. "Millennials crave intimate glimpses into the mundane daily activities of their favorite celebrities," Allison Hillhouse of MTV Research states. 53% of Millennials say the more an artist shares online about themselves, the closer they feel to them. 91% say it's OK if an artist has some flaws – it makes them human and likeable.

(2) They Crave Co-Creation. "A fan-artist symbiosis has emerged, with the two working together on social media as one another's branding machines." 1 in 4 Millennials has made a parody. 64% relish the role of 'tastemaker' for friends. 58% say that feedback and connectivity are huge motivators for posting and sharing music.

(3) They Need to be Fed Daily; They Need to be Feed Differently. Obey the tenets of now-established social networking platforms. Facebook is the most "formal and official outlet" for tour updates and information. Twitter offers a "blow-by-blow feed," and highlights interactions with other celebrities. Instagram provides a direct line into their literal world-view, like "seeing the world through their eyes." Tumblr is the more intimate glimpse into an artist's psyche/spirit.

(4) If They Don't Buy Your Stuff, Don't Take It Personally. Fans, especially younger fans, have an expectation of free. In fact, many younger listeners have never been forced to pay for music in their lives; furthermore, many beleive music should be free on principle. In that context, if they're buying your stuff, they're generally regarding it as a major gesture. Indeed, 68 percent of Millennials interviewed by MTV said they only buy music out of respect for the artist, and they believe music should be free. Just one in four had purchased music in the last week; 30 percent in the last month (all of which actually sounds high).

(5) They're Comfortable at a 'Zero Distance'. This we already know: there's an expectation of being 'constantly accessible,' especially on social networks. Intimate details shall be shared.

(6) They Shuffle. "A Millennial list of 'fave artists' might be as diverse as One Direction, Etta James, Lil Wayne and The Supremes."

(7) There's No Such Thing as Selling Out Anymore. Millennials "understand that the system of getting free music/streaming means artists have to make their money somewhere." 68% say there's no such thing as selling out, as long as the artist isn't being fake. But there are limits: 61% say they think less of an artist that releases products that don't fit the image or reputation.

In March of this year, legendary Hollywood Sunset Strip music venue the Key Club, (formerly Gazzarri's), announced that it was closing it's doors for good.

Few local Hollywood music fans were especially surprised.

The venue had operated in various guises since the '60s — first as Gazzarri's, where it hosted such rock 'n' roll royalty as the Doors, Guns N' Roses and Van Halen — and as the Key Club since 1998. It closed briefly in 2009, but 2013 was to be the final curtain for the club's monthly slate of heavy metal, hip-hop and stuffed local bills where bands sometimes had to prepay for blocks of tickets. The owners were working hard to turn it around, but "my pockets just weren't deep enough to maintain a club that size," said Key Club operations manager Ian Shepp. "The Strip will be fine, though. It's just going through a cycle."

For one of America's most storied miles for rock music, that cycle is a part of an ongoing identity crisis. That the Sunset Strip is inseparable from L.A.'s music history is both its biggest blessing and its biggest albatross.

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Q). I really like the sound of small chords, especially in Funk & Reggae. But, I've heard these small chords used in lots of other styles. Last night, I was at a night-club and was watching the guitarist in the band. He only played small chords off of the top guitar strings. It sounded great! Andrew, can you make a lesson and describe some small chords that guitarists will normally use? Thank you!
Lee - Seattle, WA, USA 

A). These small chord types are generally built with their lowest tones found from off of the 4th and the 3rd guitar strings. It is less common to see them built from off of the 5th string, however there are portions of larger chords that are sometimes scaled down in their note groupings to include only a few string-sets built from off of the lower 5th or possibly even the 6th string. For this lesson we'll primarily be concerned with the construction of these smaller chords built from off of the most common string-sets which would be the 4th and the 3rd strings. In the video I'll zoom in on the neck and get explore a group of the most common small chord types. Then, I'll play though a short chord progression that demonstrates their function and use.

 MusicRadar dishes the dirt on the 50 best; distortion, overdrive and fuzz pedals... Several audio clips are included demonstrating various settings for many of the pedals featured. Coming in at the #1 spot is the legendary: "Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-808."

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The fact that rockstars can get away with a lot of things doesn't mean that they still don’t end up going overboard ...especially when it comes to style and outfits. Ever since the early days, rock music had a tendency to shock certain listeners. Sometimes, the shock factor was heavily relying on the appearance and musicians’ image, but sometimes it just turned out as plain weird.

So it's time to look back at all the odd rock star apparel we've encountered over the years. You might say how styling is not important and how it's all about the music, but you know perfectly well that it's just not true. Granted, music definitely comes first, but the style, behavior, artists’ statements and the whole image are definitely among the factors that affect your perception of the given band. But back to the weird clothes – here are the picks we made, let's check them out.

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Alice Cooper doesn't seem to be too fond of the trends a lot of new bands are following, and he's not afraid to say it...

What the singer can't understand is the fact that a great portion of upcoming musicians simply want to fit in with the crowd, lacking any interest whatsoever when it comes to stage theatrics.

"That's the one thing in rock right now that I don't get," ...Cooper told LA Weekly,

"I don't get why so many younger musicians these days want to be in folk-rock bands. I'm 65 and expecting younger guys to come up with new ideas, and I find myself more and more saying, 'This is it?'

"When I'm around most of these newer bands, someone has to tell me they are a band because they usually just look like six guys from the mall. I don't understand why someone that is young, and has the leeway to let it go, doesn't take advantage of it! But, if that whole generation wants to be boring, then - whatever."

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Q: When it comes to improvising, I find that most all of the lines I play are pre-composed prior to any improvising. Does this make sense? I always thought that improvising was supposed to be 100% spontaneous stuff. I feel super-limited with this kind of creativity in my own playing. Can you make a lesson on Composing Vs. Improvising? Thanks! Alan G. -- Buffalo, NY. USA

A: I think what you're feeling is quite normal. I know of one teacher that I had when I was attending the Musicians Institute used to always pound it into us that Improvisation is essentially, "Spontaneous Composition." So, the better we could get at Composing in general, the better we all would eventually become at the art of Improvisation. I also can't leave out the fact that the more well-rounded we can become with our knowledge and application of music theory, the more versatile we can become with how we both Compose and Improvise. If we, as a practicing musicians, are clueless with ideas from say, "Harmonic Minor," "Modal Interchange," or "Phrygian Dominant," then it goes without saying that our playing will be limited. More so, than those who are far more knowledgeable. In this lesson, I will not place a focus on a whole bunch of complex music theory, but rather, (for the benefits of working strickly on improvisation), I want build upon a solid group of simple concepts. These concepts can apply to several different musical scenarios and style. Eventually you will start to blur the line in your playing between the world where Composing meets Improvisation.

Dream Theater have officially announced their new studio album — Dream Theater — which will be released September 24 by Roadrunner Records. 

The album was recorded at Cove City Sound Studios in Glen Cove, New York, with guitarist John Petrucci producing and Richard Chycki (Aerosmith, Rush) engineering and mixing. The album is the band's first to have been written and recorded with drummer Mike Mangini wholly integrated into the creative process from the start.

“I see every new album as an opportunity to start over,” Petrucci says. “To either build or improve upon a direction that has been evolving over time or to completely break new ground. This is the first self-titled album of our career and there is nothing I can think of that makes a statement of musical and creative identity stronger than that. We’ve fully explored all of the elements that make us unique, from the epic and intense to the atmospheric and cinematic. We’re incredibly excited about Dream Theater and can’t wait for everyone to hear it.”

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The opening piece for my June 7th, 2013 YouTube Guitar lesson,
"Composition Meets Improvisation."

I hope you enjoy the lesson on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/user/creativeguitarstudio

Donations keep the FREE lessons coming - Please consider!
www.andrewwasson.com/donations.php

Guitar World contributor Askold Buk spent quite a lot of time assembling this hard-nosed list titled, "25 Things Every Guitarist Should Know." #1 on the list (for an instant reality check) is, " Nobody likes an asshole." Other tips include, "Be on time," (this one is so important and the true gauge of a pro-musician - in my books). Also, #17 "Learn as many melodies as you can," is one that I'm always stressing with my private students, who seem to (for some odd reason) fight it tooth & nail.

From the article...

Many people believe that possessing talent alone is enough to guarantee an artist success in the music business. Nothing could be further from the truth. In a perfect world, the best musicians — the best guitarists — would be amply rewarded for their abilities. The music business, however, is far from perfect.

And unless you're one of the blessed few (such as Eddie Van Halen) who can single-handedly change the course of guitar history, the harsh reality is that killer chops and perfect time impress only other guitarists, not the people who hire you or buy the records.

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"Today's music is, 'perfect,' to the point of being sterile. There is no, 'soul,' in the music that is generated today. In today's recordings, the instruments are put in separately with nobody playing and looking at each other. Then it is, 'tweaked,' by a computer, and then auto-tuned... Parts are then perfectly re-arranged, and the end-result is a piece of work that has absolutely no, 'feel,' to it whatsoever."

- Anonymous

Rapper's Speak Out - Music Industry Exposed...

VIDEO... Iron Maiden - Flight 666 Documentary

Following the trend set by such heavy metal mainstays as Corey Taylor and Scott Ian, Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson is planning to undertake a spoken word show in Oslo, Norway in November of this year, Blabbermouth reports.

Speaking to Norwegian newspaper VG, Dickinson had the following to say:
"We haven't really planned anything yet, but I was talking to my promoter and we discussed the John Cleese one-man show and he wondered if that was something I would consider. I liked the idea - maybe because it was kind of crazy - but we'll see how it goes and what the audience thinks of it. Maybe we'll set up some more shows in other cities."

"Everyone that attended one of those flights has a story to tell, but these never made it to the movie, so why not reveal the things that happened in the background that led to the movie 'Flight 666'?"

Fans expecting insider gossip on Iron Maiden may be disappointed:
"I will, of course, answer questions, but this show will be about everything that didn't get aired in the movie. It's not about the band Iron Maiden. I won't tell stories about Nicko [McBrain]'s drum heads or Steve [Harris]'s bass strings. It will basically be about my experiences as a pilot. I can talk about the technicalities and a lot of anecdotes from within the flight environment."

Marilyn Manson was interviewed by legendary broadcaster Larry King this week, where he talked about how the Columbine shootings "put my whole career on hold" and the real reason why he's out of touch with old friend Billy Corgan.

Manson told King that the only reason he was connected to the Columbine shootings was because he had recently appeared on the "Matrix" soundtrack, and that the shooters were apparently never his fans anyway. But still, the effect on his public profile was huge.

"It kinda put my whole career on hold," said Manson. "A lot of people know about it because I had to really take an active stance legally against a lot of news places for using 'Marilyn Manson' which is trademarked, much like 'Mickey Mouse.' I had to put a cease and desist order [out], so a lot of people don't talk about it ... I think I've been blamed for about 36 school shootings."

King also asked about Manson's relationship with Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan, because of lingering rumors that the pair fell out years ago. Manson said there was no particular fall out, but he has an idea why they fell out of contact:

"I think he got mad once that I thought it would be a really good marketing idea if he sold Charlie Brown t-shirts and caps at concerts, and he might not have liked that. He did look like Charlie Brown a little bit, in fairness," ...said Manson while holding back laughter.

See more clips from Larry King's interview with Marilyn Manson here:

Guitarist John McLaughlin is set to begin his first US tour in three years.

The tour kicks off June 11 in Durham, North Carolina, and will hit Asheville, DC, Bethlehem and Boston. It also will include a three-night stand in New York City at the Blue Note before ending in Toronto June 23.

McLaughlin and his 4th Dimension band also will make an appearance at this year’s Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, on June 14.

“Since I last visited the US, there has been a change in my band, The 4th Dimension," McLaughlin said. "Drummer Ranjit Barot became a permanent member of the band and I know our friends and listeners over there will be thrilled to see and hear him with Etienne M'Bappe, Gary Husband and myself.

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Anthrax axeman Scott Ian admitted that the only advice he could give to new bands would be on a creative level, seeing how drastically the music industry has changed since he entered it. As Ian himself put it, he doesn't "even know how the music business works anymore."

"The business has changed so much now as compared to when we started," Ian told the National Student. "I wouldn't be able to give advice on a band as to how to do it, because I don't even know how the music business even works anymore."

The guitarist continued by saying that a group should always stick to their guns and do what they think is right. "The only advice I can give on a creative level, whatever music you love and whatever you love to play as a musician and song writer, that's what you have to do and don't ever listen to what anyone else has to say as to what you have to play or what's trendy because that's what we did.

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Gearphoria (Issue 4) is online now! 

If you haven’t already already seen this excellent guitar publication... it is a free, yes free, online guitar magazine with brilliant content from some very talented contributors and it looks pretty darn awesome too.

In Issue 4, Gearphoria takes a shop tour with Dan Boul from 65Amps as well as a tour of BMF Effects, an interview with Sevendust’s John Connolly and Clint Lowery and an article from yours truly profiling top Aussie Luthier Charles Cilia of Cilia Custom Guitars.

As always Gearphoria is also packed with gear and album reviews and features on recent events such as SXSW, the Dallas International Guitar Festival and the Guitar Center Musician’s Expo! So, plenty to keep you entertained. And, you can either read it online, or download it onto your desktop or to your tablet /smartphone for reading on the way to work!

http://www.gearphoria.com/e-mag/v1n4/

Modern country guitar is an amalgam of traditional and not-so-traditional playing approaches borrowed from several related homegrown American styles. As such, it includes elements of blues, bluegrass, rock and roll, and even jazz, and it offers a tasty mix of expressive and challenging playing techniques.

The key musical building blocks that form country guitar’s foundational vocabulary are the major and minor pentatonic scales, the major scale and the Mixolydian mode, major and minor chords and their corresponding arpeggios, dominant sevenths and ninths, and the judicious use of chromatic passing tones.

Mainstay country guitar-playing techniques include flatpicking, fingerpicking and hybrid picking (pick-and-fingers technique); the exploitation of open strings and licks played in the “open position,” which have a characteristic “twangy” tone; and lots of string bends and finger slides.

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Joe Satriani has announced the complete itinerary for his upcoming North American tour, which will include his first-ever cross-Canada trek.

The tour, which is in support of his Satriani's new album, Unstoppable Momentum, is set to launch August 29 in San Diego. It will crisscross its way across the US and visit many Canadian cities for the first time. The North American tour will end with a show on October 26 in Oakland, California. Be sure to check out the complete itinerary below...

August 29 Balboa Theatre San Diego, CA *
August 30 Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort Las Vegas, NV *
August 31 Orpheum Theatre Los Angeles, CA *
September 1 Talking Stick Resort Ballroom Scottsdale, AZ *
September 2 Kiva Auditorium Albuquerque, NM *
September 4 Historic Paramount Theatre Denver, CO *
September 5 Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center Midland, TX *
September 6 Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie Grand Prairie, TX *
September 7 House of Blues Houston, TX *
September 8 Austin City Limits – Moody Theatre Austin, TX *
September 10 House of Blues New Orleans, LA *
September 11 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL *
September 12 Parker Playhouse Ft. Lauderdale, FL *
September 13 Hard Rock Live Orlando, FL *
September 14 Saenger Theatre Pensacola, FL *
September 15 Symphony Hall Atlanta, GA *
September 17 War Memorial Auditorium Nashville, TN *
September 18 Chicago Theatre Chicago, IL *
September 19 Lakewood Civic Auditorium Lakewood, OH *
September 20 Taft Theatre Cincinnati, OH *
September 21 Wings Stadium Kalamazoo, MI *
September 22 Macomb Music Theatre Mt. Clemens, MI
September 24 Carolina Theatre Durham, NC *
September 25 Warner Theatre Washington, DC *
September 26 Beacon Theatre New York, NY *
September 27 Orpheum Theatre Boston, MA*
September 28 Tower Theatre Upper Darby, PA *
September 29 Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead Munhall, PA *
October 1 Center for the Arts Buffalo, NY *
October 2 Palace Theatre Albany, NY *
October 3 State Theatre Portland, ME *
October 4 Casino New Brunswick New Brunswick, NB
October 5 Rebecca Cohn Auditorium Halifax, NS
October 7 Le Capitole De Quebec Quebec City, QC
October 8 National Arts Centre Southam Hall Ottawa, ON
October 9 St. Denis Theatre Montreal, QC
October 10 Centre in the Square Kitchener, ON
October 11 Massey Hall Toronto, ON
October 14 Burton Cummings Theatre Winnipeg, MB
October 15 TCU Place Saskatoon, SK
October 16 Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium Edmonton, AB
October 17 Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium Calgary, AB
October 19 Vogue Theatre Vancouver, BC
October 21 The Fox Theater Spokane, WA
October 22 Paramount Theatre Seattle, WA
October 23 Historic Elsinore Theatre Salem, OR
October 25 Vina Robles Amphitheatre Paso Robles, CA
October 26 Fox Theater Oakland, CA

Andrew Wasson of Creative Guitar Studio answers questions from off of his Guitar Blog website... http://www.andrewwasson.com/

Q). I ended up developing an interest in Jazz after watching your videos on Jazz Guitar at the Creative Guitar Studio website. I purchased a few books from Amazon, and now I've started to feel kind of stuck! The area that these jazz guitar books harps on quite a lot is something called, "II-V Jazz Lines." Can you explain what a II-V line is, and maybe demonstrate this? The books don't really do a very good job explaining exactly what they are. Thank you.
Monty - Pittsburgh, PA, USA 

A). The II-V Line in jazz is pretty much a musical fragment that can cover the second and fifth chords of a keys' harmony. The musical line most commonly (but not always) resolves into the home-chord of the key. For example, if I was in the key of "C Major," the two-chord would be the "D Mi7," and the five would be the, "G dom. 7." And, as you might have guessed, the one-chord would of course be the, "C Major 7th." In jazz music the lines we tend to hear most often are fragmented combinations of notes from scales and arpeggios. These fragments can fall anywhere in the line, or anywhere in the bar. The jazz musician's ultimate goal is to select notes that are carefully chosen to color the chords. In the video, I zoom in on the neck and run through a few Jazz 2, 5, 1 lines that I've composed for this lesson.

This is the second, 'Guitar Lesson,' with Ricky Gervais - this time about about; dreams, reality and traveling in this tutorial for the song, 'Ooh La La'.

Much like his first, "Guitar Lesson," (from May 2013: Life On The Road | Learn Guitar With David Brent), it's not so much a real, "Guitar Lesson," as it is a comedy sketch with Ricky Gervais (AKA David Brent)... Nonetheless, some interesting points for songwriters, and camp-fire jammers, and his songs are of course fun & entertaining.

To quote his character in the latest video guitar lesson... " I’m sick of this bullshit, ooh write about what you know - write about what you don’t know yeah.... So er, Dreams. Dreams are real aren’t they? Dreams are realer than reality… in a way, because reality changes."

All in all a great bit of fun centered around playing the guitar, just don’t expect to actually learn how to, “play,” anything on the guitar!

Premier guitar sat down with guitar legends Martin Taylor and Tommy Emmanuel this past week to discuss their project, "Duo De Swing," (video above of them performing their tune, "Heat Wave." live in Dublin from the 2013 Colonel and the Governor tour).

Taylor and Emmanuel discuss the art of solo guitar, ’70s pop music, and why guitar education is near and dear to both of them. 

Since the first time they met, over 20 years ago in Australia, Tommy Emmanuel and Martin Taylor have shared many songs together—mostly in backstage jams and occasional sit-ins when their busy schedules would coincide. "Every time we would see each other we would say how we should record [an album] because we have a chemistry together," says Emmanuel. That chemistry is a rare thing between two established artists who aren't afraid of carrying the musical load entirely on their own. "When you're playing solo you have to cover so many things but you don't have to do that when you play with another guitar player. You can just lay out and play some single lines, or interplay between the two," states Taylor.

Visit the Premier Guitar website to read the full-article.

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This past week, Ultimate Guitar readers were asked to nominate and vote for their favorite guitar amp combo. Hundreds of nominations and thousands of votes later, the results are in. Which combo amps made it past the finish line and into their ultimate top 10?

 ...First of all, let's be clear for the newbies. What is a combo amp? Simple: it's an all-in-one amp which combines the head and the speaker cabinet into one unit. You can pick it up by a single handle, and in some cases they're small enough to strap over your shoulder and run off battery power.

While some guitarists are lucky enough to afford a range of cabinets and heads to mix-and-match their guitar sound to different songs, the combo amp is a rite of passage for any guitarist who wants one killer amp to squeeze into bedroom and rock out.

Here are the results of their poll...

#1)   VOX AC30
#2)   Fender Deluxe Reverb
#3)   Fender Twin Reverb
#4)   Roland Cube
#5)   Fender Blues Junior
#6)   Fender Bassman
#7)   Orange Rockerverb 50 MKII
#8)   Roland Jazz Chorus
#9)   Peavey 5150 (replaced in 2004, by the 6505)
#10) Bugera 333XL 212

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