New "Bandmate Search Engine" Launches

The NEW "Get In My Band" – Bandmate Search Engine:

Press Release:
 Imagine if you could find drummers, bass players, guitarists and band managers as easily as you can look up an address on Google. What if you could specify where you live, what kind of bandmates you are looking for and what kind of music they are into so that you can instantly build your dream band?


The new website “Get In My Band” promises to do just that. Looking for a guitarist who is also a backup singer in Los Angeles who likes classic rock and metal is simple. You can find a roadie in New York City in only two clicks. A description will tell you about the person’s experience and gear while embedded Soundcloud and YouTube clips help you quickly decide if they are a good fit for your band. The “Get In My Band” search engine allows you to choose from over 12 different musical instruments and 16 different genres. With the nature of the music industry rapidly changing and artists struggling even more than in the past, it’s important for a band to have a strong support team. That is why Get In My Band will help you find not only other musicians but also people who want to help promote your band, sound engineers, band managers and even roadies.

Gone are the days of putting up an ad at the local music store and having a drunk guy who only knows how to play “Freebird” show up. Get In My Band gives you the power to sort through every local musician who matches your instrument and genre criteria. The service is currently available in the United States, Great Britain, Australia and Canada and will be expanding to other countries shortly. It’s free, easy to use and created by musicians for musicians.

To get started searching for local bandmates, visit: http://www.GetInMyBand.com

Iron Maiden Behind-the-Scenes from Maiden England Tour 2013


Iron Maiden have released an incredible 10-minute behind-the-scenes video from their massive, "Maiden England World Tour 2013."


The tour, which kicked off in Spain in late May, won't wind down till it pulls into Santiago, Chile, on October 2. To see all the band's scheduled dates, head here.

It's incredible to see the massive fan-base that Maiden have, and the younger ages of the fans is a true testament to the bands solid classic metal writing ability. Aside from showcasing the loving crowds, (who come far & wide to see the iconic metal band), the video shines light upon the incredible tour-rigs and equipment that is set-up for each show. Eleven 18-wheelers haul a staggering amount of audio & lighting equipment for each of the bands sold-out shows.

Last week, the band landed atop Billboard.com's "Hot Tours" list of top-grossing tours, with $19 million in ticket sales from 14 performances in 13 cities. The shows were attended by 259,298 fans, including a sellout crowd of 55,531 at Friends Arena in Sweden. Also included was a sold-out show May 29 at Lisbon's Pavilhão Atlântico.

Another Wacky Episode of: "Learn Guitar With David Brent"

David Brent, (comedian Ricky Dene Gervais), responds to more questions from the fans...
and gives a guitar tutorial for the song 'Slough'.


If you haven't seen any of these silly guitar tutorials yet... David Brent has recently resurrected his "The Office" character in a series of tongue-in-cheek YouTube tutorials...

However, it seems record companies are keen to hear more! He told The Sun: ‘I can’t believe I’m getting ridiculous offers from major record companies all over the world for a David Brent album. ‘Where were these people when I was trying to be a real popstar? And starving?

Gervais was a member of new wave group Seona Dancing in the 1980s.

His new YouTube videos – called Learn Guitar With David Brent – started after the character returned to screens during March’s Comic Relief telethon where he sung a rap called Equality Street.

Gervais said: ‘It’s been so much fun bringing back David Brent and have him philosophise on YouTube and spend all his hard-earned repping money on still trying to become a popstar. ‘It’s funny and sadly true of today’s X Factor culture.’

The latest Learn Guitar With David Brent video is a tribute to Slough.

Protect your most important musical asset, your hearing!

It's simply crazy that more guitarists don't use hearing protection, considering how important hearing is for musicians.

In fact, most musicians never wear ear plugs. Most of us spend our teens going to very loud gigs, playing loud gigs in pubs and clubs (with cranked 100 watt stacks). In many cases musicians begin to notice mild tinnitus and will just ignore it. They don’t go to a doctor, or start protecting their hearing. Even with mild tinnitus, going to sleep to a faint whistling sound can be (most times) ignored, but some days it can actually be very annoying.

Hearos ear plugs are one of the most popular brands with musicians. Other foam ear plugs can be a real downer, (especially if you obsess over your guitar tone then stick a lump of foam in your ears it is quite depressing), everything sounds terrible.

Hearos music ear plugs are designed to reduce the volume without removing all of the high and low frequencies and turning the sound to mush. The High Fidelity Hearos are like a master volume for your ears which is exactly what tone loving guitarists need. These ear plugs only cost around $12 and are reusable which is a small price to pay to save your hearing, if you really want to splash out Etymotic Research have a product that only activates when the volume reaches a certain level to stop sudden volume spikes damaging your hearing and amplify very quiet sounds, these seem to be popular with Orchestral musicians.

If you play in a band or go to a lot of gigs, do yourself a favour sooner rather than later (like most) and start using ear plugs. Tinnitus is not fun and if you lose all the top end from your hearing you are going to compensate by cranking the presence or treble on your amp which will sound terrible to everyone but you.

Read More - Hearos High Fidelity Ear Plugs.

Andrew Wasson Original, "Will You Be There."

The opening piece for my July 26, 2013 YouTube Guitar lesson,
"Applied Hybrid and Finger Plucking."

 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

Fender Goes 3-D Guitar Printing with the New "Honeycomb" Tele...


3D Printing is everywhere at the moment and it has totally changed the way that companies can prototype products before moving to a final manufacturing process.

Fishman Audio are now using 3D printing for prototyping their on-board acoustic guitar pre-amps. Now, it's cool to see that Fender are actually printing entire guitar bodies such as the hollow-body Strat in the video above to the 3D Printing Test to see how it would potentially work.

The 3D material is constantly evolving as well, so there will no doubt be a point where a 3D printed guitars will be an option, rather than a wood guitar, but I don’t expect that to happen any time soon, (and knowing how us stuck-in-our-ways), I’m quite sure 3D Plastic Printed Guitars won’t ever be all that popular any time soon.

Having said that, if you want a guitar that has a crazy look, (such as the honeycomb Tele in the video above), it is a relatively cheap and quick way to produce this effect so it may become popular among musicians who want highly customized, "art," guitars.



What do you think? ...Would you ever consider a 3D printed guitar?

Giggem Launches "Auditions" Feature to Help Bands Pre-Screen Bandmates

Giggem, the first matchmaking platform for musicians and music industry professionals... has announced the launch of a new "Auditions" feature that allows Giggem users to pre-screen new bandmates online.

As the industry’s first comprehensive and cohesive platform dedicated to helping musicians find one another, Giggem is now introducing a new pro tool that will significantly increase the reach and efficiency of finding the right bandmate(s) at a fraction of the time.

“Giggem’s Auditions feature mirrors real-life events,” says Emir Turan, founder and CEO of Giggem. “As a platform that serves the music community, we found it vital to provide a tool that allowed bands an easier and more efficient way to find and screen new band members. With Auditions, it is now finally possible to leverage technology and algorithms to make this process better while maximizing selections for bands.”

On Giggem, bands, musicians, songwriters, managers and labels can create custom profiles specific to who they are and what they’re looking for. Giggem’s algorithm then extracts key information to make the most relevant suggestions for people to connect.

Additionally, users have the ability to see who has viewed their profile, maximizing the chances of being discovered or proactively making the connection themselves via Giggem’s direct messaging feature.

How Auditions works:
• Bands can create an Audition, choose which position they are searching for (lead guitarist, vocalist, etc.) and refine with target country, state, and city
• Option to create private or public Auditions
• Set a deadline for submissions
• Invite musicians within the network
• View and manage all applications on one page

Once an Audition is posted, bands will be able to filter through the entrants who will then advance onto the next stage(s) of the selection process. Bands will be given a personalized page for each Audition created and will be able to monitor and organize incoming potentials, connect with them directly through the Giggem platform and preview their work.

“The Auditions feature is the making of a band,” Turan says. “Prior to Giggem, bands have taken to Craigslist, advertisements and posters in bars to search for a bandmate. However, those approaches tend to be highly disorganized, time consuming and sometimes risky. While we are building this matchmaking platform for independent musicians, Auditions made complete sense as one of the first tools we want to offer our community.”

For more information, visit Giggem.

Spinal Tap Plans Comeback in 2014


Spinal Tap will return in 2014, according to its co-creator and star Christopher Guest (via Guardian).

Guest played guitarist Nigel Tufnel in the classic metal comedy "This is Spinal Tap" which remains a hilarious parody of hair metal in the 1980s.

The band may have reformed for the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2009 for 130,000 people, but now Tufnell tells the Guardian that plans are brewing for a comeback in 2014 on the 30th anniversary of the original film's release.

"Since the film 30 years ago we've gone on tour, playing Wembley, the Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall. It's weird but great – the fiction became real," said Guest... "We get asked to do shows on a regular basis. But, what I will say, is that we’re in the midst of talking about something for next year."

Meanwhile, Guest is preparing to launch a new sitcom called "Family Tree" which also features his fellow Spinal Tap actor Michael McKean who returns with an English accent - though it was hard to get the accent back, says Guest.

"It took him a little time," he said. "Michael's an incredibly gifted actor but he doesn't know anything about football, so I had to explain the sport to him because his character is a big Tottenham fan."

Roland CUBE Lite — Richie Kotzen Demo




In this new video, (created and posted by Roland), Richie Kotzen (Poison, Mr. Big, the Winery Dogs) demonstrates the Roland CUBE Lite guitar amplifier. He also discusses how he uses it with the CUBE JAM app to prepare for performing live on tour.

• Compact guitar amp with a stylish look for home living spaces
• JC CLEAN, CRUNCH, and EXTREME COSM tones, plus stereo chorus and reverb effects
• Great-sounding 2.1 Channel audio system, with stereo speakers and integrated subwoofer
• i-CUBE LINK jack provides simple audio interfacing with Apple’s iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
• Free CUBE JAM app for iOS plays songs and minus-one jam tracks, and lets you record the CUBE Lite’s COSM amp tones along with music playback
• Includes cable for two-way communication (playback and recording) with iOS devices
• Available in three colors: black, white, or red

For more information, visit roland.com/products.

MUSIC THEORY: Common Minor Tonality Scales

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

Q: I have been studying Minor Scales lately, but I seem to keep coming across different Minor Scale types. It's getting a little overwhelming. Could you please consider doing a lesson that uses the most popular of Minor Scales, explains the unique notes of each one, and can you also demonstrate a melody using each scale type? Thank you!
Amanda -- Hellertown, PA, USA

A: Scales are of course extremely important to all musicians and when we shift our focus from the basic major scale, which has the one primary form, and we begin entering the many forms and modes of the world of Minor Scales, I can certainly understand why this topic will so often cause some confusion. Now, before we go off on all of the Minor Scale names & differences, it's really important to take a step back and realize that all scales - are simply a collection of notes that in the long run we absolutely must get programmed into our ears so that we can eventually control them in a useful and in a highly musical way. So, let's begin by running through a quick theory breakdown of what really makes up the colors of Minor Scales to begin with!

Get the Handout here

A TOUR OF ROCK HISTORY!


If you appreciate some serious music history coupled with some VERY serious musicians, as well as, an extremely compelling story you won’t be disappointed with the new documentary, "Sound City," directed by Dave Grohl.

The Sound City Studio was the birthplace of some extremely influential and popular albums dating back decades. You will be blown away when you see the list of artists who recorded here you will understand how important this studio is in music history. Artists and producers interviewed in the documentary, (shot by Dave Grohl, who incidentally recorded Never Mind from Nirvana there), include:

Neil Giraldo, Dave Grohl, Rivers Cuomo, John Fogerty, Stevie Nicks, Trent Reznor, Tom Petty, Rick Rubin, Rick Springfield, Lars Ulrich, Butch Vig, Lee Ving and many many more including the legendary Paul McCartney.

Andrew Wasson Original: "Future Space"


The opening piece for my July 19, 2013 YouTube Guitar lesson,
"Common Minor Tonality Scales."

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

The Winery Dogs: Richie Kotzen, Billy Sheehan and Mike Portnoy

GUITAR WORLD Interview:

So, who are the Winery Dogs? ...they are;  guitarist Richie Kotzen (Mr. Big, Poison), bassist Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, Niacin) and drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Adrenaline Mob)!


The guys prefer to be considered a classic power trio rather than a Super-Group, and they've already released a powerful trio of music videos in advance of their debut self-titled album, which will be released July 23 via Loud and Proud Records. The disc was produced by the band and mixed by Jay Ruston (Anthrax, Stone Sour, Steel Panther).

Guitar World's James Wood, recently sat down with Kotzen, Sheehan and Portnoy to talk band origins, gear, the new album and the secrets behind Kotzen’s sound and hybrid picking style.

GUITAR WORLD: 
How did the Winery Dogs come together?

Portnoy: Billy and I had been working on a separate project with John Sykes, but it was hard to get that project moving along. We both decided we didn’t want to wait, but we also wanted to continue working together and create a classic rock power trio.

Sheehan: Mike and I were ready to go and wanted to move quickly, whereas John [Sykes] wanted to take a more methodical approach to things. There are merits to doing things both ways, but in the end we decided to move on and try something else.

Portnoy: I should clarify that everything we were doing with Sykes was completely different from this project. Everything that's part of the Winery Dogs' album is strictly the three of us, and that's where it began. Once we got together with Richie, it was a complete collaboration. All of this music poured out of us naturally.

Read More...



Dave Mustaine on Modern Music Technology....

Modern Music Technology:
'Makes It Possible to Fool the General Public'


Despite a vast array of advantages modern technology has brought to musicians around the globe, many prominent music figures still point at the negative aspects of various digital tools used for music recording and production.



Among that crowd is Megadeth mastermind Dave Mustaine, who recently discussed the current state of music during an interview with Caller.com.

"I would have to say something that covers all forms of music right now," the frontman kicked off, "Digital audio workstations like Pro Tools, Cakewalk and Garage Band made it possible for a lot of people that can play a guitar or something like that, but they're not really musicians, they don't have it in their blood - so they can plug into a computer, pluck a couple chords, make a song and then fool the public."

Mustaine also talked about donating a part of the band's Gigantour proceeds to the Regional Food Bank to help those affected by a recent Oklahoma tornado.

"When you see a city, a town, a county, a state with so much devastation - how can you just sit back and not do anything? I figured [that] the most important thing is to help. I think that's one of the things we've forgotten a lot - that's why there's the homeless, that's why there's the sick, the needy, the widows, the orphans."

Dave continued, "That's not for the government to take care of, that's for the churches to take care of. That's for us as the body of the church to take care of. When I saw that I called up Zakk and I said, 'Zakk, you know the show we're doing in Oklahoma City? I'm gonna give up my fee.' And that's a lot of money."

As far as the subject of modern music technology is considered, it is worth noting that yet another major music figure, legendary Free/Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers, recently gave somewhat of a similar statement, saying that "the music industry is using too much technology."

Megadeth released their fourteenth record, "Super Collider," on June 4 via Universal-powered label Tradecraft. With 29,000 copies sold in the US within the first week, it debuted at No.6 on the Billboard 200 chart.


GUITAR WORLD: Mike Stern Video Lesson


This month, Guitar World Magazine posted a great video where guitarist Mike Stern talks about the track “Out of the Blue,” from his latest CD, All Over the Place (from the Heads-Up International division of Concord Music Group).

This record is aptly named, because it features a variety of different musical styles, represented across the 11 new original compositions Mike penned for the album.


Mike Stern...
 "In writing the music, I had in mind the specific styles that I wanted to touch upon, as well as the talents of all of the great musicians that play on the record, such as bassists Anthony Jackson, Richard Bona, Victor Wooten, Dave Holland, Tom Kennedy, Will Lee and Victor Bailey, saxophonist Kenny Garrett, trumpeter Randy Brecker, and drummers Dave Weckl, Keith Carlock and Lionel Cordew" 

Guitar World...

Video: Megadeth, Slash, Zakk Wylde, Jason Newsted, Vinnie Paul and David Draiman Perform Thin Lizzy's "Cold Sweat"

Video: Megadeth, Slash, Zakk Wylde, Jason Newsted, Vinnie Paul and David Draiman Perform Thin Lizzy's "Cold Sweat"
Below, you can check out a fan-filmed video of Mustaine and Broderick with Slash, Zakk Wylde, Jason Newsted, Vinnie Paul and David Draiman, as they tear through "Cold Sweat," a classic Thin Lizzy cover. The song, which was written by John Sykes and Phil Lynott, turned out to be a great choice for all the guitarists involved, giving each one some time to let loose.


Megadeth's Dave Mustaine, Chris Broderick and David Ellefson were joined by a host of famous friends this past Friday, July 12, when Gigantour rolled into Dallas, Texas.

Martin Introduces the Beautiful CEO-7 at Summer NAMM...

SUMMER NAMM 2013: Martin made a lot of noise with the launch of the Ed Sheeran LX1E Signature model, but they showed of more new guitars at the show, including the killer looking new for 2013, "CEO-7."

Inspired by Martin's successful Golden Era 00 models, the CEO-7 features a sunburst finish, golden age tuners and authentic head-plate lettering. This new 14-fret short scale 00 "Sloped Shoulder" model features a solid Adirondack spruce top with solid genuine mahogany back and sides for complex tonality.  

Read More...

VIDEO: Ibanez New Premium Series Guitars...

The new Premium Series centres on Ibanez's core rock market with a range of guitars.

Guitarist Magazine put the Vai-inspired Universe 7-string through its paces alongside Joe Satriani and Andy Timmons signature models.

Read More...

GEAR REVIEW: Fulltone's Beautiful Supa-Trem2 Stereo Tremolo


The Supa-Trem has been an extremely successful pedal for me over the last 15 years, partly due to the TONE of the circuit, which has a very good sounding JFET amplifier at its heart.


Another key ingredient has been the Fulltone Opto-1 photocell that I designed and have made...it has the optimal resistance range, as well as the correct rise and fall times for all speeds required for a great Tremolo pedal.

A while back I started wondering what would happen if I took two completely separate Supa-Trem circuits and joined them together! Not fake-stereo like other Tremolo, Chorus, Phase, Flanger, etc pedals which simply invert the signal at the output and send it to another jack. Two identical circuits in TRUE-STEREO with two INs and two OUTs!

"Can you get True-Stereo from MONO in?" Yes!

And both amps are still live when the ST-2 is turned OFF with no tone loss due to its hi-quality JFET buffered outputs. The ST-2 is the IDEAL device to place at the end of your chain...run cables as long as you want, use it as your amp splitter.

READ MORE...

This Week's Lesson - GUITAR TECHNIQUE: Silent Bend and Release

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

Q: My guitar project is bending and I've developed it to an ok level. Only thing I'm still having my troubles with is when I do "Silent Bends." I always over-bend, (especially when I'm higher up on the neck). Can you do a lesson on Silent Bending? Not getting the notes perfectly is really starting to drive me crazy! Thanks a lot Andrew.
Harald -- Berlin, Germany

A: This technique, "Silent Bending," [also sometimes called, "Pre-Bending,"] is somewhat of a difficult one to master. It will require you to know in advance just how far a note has to be bent before it gets hit and then released. Even though these bends can be a real ordeal to have come across as perfect, they do sound really cool when notes are silently pre-bent ahead of time and then dropped. The sound that this creates allows for some unique subtle options for phrasing and expression. To help with fully understanding how to bend a note silently -- with almost no audible trace of the note from which the bend originates - I've created a small collection of examples for practice. Work on the examples to help with silently pre-bending notes up into perfect tune.

**ASSOCIATED VIDEOS TO ALSO WATCH**

- Combination Bend Techniques:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCcDsS8EHX8

- Guitar String Bending Technique:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIPOeIfBXVc

Premier Guitar: Posts Photo Gallery of Summer-NAMM Day One!

Premier Guitar.....  GALLERY: Summer NAMM 2013 - Day 1

 See the Full Gallery Here...

RIAA Demands File-Sharer turn Spokesperson to Clear Her Fine!



An Ojibwe woman from Minnisota (that works part-time for the Tribal Band office, has four kids and an out-of-work husband)  happens to owe the Recording Institute of America [RIAA] a whopping $222,000 for downloading a couple dozen songs back in 2007...

Jammie Thomas is a 36-year-old who shared just 24 songs on a now defunct peer-to-peer platform Kazaa, (these including a handful of tracks by Guns N' Roses, Linkin Park and Green Day), and her case first went to trial back in 2007.

Years later, at a cost of millions and millions of dollars of legal fees to the major labels, Thomas has been battling to reduce her fine, but even the Obama administration got involved to say, "any reduction would encourage other music pirates to continue."

Her only option to avoid paying the massive court charge is to either file for bankruptcy... Or, she can come on board as a 'spokesperson' and work with the RIAA to campaign against piracy! She has recently refused the offer to work for the RIAA to reduce her fine.

Read More

Andrew Wasson Original: "New Worlds"


The opening piece for my Friday July 12, 2013 YouTube Guitar lesson,
"Silent Bend and Release Technique."

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

VIDEO: Alice Cooper's opinion regarding the state of rock music

Alice Cooper gave his honest opinion regarding the state of rock music and young rock bands, which he considers as far less rebellious than they should be to be called a, "Rock Band."


Cooper focused on several specific acts he sees as the most problematic in the new 'rock domain,' singling out the, Lumineers and, Mumford & Sons.
"I just feel like this whole generation needs to eat a steak," Cooper said during a recent Fuse interview. "Maybe they just need to quit eating vegetarian food and get out there and get some blood pumping in their system. Rock 'n' roll is not about 'happy, happy, happy, everything's OK.'"

After calling the Lumineers a "great clog dancing band" and saying that "there's a place for that," the singer focused on Marcus Mumford and co.

"Mumford & Sons are great at what they do, but it's not rock 'n' roll," he stressed. "Don't call it rock 'n' roll. That's an offense to rock 'n' roll."

Cooper was then asked to give his opinion on the modern rock bands, pointing out once again his lack of understanding for the latest folk rock trend and the desire of young rock musicians to fit in with the rest of the society to such extent.

"If you're in a band, you're an outlaw. You don't play by those rules, you're an outlaw," the frontman said.

After demonstrating how a guitar should be held in rock 'n' roll and giving an example of the attitude and lyrics today's rock bands have, which can best be seen in the clip above, Cooper concluded that if modern acts don't want to be rock 'n' roll, then all the better.

"That's better for us, 'cause there's more for the Foo Fighters, more for Green Day, more for the bands that really are rock bands. I don't understand why everybody is so afraid to be in a rock band," the singer concluded.

Vintage Film of "Two-Handed Tapping" on 1965 TV Show!


A YouTube video (posted July 4) that's been making the rounds lately, shows Italian guitarist, Vittorio Camardese, showing off his own two-handed tapping technique on an Italian TV show (on the RAI network) in 1965.

In the video, Camardese says he's an amateur guitarist who works at Rome's San Filippo Hospital, (as a radiologist),. He says the guitar was loaned to him by a coworker!

If you don't want to listen to their conversation, (which is all in Italian), skip ahead to 1:14 — although the real playing starts at 1:30. After a break and some more chatting, Camardese starts playing, the classic Jazz Standard, "All of Me," at 3:10. He breaks into some tapping again at 3:53.


Shock Rock Band "Gwar" to Brew "Gwar-Beer."

Gwar front man, Oderus Urungus, has announced that the band will be launching their own brand of beer... The "GWAR-B-Q" beer was created from a recipe by Rob Chalmers, the Gauntlet reports.

The beer will be the drink of choice at the band's upcoming "GWAR B-Q" event, which takes place on August 17th in Richmond Virginia.

The event, which is presented by Gwar, Cigar City Brewing, Crowbar Live and DMD will feature free samples of the all new "GWAR B-Q" Beer as well as Brutal Burgers topped with "GWAR-B-Q" Sauce.


Oderus Urungus has released the following statement about the beer: "This is another milestone on the road leading to the GWAR-B-Q, the new GWAR album, and the brand-new GWAR show we will be putting on tour this fall. I am looking forward to meeting with the fans, getting incredibly wasted, and then vomiting all over them. Then we will sell that!"

GUITAR WORLD Presents: Top 10 Classic Guitar Synth Songs!


A guitar synth is a synth module whose input device is a guitar instead of a keyboard. To quote Norm Leet from Roland's UK website, "The most important part of a guitar synth system is the divided — or hexaphonic — pickup, which allows each string to be treated individually and for the attached synth to be able to detect finger vibrato and string bending."

At first these systems were farily sizable, taking up so much space that they had to be housed in specially designed guitars that were part of the entire synth system. Today's synth systems, however, are tiny things that can fit into pretty much any guitar.


Modern systems send the pitch information as MIDI to allow you to control external modules or keyboards. This also means that pitch information can be recorded by a MIDI sequencer.
Read More...

GUITAR WORLD's TOP-10 GUITAR SYNTH SONGS...

10. "Stranger In a Strange Land," Iron Maiden, Somewhere in Time, 1986
09. "Never Make You Cry," Eric Clapton, Behind the Sun, 1985
08. "Are You Going With Me?," Pat Metheny, Offramp, 1982
07. "Who's to Blame," Jimmy Page, Death Wish II, 1982
06. "Venus Isle," Eric Johnson, Venus Isle, 1996
05. "Discipline," King Crimson, Discipline, 1981
04. "Racing in A," Steve Hackett, Please Don't Touch, 1978
03. "Turbo Lover," Judas Priest, Turbo, 1986
02. "Don't Stand So Close to Me," The Police, Zenyattà Mondatta, 1980
01. "Ashes to Ashes," David Bowie, Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), 1980

Ritchie Blackmore's New Song, "Dancer and the Moon"


Ritchie Blackmore's current band — Blackmore's Night — have released a new music video for the title track from their latest album, Dancer and the Moon.

The album was released June 11 by Frontiers Records.

Dancer and the Moon, the band's eighth studio album, features several instrumentals, including "Galliard" and "Carry On… Jon," which Blackmore wrote as a tribute to the late Jon Lord of Deep Purple.

You can check out "Carry On... Jon" right here. You can hear another track from the new album, "The Moon Is Shining (Somewhere Over the Sea)," which was debuted here on GuitarWorld.com, via the Soundcloud player.


Dancer and the Moon Track Listing:
01. I Think It's Going To Rain Today
02. Troika
03. The Last Leaf
04. Lady In Black
05. Minstrels In The Hall
06. The Temple Of The King

Spanish Musician Creates Ceramic Guitar!



Spanish singer/guitarist Luis Martin presented a fully functional ceramic guitar in a town of Talavera de la Reina, expressing hope that the axe he made will help the town's dwindling ceramics industry.

The guitar took about a month to produce and will hopefully attract new buyers in the same manner glass guitars have built up their own industry.

"In the 1950s lots of groups recorded in bathrooms because they had a special echo," Martin told Reuters. "I thought a ceramic guitar would sound good, especially as there are other ceramic instruments like flutes."
 
The town itself is renowned as the production center of the glazed tiles used in the decoration of El Escorial monastery and the Madrid's Royal Palace.

"Talavera ceramics are well-known but like everything else it's a tough time because things are bad in Spain with the crisis," Martin commented. "If this project takes off it could provide work for a lot of people."
 
The guitarist demonstrated the sound of the ceramic axe with a set of rockabilly chords alongside guitar maker Carlos Sabrafen, who described the entire project as "totally crazy."
Martin and co. are currently searching for a sponsor to finance the mass production, looking to ultimately sell guitars for a price of $3,200 a piece.

This isn't the first time guitar makers have tried to create a ceramic guitar. Builder; "Gabe Turow," built his first in 2009. Although Gabe's ceramic guitar has no pick-up, (and is not an electric hollow-body 335 style), you can watch his YouTube video below to hear the sound of Gabe's very basic ceramic guitar to get a concept of the sound. Unfortunately, Spanish builder Luis Martin has yet to post any audio or video online of his creation. Martin also lacks a website at this time as well.

The Ongoing Collapse of Digital Music Sales...



The music industry has had a knock back after the bad news that digital music sales have fallen by 2.3 percent compared to last year in North America. And, in the UK sales have fallen by even worse... 5.6 percent

Digital has been attempting to compensate for the decline in physical sales over the past decade, so the year over year trend of dropping sales means that the industry will be looking out for 2013 results on streaming income to see if digital revenues will level out by the end of the year.

Streaming services like Pandora, Spotify, Rdio and more, have seen widespread adoption this year, so there's hope that the music industry can continue to claw back fans from piracy websites and convert them into paying customers - even if it's at relatively low streaming subscription rates of $5 or $10 per month.

But digital streams are often criticised for their low royalty rates, and even Pink Floyd stepped into the debate last week when they accused Pandora of taking sneaky steps to reduce musician royalty payments by 85 percent - ...an accusation that Pandora denies.

What do you think will happen if digital music fails to save the music business?

Will the industry move underground?

Andrew Wasson Original: Free Ride


The opening piece for my July 5th, 2013 YouTube Guitar lesson,
"Harmony and Diatonic Function."

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

DEBATE: Should 'Legal' Highs be Banned at Concerts?


 A coroner has ruled that a man who died at a music festival in the UK last year by slashing his wrists after taking a legal high. Daniel Parks, aged 35, took a substance called "Magic Crystals," similar to mephedrone, but had a serious paranoid reaction which led to his death, according to NME.

His wife Ceri who attended the festival with him found her husband locked in their camper van's toilet, where he inflicted fatal wounds on himself. He died later in hospital.

Daniels death may or may not be a rare case, but it begs the question:

- Should legal highs be banned at music festivals?

- Or indeed, should they be banned outright?

On one side, there's likely to be some incidents where people have a bad reaction. On the other, banning a substance can sometimes generate more interest in them, (and drive a black market - or prompt underground chemists to develop new compounds which evade the law).

 What's your view? 

Post your perspective on this matter to the comments on FaceBook.

ROLLING STONE: The Thirteen Dumbest Band Names in Rock History...



It's not easy to pick a band name. After 60 years of rock and roll, everything has been taken. There's the Eagles and the Eagles of Death Metal, the Who and the Guess Who. There's Asia, Europe, Chicago, Boston and Kansas.

If you want to pick a color and an animal, there's already White Lion and Whitesnake. If you like the word "wolf," get in line behind Wolfmother, Wolf Parade, We Are Wolves and Howlin' Wolf.

All this said, there's simply no excuse for picking a truly horrid band name, and rock is littered with them. Here are Rolling Stones' 13 bands with horrible names.

Please note we aren't saying these bands suck, just their names. That'll become abundantly clear when you see the last two groups on the list...
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The Devil Wears Prada

Natalie Portman's Shaved Head

Toad the Wet Sprocket

Dogs Die in Hot Cars

Cherry Poppin' Daddies

Anal Cunt

Panic! At the Disco

Hoobastank

Confrontation Camp

Dave Matthews Band

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe

The Beatles

Read More...

Slash to Release Horror Movie in October...

Slash's Debut Horror Movie 'Nothing to Fear' Due in October

Slash will release the first horror movie on his new production company Slasher Films this fall. "Nothing to Fear" was directed by Anthony Leonardi III, and will appear in selected theaters across the US on October 4. It's based on a real town in Kansas which, according to legend, is one of the seven gateways to Hell.


"It's a really good production team, the special effects people are great, the cast is great, the story's great - everything's great about it," he told the Pulse of Radio.