Sebelum Gary kembali ke akar blues, dan setelah menjalankan tugas di Skid Row dan Thin Lizzy selama 1960-an dan 70-an ia adalah salah satu pemain gitar rock terkemuka di tahun 1980-an, dengan trek klasik seperti Over The Hills and far Away, Out In The Fields (dengan Phil Lynott), dan lagu instrumental indah The Loner menjadi contoh utama menulis melodi dan bermain indah.

Tidak seperti banyak gitaris, Gary selalu sama di rumah bermain baris cepat mengambil alternatif seperti yang ketika bermain frase legato tanpa cacat, dan bermain rock nya selalu tinggi pada konten melodi seperti yang di teknik, dengan vibrato agresif dirinya langsung dikenali.

bermain-Nya memiliki efek mendalam pada pemain seperti John Sykes, Joe Bonamassa dan Kirk Hammett untuk beberapa nama, dan apakah ia melepaskan riff rock klasik dan keren di lagu-lagu seperti Run Untuk Cover, atau blues solo di Oh Pretty Woman, ia telah selalu menjadi pilihan populer bagi para musisi dan non-musisi sama.

Pelajaran

Di sini kita kembali ke jaman batu Gary Moore dari '80-an, jadi dari tikungan bluesy dan frase yang terutama dikenal di masa sekarang, nada rock agresif dan teknik. Meskipun itu tidak terlalu cepat itu masih akan banyak pekerjaan yang harus bermain benar-benar akurat sepanjang.

Pastikan Ketika Anda sampai di solo Anda akan memerlukan skala kecil B alami (BC # DEF # GA) dan ada banyak mengeluh legato tangan dan alternatif memilih untuk fokus pada.

Menariknya, untuk seseorang yang di hari terakhir digunakan skala pentatonis dan blues banyak, Gary sering terjebak dengan skala kecil besar atau alami dalam memainkan rock-nya. Meskipun tidak ada vibrato banyak di solo di sini, ketika anda membutuhkannya pastikan bahwa itu agresif dan lebar.

Seperti bagian ritme, sebagai tepat dan akurat mungkin saat catatan tunggal memetik - ketika anda sampai ke akhir frase berhati-hati bahwa tangan Anda tidak keduanya bergerak dengan kecepatan yang berbeda satu sama lain. Check out tips bermain untuk informasi lebih lanjut tentang cara pendekatan pemain gitar ini sebaik-baiknya.

Guitar Shows, penyelenggara Guitar Birmingham mendatang Show, telah mengumumkan bahwa anggota pendiri legendaris Guns N 'Roses, Velvet Revolver dan Loaded, Duff McKagan  untuk menghadiri acara tersebut antara 26-27 Februari 2011.

Muncul dalam hubungannya dengan string Rotosound, bassist / gitaris McKagan akan melakukan sesi penandatanganan beberapa SAAT selama di Birmingham Guitar Show, memungkinkan pengunjung kesempatan untuk mendapatkan dekat  dengan salah satu ikon rock yang paling populer dari generasinya.

Tampilkan manajer Jason Hunt berkata, "kami senang untuk dapat menyambut Duff untuk menunjukkan. Dia menjadi inspirasi bagi musisi rock selama dua dekade, jadi kami sangat senang bisa memberikan pengunjung kesempatan untuk bertemu seorang legenda, Duff. benar-benar menambah lapisan gula pada kue apa yang menjanjikan untuk menjadi akhir pekan besar. "

Tiket untuk Birmingham Guitar Tampilkan adalah harga £ 8,50 di muka dan £ 10 di pintu. Tidak ada biaya pemesanan dan parkir di Bingley Hall adalah gratis.

Ini adalah Les Paul: gitar listrik yang paling ngerock dalam sejarah. Ini dimainkan oleh Slash: seorang pria dengan rokok dan topi diatas,   telah menjadi soundtrack  sejak tahun 1987's Appetite For Destruction.

Kecuali Anda benar-benar gila, Anda akan ingin memiliki mantan dan yang terakhir - dan itulah tempat gitar Epiphone baru Selera masuk, penyediaan (sebagian besar) fitur dari sendiri Slash's Gibson Les Paul di (relatif) hemat £ 699.
Hats off?

"Ini Les Paul , chunky D-profil Slash-yang ditentukan, yang benar-benar dikelola dan memberikan dukungan yang sangat baik."
Sementara format tonewood tubuh mahoni dan topi maple adalah Les Paul protokol, ada keberangkatan tonal yang halus di sini berkat 'Slash' Seymour Duncan Alnico II humbuckers.

Ikon cutaway gitar Gibson SG double electrik ini ternyata sudah 50 tahun. Untuk merayakan, perusahaan ini merilis model baru setiap bulan, kick-off dengan Standard SG 24.

Spec termasuk tubuh mahoni solid, menempel-di leher mahoni kuartal-gergajian, PAF-style 57 Classic humbuckers, Nashville bridge Tune-o-matic dan tailpiece stopbar, tuner vintage dan 24-fret seperti namanya. Diakhiri dengan lambang headstock sebuah logo '50an khusus dan Antique Ebony.

RRP adalah $ 2129 - lihat Gibson lebih lama.

Ada detail sedikit tentang model yang tersisa akan dirilis tahun ini selain itu mereka akan membayar upeti kepada "seorang artis legendaris yang terkait dengan Gibson SG". Pete Townshend, Robby Krieger, Angus Young dll

Gibson SG Standard 24 press release

1961 merupakan tahun di mana Soviet menempatkan manusia pertama di luar angkasa, Yuri Gagarin diikuti oleh AS di bulan Mei dengan Alan Shepard. Konstruksi Tembok Berlin dimulai, keterlibatan langsung pertama militer AS di Vietnam terjadi dan musik populer termasuk Chubby Checker's Pony Sisa dan Will You Love Me Tomorrow oleh Shirelles.

Namun tengara yang sangat berbeda dan radikal pada tahun 1961 adalah pengenalan cara gitar depan tahun nya, gitar Gibson SG pertama berguling dari jalur produksi di pabrik Gibson di Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Pada tahun 1961 Gibson SG Standard (SG Solid Guitar) sementara menggantikan Les Paul Standar di garis Gibson , sedikit yang menyadari bahwa ikon masa depan gitar rock sedang diperkenalkan ke tempat kejadian. Awalnya disebut Les Paul / SG, ini radikal, double-cutaway listrik dengan dua dramatis asimetris menunjukkan "horns" dan tubuh semua mahoni-tipis dari maple cutaway tunggal dan mahoni Les Paul yang diganti.

Hal ini terbukti memiliki kekuatan yang sama, punch dan fleksibilitas, tetapi juga menyatakan suara sendiri, yang telah meraih banyak heavy rock dan pemain Metal pada khususnya, bersama rock klasik yang tak terhitung jumlahnya dan seniman blues. Pada saat Les Paul cutaway tunggal kembali pada akhir 60-an, Standard SG sudah melegenda, dan selamanya mengklaim tempatnya dalam sejarah rock.

Setelah diperkenalkan pada tahun 1961, gitaris adalah kunci dalam revolusi rock and roll dari pertengahan '60-an, dari Eric Clapton dan Pete Townshend di Inggris untuk Jerry Garcia, Frank Zappa dan Robby Krieger di Amerika, cepat jatuh cinta dengan Slinky, baru, neck, gitar double-cutaway - membuatnya menjadi salah satu gitar paling keren di rock and roll dan gitar terlaris Gibson Guitar's.

Kini 50 tahun setelah pendahuluan SG, Gibson USA meluncurkan garis model HUT ke-50 untuk merayakan warisan ikon ini enam-senar. Setiap bulan, model baru akan diluncurkan, masing-masing membayar upeti kepada artis legendaris yang terkait dengan gitar Gibson SG. Busyeet..!

Slash telah mengakui rumor tentang Corey Taylor terlibat dengan Velvet Revolver adalah benar - tetapi keputusan akhir belum dibuat. Gitaris tersebut telah menghindari  suatu komentar atas gosip, sedangkan Slipknot dan Stone Sour frontman hanya berkata: "Untuk dilanjutkan."

Sekarang tampak gambaran yang akurat tentang situasi: karena komitmen Slash's tur band kehabisan waktu untuk memutuskan apakah akan membawa Taylor sebagai pengganti Scott Weiland, yang saked pada tahun 2008.

Slash menceritakan Charlotte Observer: "Ada kebenaran pada desas-desus bahwa kita sedang melihat Corey - tapi kemudian aku pergi untuk tur Jadi tak ada yang dilakukan pada saat putusan No !..."
Perilaku tidak patuh Weiland dan masalah narkoba diminta pemindahannya tiga tahun lalu, setelah band ini melanjutkan hiatus. Slash sebelumnya berkomentar bahwa itu "hanya nasib buruk" dia punya masalah dengan frontmen nya - mengacu pada runtuhnya GNR ketika Axl Rose mengambil alih  di pertengahan 1990-an.

Sekarang gitaris mengatakan: "Pengemis tidak dapat memilih. Yang paling penting adalah untuk menemukan orang yang mampu bermain musik, maka Anda harus mengambil kepribadian mereka dengan alasan jika mereka memainkan cara Anda..

"Banyak musisi yang gila -. Itu yang membuat mereka menjadi musisi besar"

Putusan tampaknya tidak berlaku untuk Taylor, bagaimanapun, secara luas dianggap sebagai karakter yang seimbang. McKagan minggu lalu menggambarkan dia sebagai "seorang pria dingin dan musisi keren."

Juara 1:The Lionel Young Band (Colorado Blues Society)
Juara 2: The Mary Bridget Davies Group (Kansas City Blues Society)
Juara 3: Rob Blaine's Big Otis Blues (Windy City Blues Society)

Rob memenangkan penghargaan Best Guitarist yang merupakan Gibson custome 335 dan Kategori 5 amp.

Stephane Bertolino memenangkan pertama kalinya Best Player Award Harmonika disajikan oleh Lee Oskar. Stephane dalam Awek band Perancis, yang disponsori oleh Blues Sur Seine.

Untuk Solo / Duo :

Juara 1: George Schroeter & Marc Breitfelder, dari Jerman, yang disponsori oleh Baltik Blues.

Juara 2: Harrison Kennedy, representing Canal Bank Shuffle in Ontario, Canada.

Untuk pertama kalinya dalam sejarah , hadiah tertinggi dalam kompetisi band adalah mantan solo / duo pemenang kategori. IBC 2008 solo / duet Lionel pemenang Young kembali dengan The Young Lionel Band untuk menang atas nama Colorado Blues Society. Kedua tempat kehormatan yang diterima oleh Mary Bridget Davies dari Kansas City Blues Society, dan tempat ketiga adalah Rob Blaine's Otis Big Blues dari Windy City Blues Society.
Acara lain pertama adalah menganugerahkan KPI's Best Harmonika Player. Namun lain peserta internasional, Stephane Bertolino dari Awek band Prancis, won untuk Blues Sur Seine.

Gitaris Terbaik Penghargaan diberikan kepada Rob Blaine Blaine's Otis Big Blues. Dia bermain indah dengan gitar Gibson kustom, dengan logo biru blues Foundation dan Kategori 5 amp.

Dalam Terbaik Diproduksi Self-kontes CD, para hakim dinobatkan 'Get Inside ini House' oleh Joe McMurrian dari Cascade Blues Association di Portland, OR.

Para finalis solo / duo kategori adalah: Kembali Serambi Stomp - (Washington Blues Society, WA), Izzy & Chris (West Virginia Blues Society), The Juke Joint Devils (Massachusetts Blues Masyarakat), The Mighty Orq (Houston Blues Society, TX) Adam, Jim Big & Stilwagen John (Colorado Blues Society) dan Blues JT (Billtown Blues Association, PA).

Para finalis dalam kompetisi band: Randy Oxford Band (Selatan Asosiasi Sound Blues, WA), Stevie J & the Letusan Blues (Tengah Mississippi Blues Society, MS), Grand Marquis (Topeka Blues Society, KS), Alex Wilson (Grafton Blues Asosiasi, WI), Nabi Gula The (Illinois Tengah Blues Club),
Blues Society di seluruh dunia akan segera mulai lagi untuk berkompetisi sendiri untuk menentukan siapa yang akan mereka kirim ke 28 International Blues Challenge, final yang akan dipentaskan 31 Januari - 4 Februari 2012.

International Blues Challenge (IBC) adalah pencarian internasional oleh The Blues Foundation dan organisasi-organisasi afiliasinya (lokal blues society dari seluruh dunia) untuk Blues Band dan Solo / Duo yang siap untuk keluar dan tampil di panggung nasional .

Kompetisi ini memberikan pemaparan memenangkan tindakan sangat berharga dan telah disebut "lebih berharga dari $ 100.000 dalam pemasaran" untuk band yang menang.

Dia adalah seorang pahlawan untuk semua orang dari Eric Clapton ke Jimi Hendrix. Ia bermain dengan hampir setiap bintang blues utama dari 70 tahun terakhir. Dan dia masih mencabik turun secara teratur di klub sendiri di Chicago. Dialah, tentu saja, Buddy Guy - dan ia duduk baru-baru ini dengan ClashMusic untuk berbicara tentang musik yang telah menjalari pembuluh darahnya selama 74 tahun.

"Saya bermain musik tidak peduli apa," kata Guy, saat ia menoleh ke belakang pada masa mudanya. "Tapi aku tidak melihat  karir dari itu, karena saya tidak berpikir saya cukup baik. Saya bermain gitar karena cinta musik. Saya tidak melihat saya membuat kehidupan yang layak keluar dari bermain gitar. Aku tujuh puluh empat-tahun-dari sekarang. Ketika aku berusia lima belas tahun-tahun, Anda tidak bisa mencapai di luar sana dan menemukan pemain gitar berbuat baik seperti sekarang ini, di mana beberapa pemain gitar membuat jutaan dolar. Apakah tidak ada hal seperti itu. "

Ia melanjutkan, "Anda melihat Arthur Crudup dan  Lightnin’ Hopkins dan mereka fellas seperti T-Bone Walker: mereka adalah orang-orang yang sedang bermain musik blues itu, dan aku membayangkan mereka akan membuat cukup untuk membeli sebotol anggur atau mungkin mendapatkan hamburger atau sesuatu seperti itu, tapi mereka tidak akan  seperti itu. Saya merasa senang pertemuan Lonnie Johnson - Aku tidak bertemu Robert Johnson - tapi aku bertemu Fred McDowell, Son House dan orang-orang seperti itu, dan aku bertemu mereka sebelum mereka meninggal dunia, dan mereka hanya turun di Mississippi bermain untuk minum pada akhir pekan - apa yang mereka sebut Goreng Ikan Sabtu Malam. Aku seperti mengatakan aku ingin melakukan itu, karena itulah yang ingin saya lakukan. Aku tidak mengatakan suatu hari aku akan berbicara dengan Anda dan membuat kehidupan yang layak keluar dari bermain gitarku. "

Guy ingat yang memerintah dari gaya liar bermain dengan pendiri Chess Records Leonard Catur - sampai Chess mulai mendengar musik yang sama yang dimainkan oleh seniman Inggris tahun 1960-an.

"Mereka tidak akan memberi saya kesempatan sampai orang-orang Inggris meledak, kemudian Leonard [Chess] kembali - saya pikir itu mungkin empat atau enam bulan sebelum ia meninggal dunia - dan ia dikirim Willie Dixon ke rumah saya. Dia berkata, 'Pergi mendapatkan [sumpah serapah]' - jika Anda tahu apa yang saya maksud - Dan aku turun dan dia berkata, "Man, kau sudah berusaha untuk memberikan hal ini sejak Anda dan membawa dia." datang ke sini dan kami itu [sumpah serapah] terlalu bodoh untuk mengerti. Dan itu menjual, dan itu panas, karena orang-orang Inggris bermain itu.

"Dan ia mengenakan rekaman, saya pikir oleh Hendrix atau Cream, dan kemudian dia berkata," Kau datang ke sini sekarang dan melakukan apa yang Anda inginkan. "Dia tidak tinggal terlalu lama setelah itu. Tapi aku masuk ke sana melakukan itu, karena saya disalin bahwa barang-barang dari Guitar Slim akhir dan T-Bone - mereka sedang memakai sebuah acara dengan gitar. Aku tidak sebaik pemain gitar seperti beberapa orang-orang seperti Wayne Bennett, Matt Murphy, Earl Hooker - aku bisa terus  - tapi aku masih menganggap diriku di sekolah. Ketika saya melihat Muddy dan BB dan mereka bermain, aku bahkan tidak ingin mereka tahu aku di rumah setelah mereka harus tahu saya, karena saya ingin menyelinap masuk dan menonton mereka dan belajar sesuatu. "

Dua belas bar blues sangat umum. Kemajuan chord lebih dari dua belas bar melambangkan musik blues - tapi ini adalah enam belas. Ketika kita melihat judul CD ini, pikiran terjadi bahwa hal itu bisa mengacu pada suatu "crawl pub" kuno Irlandia tapi mungkin melalui Delta Mississippi untuk enam belas sendi juke dan  honky tonk. Lirik ke judul lagu, trek kedua di CD, pecahkan masalah. Lagu ini mengacu pada sejumlah bar di pintu sel penjara pada  subjek lagu.

"Highway 61 Blues" membuka album dengan penyanyi / penulis lagu,  suara tenor Steve Dupree's mengungkap bahwa Jalan Pintas judul itu "Sure can be a mean old road." Enam belas Bar terdiri dari sepuluh komposisi asli. Gitaris Travis Stephenson bersama-sama menulis tujuh dari trek bersama dengan DuPree. Pengutamaan untuk perkusi, bass, dan backing vocals namun penekanannya jelas pada DuPree dan Stephenson.

The press release bills DuPree sebagai "Mississippi saksofon" player, dan anehnya di album ini, ia tidak bermain saksofon. Dia memainkan harmonika  dan menampilkan sinergi halus dengan gitar resophonic Stephenson. Dalam alunan kembali ke akar blues,  sebenarnya sebagian besar komposisi DuPree's tampil sebagai nyanyian - ada kata terlalu banyak untuk jumlah catatan dimainkan. Dia menarik it off though. Jika Anda mendengar ini dalam  rural honky tonk, sekitar tiga lembar untuk diterbitkan, siapa yang peduli?

Enam belas Bar tersedia dari Amazon, CDBaby, dan the Delta Flyers’ web site. It was released on January 4, 2011.

Johnny Winter telah menulis secara rutin 'merek' yang sangat baik tentang rock / blues selama lebih dari empat puluh tahun. Dari akar Texas, untuk Woodstock, untuk puluhan album yang sukses secara komersil dan kritis, ke peringkat nomor 74 pada daftar Rolling Stone Magazine The 100 Gitaris Greatest Of All Time, Johnny Winter telah membawa energi dan keterampilan untuk fusion rock dan blues.

Rilis terakhirnya adalah hanya di bawah dua jam. DVD berjudul Live Through '80 's. Ia mengambil LIVE-nya di tujuh tempat yang berbeda. Itu semua menambah hingga tujuh belas track blues yang sudah ada atau penggemar Johnny Winter tidak akan mau untuk melewatkannya.

Semua pertunjukan yang dilakukan sebagai basic trio. Jon Paris adalah pemain bass dan Tom Compton adalah pemain drum kecuali untuk set pertama di mana Bobby Torello adalah perkusi.

Empat lagu pertama tercatat 6 April 1983 di Massey Hall di Toronto. Langkah gemilang dari klasik tua Sonny Boy Williamson, "Unseen Eye." Ini adalah jauh lebih unggul dari versi dalam studio . Juga diperhatikan adalah tentang "Sweet Papa John" dan sebuah ramuan ke modeRock untuk "It's All Over Now."

Kami bekerja disisi kinerja Jun 29, 1984 di Roskilde, Denmark untuk beberapa lagu yang lebih dikenal sebagai penutup. "Jumpin 'Jack Flash," "Highway 61," dan "Johnny B. Goode" semua dilakukan di depan kerumunan 100.000 orang.

November 1984 tampil di Teater Capital di Passaic, New Jersey. "When You’ve Got A Good Friend" menyajikan presisi tanpa cela dengan baik.

Sebuah selingan yang menarik menyajikan video musik 1984 untuk “Don’t Take Advantage Of Me" yang diterima bermain sangat keras di MTV pada saat itu. Ada juga wawancara di mana ia memainkan solo gitar listrik.

1987 tampil di Swedia untuk penampilan televisi. "Sound Bell" dan salah satu lagu signature, "Mojo Boogie" apenyajian dengan latihan yang bagus.

Segmen terakhir dia tampil di Pistoia Blues Festival di Italia, 1 Juli 1988. Nomor The slow blues “Early In The Morning” versi terik “Serious As A Heart Attack” membawa DVD pada sebuah kesimpulan yang memuaskan.

Live di '80 'adalah contoh bagus Johnny Winter pada live yang terbaik. Jika ada yang lebih baik daripada mendengar Johnny Winter memainkan blues, berarti melihat dia bermain blues.

Gitaris rock legendaris Inggris Pete Townshend dari The Who dan Eric Clapton yang menyumbangkan gitar untuk dilelang selama Music Maker Relief Foundation Legendaris Rhythm & Blues Cruise, yang keluar pada 22-29 Januari. 2011
Townshend telah menyumbangkan gitar Gibson SG ditandatangani, sementara selain menyumbangkan gitar, Clapton juga beramal sebesar 5.000 poundsterling Inggris ke yayasan sebagai insentif untuk penggemar blues untuk berkontribusi pada lelang .
Fans bisa membuat tawaran pada gitar walaupun mereka tidak di berada diatas kapal pesiar. Untuk membuat sebuah tawaran, kirim e-mail ke Denise Duffy di denise@musicmaker.org atau hubungi (919) 643-2456. Penawaran dimulai pada minimal $ 4.000, kata Tim Duffy, presiden Music Maker.
Semua hasil dari lelang akan menguntungkan Musik program pembuat, yang meliputi hibah, dan bantuan lainnya untuk musisi blues, dan juga musisi yang memainkan berbagai bentuk musik tradisional Amerika.
Musisi menerima bantuan dari organisasi harus memainkan musik berakar pada tradisi daerah Selatan, menjadi 55 tahun atau lebih dan memiliki pendapatan tahunan kurang dari $ 18.000.

Having just turned 81 Matt "Guitar" Murphy has embarked on a new career as a guitar designer. Matt is working with Mike Delaney of Delaney Guitar's to produce the MGM Signature Series. The first model will be debuted by Matt on the Legendary Blues Cruise in January. Each guitar will be custom built for the induvidual to Matt's specs. Expected retail to be under 2000.00 with two models planned initially.

Details will appear on delaneyguitars.com and mattguitarmurphy.net when the LRBC docks January 29th.

Whitesnake’s forthcoming album, ‘Forevermore,’ is tentatively due for release in March 2011 via Frontiers Records.

Frontman David Coverdale stated, “The new songs are in the very familiar and recognizable Whitesnake territory of soulful, bluesy, melodic power rock, with a couple of ballads thrown in for good measure. It can’t be a Whitesnake album without ballads, mate!”

“As always, we want to take it to the next level,” said Coverdale. “I feel that with the last album we achieved a strong Whitesnake ‘cocktail’ that comfortably embraced and mixed all the previous musical aspects and styles of the band’s history, while taking our identity a little further… all on one album.”

Whitesnake’s current lineup features guitarists Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach, former Foreigner drummer Brian Tichy, newly announced bassist Michael Devin and vocalist David Coverdale.

Keyboardist Timothy Drury can also be heard on ‘Forevermore’ but left Whitesnake earlier this year to pursue a solo career.

British musician Eric Clapton will sell more than 70 guitars from his personal collection in an auction in New York in March, with the proceeds going to his drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Antigua.

Bonhams auctioneers will conduct the March 9, 2011 sale, which also includes instruments donated by Jeff Beck, J.J. Cale and Joe Bonamassa.

Featured in the auction are instruments and amps by Fender, Gibson, Marshall, Martin and Music Man, among others. Estimates for the amps and guitars range from $300-30,000, Bonhams said.

Highlights include one of Clapton's main stage guitars from 2005, one of a pair he used during the Cream Reunion Shows in London and New York -- a custom built black Fender "Eric Clapton Signature" Stratocaster estimated at $20-30,000.

Also on offer is a pair of Marshall vintage basket weave speaker cabinets, from around 1970, used during the 1970s when Clapton appeared with Derek And The Dominos. The pair is expected to fetch $8-10,000.

The auction is being held in association with Wallace & Hodgson, who worked on the two previous Clapton/ Crossroads guitar auctions in 1999 and 2004.

Guitar hero Joe Satriani shredded his way through a blazing two hour set in New York last night, awing an audience for the second night in a row at the Best Buy Theater.

Despite harrowing, arctic winds that tore through the city streets, fans came out in droves to see the legendary ‘Satch.’ The guitarist is touring behind his newest album, Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards, and last night’s show demonstrated beyond question that the virtuoso, responsible for instructing players as reknown as Steve Vai and Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, is as on top of his game as ever.

From the second Joe hit the stage, the underground Best Buy Theater was turned into a world of screaming guitars and otherworldly effects. Satriani is a master of not only rapid-fire playing, but riding a seemingly endless tone up and down the fretboard, diving with the whammy bar only to soar back up in ear-bursting squeals. Fans closest to the stage stared open-mouthed, simply in awe as they watched his fingers fly almost faster than the eye could follow. Virtually every song was instrumental, but unlike most of his rock contemporaries, Satriani fills every second of music with such original, exciting moments and emotion that there simply isn’t room for vocals even if he wanted.

The musician had great stage presence, never removing his green-tinted sunglasses as he strode about and bobbed his head back and forth, leaning back into the crunch of his backing band’s rhythm. The band, consisting of a drummer, keyboardist, bassist and rhythm guitarist, was tightly locked in with their frontman, blasting through tight beats and stopping on a dime, giving Satriani more than enough audio elbowroom to run wild all over their foundation, sounding as well as looking otherworldy as his guitar effects and arpeggio-filled tapping created a rich sonic tapestry.

The show went on for an impressive two straight hours, including a half dozen tracks from the new record which were received just as well as the classic material. Watch my video of new, ultra-catchy song Premonition on the left side of the page. While guitar noodling can get old after a while, Satriani never faltered, keeping things interesting by demonstrating his absolute mastery of the instrument. He broke out acoustic guitars, a harmonica, and engaged in a duel with his keyboardist, battling back and forth on riffs until the keyboardist was finally unable to match a particularly epic high note bent into an impossibly long, overdriven squeal. Later, Joe played the same game with the crowd, fans doing their best to imitate the guitar licks with their voices, but if one thing was proven last night, it’s that no one or instrument can truly match what Satriani does best.

Charmingly polite in his short stage banter between songs, Joe finally took the microphone to sing on the bluesy Big Bad Moon, letting loose with a smooth singing voice that really deserves to be heard more often. Fans, who were sitting for most of the show, finally rose to their feet, and crowded right up to the stage, hands outstretched as Satriani effortlessly blazed his way across every inch of fretboard. He then encored with fan favorites Crowd Chant and Summer Song, his lightening guitar magic as impressive as it was in the beginning of the concert.

Joe Satriani might not have radio hits or rabid fanclubs like other hard rock artists, but make no mistake: This is one of rock’s greatest players, and one of rock’s greatest writers as well. Words can’t truly relate the magic of witnessing Mr. Satriani in person, and fortunately he seems set to continue writing and touring for a long time to come, both solo as well as his roles in supergroup Chickenfoot and the vaunted G3 tours. But in the meantime, fans can check out plenty of video on Youtube, buy his latest record, and be sure that next time Joe comes to town, they are in the crowd and ready to surf with the alien.

Daniel Johns, lead vocalist and guitarist for Australia’s most popular rock-grunge group, Silverchair, met Ben Gillies (drums) and Chris Joannou (bass) before they were in their teens. By the time they reached 15, the trio made its mark “Down Under” as a major rock group. Today, Silverchair’s reputation is global.

Silverchair’s entry to rock stardom came early when they were 14 years old and headlined as the Innocent Criminals at local shows. Johns, Gillies and Joannou proved worthy when they won an Australian record demo competition with “Tomorrow” that helped land them a three-album record deal with Sony Music. The song sat at the top of the Australian singles charts for six weeks. The group re-recorded the track for U.S. consumption and it became one of the most played songs on U.S. rock stations during the ’90s.

The name Silverchair is a tribute that conjoins bits from the titles of songs by their two major musical influences, Nirvana and Australian alternative rock group You am I. They twisted Nirvana’s track “Sliver” to Silver and grabbed “chair” from You am I’s track “Berlin Chair.”

At the ripe old age of 15 the trio recorded their debut album, Frogstomp, catapaulting the lads’ CD to a number one hit in both Australia and New Zealand. With record sales reaching 2.5 million copies worldwide, Silverchair claimed a hefty fan base and a top ten hit in the U.S. Their reputation won them spots on tours with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Blink-182. A second album, Freak Show was released in ’97 with three tracks, “Abuse Me,” “Cemetery,” and “Freak” jettisoning up to the top ten charts in Australia. The album went gold in the States.

Daniels vocals cut deep with lyrics that are sometimes uncomfortably personal. Wading through the trauma of anorexia he helped exorcise those demons by writing more songs for Silverchair’s third album, Neon Ballroom. Listen to the highly regarded “Ana’s Song (Open Fire)” and you hear him achingly, painfully yearning to climb out of the wreckage.

And you’re my obsession
I love you to the bones
And Ana wrecks your life
Like an anorexia life

Later, Johns would suffer from the effects of reactive arthritis that was debilitating and proved to be another serious challenge for not only his musical career, but his life.

Released as a video in 1999, “Ana’s Song (Open Fire)” was awarded the best video award by the Australian Recording Industry Association.

Daniel moved into producing when recording the group’s fourth album, Diorama. He worked with producer David Bottrill and the legendary Van Dyke Parks who added orchestral arrangements to a couple tracks. Upon release the album hit the Australian charts at the number one slot before going triple platinum.

Setting out briefly with Australian electronica musician Paul Mac, Johns and Mac put out an internet release, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Rock EP and later collaborated with his wife, pop artist, Natalie Umbruglia on her album Counting Down the Days.

Silverchair disbanded for a short while so members could pursue their individual interests, then re-formed in 2004 to raise funds in support of the victims of the Boxing Day Tsunami that killed 230,000 people. After the show, the three were reinvigorated and decided to regroup as Silverchair.

In October 2007, Silverchair made Australian music history by adding several new ARIA awards to their band’s accomplishments, giving them a career total of nineteen awards, more than any other Australian artist in history, including AC/DC, Midnight Oil and others. The Newcastle trio’s 2007 awards included Album of the Year for Young Modern, Best Group, Best Rock Album (Young Modern), Single of the Year and Highest Selling Single for “Straight Lines.”

Thal first made a name for himself in the mid-’90s with his wildly creative solo albums and unorthodox techniques, and since 2006 he’s been one of three guitarists in Guns N’ Roses, performing on every track of 2008’s Chinese Democracy and criss-crossing the world with Axl and Co. While on tour with GN’R in Australia, Thal spoke exclusively to Gibson.com about how to make a career out of music.

He says the key is diversity. “You have to be able to multitask and be multi-faceted,” he says. “If you’re just going to be a guitar player that plays in a band, your options are going to be very limited. If you’re going to play in a band, you should also be able to teach what you know. If you record yourself, then record other people as well and get into the studio thing. If you’re taking care of a lot of the business for your band, maybe start doing it for other bands as well and get into that side of things.”

Thal advises being actively aware of the many different ways you can apply your various skills, and the ways they feed into each other. “You need to have as many avenues as you can at once, because while one thing is going slow, another thing is going better, and you put it all together and you can pay your bills,” he says. “Everything you do lends some assistance or makes you better at everything else.”

One of Thal's earliest music-related jobs was as a teacher, and it’s a career path he highly recommends. “I took lessons when I was a kid for a good eight steady years of just weekly lessons, very academic,” he says. “From there I started teaching out of the basement. Then I started teaching at a music store, and then in my early 20s I set up the music department at a private school. I was teaching music for children there, I set up a jazz band, a choir, music history… a whole music program for this private school. Right before that I was teaching at a music institute that a chain of guitar stores in New York had. At some point I worked my way up to teaching music production and guitar at an actual legitimate college in New York State.”

Thal believes that teaching others also can be an invaluable resource for your own playing, vastly increasing your repertoire and forcing you to think about the motives and outcomes of particular musical choices. “What happens is that everything you’re teaching, you’re also learning,” he says. “You’re learning songs that you can teach, so now suddenly you have a great repertoire if you want to join a cover band. Everything helps everything else.”

In fact, Thal says some of his solo tracks would not exist if not for their origins in giving guitar lessons. “Someone wanted to get into Latin chord progressions and I got into the whole I-II-V in harmonic minor thing in certain rhythms, and next thing you know it’s like, ‘Wow, this is a cool thing,’ and I ended up making a song out of it.”

When it comes time to work on a solo project, Thal pulls together all these skills, and as the owner of a professional studio, he’s uniquely placed to take advantage of the many luxuries this brings. “Having my own studio, I can afford studio time, obviously, because it’s my studio, and I can pay the bills of owning the studio by recording other people,” he says. “So by being an engineer, that allows you to record your own albums and gets you into production, and next thing you know, you’re a producer and you’re collaborating with other people that come in. Everything becomes this big web where everything is connected in some way, and the more things you do, the more depth it lends to every other aspect of what you do.”

The skills of deconstruction and adaptation that one develops as a teacher can also blend with studio nous in interesting and unexpected ways, including TV work. Thal explains: “There will be people for some TV show who don’t want to license the real song for something, and they’ll come to me and be like, ‘Can you make me a song that sounds like Mötley Crüe?’ and in five minutes I’ll bust something out in the studio and give it to them, and it’s an original song that's capturing the vibe of some other artist, and that right there, that’s another way that the studio and everything we’re talking about comes into play. And now you also have an income stream from the performance royalties of that piece of music. I did it for a sports team, I did it for some shows that have been on MTV once in a while.”

Thal says session work today is much different to the glory days of the ’70s and ’80s. “I could be wrong but I think reading music is less important now and it’s more about the ears,” he says, adding that producers are more likely to simply e-mail an artist an mp3 and ask them to come up with their own part, rather than provide sheet music or a chord chart. “If it’s a jazz thing they will give you a chart, but if it’s a rock thing they’ll just show you on the spot: ‘Alright, just go E to A and back to E.’ And as far as session playing, you have to be able to lock into a groove and have great timing. You have to have a good memory and be able to recall arrangements, or jot down your own little chart of weird hieroglyphics that only you understand, or you have to be able to read other peoples’ hieroglyphics.”

Across his entire career as a professional guitarist/teacher/songwriter/engineer/producer/composer, Thal has observed a simple set of rules for making yourself employable. “Number one, which will be funny coming from a guitarist in Guns N’ Roses, is don't be late! That was always my cardinal rule for everything,” he says. “In order to be on time you need to be early, then wait in your car for 15 minutes and walk in two minutes before whatever time you’re supposed to be there.

“Two: be someone that people want to work with, want to be in a room with and spend 10 hours with. Be relaxed, be calm, don’t cause the stressful vibe, just be cool and keep your intensity knob down a bit and just roll with things.

“Three: be overly prepared. If you just need to know the guitar part, make sure you know the other guitar part, too, and the vocals, and the bass, and the drum rhythm and where the accents are. Really know the song inside and out. Know more than you need to know, and be so prepared that you can bring more than is asked of you, if asked. Those three things matter the most: be on time, be cool, and be prepared. And that’s for anything.”

With his blistering fast lead chops, impeccably clean technique, and exceptional composition skills, Jeff Loomis is recognized as one of the top guitarists on the progressive metal scene today. Since the early 1990s, the guitar virtuoso has been a primary creative force in the Seattle-based band Nevermore, and he’s recently spread his wings as a solo artist with the impressive debut effort Zero Order Phase.

One rainy Seattle afternoon, Jeff and I chatted about technique, gear, and all things guitar for a BOSS Tone Radio podcast. To listen to the complete conversation and clips of his music, visit www.BossUS.com/podcasts.

Guard House Pictures is proud to announce the trailer release of Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks the World, a definitive documentary that tells the story of the #1-selling effects pedal of all time, from its invention in 1966 through its evolution into the present day. The effect was an essential ingredient in the creation of classics like Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," Metallica's "Enter Sandman," and Guns 'n' Roses' "Sweet Child o' Mine."

This film looks at how engineer Brad Plunkett discovered and developed the legendary wah sound and how artists have used it to express themselves throughout its evolution. Guitar icons such as Eddie Van Halen, Kirk Hammett, Slash, Dweezil Zappa and Jerry Cantrell talk about how the wah has become a part of their signature sounds, while rock journalists such as Rolling Stone's Ben Fong-Torres and Guitar Player's Art Thompson explore the pedal's cultural significance.

Learn how a simple effect became one of the most important tools of expression for guitarists everywhere.
Click for view

Serious fans of heavy metal shredding have had little to complain about this year. Between the numerous package tours featuring the guitar heroics of Megadeth's Chris Broderick, Ozzy Osbourne's Gus G. and countless others, arpeggios and sweeps have been gushing out of amps all summer like BP's oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

But for true connoisseurs of six-string ferocity, the knife fight of the year will take place this autumn when Black Label Society's Zakk Wylde and Children of Bodom's Alexi Laiho face off on the Berzerkus tour package. While Wylde is something of a national treasure, Laiho is still a bit of a cult figure.

Born Markku Uula Aleksi Laiho, the guitarist recorded his first album with Children of Bodom in 1997 in Finland. Since then, he and his Nordic band have released six studio efforts, two live albums and an assortment of EPs and DVDs. Beginning as a death metal unit, Bodom rapidly discovered their own unique voice by mixing and matching elements of Scandinavian black metal, European progressive rock, American thrash and Eighties hair metal into a compelling blend of flat-out aggression, catchy choruses and instrumental virtuosity. Are You Dead Yet?, Blooddrunk and last year's album of cover songs Skeletons in the Closet established them as rising stars in America, and tours with the likes of Megadeth and Lamb of God sealed the deal.

Not surprisingly, Laiho, Bodom's vocalist and guitarist, has been singled out for attention. Looking like a trendy, young vampire, and shredding like a 21st century Randy Rhoads, Alexi mixes bluesy hard rock ferocity with dashes of Western classical harmony that rarely sounds fussy in the way that European metal often can. For example, on "If You Want Peace...Prepare for War" from 2005's Are You Dead Yet?, he takes most of what's good about the past 20 years of hard rock lead playing and condenses it into concise, violent blasts of sonic rock salt.

But as Laiho reveals when we sit down with him to discuss the upcoming Berzerkus tour, he's still growing as a guitarist. "I'm still hungry to play and improve," he says. "I still practice every day. I would never think, Okay, now I'm finally good enough."

Does that mean Laiho is pumped and primed to, er, "Finnish off" Zakk Wylde in the upcoming guitar slugfest?

"Zakk is one of the best, for sure," he says. "Everyone who was involved with Ozzy Osbourne were the guys I looked up to when I was learning to play. Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee and Zakk were some of my biggest influences. Zakk's playing is just so over-the-top crazy, and he's a great singer, too."

Click here to read the full interview on GuitarWorld.com! 

Eric Clapton was voted the top guitar hero at this week's Guitar Nation Live show in London. The poll was taken at a booth hosted by instrument insurance company Allianz Musical Insurance.

"It's great to see that the U.K. still has a strong rock star tradition," Allianz's Claims Manager Robin Stagg told the press.

Two more U.K. natives, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, also made it into the top 5. The top 5 guitarists in the poll were Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Chuck Berry.

Clapton will have the opportunity to prove that he still deserves the title when he goes on tour in the U.K. next year. Slowhand will play shows in Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow and Cardiff before participating in a six-night residency at the Royal Albert Hall in London.