Jake Gyllenhaal has gifted his new girlfriend Taylor Swift a guitar worth 11,000-dollars on her 21st birthday. According to Us Weekly, legendary American guitarist Chet Atkins has signed the guitar, reports the New York Daily News. The expensive gift topped a week where he introduced his new girl to his family, including sister Maggie Gyllenhaal [...]
Posts Tagged ‘guitar’
Jake Gyllenhaal gifts Taylor Swift $11K guitar on 21st b’day
December 20th, 2010 |
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YouTuber Katie Gavin “Whip My Hair†Acoustic Guitar Version [Willow Smith Cover]
December 10th, 2010 |
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Willow Smith’s debut single, the infectious dance anthem “Whip My Hair,” has been covered by everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Jersey Shorer Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi. Now watch as velvet-voiced YouTuber Katie Gavin (or Katie Gavs), 17, takes a stab at viral fame with a folky/bluesy acoustic guitar version of the Billboard smash. Think of it [...]
Guns N†Roses files $20m lawsuit against ‘Guitar Hero’ makers
November 25th, 2010 |
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Guns N” Roses” Axl Rose has sued Activision Blizzard, the developer of video game Guitar Hero III, over a cartoon depiction of ex-bandmate Slash on the front cover. Rose alleges in his 20-million-dollar claim that Activision broke an agreement not to feature imagery of the guitarist. The singer claims they also agreed not to show [...]
Axl Rose Files Suit Against Activision, Manufacturer Of “Guitar Heroâ€
November 24th, 2010 |
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Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose is suing video game manufacturer Activision Blizzard for $20 million over their illegal use of the band’s 1987 rock anthem “Welcome to the Jungle” in the third edition of Guitar Hero. The law firm Miller Barondess LLP says it is filing the suit on Rose’s behalf. The complaint alleges [...]
Mark Karan: Florida Tour in Nov; Free Download, Guitar Pedal
October 7th, 2010 |
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NEW GUITAR PEDAL WITH HARTMAN ELECTRONICS; FREE ARCHIVE DOWNLOAD
 Mark Karan |
Mark Karan has announced
a string of dates in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina in November with The Roy Jay Band, who will open all the
shows on this run. All dates are below.
Karan also recently co-designed an envelope filter with Hartman Electronics. The pedal is a classic 70′s Mutron III
sound optimized for tone, flexibility, and ease of use. More info here. Fans can get $50
off by clicking here to purchase.
Karan, Robin Sylvester, Mookie Siegel and Billy Lee Lewis will perform a very unique show to
celebrate Deborah Grabien‘s new book London Calling. The performance will be on
Sunday, October 10 at Book Passage in Corte Madera,
CA. The reception and reading is from 3-5 PM and the performance is from 5-6 PM.
Jemimah Puddleduck will perform at
Brewtopia in The Compound Grill in Phoenix, AZ on October 15. They will also hit The Mint in Los Angeles on
October 16. Click here for an archive of past shows.
TOUR DATES
WED, 11/3 – Pour House, Charleston, SC
THUR, 11/4 – Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville, FL
FRI, 11/5 – Funky Buddha Lounge, Boca Raton, FL
SAT, 11/6 – Play, Ybor City, FL (Tampa)
TUE, 11/9 – The Atlantic, Gainesville, FL
WED, 11/10 – Social, Orlando, FL
THUR, 11/11 – Smith’s, Atlanta, GA
FRI, 11/12 -Local 662, St. Petersburg, FL
Mark Karan and
Jemimah Puddleduck
Tour Dates
::
Mark Karan and
Jemimah Puddleduck News
::
Mark Karan and
Jemimah Puddleduck
Concert
Reviews
Sat Eye Candy: Leo Kottke
September 11th, 2010 |
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HAPPY FREAKIN’ BIRTHDAY, FLEET FINGERS!
There’s not a guitarist worth their salt today that hasn’t been touched in some way by Leo Kottke. Even if not directly influenced by his dazzling approach and command of acoustic guitar, his work has seeped into the infrastructure of all guitar playing since his landmark debut 6- and 12 – String Guitar arrived in 1969. Watch him and the strength in his hands and fevered focus in his eyes make the experience of a dude sitting in a chair picking really bloody riveting, not to mention one’s natural disbelief that one guy is making all that sound by himself with a single instrument. Kottke is also an expert showman and his often bizarre between song rambles and highly unique vocal selections add further layers of cool curiosity to this pro’s pro. Leo Kottke turns 65 today and we hope he gets extra icing on his cake. (Dennis Cook)
This quicksilver pairing seems as fine a place to jump off as one might find.
One of Kottke’s best vocal albums is 1990′s My Father’s Face, which contains this stony lil’ morning jewel full of odd wisdom and dream fragments.
Ancient and modern streams converge in Kottke’s compositions. To wit, this mingling of Renaissance and Nashville vibes in this clip from the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1977.
The fluidity and bounce to his 12-string playing is captured nicely in this 1973 BBC clip.
Another sprightly fave from his vocal arsenal.
It’s easy to understand how Kottke and Phish’s Mike Gordon became pals and collaborators after one watches curious experiments like this one. And yes, we tried to find high quality video of Mike & Leo together but it’s all pretty sub-par. Sorry, kids.
Breathtaking kinda covers it with this selection.
Kottke’s storytelling and easy laughter are essential ingredients to his enduring live success. This tale has been part of his repertoire for ages and it never gets old.
We end with Leo in Germany in the late 70s performing “Up Tempo,” “Hear The Wind Howl” and “Busted Bicycle.”
Leo Kottke Tour Dates :: Leo Kottke News :: Leo Kottke Concert Reviews
Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010 DVD Out 11/9
August 3rd, 2010 |
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SOLD OUT SHOW FEATURED ERIC CLAPTON, JEFF BECK, STEVE WINWOOD, VINCE GILL, BUDDY GUY &
MORE
 Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010 |
Often credited as being one of the all-time greatest guitarists and known amongst his peers as one of the all-time
greatest collaborators, the ultimate Clapton collaboration took place earlier this year at the Crossroads Guitar
Festival 2010 on June 26 at Chicago’s Toyota Park. For one day only, Eric Clapton gathered the past,
present, and future of guitar music onto one stage for an incredible all-day musical event in front of a crowd of over
27,000. The third Crossroads Guitar Festival was a sold out, 11-hour tour de force with all profits benefiting The
Crossroads Centre in Antigua, a treatment and education facility founded by Clapton for chemically dependent
persons.
Rhino Entertainment captured every epic note from that blistering summer day in Chicago and will release over four
hours in High Definition. Fans around the world will have a chance to experience many of the festival’s greatest
moments including performances by Clapton, ,ZZ Top, Steve
Winwood, B.B. King, Jeff Beck, Vince Gill, Sheryl Crow, Buddy Guy, John Mayer, Bill Murray, and many
others as well as behind-the-scenes footage and candid interviews with the performers. Crossroads Guitar Festival
2010 will be available November 9 at retail outlets, including www.rhino.com, for a suggested list price of $34.98
(2-Disc Blu-Ray) and $29.98 (2-Disc DVD).
Crossroads Guitar Festival 6.26.10 | Photos
June 30th, 2010 |
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Images by: Rod Snyder
Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010 brought together some of the world’s finest guitar players
in
an epic 11 hour celebration of guitar heroics on June 26 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL. The concert featured an
all-star lineup including Eric Clapton, B.B. King,
Jeff Beck, John Mayer, ZZ Top, Steve Winwood, Sheryl Crow, and many more.
All proceeds from the festival will benefit Crossroads Centre Antigua. For
more information about the nonprofit drug and alcohol treatment centre, please click here.
Take a look at photos of the Crossroads Guitar Festival by photographer Rod Snyder.
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siteRoot=”http://www.jambase.com”;var newPhotoIndex=”14″;$(document).ready( function() {
$(“#GalleryWidget”).load(siteRoot+”/Photos/Widget.aspx?galleryID=83″);}); 6/26/10 – Crossroads Guitar Festival @ Toyota
Park (Bridgeview, IL) View Photos
Banned Marisa Miller Guitar Hero Commercial Surfaces
June 17th, 2010 |
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Did you know that back in 2008 Victoria’s Secret Angel Marisa Miller filmed a commercial for Guitar Hero that was quickly banned in the United States and abroad after being deemed too racy for TV? Last week, the previously-unreleased Guitar Hero: World Tour ad, featuring the sexy supermodel, finally made its way to the Interwebs. [...]
Marisa Miller’s ad banned for being ‘too sexy’ surfaces online
June 17th, 2010 |
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Model Marisa Miller’s Guitar Hero advertisement, which was banned for being too sexy, has surfaced online.
The commercial was based on a scene from Tom Cruise film Risky Business, but it never went on air as the telly honchos considered the ad too vulgar.
In the commercial, Marisa struck her guitar while dressed in lingerie and ended [...]
Weekend Setlist Roundup
May 31st, 2010 |
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Memorial Day serves as a day to honor all U.S. men and women killed or missing in action
in war. It is their sacrifice that allows us to speak, live and freak freely. It also
signifies the un-official start of Summer, and with it comes a flurry of live music
activity. Here is a smattering of setlists curated from shows and festivals around the
country that you might enjoy.
 Furthur |
Furthur, Angels Camp, CA
5/27: Soundcheck Jam
Space > Eleven > Eyes of the World > Dark Star > Bird Song > Loose Lucy, Dear Mr. Fantasy,
Scarlet Begonias > Fire on the Mountain, Let It Grow, Unbroken Chain, Standing on the
Moon, Playing in the Band > Dark Star
E: Donor Rap, Going Down the Road Feeling Bad
5/28 Furthur Fest, Angels Camp, CA
I: American Beauty: Box of Rain, Friend of the Devil, Sugar Magnolia, Operator,
Candyman, Ripple > Brokedown Palace, Til the Morning Comes, Attics of my Life, Truckin
II: Workingman’s Dead: Uncle John’s Band, High Time, Dire Wolf, New Speedway
Boogie, Cumberland Blues, Black Peter, Casey Jones
III: Anthem of the Sun: Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > New Potato Caboose
> Born Cross Eyed, Alligator, Caution
E: Donor Rap, New Song, One More Saturday Night
5/28 All Star Late Night Jam
*Viola Lee Blues (V1), *New Speedway Boogie, *#Fennario (Peggy-O), *#Tennessee Jed,
*%Viola Lee Blues (V2), *$Sugaree $$, *%@Death Don’t Have No Mercy, *%@I Know You Rider,
*%@Viola Lee Blues (V3)
* Phil (bass), Larry Campbell (guitar), Jackie Greene (guitar), Jeff Chimenti (keys), Joe
Russo (drums)
# with Teresa Williams (vocals), Larry Campbell on fiddle
% with Bob Weir (guitar), Jackie Greene (bass)
$ with Mark Karan (guitar)
@ with Jorma Kaukonen (guitar), Jack Casady (bass), Jackie Greene (keys), Bob Weir, Joe
Russo
5/29, Furthur Fest, Angels Camp, CA
I: Blues For Allah: Help on the Way > Slipnot! > Franklin’s Tower, King’s Soloman’s
Marbles, Music Never Stopped, Crazy Fingers, Sage & Spirit, Blues for Allah, Sandcastles
and Glass Camels, Usual Occurrences in the Desert
II: Aoxomoxoa: St. Stephen, Dupree’s Diamond Blues, Rosemary, Doin’ That Rag,
Mountains of the Moon, China Cat Sunflower, What’s Become of the Baby, Cosmic Charlie
III: Terrapin Station: Estimated Prophet, Dancing in the Street, Passenger, Samson
and Delilah, Sunrise, Lady With a Fan > Terrapin Station > Terrapin > Terrapin Transit >
At a Siding > Terrapin Flyer > Refrain, Donor Rap
E: Not Fade Away
Setlist Sources: PhilZone.com & #furthur
 The Disco Biscuits |
The Disco Biscuits
5/27/10 Boulder Theater, Boulder, CO
I: Flash Mob, Rivers, Story Of The World1> Aceetobee> Boom Shanker> Aceetobee
II: Save The Robots, The Very Moon> Digital Buddha> Lunar Pursuit> Digital Buddha
Encore: Spy
1 unfinished
5/28/10 Ogden Theater, Denver, CO
I: Voices Insane> Run Like Hell1> Voices Insane, The Bridge2, Jigsaw Earth
II: Spectacle, Air Song, Basis For A Day1> Rock Candy> Tricycle> Rock Candy
E: Once The Fiddler Paid
1 Unfinished, 2 1st time played
5/29/10 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO
Bisco Inferno
Other acts include The Crystal Method, Booka Shade, Aeroplane, The Pnuma Trio and The
Glitch Mob
I: Hot Air Balloon> Gangster> Portal To An Empty Head1, Mindless Dribble> The Great Abyss>
Hot Air Balloon
II: House Dog Party Favor, On Time, M.E.M.P.H.I.S.1> Minions> Basis For A Day2, Magellan
Encore: Home Again
1 with Chris Michetti (RAQ) on guitar, 2 completes 5/28 version
Source: Phantasy Bisco
 moe. |
moe.
5/28/10 Summer Camp 2010, Three Sisters Park, Chillicothe, IL
I: Rebubula, She Sends Me, All Roads Lead to Home, Day Dreaming*, Zed Nought Z, Rise>
Happy Hour Hero**, Mexico
II: Late Night in the Barn: George, Cissy Strut, Big World > Ricky Marten > Recreational
Chemistry, Brent Black > Interstellar Overdrive > Brent Black
E: Johnny Lineup
* New song, first time played (Rob)
** w/ Ivan Neville on keys
5/29/10 Summer Camp 2010, Three Sisters Park, Chillicothe, IL
I: Akimbo > Sensory Deprivation Bank, Haze# > Wormwood > St Augustine, McBain > Skrunk,
Waiting For The Punchline*
II: Dr. Graffenberg > Buster, 32 Things**, Billy Goat## >(nh) Moth > Low Spark Of High
Heeled Boys JAM > Farmer Ben
Encore: Lazarus
# FTP – new al. song
* w/ Danny Barnes
** w/ Brendan Bayliss
## FTP – new rob. song
5/30/10 Summer Camp 2010, Three Sisters Park, Chillicothe, IL
I: Bearsong >(nh) Timmy Tucker, One Life#, Deep This Time, Not Coming Down, Wind It Up,
San Berdino* > {moe. / ZPZ bandswitch} > Muffin Man
II: Crab Eyes > Threw It All Away > Crab Eyes, Okayalright, Blue Jeans Pizza**, Puebla##
>(nh) The Road > The Pit > The Road
Encore: Down Boy > Seat Of My Pants
{# FTP – new chuck. song
* w/ Dweezil Zappa
** w/ Kyle Hollingsworth
## FTP – new al. song}
Setlist Source: Phantasy moe. & Hidden
Track
 Umphrey’s McGee |
Umphrey’s McGee
5/28/10 Summer Camp 2010, Three Sisters Park, Chillicothe, IL
I: Rocker Part 2, Walletsworth, Turn & Dub > The Linear > Hajimemashite > Plunger, Gulf
Stream, Lisztomania
II: 40s Theme, Ocean Billy > #5, In The Kitchen > Girlfriend Is Better > Booth Love >
Glory, Ocean Billy
E: Cemetery Walk II
5/29/10 Summer Camp 2010, Three Sisters Park, Chillicothe, IL
I: Phil’s Far, Syncopated Strangers, Tribute to the Spinal Shaft, Conduit, All In Time,
Cemetery Walk*, Sledgehammer*
II: Intro, The Triple Wide, Mantis > Hangover > Mantis, Women Wine And Song*, Don’t Stop
’til You Get Enough*, Nothing Too Fancy
E: Mulche’s Odyssey
* w/ horns
5/30/10 Summer Camp 2010, Three Sisters Park, Chillicothe, IL
Afternoon Set: JaJunk, Much Obliged -> Partyin’ Peeps, The Fussy Dutchman, We’re Going to
War*, Seven Bridges Road**, Bridgeless > August > Bridgeless
*w/ Mike Rackey on steel pedal guitar
**first time played in full; last played 10.9.04
Late Night Set: Pay the Snucka > Bright Lights, Resolution*, Wappy Sprayberry** > Slacker
-> I’m On Fire# > Slacker^, Voices Inside My Head -> 1348, The Floor, ^^Pay the Snucka
*w/ Roy Ponce (Brainchild) on guitar
**w/ 25 or 6 to 4 jam
#no lyrics
^w/ Jesse (The Macpodz) on keys
^^w/ Rain Song intro
| Umphrey’s McGee 5/30/10 Summer Camp 2010, Chillicothe, IL Click below to preview tracks from this show |
Source: UMLive.net, Hidden
Track & @umphreysmcgee
 Gov’t Mule |
Gov’t Mule
5/29/10 Summer Camp 2010, Three Sisters Park, Chillicothe, IL
I: Out Front Jam* > Thorazine Shuffle, Railroad Boy > Trane** > Eternity’s Breath > St.
Stephen Jam > The Shape I’m In > Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys^ Steppin’ Lightly, Broke
Down On The Brazos, Loser^^ Wild Horses$, Mule > Whole Lotta Love > Mule
Notes: * With Unring The Bell Tease. ** With 3rd Stone From The Sun and Norwegian Wood
Teases. ^With Chuck Garvey. ^^With Al Schnier. $ With Danny Barnes & Jeff Austin
5.29.2010 Hookahville, Legend Valley, Thornville, OH
I: Hammer & Nails, She Said, She Said > Tomorrow Never Knows with Day Tripper Tease, Banks
Of The Deep End, Rocking Horse, Devil Likes It Slow, Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home
with Steve Sweney, Patchwork Quilt > I’m A Ram with Shakedown Street Tease
II: Broke Down On The Brazos, Blind Man In The Dark, Kind Of Bird with The Wind Cries Mary
Tease, Fallen Down > The Other One Jam > with Gimmie Shelter Tease, Drums > Any Open
Window, Inside Outside Woman Blues > Going Out West > Bang A Gong > Going Out West
E: Into The Mystic > Soulshine with Gospel Intro
Setlist Source: Mule.net, Hidden
Track & Jambands.com Box Scores
 STS9 |
STS9
5/29/10 Summer Camp 2010, Three Sisters Park, Chillicothe, IL
I: Really Wut?, Kamuy, Tooth, Beyond Right Now, Instantly, Equinox, Inspire Strikes Back,
Aimlessly, Lo Swaga
5/30/10 Summer Camp 2010, Three Sisters Park, Chillicothe, IL
Late Night Set: This Us, EHM, Rent, Move My Peeps, What is Love?, One a Day, Hi-Key, 118,
Somesing, Hidden Hand Hidden Fist, Moonsocket, Unquestionable Supremacy of Nature
E: Twilight-> Monkey Music
Setlist Source: Hidden Track & The Lowdown
 Railroad Earth |
Railroad Earth
5/27/10 DelFest @ Allegany County Fairgrounds – Cumberland, MD
I: 420, Walk Beside Me, Dance Around Molly – > Dandelion Wine, Elko, Happy Song, The
Hunting Song, Black Bear, Cuckoo’s Medley *, Where Songs Begin, Head, Railroad Earth
E: RV
Comment: * with Ronnie McCoury on mandolin. DelFest 2010.
5/28/10 DelFest @ Allegany County Fairgrounds – Cumberland, MD
I: Saddle of the Sun, Bread and Water, Old Dangerfield *, For Love, Colorado, Mighty River
- > Like a Buddha, Any Road, Seven Story Mountain, Long Way To Go *, Warhead Boogie – >
Hard Livin’
E: Little Rabbit
Comment: * with Ronnie McCoury on mandolin. DelFest 2010. Late Night Stage.
5/30/10 Summer Camp @ Three Sisters Park – Chillicothe, IL
I: Mighty River, Happy Song, Been Down This Road, The Forecast – > 1759, ‘Neath the Stars,
Bird in a House, New Jam (SHJ), Bringin’ My Baby Back Home
Setlist Source: Setlist.com
If you know of another noteworthy performance from the past few days, please add the
setlist to the comments below.
JamBase | Memorial Day
Super Bad Sunday: Jerry Garcia
May 23rd, 2010 |
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NOW THAT’S SOME SERIOUS GUITAR MAGIC!
With the inaugural Furthur Festival right around the corner, JamBase couldn’t think of a better shredder to salute this week than the much missed, never duplicated Jerry Garcia. Amidst the staggering songbook and ever-mounting mythology, it’s sometimes forgotten that Garcia had one of the most singular, original guitar voices in the history of the instrument. Here’s a triple shot reminder of his mesmerizing grace and skill.
This clip cuts off a couple minutes before the end of the 12-minute performance due to YouTube time constraints. To see the ending pop over here.
US Air Guitar Championships 7/22
April 19th, 2010 |
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US AIR GUITAR CHAMPIONSHIPS ANNOUNCES NATIONAL FINALS
JULY 22, 2010: THE FILLMORE AT IRVING PLAZA NEW YORK, NY
HAND-PICKED PROFESSIONAL AIR GUITARISTS FROM 16 CITIES DESCEND UPON NEW YORK
 Ricky Stinkfingers at Brooklyn Bowl from usairguitar.com |
After being outbid by competing cities two straight years, the Big Apple has been given the honor of hosting the US Air Guitar Championships National Finals. On July 22 at The Fillmore at Irving Plaza, The US Air Guitar National
Finals will pit each of the 16 winners from each city against one another in a battle for Air Guitar supremacy. The
winner will be crowned the 2010 US Air Guitar Champion, and will then move on to the Air Guitar World
Championships in Finland to take on other National Champions from around the world.
US Air Guitar is currently in the process of assembling an unprecedented array of talent: 16 of the nation’s fiercest
and finest face-melters will go head-to-head to prove to one and all that they should represent the red, white, blue,
and undecideds at the World Air Guitar Championships in Finland. Veteran 2-time US Champion and 3-time New
York Regional Champion William Ocean will defend his title against the toughest and freshest competition
he has ever faced. Thus far, veterans Windhammer, Ricky Stinkfingers, and Lance the
Shred have won the Regionals in Boston, New York, and Washington, DC respectively. But a crop of new talent
has also begun to upset past masters in qualifying rounds, including Philadelphia’s impromptu performance of
wildcard The High Drator. Is this a changing of the guard or will experience prevail in the end?
Our nation’s capitol hosted the Finals last year at the famed 9:30 Club, where William Ocean edged out local
favorites Lance the Shred and Sanjar the Destroyer to take his second US Crown in three years. In 2008,
San Francisco hosted the Finals, sending one of the nation’s finest Air Guitarists Hot Lixx Hulahan to
Finland where he went on to win the World title and become the third American in seven years achieve Global Air
Guitar immortality. New York and Los Angeles were home to the first five National Finals, which produced world
champions C-Diddy and Soynk Rok. This year, winners from around the country will descend
once again upon New York City, where the next US Air Guitar great will lay claim to the 2010 title.
Co-founder Kriston Rucker said of the choice, “New York City is where US Air Guitar hosted our first ever
competition, back in the days of C-Diddy, W and dollar slices. After a couple years away, we felt like bringing the
Finals home, back in the New York groove. The greatest city on earth has been very good to us. We intend to pay her
back in airness.”
REMAINING US AIR GUITAR 2010 REGIONAL COMPETITIONS
Sixteen cities across the United States. Hundreds of performances. No guitars.
April 19 || Fox Theater || Boulder, CO
April 20 || Bluebird Theater || Denver, CO
April 22 || Dante’s || Portland, OR
April 23 || Casbah || San Diego, CA
April 24 || Troubadour || Los Angeles, CA
May 28 || Hard Rock Cafe || Las Vegas, NV
June 5 || The Fillmore || San Francisco, CA
Regionals are Hosted By The Star of Documentary ‘Air Guitar Nation,’ Björn Turoque, And Judged By The
2008 US and World Champion, Hot Lixx Hulahan. Regionals Are Broadcast Through Twitter,
Facebook,
YouTube & The iPad-Friendly US Air Guitar Blog.
To Purchase Tickets Or Sign Up To Compete, Visit:
www.usairguitar.com
2010 US Air Guitar National Finals:
JULY 22, 2010
THE FILLMORE AT IRVING PLAZA
17 Irving Place, New York, NY
$18.50, All Ages.
Click
HERE to Purchase Tickets
Robert Pattinson-signed guitar to be auctioned for charity
March 18th, 2010 |
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A guitar signed by Robert Pattinson has been put up for auction for charity.
The ‘Twilight’ star was checking out instruments at a store in Tarzana, when the owner of the shop requested him to autograph a guitar.
Also, the owner snapped a picture with the actor.
The guitar was later put up for sale on internet auction [...]
Experience Hendrix | 03.04 | Santa Barbara
March 12th, 2010 |
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Words & Images by: L Paul Mann
Experience Hendrix :: 03.04.10 :: Arlington Theatre :: Santa Barbara, CA
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Billy Cox – Experience Hendrix :: 03.04A sold out crowd packed the elegant Arlington Theatre for the opening salvo in a guitar heavy super tour of legendary American axe-men. The Experience Hendrix Tour was born out of the first Jimi Hendrix Electric Guitar Festival in 1995. This first tribute concert was the headline act at Seattle’s (Hendrix’s hometown) annual Bumbershoot Arts and Music Festival. That show spawned more than a decade of similar tributes, culminating in what is now the second year of a nationwide tour.
The testosterone-laced atmosphere was evident not only in the all-male musical lineup onstage but also in the lobby, where the usual long line to the girl’s restroom was replaced by one to the men’s room. The mostly male baby boomer crowd had come to see generations of guitar wizards perform some of Hendrix’s most beloved songs. Along with the ten guitar gods, a rotating stage of supporting musicians, including Double Trouble drummer Chris Layton and Hendrix’s only surviving compatriot, bassist Billy Cox, brought the music to life in evolutionary ways.
The undisputed king of the electric guitar produced a treasure chest of music in four short years. His first album, 1967′s seminal Are You Experienced?, introduced the world to his distorted, blues inspired, psychedelic guitar playing. His revolutionary sound and style continue to influence almost every guitarist alive today. On his second album, 1967′s Axis: Bold As Love, Hendrix mostly turned down the distortion to reveal more inventive guitar playing and songwriting. His final album with The Jimi Hendrix Experience, 1968′s double-album Electric Ladyland, pushed electric guitar to the outer limits of sound.
After The Jimi Hendrix Experience broke up, Hendrix joined up with bassist
Billy Cox, with whom he had played in the army in the early 1960s. Cox was on board for Hendrix’s legendary Woodstock performance and the stellar live Band of Gypsys, the last album that Hendrix officially authorized before his untimely death in 1970. Cox is the last surviving member of Hendrix’s core band and provided pivotal bass for many of the songs at this concert, which reverently paid tribute to Hendrix.
Several generations of the nation’s best electric guitar masters took the music in a multitude of directions. The first part of the show covered much Hendrix-inspired territory, including a smoking opening set with Cox and Chris Layton joined on guitar by Ernie Isley from The Isley Brothers, who employed Hendrix as a touring guitarist before he made it big. Isley told a story about being an 11-year-old boy when Hendrix came to live at his house for two years.
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Kenny Wayne Shepherd :: 03.04Living Colour brought a whole new generational take on the music with a less bluesy, more modern, heavy metal style. Doyle Bramhall II brought the pace down with his trademark acoustic and pedal steel guitar picking, before launching into a few more electric numbers with Los Lobos‘ David Hidalgo.
Eric Johnson‘s set included an awesome version of “Are You Experienced?” that nicely simulated the backwards guitar effects from Hendrix’s studio version. Next up was a high-energy set by Jonny Lang joined by Aerosmith‘s Brad Whitford, which began with a heated version of “Fire,” followed by a soulful take on “The Wind Cries Mary,” and ending with “Spanish Castle Magic” with extended guitar soloing.
Then came Kenny Wayne Shepherd, who displayed the best Hendrix-like guitar jams of the evening. Joined by singer Noah Hunt (Kenny Wayne Shepard Band), Shepherd ripped through “I Don’t Live Today” and “Come On (Let The Good Times Roll)” before the masterful slow blues of “Voodoo Chile,” which morphed into the concert highlight jam of “Voodoo Child (Slight Return).” Shepherd seemed to channel Hendrix at this point, including playing guitar behind his head a la Hendrix himself.
In the next set, David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas from Los Lobos played tastefully, including a nice take on the beautiful “Little Wing,” but they had the unenviable task of following Shepherd, who had whetted the audience’s appetite for guitar heroics. One very awesome historic moment occurred during their set when they were joined by 78-year-old Howlin’ Wolf guitarist Hubert Sumlin, who offered up “Killing Floor,” a song that Hendrix memorably covered at the Monterey Pop Festival.
This was followed by the pairing of Living Colour and Joe Satriani for a set that included “Third Stone From the Sun,” “Foxy Lady” and “All Along the Watchtower.” All featured impressive shredding by Satriani, in his progressive, electronic style, that may have been the direction Hendrix himself was heading just before his untimely death.
The show ended nearly four hours after it began with Hendrix’s first single “Hey Joe,” a jam session involving Hidalgo, Rosas, Whitford, Satriani and Billy Cox.
The new Experience Hendrix tour coincides with the release of Valleys of Neptune, a collection of previously unreleased Jimi Hendrix music (JamBase review).
Continue reading for more pics…
 Ernie Isley – Experience Hendrix Tour
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 Ernie Isley – Experience Hendrix Tour
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 Eric Johnson – Experience Hendrix Tour
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 David Hidalgo – Experience Hendrix Tour
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 Doyle Bramhall II – Experience Hendrix Tour
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 Jonny Lang – Experience Hendrix Tour
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 Jonny Lang – Experience Hendrix Tour
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 Jonny Lang & Brad Whitford – Experience Hendrix Tour
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 Brad Whitford – Experience Hendrix Tour
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 Vernon Reid – Experience Hendrix Tour
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 Living Colour – Experience Hendrix Tour
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 Vernon Reid & Joe Satriani – Experience Hendrix Tour
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 Joe Satriani with Living Colour- Experience Hendrix Tour
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 Joe Satriani – Experience Hendrix Tour
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Justin Vernon & Steve Kimock | 01.21 | NY
January 27th, 2010 |
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Words by: Ryan Dembinsky | Images by: Greg Notch
Justin Vernon & Steve Kimock :: 01.21.10 :: Merkin Concert Hall :: New York, NY
 Justin Vernon :: 01.21 :: NY Guitar Fest |
A day trip out to the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria would provide the ideal prerequisite for the New York Guitar Festival’s Silent Films/Live Guitars series. The delightful multimedia museum hosts a particularly relevant hands-on exhibit, whereby visitors pony up to computer editing stations where they are given the opportunity to experiment with well known movie scenes by selecting between various musical selections to set the feeling for the scene.
The lesson comes across, clear as day, that while the scene remains the same, by applying soundtracks from vastly different musical genres, the tone and overall feel of the scene changes dramatically. Interestingly, what each amateur music supervisor quickly discovers is that there really exists no right or wrong in selecting the music for movies. To an extent, it can be said that a chase scene, for example, requires a composition with some degree of tension and up-tempo driving beat, but this can be as effectively conveyed via bluegrass or percussion and sparse keyboards as with gritty, hard-charging rock.
To that end, the New York Guitar Festival presents brilliant programming whereby they invite prominent guitarists to compose entirely original, custom scores to accompany timeless silent films. In essence, this makes for an interesting study in how different musicians – and different minds in general – interpret the feelings that a film evokes.
This particular week of the month-long series at Merkin Concert Hall played host to two virtual polar opposites in Steve Kimock (accompanied by his son John Morgan Kimock on drums) and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver (accompanied by Chris Rosenau, his longtime mentor and bandmate from Volcano Choir). As expected, both duets took wildly different approaches to their scores, but interestingly, both refrained almost entirely from playing the cartoonish, reactionary, sound effect-laden type of playing – a la Batman – that we might expect given the slapstick nature of the subject matter, with Kimock accompanying Buster Keaton‘s Cops and Vernon holding court for Charlie Chaplin‘s One A.M. and Easy Street.
 Steve & John Morgan Kimock :: 01.21 :: NY Guitar Fest |
To begin the performance, John Schaefer from WNYC’s Soundcheck introduced Steve and John Morgan Kimock, followed by a brief Q&A session with Steve, whereby he elaborated on his approach to the piece. As expected, Kimock professed that he and John Morgan planned to take a more improvisational approach to the subject matter, having pre-composed some general themes and segments but coming at it largely without a net.
The most convincing parts of the Kimock segment came via the bookend music that began and ended the film, where John Morgan played a simple melodica melody alongside a Wes Montgomery-esque jazz piece by Steve that resulted in a mood-setting French jazz theme. For the rest of the roughly 20 minute film, Steve stuck with a chord-based jazz guitar feel, altering his tempos and offering the occasional departure based on plot events, but for the most part John Morgan took care of the action, offering comical crashes, thuds, and thumps to reflect Buster Keaton’s mishaps.
By contrast, Justin Vernon and Chris Rosenau explained that they composed and wrote out their piece, collaborating for over a year on their particular scores. Musically, they took a wholly different route, opening up the first of their two films with Rosenau employing an EBow – a guitarist plaything that utilizes vibrations to emulate the bow of a stringed instrument – to create a snake-charming Middle Eastern theme to set the tone. From there, they kept their heads down and created sonic lasagna, layering heaps of effects, harmonics, looping violin plucks, and sweeping ambient chord progressions. Beautiful.
 Rosenau & Vernon :: 01.21 :: NY Guitar Fest |
The Vernon and Rosenau performance came across particularly astonishing given the nature of the narrative found in Charlie Chaplin films. One A.M., for example, highlights as Vernon joked, “Something we are both intimately familiar with,” namely struggling to make it to bed after an evening of inebriation. The plotline essentially consists of Chaplin falling down the stairs repeatedly and bumbling endlessly with a Murphy bed. Clearly, the natural temptation would be to cater to these mishaps by including playful trills and comical wah-wahs to acknowledge Chaplin’s repeated failures at achieving the most basic of tasks. Instead, the pair composed a beautiful song that could easily find a home on a Built to Spill or Pavement album. One chase scene did cater entirely to the action, delivering a wonderfully tense and action-packed segment that proclaimed, “You better run, man!”
Despite his reclusive nature since his rapid ascent to indie royalty, Justin Vernon came across as the nicest of guys, offering sincere thanks to everyone who came out to see this unique event. The pair clearly took a lot of enjoyment from working on such a fresh project, noting “how crazy we must have looked when anyone walked in to see us sitting right up in front of the TV with all of our guitar gear watching silent movies.”
Hopefully for Bon Iver fans, material of this ilk makes its way into the catalog – or perhaps that Bon Iver fans seek out some Volcano Choir – as folks who know Vernon more for his strum-oriented folk guitar playing will be amazed by his technical proficiency, specifically his skill with a pedal board.
The joy of the New York Guitar Festival came only in part from seeing two of today’s preeminent musicians in an intimate setting, but more so from taking the opportunity to think about the ways people convey different emotions with music, and ultimately thinking about how you yourself would approach it. This New York Guitar Festival program marks one of the truly fresh ideas in live music today, and frankly, it’s addictive. The post-show conversations with friends that come from seeing music in this context earn the price of admission alone. Visitors one week will no doubt want to return the following week, and the following week, and the week after that.
More information on the New York Guitar Festival, including the remaining schedule, can be found at newyorkguitarfestival.org.
Continue reading for more pics of the New York Guitar Festival…
 Steve Kimock
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 Steve & John Morgan Kimock
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 Steve & John Morgan Kimock
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 Chris Rosenau
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 Chris Rosenau & Justin Vernon
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JamBase | Inspired
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NY Guitar Festival’s 2nd Week
January 19th, 2010 |
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THE NEW YORK GUITAR FESTIVAL ADDS ARTISTS TO LINEUP
 James Blackshaw |
The New York Guitar Festival announced two additional performances in its 2010 offerings, both at Le Poisson Rouge. January 26 welcomes an evening of exquisite finger-style guitar featuring music by James Blackshaw, Max Ochs, Ben Hall, and Nick Jonah Davis, while February 2 serves up Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog and Skeleton$.
The New York Guitar Festival launched its 10th event with a free opening night performance at World Financial Center’s Winter Garden by Slide guitarist Debashish Bhattacharya. Among India’s most esteemed musicians, Bhattacharya lured the packed house with music both soulfully serene and frenetically ferocious. Catch a glimpse here.
The festival boasts over 30 exceptional guitarists of jazz, classical, rock, traditional, and avant garde styles. Participating venues include Merkin Concert Hall, The 92nd Street Y, The World Financial Center’s Winter Garden, Le Poisson Rouge and Barbes.
Concerts range from an all-day Guitar Marathon interpreting the music of J.S. Bach and his contemporaries, (featuring, among other internationally-famous musicians, the Brazilian Guitar Quartet, Paul O’Dette, Ana Vidovic, Eliot Fisk, Paul Galbraith and Nigel North) to the Hindustani slide guitar music of Bhattacharya.
The festival also has a history of commissioning remarkable original works, and the 2010 season breaks yet more new ground by presenting ten classic silent films (seven by Chaplin, one by Keaton and two by Harry Smith) accompanied by original scores performed live by a spectacularly rich and varied coterie of guitarists: Gyan Riley, Alex de Grassi, Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver), Steve Kimock, David Bromberg and the members of Chicha Libre.
The New York Guitar Festival, a not-for-profit arts organization, was founded in 1999 by musician and producer David Spelman, who serves as its Artistic Director. The Festival’s goal is to broaden the public’s appreciation for the guitar by fostering emerging talent, supporting innovative collaborations among outstanding artists, and commissioning new works. In addition to producing eclectic concerts and radio broadcasts, its Guitar Harvest series of recordings supports outreach programs in New York City public schools.
View the entire festival schedule here.
The Dawning of Dawes
January 8th, 2010 |
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By: Nancy Dunham
 Dawes by Matt Jacoby |
Receiving your first electric guitar from Miles Joseph, one of Bob Dylan’s regular collaborators, is certainly enough to make one want to become a musician.
At least that’s how Taylor Goldsmith, lead singer of Dawes, felt when that happened to him while Joseph was visiting Goldsmith’s dad Lenny Goldsmith, former lead singer for Tower of Power and Sweathog.
“He had brought three Stratocasters with him and while he and my folks were hanging out he said, ‘You should go play my guitars,’” said Goldsmith. “They were three amazing Stratocasters, just about as cool as it gets. At the end of the night he said, ‘Which is your favorite of the three?’ and when I told him he gave it to me… I was so happy and grateful he gave me this amazing Stratocaster!”
Then a young teenager, Goldsmith had wanted to become a musician ever since he was in grade school. He and his buddies formed rock bands where prestige was paramount and he said “good songwriting wasn’t any sort of priority.” That changed, of course, leading Goldsmith to start Dawes, which has had its share of critical and popular kudos including a piece in Rolling Stone. The transformation in Goldsmith’s musical direction was made after some serious soul searching.
“Once [the band I was in] broke up, I wanted to figure out if I was going to keep going,” he said. “At that point I was 21 and I thought, what are my reasons for wanting to be a musician? Before my reasons were to be 17 as long as I could. For any musician, that is cool if that’s what you want. But when I got older I started evaluating what I really wanted to do.”
 Dawes by Matt Fruen |
Goldsmith’s dad raised his sons on a steady diet of Otis Redding, James Brown and other soul music, instilling in them the idea that performance and tight execution were of the upmost importance.
“When I told my dad about Bob Dylan [when I was younger] he said ‘Don’t waste your time, he can’t sing,” said Goldsmith. “When I got older and realized how great [Dylan] is I played songs for my dad and even he thought the stuff was really good. I feel like because of the world I grew up in my dad took an extra step and realized [Dylan's brilliance].”
Not that Goldsmith’s father hadn’t made earlier concessions to his son’s musical tastes. A keyboard player, he was sympathetic when his son wanted to play guitar.
“When I was 11, I picked up a guitar and started learning and applying it to piano,” recalled Goldsmith. [My dad] helped me learn to sing and helped my brother [Griffin Goldsmith who plays drums in Dawes] as well. When I was growing up I always knew I wanted to be a musician. There was never a time in my life when I was confronted with not knowing what I wanted to do.”
 Dawes |
Although the family is from Malibu, Goldsmith is quick to correct any impressions that they are wealthy, noting they came from North Hills (also the name of the group’s debut album, released by ATO on August 18, 2009), a place he called “the grimiest part of the Valley. People have ideas about what Malibu is but that’s not me or my family.”
What did define his family was music, which is why his father heeded his pleas to buy him a guitar when he was only 11.
“He wanted me to play guitar but he told me, ‘you’re a little kid and you’ve got to realize I’m not buying you a really good guitar,’” laughed Goldsmith. “We went to the store and we bought literally the cheapest guitar we could get, a $60 guitar. It sounded bad and it was hard to play. I was just learning and got a guitar book to learn chords the best I could. When I could move my fingers fast enough to play chords, I started writing dumb little 12 year old kid songs.”
What fueled Goldsmith’s creativity more than anything, he said, is that his parents never held him back.
 Dawes by Matt Jacoby |
“I thought, I know a lot of records and even though I don’t know the first thing about how to write, I’ll try. As a 12 year old after learning three chords and writing my first song – something like ‘Why don’t you like me,’ nobody told me I shouldn’t write, to wait and learn more,” he said. “That probably would have stayed with me. But instead, they let me strum and sing. As a little kid it just came really easily.” So easily, in fact, that at age 24 song writing sounds almost as if its second nature
to Goldsmith these days.
Perhaps it’s not surprising that much of Goldsmith’s music – like those of his idols Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Randy Newman, Warren Zevon, and others – is drawn from personal inspirations and experiences. Dawes’ music, especially on North Hills, tends to be acoustic with lush harmonies and strong vocals weaving throughout. Think of them as musical vignettes and you have the right idea.
“Listen to ‘The French Inhaler’ about Norman Mailer by Warren Zevon. That hits me hard on an emotional level” said Goldsmith. “It’s not his story and it’s so impressive that he’s able to maintain his scope as a writer and stay varied. Every time I go down that road and try to make up a person I want to do it but I give myself a hard time. It’s very personal and you have to feel confident enough to make it work.”
The buzz around the band – which also includes bass player Wylie Gelber and guitarist Alex Casnoff – has landed them some high profile headlining gigs and Goldsmith and his band mates are busy fine-tuning the live act.
“I think we’re pretty darned hard on ourselves; sometimes it’s good,” he said. “In our live shows we are very conscious of the fact that we are a support band. Now we are looking at these amazing bands with great live reputations like Wilco, My Morning Jacket, Tom Petty, and The Grateful Dead. There is so much nuance and so much going on that maybe not everybody picks up on but it’s what makes them the best of the best. So we always [critique] our shows saying this could have been better. But we’re really trying hard to develop it.”
Dawes tour dates available here.
Go here to download a free Dawes song.
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Rory Gallagher: Crest of a Wave
November 4th, 2009 |
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By: Dennis Cook
Time has been both kind and unkind to Rory Gallagher. One of the sturdiest musicians to emerge from the 1960s, the Irish guitar wizard finally has a wonderful introductory collection, and hopefully this incredibly well-picked anthology will help swell the dedicated cult that’s kept going strong since his passing in 1994. Full of blues soul, Gallagher was also a stellar chronicler of the life & atmosphere of road dogs and compelling outsiders, and these 24 tracks offer ample examples that’ll stop you in your tracks, particularly if you’re new to Gallagher’s work. His rep is largely based on his fluid, explosively inventive guitar playing, and that too gets a solid airing on Crest of a Wave (released August 25 on Eagle Records). If he’d accepted The Rolling Stones invitation to be Mick Taylor’s replacement in ’75 then the world would surely know his name, but as is there’s many who consider Gallagher the equal (or better) of Clapton, Beck, and Page. His offhand dexterity and easy flow set his playing apart from that holy trinity, but more importantly, the man always plays to the song, using solos only when they add something organic. And unlike a lot of so-called classic rock artists, there’s no drop-off in quality from his beginning to too-early end. Crest of a Wave offers a terrific door into Gallagher’s immensely rich world, and those who step through will likely find themselves as dumbstruck and pleased as existing converts.
JamBase | Million Miles Away
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Tues Double Shot: Trower
September 29th, 2009 |
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SUCH A LOT OF FEELING IN THIS GUITAR HERO!
 Robin Trower |
In the tradition of ’70s FM radio, JamBase’s new Tuesday offering presents readers with a pair of fab tunes from an artist worthy of the Double Shot treatment. Last week we rocked out with Brian Eno, and this week it’s Robin Trower‘s turn.
While never as feted as fellow Brits like Eric Clapton or Jimmy Page, especially in the States, amongst a certain crowd Trower is equally revered. He briefly made the U.S. charts in the 1970s with his extraordinary trio and from that stretch we offer up the title cut from 1974′s Bridge of Sighs. Besides Trower’s amazing, emotive guitar work, note the killer lead vocal from bassist James Dewar, one of rock’s largely undiscovered treasures. Not every man can sell a line like, “Cold wind blows and gods look down in anger on this poor child.” And the second half of Trower’s double shot is the incendiary “Whiskey Train” from his Procol Harum days. Stay calm and rock on, children!
Robin Trower is still an active force, hitting clubs and theatres worldwide. Find his tour dates here.