New Music Cheat Sheet: Must-have Summer Releases
As much as we love summer, it’s easy for the summer heat to get us down. Instead of seeing live music, most of the time we just want to sit instead blasting the air-conditioning and trying not to sweat ourselves to death. Thankfully five CDs have come out recently that are brilliant enough to remind us that great music can beat even the roughest summertime heat—and these releases, which range from country to indie rock, prove there are still plenty of relevant artists out there writing songs that matter. Heat or no heat, the least that we can do is listen.
Monday, August 31, 2009 11:38 AM
Classic Amps: The 1954 Gibson GA-5 Les Paul Junior Amp
Beginner amps, starter amps, student amps, call them what you will—the small, low-wattage tube amplifier has been with us for many years, and guitarists today know them for the little tone machines they are. Gibson’s entry in this category has been one of its longest running models, making its original run from 1954-’67, and appearing again in 2004 as a reissue model. The diminutive GA-5 was originally released when Gibson needed a small partner amp to accompany its Les Paul Junior guitar, introduced in 1954 as the company’s first solidbody “student” model. Although its circuit and appearance evolved over the years, it has always retained its unfettered tonal purity.
Friday, August 28, 2009 1:18 PM
Gibson Interview: Sammy Hagar Talks Chickenfoot, Guitars, And Songwriting
To paraphrase a well-known ad slogan, with a name like Chickenfoot they had better be good.
Friday, August 28, 2009 11:29 AM
Big Bill Morganfield — Muddy Waters’ Son — Stakes Out His Legacy With a Gibson ES-347
Big Bill Morganfield’s got his daddy’s high cheekbones and the same dusty deep-chocolate resonance in the low end of his voice. And over the years he’s acquired a similarly whinnying style of slide guitar that’s displayed on his new album Born Lover.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009 10:53 AM
Legendary Guitars: Maybelle Carter’s 1928 Gibson L-5
We might usually think of the true “legendary guitar” as being an electric played by a rock god, or perhaps a flat-top acoustic that helped to establish the folk-rock boom. But one archaic archtop—an instrument not wielded by a jazz star, even—has arguably seen more American musical history in the making than any other single guitar the world over. In 1927, country music originators The Carter Family made their first recordings (the now famous “Bristol Sessions” recorded in Bristol, TN) and started tasting success, and one year later their singer and guitarist Maybelle Carter used a little of those earnings to buy herself a brand new Gibson L-5 archtop acoustic guitar. Carter’s L-5 would be used throughout The Carter Family’s recorded catalogue of more than 300 songs, as well as her tenure as “Mother” Maybelle Carter with her daughters Anita, Helen, and June, and would serve to lay the foundations of country, bluegrass, and American folk music—earning Carter the title of “Queen Mother of Country Music” in the process. But in 1928 she was just a girl of 19 with a new guitar, and boy how she loved to play it.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 4:03 PM
Country Guitar Wizard Steve Wariner Tells You How to Sound Like Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins’ signature guitar was dubbed the Country Gentleman for good reason. The model reflected its namesake’s courtly demeanor as well as his impeccable, clear-toned technique — a style Atkins chiseled under a list of influences that includes Merle Travis, Django Reinhardt, Les Paul, Charlie Christian, and George Barnes.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 3:43 PM
Gibson Interview: Tenacious D Get Psyched for Outside Lands Festival
We couldn’t be more thrilled when we found out that Tenacious D was stepping in to cover for the ailing Beastie Boys at this weekend’s Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco. The comedy folk-metal duo featuring Jack Black and Kyle Glass are not only proud Gibson players, but stars of one of our favorite rock and roll movies in recent memory, “The Pick of Destiny.” They’ll be closing out the three-day festival in Golden Gate Park that will also see performances by the likes of Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, M.I.A. and about 80 other acts. But are they ready for a major festival? We called up the guys to find out. In return, the told us about crawling up Metallica’s armpit.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 10:09 AM
Geek Out: Five More Essential iPhone Applications, Part Two
Let’s face it, there are too many cool iPhone applications for musicians that we couldn’t limit our list to just five—so here we present you with another batch of programs that you’ll want to download as soon as you finish reading this. From instructional tools to creativity enhancing apps, all of these programs unlock the full potential of your iPhone (and iPod Touch) and also hopefully hint at the technological advantages that will be available in the next few years. Because if these applications are any indication of upcoming technology for musicians, the future possibilities are literally unimaginable.
Monday, August 24, 2009 2:06 PM
That’s Not All, Folks: Chuck Ragan Launches the Second Annual Revival Tour
The folk tradition has long been based on a communal spirit that sees outcasts banding together on boxcars and writing protest songs because they have no other choice. While this sentiment has sadly been lost over the years, Hot Water Music co-frontman and accomplished solo artist Chuck Ragan is doing his best to bring it back to the forefront of the music community. Correspondingly last year he launched the Revival Tour, a traveling road show of sorts that saw him performing alongside a rotating cast of troubadours including Against Me!’s Tom Gabel, Avail’s Tim Barry and Lucero’s Ben Nichols (among others). However in true folk fashion, in addition to performing solo these musicians would come onstage to collaborate on each other’s songs with little regard to set lists or time constraints.
Monday, August 24, 2009 1:33 PM
Happy Birthday John Lee Hooker : His 10 Best Guitar Boogies
Next time you’re listening to Z.Z. Top, George Thorogood, the Animals, R.L. Burnside, and a whole host of classic rockers and post-’50s electric bluesmen who’ve written percolating one-chord stomps, think of John Lee Hooker.
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