Eric Johnson collected three awards at the 2010/2011 Austin Music Awards, held March 19 at the Austin Music Hall. He was recognized in the ategories”Best Electric Guitar,” “Best Acoustic Guitar,” and “Best Instrumental Band.”
Johnson has recorded six studio albums , his latest being 2010’s Up Close, which included guest appearances from Sonny Landreth, Steve Miller, Jimmie Vaughan and Jonny Lang. Since 1982, he has won an unprecedented 33 awards at the Austin Music Awards. He is perhaps best known for his 1990 release, Ah Via Musicom, is platinum-certified, and its single “Cliffs of Dover.” He won a Grammy for “Best Rock Instrumental Performance” in 1991. Learn more at ericjohnson.com.
Guitarfetish.com‘s new Slickstraps is a line of leather guitar straps designed by guitarist Earl Slick, whose career spans three decades and includes roles as guitarist for David Bowie and John Lennon, as well as his own project, Phantom Rocker and Slick. Slickstraps are 5-mm tanned strap hand-painted in one of several base coats, with Slick-designed artwork applied by hand. The strap is then subject to an “aging” process. Each is extra-long, and fully adjustable. Learn more at guitarfetish.com.
Collectors, fans and musicians gathered at Bonhams New York yesterday for a sale of 75 guitars and 55 amps from the collection of Eric Clapton. The items were auctioned to benefit The Crossroads Centre in Antigua. With 100 percent of the lots sold, the final auction total more than tripled pre-sale expectations, with proceeds going to the drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre founded by Clapton in 1998.
Bidders from all four corners of the globe battled throughout the 4 ½ hour auction and included clients from the U.S., Asia, Australasia, UK, Europe, and the Caribbean. Notably, a private Russian Eric Clapton fan and collector showed keen interest in the room and Asian participants included those from Japan, Korea and Hong Kong.
“It has been a privilege and an honour working on this exceptional sale and being associated with one of the most iconic living musicians, Eric Clapton,” said Jon Baddeley, Worldwide Head of Collectables at Bonhams. “Arguably the greatest guitarist of all time, Eric Clapton inspires an ever-expanding fan base, many of whom made the journey to Bonhams in New York over the past few days and joined us for this remarkable auction. We were delighted to play our part in raising funds for The Crossroads Centre, a charity with a noble mission and a cause that remains very close to Eric’s heart.”
Guitar highlights included a 1948 Gibson L-5P that sold for $82,960 and a 2005 Zemaitis S22BP 3S that sold for $75,640. The top amp of the sale was a pair of 1997 Fender Twin Amps that sold for $42,700.
Godlyke’s Providence DLY-4 Chrono Delay provides tap-to-delay settings and can memorize two delay times and toggle between them. The direct signal stays in the analog domain from input to output, passing through the acclaimed Providence Vitalizer switching circuit so that no signal degradation occurs. A high-performance analog mixer circuit recombines direct signal with delayed signal.
After the delay signal is converted back to analog format, it is processed via analog Echo Hardness, Feedback, and Mix controls for a blend with the direct signal. The result is a high-resolution delay effect. The Chrono Delay features a simple interface that allows fast, intuitive user control. Learn more at godlyke.com.
Journey is set to release its latest album of new material, Eclipse. The album will be released in the U.S. and Canada on May 24 exclusively at Walmart and beginning June 3 in Europe on Frontiers Records. To follow the release of Eclipse, Journey will launch the Eclipse Tour with Foreigner, and special guest Night Ranger, beginning July 21 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City, UT. Fans can expect to hear new songs from Eclipse as well as classics such as “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Any Way You Want It,” “Faithfully,” “Lights,” “Separate Ways,” Wheel In The Sky,” and many more. The Eclipse Tour dates are listed below.
“I’m in love with this record, which I haven’t said about one of our albums for a long time,” says founding member and lead guitarist, Neal Schon. “It’s a rock record and it sounds amazing.” Commenting on the upcoming tour, Schon continued, “We’ve got a lot of hits to play and there’s plenty of time to do some new stuff too, so we’re gonna mix it up. We haven’t toured with Foreigner for over 10 years, so we’re really looking forward to this run.”
Tickets for the tour go on sale March 11. Check journeymusic.com for more.
Tab Benoit will release a new album tiled Medicine, his seventh solo release on Telarc International, April 19. The disc is an 11-track recording with seven new Benoit originals co-written with Anders Osborne, and includes Osborne on guitar, Brady Blade on drums, Ivan Neville on keyboards, and Michael Doucet of BeauSoleil on fiddle.
Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Steely Dan dazzled the public and critics alike in 2009 with their classic-albums-in-full “Rent PartyTour.” Now the band is responding to overwhelming popular demand andreturning to give fans more Steely Dan action with a new summer tour, Shuffle Diplomacy Twenty Eleven. This year’s tour, which kicks off in Seattle on July 2 and concludes in Boston on September 28, will showcase greatest hits and deep cuts alike; plus select cities will feature performances of complete albums plus fan voting online to determine a night’s set. Steely Dan masterminds Walter Becker and Donald Fagen have announced this year’s program will also include special guests, and an idealistic strategy for World Peace. Acclaimed jazz artist Sam Yahel is on board as the tour’s main support act.
For Shuffle Diplomacy Twenty Eleven, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker are back with their awesome group of players, now dubbed the Miles High Big Band, and their saucy backup trio, the Embassy Brats. The Band and the Brats include Keith Carlock (drums); Jon Herington (guitar); Freddie Washington (bass); Jim Beard (keys); Michael Leonhart, Walt Weiskopf, Roger Rosenberg and Jim Pugh (horns); plus background singers Carolyn Leonhart, Cindy Mizelle, and Catherine Russell.
Cort Guitars has revised the MR710-F with improved electronics, upgraded, multiple abalone rosette inlay, body and neck binding, advanced scalloped X-bracing and genuine bone nut and saddle for enhanced tone.
The MR710-F is a dreadnought body, acoustic/electric guitar with cutaway made of a solid Sitka spruce top and mahogany back and sides. The neck is also made of mahogany and topped with a rosewood fingerboard. The guitar is also equipped with the Fishman Sonicore pickup under the saddle, controlled by a Fishman Classic 4T EQ. The guitar is available in a clear gloss finish, black gloss finish, or a natural satin finish. See more at cortguitars.com.
Neil Young will embark on a solo tour that will kick off April 15 in North Carolina, and conclude May 7 in Chicago. The tour, which will include stops with a pair of nights at Boston’s Wang Center and two shows at Avery Fisher Hall in NYC’s Lincoln Center, will cover songs from his current acclaimed album, <em>Le Noise</em> as well as classic tracks in both electric and acoustic settings. Young recently won a Grammy for "Best Rock Song" for "Angry World," from <em>Le Noise</em>, which was also nominated for "Best Rock Album."
The eight-song <em>Le Noise</em>, among Young’s most critically-embraced albums, is a collaboration between the musician, songwriter, and multiple Grammy Award-winning producer Daniel Lanois, known for his work with U2, Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, The Neville Brothers and many others. <em>Le Noise</em> was released in September.
Peter Frampton will embark on a world tour in June, celebrating his multi-platinum-selling live album <em>Frampton Comes Alive!</em>, performing the album in its entirety across the U.S., Canada, Europe, South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. A schedule of confirmed dates will be available shortly.
The three-hour show will feature a complete performance of <em>Frampton Comes Alive!</em> along with highlights from Frampton’s catalog, including his Grammy Award-winning instrumental album, <em>Fingerprints</em>.
Frampton remains one of the most celebrated artists and guitarists in rock history. At 16, he was lead singer and guitarist for British teen band the Herd. At 18, he co-founded one of the first super groups, seminal rock act Humble Pie. His fifth solo album, <em>Frampton Comes Alive!</em> is one of the top-selling live records of all time. Learn more at PeterFrampton.com.
