Category: Newswire

Seymour W. Duncan and Cathy Carter Duncan, founders and owners of Seymour Duncan Pickups and Pedals, today announced the appointment of Phil Ressler as CEO and President. A long-time guitar player and collector, Ressler is a seasoned executive leader who shares Seymour and Cathy’s ideas for the company’s evolution. He also brings a strong personal vision for Seymour Duncan’s future, rooted in his extensive experience developing companies.

"I’m honored to be working with Seymour and Cathy," says Ressler. "Seymour is truly a genius of expressive guitar tone, and from the very beginning Cathy’s diligence and commitment to customers developed the company into a sustained success supporting the efforts of guitar and bass players, from the biggest names in music to those just starting out. I have great respect for both the quality of the products and the conscientious way in which the company approaches the fretted instruments community."

Blind Pig recording artist Robin Rogers, who was admitted to the hospital on August 18th with serious liver problems, has now been diagnosed with liver cancer. She was hospitalized for complications caused by Hepatitis C, and a CT scan prior to surgery revealed an untreatable cancerous tumor on her liver. She is not a candidate for a liver transplant so she has been sent home for hospice care.

There has been a major outpouring of support and care since the announcement of the hospitalization by her husband Tony on Robin’s Facebook page. Announcements were made of the establishment of a Robin Rogers Medical Trust Fund to cover medical expenses.
However, while this fund will help with astronomical hospital and medical bills, it does not cover other expenses such as hospice care and and basic living expenses. Robin will not be able to return to the stage, and Tony, her musical partner, will be out of work for the foreseeable future. Like most musicians, Robin and Tony do not have health insurance and depend on touring income for their livelihood. Expenses for hospice care, medicine, and everyday living will be extremely high.

Fans who are interested in providing help directly to the family can donate by sending a check (made out to Tony Rogers) to: Robin Rogers c/o Piedmont Talent Agency, P.O. Box 680006, Charlotte, NC 28216. In addition, the Charlotte Blues Society has set up a PayPal account, with 100% of the proceeds benefitting Robin.

Fans can also help by purchasing CDs from her website: www.robinrogers.com. Benefits and fundraising efforts are also being organized, and fans can follow developments on a newly created Facebook page: Robin Rogers Benefit Central.
A benefit and silent auction being organized by producer Jim Brock and friend Scott Cable will be held at the Double Door Inn in Charlotte, North Carolina on October 24. The day-long event will feature performances by Jim Brock, Bob Margolin, the Voodoo Brothers, WSNB, and special guest Sheila Carlisle. Tickets are $20. For further information on starting times or to donate items for the auction, please see the Facebook Benefit page referenced above. An earlier benefit will also be held at the Double Door, on September 26th, featuring the Cary Sims Trio, Part-Time Blues Band, House on Fire & Monday Night All -Stars.

Rogers is an accomplished singer and talented harmonica player who has emerged over the past few years as a major player in the blues world. Following the release of her national debut CD, Treat Me Right, she won the 2009 Blues Blast Award for "Best Female Artist." Her new CD, Back In The Fire, will be released on September 14.

Dillon Campbell, son of the legendary musician Glen Campbell announced that he will be releasing a 4-song E.P. entitled <em>Save Yourself</em> Silver Zipper Records.

<em>Save Yourself</em>, actually a sampler of tracks from Campbell’s forthcoming release, will be available digitally at all major online retailers and physically at live dates only. While there is no firm release date for Campbell’s sophomore full length, <em>Journals for the Brokenhearted</em>, his E.P. features a spectrum of tracks that are diverse as they are different. From ragtime to indie rock, Campbell isn’t a musician to play it safe or even straight-ahead. While lyrically dark, <em>Save Yourself</em> is sonically somewhere between the rough and ready Dinosaur Jr. and the shiny glimmer of Paul Williams.

Campbell plans to perform live dates in Southern California.

Dropkick Murphys have announced December tour dates in Australia and New Zealand as part of the No Sleep Til…Festival 2010. Touring in support of their <em>Live On Lansdowne, Boston MA</em> CD/DVD (Born &amp; Bred Records/ILG), which captures the intensity and camaraderie of 2009’s sold-out St. Patrick’s Day week hometown shows in Boston, Dropkick Murphys will join Megadeth, NOFX, Parkway Drive, Gwar, Frenzal Rhomb and more at each festival date.

For more, go to dropkickmurphys.com.

Extending the 20th anniversary celebration of the release of its classic 1989 album Doolittle, the Pixies are about to kick off the second leg of its U.S. "Doolittle Tour," performing the groundbreaking album in its entirety. At all of these shows, fans will have the opportunity to commemorate the evening by taking that night’s performance home with them. Beginning at next week’s September 7 kick-off at Tower Theatre in Philadelphia, fans can purchase a CD of that night’s show about 10-minutes after the Pixies finish their encore. The CD can be purchased at the venue, or can be pre-ordered at www.doolittlelive.com; fans can choose to either pick the CD up at their local Pixies show, or have it sent to them. And for those who can’t make it to any of the 16 shows on this leg, the CDs for all of the shows will be available through www.doolittlelive.com

Abbey Road Live Events will be recording every Pixies show from the September 7 show all the way through the end of the tour in San Diego, CA on September 26. The shows will be offered as limited edition, high quality CD sets – each CD set having two discs in it, and each CD set being individually numbered. The two-CD sets will be mixed and mastered every night – resulting in full, multi-track mixes, not board mixes. The CDs are strictly limited edition – only 1,000 will be made per night for each show.

"It’s a great pleasure to be working with the Pixies once again," says Zach Bair, head of Abbey Road Live Events in the Americas. "We’re excited to be able to offer these limited edition products so that the Pixies’ fans can take something home that’s really memorable and special."

Columbia Records will release Bruce Springsteen’s <em>The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story</em> on Nov 16. The Deluxe Package comprises over six hours of film and more than two hours of audio across 3 CDs and 3 DVDs. The media contents are packaged within an 80-page notebook containing facsimiles from Springsteen’s original notebooks from the recording sessions, which include alternate lyrics, song ideas, recording details, and personal notes in addition to a new essay by Springsteen and never-before-seen photographs. Containing a wealth of previously unreleased material, <em>The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story</em> offers an unprecedented look into Springsteen’s creative process during a defining moment in his career. ‘The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story’ will additionally be released as a 3CD/3 Blu Ray disc set.

The set will be available as ‘The Promise,’ an edition which consists of only the unheard complete songs on two CDs or four LPs, along with lyrics and the new essay by Springsteen.

"’Darkness’ was my ‘samurai’ record," Springsteen says, "stripped to the frame and ready to rumble…But the music that got left behind was substantial." For the first time, fans will have access to two discs containing a total of 21 previously-unreleased songs from the ‘Darkness’ recording sessions, songs that, as Springsteen writes, "perhaps could have/should have been released after ‘Born To Run’ and before the collection of songs that ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’ became."

Highlights include the extraordinary rock version of "Racing in the Street," the never-before-released original recordings of "Because the Night," "Fire," and "Rendezvous," the supreme pop opus "Someday (We’ll Be Together)," the hilarious "Ain’t Good Enough for You," the superb soul-based vocal performance on "The Brokenhearted," the utterly haunting "Breakaway," and the fully orchestrated masterpiece and title song "The Promise." All 21 songs have been mixed by Springsteen’s long-time collaborator Bob Clearmountain. According to long-time manager/producer Jon Landau, "There isn’t a weak card in this deck. ‘The Promise’ is simply a great listening experience."

The Deluxe Package also features <em>The Promise: The Making of ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town'</em>, a documentary directed by Grammy- and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Thom Zimny. The ninety-minute film combines never-before-seen footage of Springsteen and the E Street Band shot between 1976 and 1978–including home rehearsals and studio sessions–with new interviews with Springsteen, E Street Band members, manager Jon Landau, former-manager Mike Appel, and others closely involved in the making of the record. Advanced word on the documentary is so strong that it was invited to debut at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival on September 14 and will make its television debut on HBO on October 7.

Learn more at brucespringsteen.net

Vox Amplification has announced an entirely new lineup of hand-wired AC15 and AC30 amplifiers. Created for the amp enthusiast, the Hand-Wired Series includes innovations to satisfy the versatility a modern player needs. Included are four combo models, plus a head and matching extension cabinet.

The ultimate take on the Vox classics, these amplifiers make use of high quality components, an all-tube design, hand-wired turret board construction, and over 50 years of Vox AC15 and AC30 refinements.

Finished in fawn-colored vinyl reminiscent of the 1960s AC amplifiers, the birch-ply cabinets feature solid, tight bracing and a natural high frequency diffuser. Matched Ruby Tubes are used throughout for an extended dynamic range. All models provide three 12AX7/ECC83 preamp tubes. The AC30 models are equipped with an EL84 quartet in the power stage and a GZ34 rectifier. Inside the AC15 models, a duet of EL84 tubes drive the power stage, while an EZ81 is used for the rectifier. The 12" speaker choices include the Celestion GM12 Greenback or Celestion AlNiCo Blue.

The models in the Vox Hand-Wired Series utilize the traditional Vox two-channel design, offering a Normal and a Top-Boost channel, with High and Low inputs provided for each. A number of important features have been added to allow modern versatility. The Normal channel is equipped with a Bright switch for added brilliance. The Hot/Cool switch (also accessible via the included VFS1 footswitch) allows the Top-Boost channel to achieve even more gain. In true "old-school" fashion, the MV/BYPASS completely bypasses the Master Volume section. Finally, the Output Power (OP) switch will cut the amp’s output power in half, making it easier to balance the need for gain against a range of listening levels. A custom-fit dust cover is included with every model.

Learn more at voxamps.com.

Three of the most popular, talented, innovative and musically rich guitar players and composers in contemporary music will bring their acoustic guitars together to perform and interact on stages across America this October and in January, 2011, when Eric Johnson, Andy McKee, and Peppino D’Agostino meet on the Guitar Masters tour. The 21-date/two-leg run of theaters, colleges, and clubs will feature sets by each capped with a finale where all three collaborate to offer an engaging and enlightening aural feast of acoustic six-string mastery and melodic brilliance.

The trek is sure to be an unforgettable musical experience for concertgoers that unites guitar virtuosos not just known for their awesome skills and technique but a mutual gift for song composition and melody and drawing out the full musicality of the solo acoustic guitar to near-orchestral dimensions. Creative sparks, one-time only stunning improvisations and mutual inspiration are sure to abound as they come together at the end of every show to offer a value-added concert bill that appeals to fans of many musical styles as well as guitar aficionados.

For dates and more, go to razorandtie.com.

Daisy Rock Girl Guitars is donating instruments to the Covenant House California and its musical program, Running Wild in the Night.

Founded by Mötley Crüe’s bassist Nikki Sixx, the program provides participants a chance to learn, practice, and perform music.

The largest non-profit agency serving homeless, trafficked, and at-risk youth in the state, Covenant House California has been impacting the lives of more than 150,000 youths in the Hollywood area since 1988 and the Bay Area since 1998. Open all-year round and 24 hours a day, this agency not only offers those in need a bed and a hot meal, but also hope, education, job training, life skills, medical attention, mental health counseling, and many opportunities to turn their lives around. In addition to the instruments donated, all proceeds from Daisy Rock Girl Guitars’ annual charity concert event, Pretty in Punk, will also be given to the Running Wild in the Night music program.

For more, visit daisyrock.com and covenanthousecalifornia.org.

Taylor Guitars has announced that the company will once again bring its fan-favorite Road Show to guitar lovers across the country this fall at over 100 in-store locations in North America. Now in its fourth year, the award-winning Road Show brings enthusiasts, Taylor clinicians and experts straight from the company’s factory in El Cajon, California together for a lively in-store gathering. At each event, Taylor’s Road Show team shares insights on the company’s guitar-making process and demonstrates how body shapes and woods affect tone. After the demonstration, players are invited to take part in the "Petting Zoo": an opportunity to pick up and play a variety of different models, as well as rare and custom Build to Order models. Admission to each Road Show is free.

The 2010 Fall Road Show schedule will kick off in early September with multiple dates along the West Coast with shows in Oregon and Washington, through the Midwest in Missouri and Nebraska, to be followed by dates in Canada and along the East Coast. Each Road Show attendee will receive a complimentary digital subscription to Premier Guitar magazine and, while supplies last, TaylorWare gear and Elixir strings. Attendees will have the chance to enter to win the grand prize, an opportunity to build their own custom guitar through Taylor’s Build to Order program.

In 2009, Taylor brought the Road Show to over 170 locations in the United States and Canada, and held over 30 events throughout Europe and Japan. The Taylor Guitars Road Show was awarded the 2008 Supplier Excellence Award from Music Inc. magazine in the category of Events for putting "the excitement of the company’s factory tours into retail dealers across the country."

For more information on Road Show dates and locations, please visit the official Taylor Guitars Road Show calendar at taylorguitars.com.