Category: Newswire

Influenced by the 1960s Verythin, Höfner’s new Verythins combine ’60s style with modern playability. Specs include all-nickel German hardware, Höfner Diamond mini humbucking pickups, ebony fingerboards, clay-dot inlays, spruce tops, flame maple back and sides, and a spruce center block.

Three models will be available. The Verythin Special has two pickups, individual Volume and Tone controls with master volume, and a three-way pickup selector. It’s available in Antique brown sunburst or dark cherry finish. The Verythin Custom three pickups controlled by Höfner’s Blend System wiring, master volume with two tone controls, and three-way pick-up selector. It is available in Antique brown sunburst finish. And the Verythin Single Cutaway has two pickups, individual Volume and Tone controls, and a Bigsby vibrato. It’s available in Light blue or black finish. Learn more at hofner.com.

Marvin Isley, bassist for the R&B/funk-infused group the Isley Brothers, died June 6 in Chicago. He was 56.

Isley joined his older brothers in the group in the early 1970s, and started working on <em>3+3</em>, the group’s first gold album. His playing helped usher in a funkier side of the group, with well-known staples such as "Fight the Power," "That Lady" and "For the Love of You."

Marvin split from the Isley Brothers for a brief time, forming the Isley-Jasper-Isley trio, which scored a hit with "Caravan of Love" in 1985. The Isley Brothers were inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and Marvin retired in ’97 due to complications stemming from diabetes.

One of rock’s most beloved and enduring bands, Goo Goo Dolls, have announced that they will release their ninth studio album, <em>Something for the Rest of Us</em>, on August 31st, 2010. The album features the band’s new single, "Home", which is already being embraced at radio. In advance of the album’s release, "Home" will become available on the iTunes Store and all other digital retailers starting on June 8th.

The album was produced by Tim Palmer (U2, Pearl Jam, David Bowie) with additional production by Butch Vig (Green Day, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, etc.) John Fields (Paul Westerberg, Jimmy Eat World) and the Goo Goo Dolls.

The result showcases more of the well-crafted songs and timeless lyrics that have been such an integral part of the Goo Goo Dolls’ continuing success. Written and recorded over the past couple of years, <em>Something for the Rest of Us</em> delivers another dose of emotionally-charged, well-crafted rock songs such as "Sweetest Lie," "One Night," and "Soldier." With his songwriting, Rzeznik confronts some of the issues that have become part of many people’s everyday lives:.

"I wanted some of the material on this album to address the disillusionment of the difficult period we live in; I wanted to give a voice to the emotional uncertainty that accompanies hard times. "So many people are struggling to keep it together through tough economic conditions and two wars that seem to have no end in sight. The ones who bear the brunt of these burdens are everyday people. That’s who I want to speak to."

<em>Something for the Rest of Us</em> is the follow up to 2006’s <em>Let Love In</em>, which marked the Goo Goo Dolls’ 20th anniversary as a band. The album spawned several Top 10 singles, including "Better Days," "Stay With You," and the title track, which gave them their record-breaking twelfth Top 10 hit. Their thirteenth, "Before It’s Too Late," appeared on the blockbuster <em>Transformers</em> soundtrack. Goo Goo Dolls have racked up four Grammy nominations and sold more than 10 million albums. Rzeznik has also been the recipient of the Hal David Starlight Songwriter Award. See more, including a track list and tour dates, at googoodolls.com.

Los Lobos is on tour this summer in support of a brand new studio album. The new release, titled <em>Tin Can Trust</em> will hit streets on August 3, 2010. The band’s summer schedule brings them coast to coast, including a run of select shows with John Hiatt &amp; The Combo. A complete list of currently confirmed dates is included below.

With <em>Tin Can Trust</em>, Los Lobos’ first release for Shout! Factory and first collection of new original material in four years- the venerable quintet once again redefines itself and expands its scope, while never losing sight of where they come from. And, like so much of Los Lobos’ previous work, <em>Tin Can Trust</em> is an album that speaks to the time and place in which it was conceived; the album’s title can be traced back more than a century, but for the band, it’s apt for the rickety state in which so many of us find ourselves-and our world-today.

The 11 tracks on <em>Tin Can Trust</em> offer the perfect balance of Los Lobos’ parts: the band’s lineup has remained uninterrupted since 1984, when saxophonist/keyboardist Steve Berlin joined original members Louie P&eacute;rez (guitar, drums, vocals), David Hidalgo (guitar, violin, accordion, percussion, vocals), Cesar Rosas (guitar, vocals) and Conrad Lozano (bass, vocals), each of whom had been there since the beginning in 1973.

Seven songs on the album are distinguished and genius Hidalgo-P&eacute;rez collaborations, including the opening track "I’ll Burn It Down," which features a guest vocal harmony from blues-rocker Susan Tedeschi. Three others were written in whole or in part by Rosas – including the album’s two Spanish-language numbers: the cumbia "Yo Canto" and the norteño "Mujer Ingrata" – and display Los Lobos’ signature seamless infusion of Mexican folk songs into rock music. Also included in <em>Tin Can Trust</em> – a cover of the Grateful Dead’s "West L.A. Fadeaway" – offering a nod to the bands’ shared history that extends back into the 1980s when the Angelenos befriended and opened shows for their northern peers.

As with every new recording Los Lobos makes, <em>Tin Can Trust</em> moves Los Lobos into yet another new dimension while simultaneously sounding like no one else in the world but Los Lobos. Los Lobos’ unified vision and strong work ethic are evident throughout the self-produced album, but so is something even greater: "an intuitiveness," says Los Lobos songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Louie P&eacute;rez, "that happens only from being in a band for so long." As <em>Rolling Stone</em> once wrote, "This is what happens when five guys create a magical sound, then stick together for 30 years to see how far it can take them."

Stay tuned to www.loslobos.org for up-to-minute information.

Karan Andrea, President of Soul House Sound, announces the debut of her instructional DVD <em>Guitar Player Wanted: Vocals a Plus</em>. The DVD contains a 110-minute instructional DVD, a 79-minute vocal training CD, and a booklet summary of the materials.

Guitarists can finally have a voice of their own with instruction geared specifically for their needs – for the first time. This DVD links a guitar player’s musical skills with his or her undeveloped singing voice. The instruction is a straightforward, concrete, step-by-step method. Players realize that being able to sing adds enormous marketability to any musical career, but the availability of quality vocal instruction is heavily geared toward lead or back-up singers… Until now.

<em>Guitar Player Wanted</em> invites even the most resistant guitarist to sing. Karan Andrea makes fundamental vocal skills interesting and accessible as she breaks down the misperception of singing as "some sort of mystical gift." Instead, Karan gives you a way to learn to use this "fretless instrument" with confidence. The instruction is a no-nonsense focus on what a guitarist (or any other musician) needs to learn. This approach will allow any individual to learn privately, at his or her own pace.

The CD included in this package contains three sets of vocal exercises that everyone – from the absolute beginner, to more experienced singers – can use to develop their own "muscle memory" and improve tone, intonation and range. Also featured in this package is a booklet containing a quick reference summary of the information presented in the DVD.

Watch the DVD trailer at SoulHouseSound.com.