Month: November 2010

Guitar Center is giving holiday shoppers a chance to make a difference in the lives of musicians in 2010 by making a contribution to MusiCares Foundation at any store in North America. MusiCares provides support and guidance for struggling musicians, from addiction recovery to personal or medical crisis. Guitar Center, the world’s largest musical instrument retailer, is accepting contributions as small as $1 at any of the 214 Guitar Center locations nationwide. Shoppers who donate will be given an ornament to display in the store, either to decorate its holiday tree or a dedicated MusiCares wall on the premises. There is no donation limit, and generous shoppers may display their names, businesses or band names on the ornaments.

The program comes as a year-end tribute to Guitar Center’s ongoing efforts to create opportunities for aspiring artists in its local communities.

"We focus on giving back to musicians, creating opportunity for them where there wasn’t any before," said Gene Joly, executive vice president of stores. "This holiday season, we want to help our customers make a meaningful impact in the lives of people who are struggling personally and have nowhere else to go."

With ongoing programs like Guitar Center’s Drum-Off, which entered its round of district competitions November 4, the retailer is partnering with its customers to help musicians succeed on and off the stage. For more, visit GuitarCenter.com.

Dozens of prized instruments have hit the auction block as Nash2o, the Nashville-based flood-relief effort, marked its kickoff with a party at Music City’s Hard Rock Cafe October 12.

With Vince Gill and John Jorgenson in attendance, Nash2o founders Joe Glaser, George Gruhn, and Bruce Bouton displayed flood-damaged guitars donated by Gill, Jorgenson, Peter Frampton, Kathy Mattea, Duane Eddy, Brad Paisley and others. The auctions will run in three groups, into December.

More than 50 instruments will be sold, with proceeds going to Nashville’s emergency responders, musicians affected by the May ’10 flood, and Music Cares, a charitable organization based in Nashville.

The Nash2o auctions are unique, says Gruhn, as these instruments have real connections to the artists who donated them. "These aren’t like the typical artist instruments that come up, where someone hands a guitar to a famous person, he signs it, and sends it on. These are the artists’ actual instruments – their favorites, the ones they played every day. When you bid on one of the two Les Pauls from Peter Frampton, you’re bidding on Peter’s guitar.

To read more and submit a bid, go to www.nash2o.org.

Set to mark five years, the 2011 edition of Rock on the Range will kick off May 21 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Lineups will be announced early next year. Stay tuned to rockontherange.com.

DBZ Guitars donates a custom built guitar auctioned off for the Ronnie James Dio "Stand Up and Shout" cancer fund held this past August. The fund raiser was hosted by the Las Vegas based Aces and Ales Pub, owned by Alice Cooper guitarist, Keri Kelli. The DBZ guitar received the largest purse of the event with 100 percent of the proceeds going directly to the fund.

The custom-built Dean B. Zelinsky guitar features a one of a kind, engraved body with a portrait of Ronnie James Dio, the Dio logo, ornate leaf work and is inscribed with "In Loving Memory of Ronnie James Dio." The guitar itself is made up of a mahogany body, maple top, mahogany neck, ebonized fingerboard board, nickel plated hardware and a Floyd Rose bridge.

All of the proceeds from the event benefit the Ronnie James Dio "Stand Up and Shout" cancer fund. The monies go to cancer research, screenings and programs. In addition, funds also go to helping families that have loved ones suffering from the disease. Along with the DBZ Guitar, other items for auction were donated by Fender Musical Instruments, Kiss, Peter Frampton, Alice Cooper, and Sierra Nevada.

The career of musician Ronnie James Dio spanned over 50 years fronting bands such as Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Dio and Heaven and Hell. In 1985, Dio founded the charity project Hear’n Aid with an ensemble of heavy metal all stars, to raise money and awareness for famine relief in Africa. The Hear’n Aid album generated over $1 million within its first year. Born July 10, 1942, Dio past away from stomach cancer on May 16, 2010.

To learn more, go to dbzguitars.com

Albion Musical Instruments has announced that Onori Entertainment will be the distributor to launch a new line of guitar and bass amplifiers that will debut at the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show in January.

The line offers the TCT tube guitar amps, AG hybrid guitar amps, and the ABH bass amplification with tube-based preamps and solidstate power. Features on select models include birch cabinets, programmable digital effects, custom hardware, and proprietary transformers. All speaker cabinets are equipped with proprietary speakers.

Albion is a division of the International Audio Group, a Britain-based manufacturer of consumer electronics, professional audio and lighting products. The line is produced in China. Learn more at albionmi.co.uk.

For over 200 years, the role of the United States Patent and Trademark Office has been to promote and encourage the progress of science and the useful arts through the issuance of patents and trademarks. Through the registration of trademarks, the agency assists businesses such as those in the music industry in protecting their investments, promoting goods and services, and safeguarding consumers against confusion and deception in the marketplace.

The Bigsby Division of the Gretsch Company has regularly been invited to participate at the prestigious USPTO Expo in Alexandria, Virginia. Bigsby has presented information on the company’s history and has showcased the importance of Bigsby trademarks and the impact they have as source identifiers in the marketplace. Like most effective trademarks, the very shape of Bigsby tailpieces identifies them, even at a distance when the brand name cannot be read. This allows Bigsby-equipped guitars to be recognized on concert stages and video broadcasts worldwide.

Currently, Bigsby and the Gretsch Company are honored to have an authentic Bigsby Vibrato tailpiece on permanent display at the USPTO headquarters in Alexandria. The display also includes a counterfeit tailpiece to help demonstrate the type of imitation products that can be found in the marketplace. Appearing similar at first glance, counterfeit products undermine and devalue genuine products. The display serves as a reminder of the battle and value of protecting patents and trademarks.

"The USPTO team enthusiastically supports rights owners through attendance at NAMM shows, their national expo, and an extensive online web site." company owner Fred Gretsch. "We encourage the music industry to make good use of these exceptional resources. We are also very pleased to have a Bigsby Vibrato product on permanent display at their headquarters so that visitors can see the challenge that counterfeit products present. We take the protection of intellectual property rights very seriously and appreciate the USPTOs assistance by providing information and education to the public."

In addition to their ongoing intellectual property protection efforts, the Gretsch Company, along with other leading musical instrument manufacturers, is a member of the Electric Guitar Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition-a group of like-minded organizations that came together with the goal of stemming the proliferation of counterfeit instruments and goods wherever they are manufactured.

The Gig-fx Peter Frampton Signature Megawah is an all-analog pedal with four settings actuated by a selector switch – a classic wah sound called Cry, the Megawah sound with a deep bass response for funkier quacking and more expressive wailing, a funky envelope wah with adjustable trigger sensitivity, and an auto-wah with adjustable rate. Four great effects in one pedal with superb analog tones.

The Frampton Megawah uses optical control and is bypassed when the pedal is all the way back and switches on noiselessly when the pedal is pressed forward. The pedal also features a user-adjustable off-delay so the effect does not turn off inadvertently when rocking the pedal.

The pedal uses Gig-Fx "Better than true bypass" circuitry, which the company says preserves guitar signals through cables better than a true bypass. For more, go to gig-fx.com.

Hosted by musicians John Medeski, Billy Martin, and John Wood, the annual Camp MMW is an opportunity for musicians of varying levels and ages to study in the Catskill Mountains. Campers gather for five days of intensive workshops and seminars, listening, musical exploration, and improvisation.

The fourth annual Camp MMW will take place July 31 – August 5, 2011, at the Full Moon Resort in Big Indian, New York. All types of musicians, ages 16 and older, are encouraged to apply.

At the camp, students are encouraged to break with convention; a guitarist can study melody with keyboardist John Medeski or a horn player can work on mastering rhythm with drummer, Billy Martin. A pianist may develop his groove with bassist, Chris Wood. There will be special guests, group collaborations, and, of course, exclusive performances by MMW. In the anything-goes, non-traditional atmosphere of Camp MMW, experimentation will be encouraged, limits tested, risks taken, and newfound freedom gained in the process.

The camp is held on 80,000 acres of New York State’s Catskill Mountain wilderness. The Full Moon Resort features accommodations in either their turn-of-the-century Catskill country inn known as the Valley View House, or one of seven lodges, cabins, or cottages. The Valley View House is the center of activities and offers comfortable common areas. Full Moon Resort also has open campgrounds and a bathroom/shower facility for those students opting to camp outside.

All instruments are welcome, with an interest in creating variety! For more, visit mmw.net/campmmw.

Country singer/songwriter/guitarist Brad Paisley, who has been featured in <em>Vintage Guitar</em> three times (most recently in January ’09), last night won Entertainer of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards in Nashville.

While accepting the award, an emotional Paisley quoted his hero, Little Jimmy Dickens, saying, "’If you see a turtle on a fence post it had help getting there.’ I feel just like a turtle on a fence post right now." He went on to thank all fans of country music. "It sounds like a clich&eacute; when you say thanks to the fans, but the great thing about Country fans is that when you say ‘fans,’ I don’t even mean mine. You guys are loyal to everyone in this room."

The 44th annual awards show was hosted for the third time by Paisley and Carrie Underwood and broadcast live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on the ABC Television Network.

The Blues Foundation will honor 21 individuals and organizations with its 2011 Keeping the Blues Alive (KBA) Award during a recognition brunch February 5 in Memphis.

Each year, The Blues Foundation presents the KBA Awards to individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the blues music world. The ceremony will be held in conjunction with the 27th International Blues Challenge (IBC) events that will feature the final rounds of the world’s most prestigious blues competition and largest gathering of blues acts, as well as seminars, showcases, and receptions for blues societies, fans, and professionals.

The KBAs are awarded on merit by a select panel of blues professionals to those working to actively promote and document the music. Nominations are accepted from affiliated blues societies, past KBA recipients and current members of The Blues Foundation’s Board of Directors.

The 2011 Keeping the Blues Alive Awards recipients are:

1. Agent: Intrepid Artists, Charlotte, North Carolina
2. Blues Club: Chan’s Fine Oriental Dining, Woonsocket, Rhode Island
3. Blues Organization: Billtown Blues Society, Williamsport, Pennsylvania
4. Education: Gary Allegretto, Los Angeles, California
5. Festival (International): Notodden Blues Festival, Notodden, Norway
6. Festival (U.S.): Tampa Bay Blues Festival, St. Petersburg, Florida
7. Film, Television, and Video: Mako Funasaka, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
8. Historical Preservation: Canada South Museum, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
9. International: Paul Jones, London, England
10. Internet: Mary4Music.com, Baltimore, Maryland
11. Journalism: Tim Parsons, Lake Tahoe Action, California/Nevada
12. Literature: Mary Lou Sullivan, Coventry, Connecticut
13. Manager: Paul Nelson, Bullseye Management, Stamford, Connecticut
14. Photography: Bill Steber, Murfreesboro, Tennessee
15. Print Media: Twoj Blues, Chorzow, Poland
16. Producer: Michael Freeman, Barrington, Illinois
17. Promoter: Didier Tricard, Montferrier sur Lez,France
18. Publicist: Debra Regur, Blind Pig Records, San Francisco, California
19. Radio (Commercial): Mark Pasman, WCSX-FM, Detroit, Michigan
20. Radio (Public): Tom Wendt, KBOO-FM, Portland, Oregon
21. Record Label: Electro-Fi Records, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Learn more at blues.org.