Kinsman Cases KGX9000 and KGX9600 have an ABS outer material and a plush lining with room for accessories. They use chrome-plated clip-over catches attached to a hardened aluminum valance for rigidity. Kinsman’s EVA instrument cases have a shell made of
compressed foam rubber in a nylon cover, with storage space. They have a combination lock, a carry handle and a strap. Learn more at jhs.co.uk.
Alice Cooper’s new album, Welcome 2 My Nightmare, was recorded with longtime collaborator Bob Ezrin, who produced the original multi-platinum Welcome To My Nightmare in 1975.
Cooper used an array of collaborators on the new album, including original Alice Cooper members Denis Dunaway, Michael Bruce, and Neal Smith on three tracks, global pop superstar Ke$ha, and Steve Hunter, who is part of Alice’s current touring band.
Musically, the album ranges from trashing disco to garage punk, pop balladry to a rocking number. The ballad “Something To Remember Me By” is described by Alice as “the prettiest song we have ever released.”
“I wanted a ‘70s feel for ‘When Hell Comes Home,’ he added. “And I didn’t even have to ask for it, it’s just how they play and they did it live in the studio. When they got done playing the basic track, Bob and I just looked at each other, that sound is built into their DNA. We didn’t need to go and fix anything. The way they finished was a little bit ragged, and that’s the way we used to finish songs, that’s what I like about it.”
Co-writers include Ezrin, Ke$ha, Dunaway, Bruce and Smith, plus Buckcherry’s Keith Nelson, Desmond Child (who co-wrote and produced “Poison”), longtime collaborator Dick Wagner, current touring band member Chuck Garric, and film composer Jeremy Rubolino.
“That’s my rebellion,” says Alice of the more surprising guests, “I like people that don’t belong and yet what they’re doing works perfectly. I don’t care where it comes from, as long as it’s right. If you tell me something doesn’t work, I’ll work my head off until it does then shove it down your throat.
“I think a lot of my audience is going to go ‘KE$HA!?’, but she probably wrote the most wicked lyrics in the song – we had to rein her in. I like people to know that just because artists are put in a pigeonhole, that doesn’t mean that’s what they are. Give people a little room.”
With Hunter added to the lineup of guitarists Damon Johnson and Tommy Henriksen, bassist Chuck Garric, and drummer Glen Sobel, Alice has been tearing up venues worldwide on his 2011 “No More Mr. Nice Guy” tour.
This year, the original Alice Cooper group was inducted into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame, and Alice was honored with both the Kerrang! Icon Award in the U.K. and the Revolver Golden God Award in the U.S.
Reverend Guitars is now offering its Thundergun bass in Wine Red finish. The instrument uses Joe-Naylor-designed pickups, a Korina body, string-through bridge (top-loading is an option), has a five-piece set neck, and pickup-pan control. For more information, visit reverendguitars.com.
Acoustic-guitar pioneer John Fahey influenced a generation of fingerpickers, and none sound more like a genuine musical heir than Toulouse Engelhardt
This is a solo guitar album, and its tunes, with titles such as “Threnody to Sequoia Sempervirens” are more like musical landscapes. Engelhardt’s sense of rhythm isn’t so much about strict timekeeping as it is musical flow. His tunes speed up and slow down with irregular regularity.
Like Fahey, Engelhardt tunes his 12-string down several steps and is rewarded by a huge pianistic sonority he utilizes to its fullest in tunes such as “Let The River Answer.” Some tunes have several different rhythms and seemingly divergent parts that form an impressionistic commentary on time and melodic structure. Yep, Mr. Engelhardt loves to crawl out on musical limbs, then jump from one to another without falling.
The recording on Perpendicular Worlds is brutally honest, with every finger sliding on strings faithfully captured, along with foot taps, moans, groans, and other spurious aural information. It ain’t slick, but it’s real – almost to the point of distraction. If you get a kick out of music that has some degree of odd mystery coupled with personal and idiosyncratic passion, Toulouse Engelhardt’s latest should be on your must audition list.
This article originally appeared in VG’s Oct. ’10 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
The Charlie Daniels Band is planning its 10th annual concert to benefit Christmas 4 Kids.
Daniels, a member of the Grand Ole Opry, will be joined by Phil Vassar and Sawyer Brown November 21 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Christmas 4 Kids is a not-for-profit organization and the funds generated by the concert and the Tour Bus Show/Artist Meet and Greet event, are used to give more than 400 children a day-long shopping excursion. The day consists of a chauffeured trip from their school aboard an entertainer’s luxury tour bus, lunch, and a party hosted by Santa and Mrs. Claus at College Heights Baptist Church. To wrap up the day, the buses journey to a Walmart, where the kids receive a new winter coat, and $150 to spend on anything they want!
Tickets for the concert will be available at Christmas4kids.org beginning September 15.
On August 26, in celebration of its 35th anniversary, Seymour Duncan pickups is inviting members of its online community to meet during Seymour Duncan User Group Day. Members will descend on the company’s Santa Barbara workshop for a day’s worth of events and activities. Some highlights include participants winding their own pickups, a guided factory tour, live Q&A with Seymour, beta testing unreleased products, catered lunch, and music making.
To sign up, go to User Group Day.
The David Lynch FoundationMusic has launched Download For Good: Music That Changes The World, a star-studded digital music compilation to benefit the David Lynch Foundation (davidlynchfoundation.org) that is now available on iTunes. Founded by iconic filmmaker David Lynch, theDavid Lynch Foundation is a not-for-profit educational organization which offers stress-reducing Transcendental Meditation® to underserved populations, including at-risk inner-city youth and U.S. veterans returning home from combat with post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as Native Americans, homeless adults and children, prisoners and those in need.
DOWNLOAD FOR GOOD features 33 artists spanning pop, Latin, wlectronic, eock, qorld, indie, hip-hop and xlassical who support the foundation. Artists include Alanis Morissette, Andy Summers, Dave Stewart, Donovan, Iggy Pop, Maroon 5, Moby, Neon Trees, Peter Gabriel, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and more.
“The artists who have shared their music are spreading happiness,” explained Lynch. “With their music alone they’re supporting programs that take away suffering and bring bliss to many people. When you download these songs, you’ll get to enjoy great music and also know that you are bringing happiness to someone, somewhere in the world. Great artists, great mood, great music,great good is going to come. I encourage you to download for good.”
Dream Theater is planning a world tour, on which they will play selections from its new album, A Dramatic Turn of Events, as well as classics, staples, and fan favorites. Labelmates Trivium will appear on many dates, supporting their new album, In Waves.
“We are all very pumped about the release of A Dramatic Turn of Events, as well as the tour,” said Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci. “Our first leg will bring us throughout North America where we’ll showcase songs from the new album along with tons of fan favorites and a brand new tour production unlike any other that we’ve done before.”
In addition to the standard CD release, a special edition CD/DVD set will include The Spirit Carries On – a 60-minute movie documenting the band’s drummer auditions; a double LP Set in gatefold jacket; and a Limited Deluxe Collector’s Edition Box Set. The A Dramatic Turn of Events Deluxe Collector’s Edition Box Set includes the A Dramatic Turn of Events album; instrumentals of the entire album; the DVD of The Spirit Carries On; a double-LP Set of A Dramatic Turn of Events (180-Gram Vinyl in Gatefold Jacket); Dream Theater branded custom turntable slipmat; and a litho print of album. Also, 50 lucky winners will find a Dream Theater ‘Ticket For Life,’ which is randomly inserted into packaging. All the content will be housed in a custom box and those who purchase will receive a digital download of the album the day prior to release.
Led by Bill Cowsill and Canadian guitarist Jeffrey Hatcher, the guitar-strong rockabilly-oriented Blue Shadows made two fine albums in the ’90s, but neither was released in the U.S. and they weren’t able to capitalize on the raves they won on the alt-country circuit. Hatcher quit performing, but is still recording, while Cowsill worked with various bands in Canada before he passed away in 2006.
This two-disc collection represents the band’s compact but worthy legacy. Disc one, the band’s first album, is all original, and disc two collects bits and pieces from its short history. Both feature the tuneful vocal harmonies and tightly orchestrated interplay between Hatcher’s sparkling electric leads and Cowsill’s acoustic rhythm that characterized the Blue Shadows’ sound. Disc one has a slight edge simply because of the smoother flow that comes from it being a fully realized album. But disc two is no throwaway. On both, Hatcher’s playing is as good as anything you hear from kindred contemporaries like the Jayhawks.
Thanks in large part to Cowsill’s disciplined pop sensibilities, both include original material with memorable, appealing hooks and melodies (“If I Were You,” “Deliver Me”) and whatever indefinable quality that makes some songs such a joy to hear coming out of a car radio. Disc two mixes well-chosen covers including Merle Haggard’s “If We Make It Through December” and a bang-up reworking of Arthur Alexander’s “Soldier Of Love” with delightfully catchy Hatcher/Cowsill originals. Among those, the upbeat “A Paper ’N A Promise” and the Everly-Brothersstyle ballad “Learn To Forget” standout among a collection that is pretty strong to begin with.
This article originally appeared in VG’s Oct. ’10 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.