Bill Doss, guitarist in The Apples In Stereo and co-founder of Olivia Tremor Control, has died at age 43, according to a post on the band’s official site. Doss, along with W. Cullen Hart and Jeff Mangum, co-founded Olivia Tremor Control in the early 1990s. The band released two albums, 1996’s Music from the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle and 1999’s Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One – before splitting up in 2000. Doss went on to release two albums with his own band, the Sunshine Fix, and later co-founded The Elephant 6 Recording Company, a record label dedicated to indie rock.
Month: July 2012
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Bill Doss, Guitarist with Apples in Stereo, Olivia Tremor Control, Passes
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DiMarzio Offers New Gravity Storm pickups
DiMarzio’s Gravity Storm pickups were designed for Steve Vai and have ceramic magnets, four-wire connectivity, and measure 12.56k (neck) and 15.19k (bridge) ohms. The model DP252 neck pickup has a 290 millivolt output and is EQ’d with a slight mid/bass boost, while the model DP253 bridge pickup is EQ’d with a stronger midrange boost, slightly less bass, and a slight treble cut. See more at dimarzio.com. -
Höfner Offers New Verythin Limited Edition
Höfner Limited Edition Verythin HVS-SE-N-O has smoked eucalyptus back and sides. The guitar is made in the company’s Hagenau (Germany) shops and has a spruce top, thin-coat finish, bindings, and purfling. Its body measures 1.25” deep and and is fitted with two Höfner Diamond Logo Staple pickups, a three-way switch, and individual Volume and Tone controls. Fitted with a stop tailpiece and a Höfner tunamatic bridge. See more at hofner.com. -
Hosa Updates Elite Series Cables
Hosa Technology’s Elite Series guitar cables are now available with Neutrik X-Series straight and right-angle plugs. The Neutrik connectors have gold-plated contacts for corrosion resistance and a zinc die-cast. The cables have a polyurethane gland to prevent cable kinking for longer life and chuck-type strain relief for maximum retention combined with an ergonomic design.For more, visit hosatech.com.
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Custom Amp Covers Introduces Accessory Bag for Cables
Custom Amp Covers’ new accessory bag includes a hook-and-loop closure to organize cords and cables. The bag can be attached to the amp cover and is designed to eliminate a third hand or extra bag. Extra items can be stored while the amp is idle. Each bag has is made of vinyl with a felt lining and measures 8” high by 8” wide by 2 ¾” deep.Learn more at amplifiercovers.com.
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SoCal World Guitar Show 2012
Photos by Seymour Duncan.
Joe Bonamassa and Seymour Duncan 
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Jackson Launches X Series Signature Guitars
Jackson welcomes two new X Series artist signature models to The Bloodline, developed by Iron Maiden’s Adrian Smith and Kreator’s Miland ‘Mille’ Petrozza.The Jackson Adrian Smith Signature SDX guitar features a Snow White basswood body, bolt-on maple neck, compound-radius rosewood or maple fingerboard, HSS configuration (high-output Jackson bridge pickup, noiseless middle and neck single-coil pickups), white pickguard (rosewood fingerboard model) or black pickguard (maple fingerboard model), five-way blade selector switch, Jackson tuners, Floyd Rose Special tremolo system and black hardware.
The Jackson MillePhobia King V guitar, only available in Europe, was built to Kreator vocalist and guitarist Mille Petrozza’s exact specifications and is equipped with an EMG 81 active humbucking pickup, a maple neck with a compound radius rosewood fingerboard and 24 jumbo frets, recessed Floyd Rose Special bridge, two-way toggle switch and special gig bag with embroidered Kreator logo. The guitar is finished in matte Black.
For more information, visit www.jacksonguitars.com.
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Gurf Morlix
Gurf Morlix’s latest effort is a tribute to his old buddy, Blaze Foley, a singer/ songwriter who was shot to death in 1989. Morlix has taken 15 of Foley’s songs and given them the full treatment, and the result is one of the best records of the new year.Morlix has been in the public eye since he played with Lucinda Williams in the ’80s. But in the ’70s he played with Foley, and here, his taste and class shines through as he performs the songs of his old friend.
“Baby, Can I Crawl Back To You” is a midtempo tune with great fills and tasty soloing. The sound, as it is on pretty much every cut, is perfect. The guitar has a great, overdriven tone. “No Goodwill Stores in Waikiki” is as good a countryovertoned rock stomper as you’ll hear, with a big, nasty guitar sound and very funny lyric. The slide solo fits perfectly. The other side of town sneaks in on the title cut with its very nice swing feel and a solo that has tons of jazz overtones. Merle Haggard had some success with Foley’s “If I Could Only Fly,” and here it gets a melancholy feel with guitars floating in and out of the lyrics. “Small Town Hero” is a minor-key piece with loud, distorted rhythm guitars, fine mandolin, and a lyric about people you recall from your youth.
This album is pretty much perfect. Foley’s songs are well-written, with wordplay that fits the mood, serious or funny, and Morlix employs tasty guitar and relaxed vocals that capture their essence. Wrapping up this wonderful tribute is the use of duct tape on the cover, including a cowboy boot with duct tape covering it. Foley did that to make fun of the folks caught up in the Urban Cowboy craze. It’s a very funny touch – and the cherry on this bowl of musical ice cream.
This article originally appeared in VG‘s May. ’11 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
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IBMA’s Set for World of Bluegrass Week
The 2012 World of Bluegrass will be held September 24-30. The event will include more than 60 acts, including headliners The Del McCoury Band. The week-long conference will also have panel discussions, tribute sessions, masters’ workshops, a fiddle contest, an awards show, a festival and a 40th-anniversary celebration of Will The Circle Be Unbroken. Some of bluegrass music’s superstars will appear in the tribute sessions, panel discussions, and educational seminars.
For more, visit ibma.org.
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Fender Ensenada Factory Marks 25 Years
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation celebrated the 25th anniversary of its factory in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, on Friday, July 20. More than 1,000 guests, including local dignitaries, company executives, and factory employees, commemorated the facility’s 25-year anniversary with spectacular fireworks displays, live mariachi music, and performances by Escuelita Fender, Grupo Fandango, and the Norteño band Intocable.
