The second annual Paul Gilbert’s Great Guitar Escape will take place July 8-12 at Full Moon Resort in Big Indian, New York. The event offers instruction to players of all ages, levels, and styles, conducted by Gilbert and this year’s guest instructors, Andy Timmons, Simon Phillips, Paul Stanley, Mimi Fox, Scotty Johnson, Tony Spinner, and Adam Fulara. After each day’s activities, evenings culminate with intimate jam sessions. Learn more at greatguitarescape.com.
Month: March 2013
-
Gilbert Slates Great Guitar Escape ’13
-
GuitarPedalExpo Slated for April 7
Loni Spector, promoter and host of the LA Amp Show and NY Amp Show, will host a similar event dedicated to effects pedals. GuitarPedalExpo will be held April 7 at the Airtel Plaza Hotel in Van Nuys, California. Like the amp shows, it will feature private demo rooms with no volume restrictions, but will also have a ballroom, which will host headphone demos. The event will include a pedal exchange, where attendees can trade used pedals amongst themselves in a dedicated, open area. Learn more at guitarpedalexpo.com. -
Steve Hunter
Picking a highlight of Steve Hunter’s latest is a tough chore, as there’s many tracks to recommend. Top of the list may be his lovely interpretation of the Marvin Gaye classic “What’s Goin’ On.”Or perhaps it’s his breathtaking, almost solo instrumental of “Solsbury Hill” with bassist Tony Levin. Hunter created the deceptively simple sounding guitar part for Peter Gabriel’s recording; its intricate fingerpicking and tricky time signature have made it elusive even for accomplished players. But just as Hunter’s lyrical approach is compellingly apparent on such a recognizable tune, he’s equally creative with his originals.
“Flames At The Dakota,” his dreamy Lennon/McCartney tribute and “The Brooklyn Shuffle,” a blues featuring guitar solos from Johnny Depp and Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, are among the Hunter-penned instrumentals with melodies so arresting they’ll have you imaging your own lyrics.
Hunter also seems to inspire the best from his guests too; Depp’s not just window dressing for “Brooklyn Shuffle.” And on “Twilight In Harlem,” which also features Megadeth guitarst Marty Friedman, Joe Satriani plays with restraint and taste.
The Manhattan Blues Project is the latest Steve Hunter release to prove him to be a dazzling player and imaginative songwriter whose music has striking emotional and instrumental depth but never descends into excess and self-indulgence.
This article originally appeared in VG‘s October ’13 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
-
Clapton to Release Book on His Guitars
Eric Clapton has documented his guitars and amplifiers in a new book titled Six String Stories, which includes photos and background information on nearly 300 instruments and amps that span the five decades of his career, beginning with his early days through the ’60s and until his 2010 auction benefitting The Crossroads Centre.A limited-edition of 2,000 copies, each will be signed by Clapton and hand-bound in cherry-red leather with gold and silver blocking, housed in a silk-screened buckram slipcase. The book’s 376 pages are edged in gold. Included within the book is a 50-year documentation of Clapton’s performance history that allows the reader to further reference the guitars against Clapton’s life’s work. Historical and technical information is provided for every piece. Learn more at claptonbook.com.
-
Floyd Rose Intros FRX Tremolo
The Floyd Rose FRX Tremolo System for Les Paul, SG, and Flying V-style guitars is a direct swap for the Tune-O-Matic bridge and stop tailpiece. It uses mounting stud holes and requires no routing. The locking nut is a truss rod cover/nut hybrid which swaps with the original nut and cover. It’s available in 10 finish options. Learn more at floydrose.com. -
Phil Kubicki 1948-2013
Philip Kubicki, a renowned guitar designer and builder who was active in the musical-instrument industry for more than 50 years, died March 18, 2013, at his home in Laconia, New Hampshire. He was 69 years old and had been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer that January.Kubicki began building acoustic guitars at age 15 after discovering the music of Andres Segovia. Upon learning of his interest in the guitar, the parents of a friend introduced him to Ernie Drumheller, who had a hobby workshop where he made classical guitars, and he let the young Kubicki try his hand at the craft. By 1961, Phil had built three guitars working only Saturdays and during the summer. After graduating high school, he enrolled at Fullerton Junior College, where he studied engineering.
One day in 1963, he went to Fender’s assembly plant in Fullerton and asked for a tour, where he got to see Strats and Teles being manufactured. Along the way, he mentioned to the guide that he made acoustic guitars. The guide told him of Fender’s plans for an acoustic division, and suggested he apply for a job. Two weeks later, at age 19, he was hired by Roger Rossmeisl in the company’s instrument research and development department. Though his focus was on acoustic guitars and the Coronado semi-acoustic line, Kubicki helped design the Telecaster Thinline and built a rosewood-bodied Telecaster that was given to George Harrison, who used it to record the Beatles’ “Let It Be.” In nine years with Fender, Kubicki also built guitars for Jimi Hendrix, Buck Owens and Don Rich, Albert Lee, Eric Clapton, John Sebastian, Jim Messina, and others.
In ’72, he moved to Santa Barbara and established Philip Kubicki Technology, building acoustic guitars, custom electric guitars, bodies, necks, and mini-guitars. Among them was “Slugger,” the baseball-bat guitar used by John Fogerty during performances of his 1985 hit “Centerfield.” That same year, Kubicki also designed and began building the Factor Bass. High-profile players including Duran Duran’s John Taylor, Stuart Hamm, and others gravitated to them, driving demand beyond the capacity of Kubicki’s small operation, and in ’88 he entered a licensing agreement allowing Fender to build and sell them. The arrangement lasted until ’91, after which Kubicki resumed building and selling direct from his factory. He moved to New Hampshire in 2008.
Kubicki penned the autobiographical feature, “The First Days of Fender Acoustics,” for the November ’97 issue of Vintage Guitar. It can be read at www.vintageguitar.com/1763/philip-kubicki/.
-
New Joe Satriani Album Slated for May Release
Joe Satriani will release his 14th studio album, Unstoppable Momentum, on May 7. The album was recorded at Skywalker Sound in the Bay Area, produced by Satriani and Mike Fraser (AC/DC), and features Vinnie Colauita (Sting, Jeff Beck) on drums, Chris Chaney (Janes Addiction) on bass, and Mike Keneally (Dethklok) on keyboards.Eleven songs were selected, all “heading in different directions and touching on a variety of musical influences,” said Satriani. With that in mind, he assembled a new studio band. “The idea was to crank up the energy level of the sessions, and allow for more individual expression of the material from each player. The chemistry with Mike, Chris and Vinnie was fantastic and we blazed through all of the tracks with everyone laying down amazing performances.” Learn more at satriani.com.
-
Knaggs Intros Steve Stevens Signature Guitar
Knaggs Guitars has introduced its Steve Stevens Signature model, which has a mahogany body with maple top, set mahogany neck with pink Morning Star inlays on a rosewood fingerboard, pink ray-gun headstock inlay, and Knaggs’ proprietary tune-o-matic-style bridge with string holder. Volume and Tone controls drive specially designed and engraved Signature Bareknuckle pickups. It’s finished in Opaque Black with pink binding, and ships with a certificate hand signed by Stevens and team Knaggs.“This instrument really came together out of a genuine friendship rather than a business venture,” said Stevens. “It is the combination of an artist and a company who want to put a very high-quality guitar out there. I love picking up and playing this guitar, it puts a huge smile on my face.” Sales of the model will help the MusiCares charity. For more, visit www.knaggsguitars.com.
-
Cool Straps Offers Hand-made Guitar Straps
Cool Straps Black Brocade Dragon Cool Straps Custom guitar straps uses unusual materials including brocade satin and hand-woven Mexican blanket with 3″ commercial-grade polypropylene backing. Their straps adjust from 39 to 72 inches with leather tabs, folded over a commercial-grade plastic anchor bar and trimmed to shape. The sides are fastened with tanner glue and double-whip stitched with waxed leather sewing thread designed for stitching leather. The button hole is hand-punched and cut to fit a standard 12mm pin. Learn more at www.coolstraps.artfire.com.
-
Jorgenson Records Single to Benefit Desert Museum
Inspired by a recent visit to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, in Tucson, guitarist John Jorgenson composed and recorded a song called “Sonora Spring,” and will use proceeds from its sale to benefit to the Museum’s Oasis Project. The single is available for direct download here. His group, the John Jorgenson Trio, will embark on a European tour beginning May 2 in Genoa, Italy, and including stops in Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and others. Learn more at www.johnjorgenson.com.
