Having a hobby music taste is not complete if can not play musical instruments such as the famous guitar that a friend escort can be any type of song in the world and akherat. Learning to play guitar originally indeed difficult and sometimes create stress that people learn.
To learn bass guitar you should learn first, karea who can play the guitar can automatically play bass, but if you can not play the bass guitar can be automated. And the key tone on the bass guitar is not much different on the guitar, so it's good if you learn the basic key guitar first. In addition, you can save money, because they do not need to buy a bass, guitar, but enough kopong that is cheap enough.
To play the guitar you have to be ready to feel a little pain in the left side of your fingertips, because it will be used to press the strings to make the formation of the key guitar. Sometimes have to make our fingertips become callous and flex the finger at both left and right hands. To get something you have to give up something, it is the law of chemical and economic fair and normal.
If you plan for the course you should not take the course before the basic techniques to control the tempo of the song, key and basic guitar shuffle gonjreng on the guitar. If you do not control things that you will only memperlama the course you will spend the money.
To save money you can learn on friends, relatives or neighbors that you know well and can barmain guitar. If that can not play the guitar so you must learn self-taught alias own learning.
Needed to learn basic guitar alone:
- Guitar kopong what can and can lisrik
- Books or magazines songs that are key gitarnya and instructions key guitar
- Tapes, CDs or MP3 songs in the songbook
- The ability to tune the guitar or stem
To start the exercise you should tune your guitar sound that first 6 guitar strings can be harmonious and appropriate. Distem If not then you will not be able to learn, because the vote might not pass. To stem the guitar you can ask for help or other people with their own stem instinct. To stem the guitar you can find a guidebook to play guitar at the bookstore.
If you want to stem their own, then how is the fret equates to 5 a chord with one chord at the fret below 0. Unless the strings from the bottom of the third barus distem to fret in the 4 with fret 0 in the second from the bottom chord. You must use Filing whether you fret with the sound of a fret at the same voice. If you do not play the same turn-of voltage on the tip of the guitar strings to pass.
If you are OK, then you try to stay on key gonjreng standard to your finger you familiar with the position of each key. Then try to open the book songs, which are key gitarnya, and then try to follow the change of key to lock the tempo in accordance with the original as possible, based on your Filing.
If you can then you can try to play together with the voice tapes or the actual song. But going on steman is your guitar steman accordance with the cassette and the key song in the book or magazine is also true that in accordance with the tapes and your guitar.
If you have quite smoothly you can continue to own innovation courses or learn things from other books mapun contact you. If you have control you can establish your own band together with other people who can play other musical instruments. Congratulations and good luck to learn:)
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Tips for Learning How to Play Guitar and Bass for Beginners from the Basic Plus Stem Guitar
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Rudolf Schenker Guitar Ibanez Learning
Rudolf Schenker (born August 31, 1948) is a German guitarist and founding member of heavy metal band Scorpions. being the rhythm/lead guitarist and one of the main song-writers of the band.
After starting out with a Fender Stratocaster, Schenker is primarily known for playing Gibson Flying Vs and, more recently, Dean Vs. In the Acoustica DVD, he is seen playing an acoustic Flying V made especially for him by Dommenget. He now uses Dean acoustic V models.
In an interview on the 'World Wide Live' video, he mentioned that his goal is not to become the best or fastest guitarist, but to be a very good composer.
In most Scorpions songs, guitar solos are performed by lead guitarist Matthias Jabs, but there are exceptions, such as "Wind of Change", "Still Loving You", "As Soon As The Good Times Roll", "Through My Eyes" and "Big City Nights".
His younger brother Michael Schenker has also been a member of Scorpions in the band's earliest inception.
At New Year 1970, the younger Schenker brother Michael, who despite his youth had already established himself as an outstanding guitarist, left the Hanover-based group Copernicus, along with singer and composer Klaus Meine, to join Rudolf Schenker's SCORPIONS. Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine teamed up to form the accomplished Schenker/Meine songwriting duo, so laying the foundations for a spectacular success story.
In 1972, the SCORPIONS released their remarkable début album, Lonesome Crow, produced by Conny Plank in Hamburg. The vocal and instrumental ingredients which over the years were to develop into the typical, unmistakable SCORPIONS sound, were already recognisable: uncompromising, guitar-orientated hard rock, on the lines of what Jimmy Hendrix, Cream and Led Zeppelin generated in the mid-1960s. The distinctive SCORPIONS style came from the combination of two electric guitars, a fusion of fabulously forceful power riffs with dazzlingly exuberant guitar solos. Added to which was the instantly recognisable voice of singer and front man Klaus Meine with his highly expressive and polished delivery.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Kurt Cobain Guitar Ibanez Story
Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – c. April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the Seattle-based grunge band Nirvana.
With the lead single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from Nirvana's second album Nevermind (1991), Cobain with Nirvana entered into the mainstream, bringing along with them a subgenre of alternative rock called grunge. Other Seattle grunge bands such as Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden also gained popularity, and, as a result, alternative rock became a dominant genre on radio and music television in the United States during the early-to-middle 1990s. As Nirvana's frontman, Cobain found himself referred to in the media as the "spokesman of a generation", with Nirvana the "flagship band" of "Generation X". Cobain was uncomfortable with the attention and placed his focus on his band's music, challenging his band's audience with its third studio album In Utero (1993).
During the last years of his life, Cobain struggled with drug addiction and the media pressures surrounding him and his wife, Courtney Love. On April 8, 1994, Cobain was found dead in his home in Seattle, the victim of what was officially ruled a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head. In ensuing years, the circumstances of his death became a topic of fascination and debate.LIVE AND CARIER
Early life
Kurt Cobain was born to Irish-American parents Donald and Wendy Cobain on February 20, 1967 in Aberdeen, Washington and spent his first six months living in the city of Hoquiam, Washington before the family moved to Aberdeen. He began developing an interest in music early in his life. According to his Aunt Mari, "He was singing from the time he was two. He would sing Beatles songs like 'Hey Jude'. He had a lot of charisma from a very young age."
Cobain's life changed at the age of eight when his parents divorced in 1975, an event which he later cited as having a profound impact on his life. His mother noted that his personality changed dramatically, with Cobain becoming more withdrawn. In a 1993 interview, Cobain said, "I remember feeling ashamed, for some reason. I was ashamed of my parents. I couldn't face some of my friends at school anymore, because I desperately wanted to have the classic, you know, typical family. Mother, father. I wanted that security, so I resented my parents for quite a few years because of that."After a year spent living with his mother following the divorce, Cobain moved to Montesano, Washington to live with his father, but after a few years his youthful rebellion became too overwhelming and he found himself being shuffled between friends and family.
At school, Cobain took little interest in sports. At his father's insistence, Cobain joined the junior high wrestling team. While he was good at it, he despised it. Later, his father signed him up for a local baseball league, where Cobain would intentionally strike out to avoid having to play. Instead, Cobain focused on his art courses. He often drew during classes, including objects associated with human anatomy. Cobain was friends with a gay student at his school, sometimes suffering bullying at the hands of homophobic students. That friendship led some to believe that he himself was gay. In a 1993 interview with The Advocate, Cobain claimed that he was "gay in spirit" and "probably could be bisexual". He also stated that he used to spray paint "God is Gay" on pickup trucks around Aberdeen. He was arrested in 1985 for spray-painting "HOMO SEX RULES" on a bank. However, Aberdeen police records show that the phrase for which he was arrested was actually "Ain't got no how watchamacallit".In one of his personal journals, Cobain wrote, "I am not gay, although I wish I were, just to piss off homophobes." As a teenager growing up in small-town Washington, Cobain eventually found escape through the thriving Pacific Northwest punk scene, going to punk rock shows in Seattle. Eventually, Cobain began frequenting the practice space of fellow Montesano musicians the Melvins.
In the middle of tenth grade, Cobain moved back to live with his mother in Aberdeen. Two weeks before his graduation, Cobain dropped out of high school after realizing that he did not have enough credits to graduate. His mother gave him a choice: either get a job or leave. After a week or so, Cobain found his clothes and other belongings packed away in boxes. Forced out of his mother's home, Cobain often stayed at friends' houses and sneaked into his mother's basement occasionally claimed that when he could not find anywhere else to stay, he lived under a bridge over the Wishkah River,an experience that inspired the Nevermind track "Something in the Way". However, Krist Novoselic claimed that Cobain never really lived there, saying, "He hung out there, but you couldn't live on those muddy banks, with the tides coming up and down. That was his own revisionism."
In late 1986, Cobain moved into the first house he lived in alone and paid his rent by working at a coastal resort twenty miles from Aberdeen. At the same time, Cobain was traveling more frequently to Olympia, Washington to check out rock shows. During his visits to Olympia, Cobain started a relationship with Tracy Marander.
NIRVANA
For his 14th birthday, Cobain's uncle gave him the option of a guitar or a bicycle as a gift; Cobain chose the guitar. He started learning a few covers, including AC/DC's "Back in Black" and The Cars' "My Best Friend's Girl", and soon began working on his own songs.
In high school, Cobain rarely found anyone to jam with. While hanging out at the Melvins practice space, he met Krist Novoselic, a fellow devotee of punk rock. Novoselic's mother owned a hair salon and Cobain and Novoselic would occasionally practice in the upstairs room. A few years later, Cobain tried to convince Novoselic to form a band with him by lending him a copy of a home demo recorded by Cobain's earlier band, Fecal Matter. After months of asking, Novoselic finally agreed to join Cobain, forming the beginnings of Nirvana.
During their first few years playing together, Novoselic and Cobain were hosts to a rotating list of drummers. Eventually, the band settled on Chad Channing, with whom Nirvana recorded the album Bleach, released on Sub Pop Records in 1989. Cobain, however, became dissatisfied with Channing's style, leading the band to seek out a replacement, eventually settling on Dave Grohl. With Grohl, the band found their greatest success via their 1991 major-label debut, Nevermind.
Cobain struggled to reconcile the massive success of Nirvana with his underground roots. He also felt persecuted by the media, comparing himself to Frances Farmer, and harbored resentment for people who claimed to be fans of the band but who completely missed the point of the band's message. One incident particularly distressing to Cobain involved two men who raped a woman while singing the Nirvana song "Polly". Cobain condemned the episode in the liner notes of the US release of the album Incesticide: "Last year, a girl was raped by two wastes of sperm and eggs while they sang the lyrics to our song 'Polly'. I have a hard time carrying on knowing there are plankton like that in our audience. Sorry to be so anally P.C. but that's the way I feel!" we love Kurt!
MARRIAGECourtney Love first saw Cobain perform in 1989 at a show in Portland, Oregon; the pair talked briefly after the show and Love developed a crush on him. According to journalist Everett True, the pair were formally introduced at an L7/Butthole Surfers concert in Los Angeles in May 1991. In the weeks that followed, after learning from Dave Grohl that she and Cobain shared mutual crushes, Love began pursuing Cobain. After a few weeks of on-again, off-again courtship in the fall of 1991, the two found themselves together on a regular basis, often bonding through drug use.
Around the time of Nirvana's 1992 performance on Saturday Night Live, Love discovered that she was pregnant with Cobain's child. A few days after the conclusion of Nirvana's Pacific Rim tour, on Monday, February 24, 1992, Cobain married Love on Waikiki Beach, Hawaii. "In the last couple months I've gotten engaged and my attitude has changed drastically," Cobain said in an interview with Sassy magazine. "I can't believe how much happier I am. At times I even forget that I'm in a band, I'm so blinded by love. I know that sounds embarrassing, but it's true. I could give up the band right now. It doesn't matter, but I'm under contract." On August 18, the couple's daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, was born. The unusual middle name was given to her because Cobain thought she looked like a kidney bean on the first sonogram he saw of her. She was named for Frances McKee of British band The Vaselines and not Frances Farmer as is sometimes reported.
Love was somewhat unpopular with Nirvana fans; her harshest critics said she was merely using him as a vehicle to make herself famous. Critics who compared Cobain to John Lennon were also fond of comparing Love to Yoko Ono. Rumors persist that Cobain wrote most of the songs on the breakthrough album Live Through This of Love's band Hole, partially fueled by the 1996 appearance of a rough mix of "Asking for It" with Cobain singing backing vocals. However, there is no specific evidence to support the assertion.
At the same time, one song by Hole was discovered to be a song originally written by Nirvana. The song "Old Age" appeared as a B-side on the 1993 single for Beautiful Son, credited to Hole. Initially, there was no reason to believe it was anything other than a Hole-penned song. However, in 1998, a boombox recording of the song performed by Nirvana (with significantly different lyrics) was surfaced by Seattle newspaper The Stranger. In the article that accompanied the clip, Novoselic confirmed that the recording was made in 1991 and that "Old Age" was a Nirvana song, leading to more speculation about Cobain's involvement in Hole's catalog. Nirvana had even attempted to record "Old Age" during the sessions for Nevermind, but it was left incomplete as Cobain had yet to finish the lyrics and the band had run out of studio time. (The incomplete recording appeared on the 2004 compilation With the Lights Out, credited to Cobain.) As for Hole's version, guitarist Eric Erlandson noted that he believed Cobain wrote the music for the song, but that Love had written the lyrics for their version.
In a 1992 article in Vanity Fair, Love admitted to using heroin while (unknowingly) pregnant. Love claimed that Vanity Fair had misquoted her, but her admission created controversy for the couple. While Cobain and Love's romance had always been something of a media attraction, the couple found themselves hounded by tabloid reporters after the article was published, many wanting to know if Frances was addicted to drugs at birth. The Los Angeles County Department of Children's Services took the Cobains to court, claiming that the couple's drug usage made them unfit parents. Two-week-old Frances Bean Cobain was ordered by the judge to be taken from their custody and placed with Courtney's sister Jamie for several weeks, after which the couple obtained custody, but had to submit to urine tests and a regular visit from a social worker. After months of legal wrangling, the couple were eventually granted full custody of their daughter.
Drug addiction
Throughout most of his life, Cobain battled chronic bronchitis and intense physical pain due to an undiagnosed chronic stomach condition. This last condition was especially debilitating to him emotionally, and he spent years trying to find its cause. However, none of the doctors he consulted were able to pinpoint the specific cause, guessing that it was either a result of Cobain's childhood scoliosis or related to the stresses of performing.
His first drug experience was with marijuana in 1980 at age 13. Cobain's first experience with heroin occurred sometime in 1986, administered to him by a local drug dealer in Tacoma, Washington, who had previously been supplying him with Percodan. Cobain used heroin sporadically for several years, but, by the end of 1990, his use had developed into a full-fledged addiction. Cobain claimed that he was "determined to get a habit" as a way to self-medicate his stomach condition. Related Cobain, "It started with three days in a row of doing heroin and I don't have a stomach pain. That was such a relief."
His heroin use eventually began affecting the band's support of Nevermind, with Cobain passing out during photo shoots. One memorable example came the day of the band's 1992 performance on Saturday Night Live, where Nirvana had a shoot with photographer Michael Levine. Having shot up beforehand, Cobain nodded off several times during the shoot. Regarding the shoot, Cobain related to biographer Michael Azerrad, "I mean, what are they supposed to do? They're not going to be able to tell me to stop. So I really didn't care. Obviously to them it was like practicing witchcraft or something. They didn't know anything about it so they thought that any second, I was going to die."
Cobain's heroin addiction worsened as the years progressed. Cobain made his first attempt at rehab in early 1992, not long after he and Love discovered they were going to become parents. Immediately after leaving rehab, Nirvana embarked on their Australian tour, with Cobain appearing pale and gaunt while suffering through withdrawals. Not long after returning home, Cobain's heroin use resumed.
Prior to a performance at the New Music Seminar in New York City in July 1993, Cobain suffered a heroin overdose. Rather than calling for an ambulance, Love injected Cobain with illegally acquired Narcan to bring him out of his unconscious state. Cobain proceeded to perform with Nirvana, giving the public no indication that anything out of the ordinary had taken place.
Cobain's final weeks and death
On March 18, Love phoned police to inform them that Cobain was suicidal and had locked himself in a room with a gun. Police arrived and confiscated several guns and a bottle of pills from Cobain, who insisted that he was not suicidal and had locked himself in the room to hide from Love. When questioned by police, Love admitted that Cobain had never mentioned that he was suicidal and that she had not seen him with a gun.
Love arranged an intervention concerning Cobain's drug use that took place on March 25. The ten people involved included musician friends, record company executives, and one of Cobain's closest friends, Dylan Carlson. But Bassist Krist Novoselic tipped him off as he considered the idea to be "stupid". However, by the end of the day, Cobain had agreed to undergo a detox program. Cobain arrived at the Exodus Recovery Center in Los Angeles, California, on March 30. The following night, Cobain walked outside to have a cigarette, then climbed over a six-foot-high fence to leave the facility. He took a taxi to Los Angeles Airport and flew back to Seattle. Over the course of April 2 and April 3, Cobain was spotted in various locations around Seattle, but most of his friends and family were unaware of his whereabouts. On April 3, Love contacted a private investigator, Tom Grant, and hired him to find Cobain. On April 7, amid rumors Nirvana was going to break up, at the high water mark of the grunge movement the band pulled out of the Lollapalooza that year. On April 8, 1994, Cobain's body was discovered at his Lake Washington home by an electrician who had arrived to install a security system. Apart from a minor amount of blood coming out of Cobain's ear, Smith reported seeing no visible signs of trauma, and initially believed that Cobain was asleep until he saw the shotgun pointing at his chin. A suicide note was found that said, "I haven't felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music, along with really writing . . . for too many years now". A high concentration of heroin and traces of Valium were also found in his body. Cobain's body had been lying there for days; the coroner's report estimated Cobain to have died on April 5, 1994.
A public vigil was held for Cobain on April 10 at a park at Seattle Center which drew approximately seven thousand mourners. Prerecorded messages by Krist Novoselic and Courtney Love were played at the memorial. Love read portions of Cobain's suicide note to the crowd and broke down, crying and chastising Cobain. Near the end of the vigil Love arrived at the park and distributed some of Cobain's clothing to those who still remained. Cobain's body was cremated.
Musical influences
Cobain was a devoted champion of early alternative rock acts. His interest in the underground started when Buzz Osborne of the Melvins let him borrow a tape with songs by punk bands such as Black Flag, Flipper, and Millions of Dead Cops. He would often make reference to his favorite bands in interviews, often placing a greater importance on the bands that influenced him than on his own music. Interviews with Cobain were often littered with references to obscure performers like The Vaselines, The Melvins, Daniel Johnston, The Meat Puppets, Young Marble Giants, The Wipers, Flipper, Butthole Surfers, Captain Beefheart, and The Raincoats. Cobain was eventually able to convince record companies to reissue albums by The Raincoats (Geffen) and The Vaselines (Sub Pop). Cobain also noted the influence of the Pixies, and commented that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" bore some similarities to their sound. Cobain told Melody Maker in 1992 that hearing Surfer Rosa for the first time convinced him to abandon his more Black Flag-influenced songwriting in favor of the "Iggy Pop / Aerosmith" type songwriting that appeared on Nevermind.[36]
The Beatles were an early and important musical influence on Cobain. Cobain expressed a particular fondness for John Lennon, whom he called his "idol" in his journals. Cobain once related that he wrote "About a Girl" after spending three hours listening to Meet The Beatles!.[37] He was heavily influenced by punk rock and hardcore punk, and often credited bands such as Black Flag and the Sex Pistols for his artistic style and attitude.
Even with all of Cobain's indie influences, Nirvana's early style was influenced by the major rock bands of the '70s, including Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Kiss, and Queen. In its early days, Nirvana made a habit of regularly playing cover songs by those bands, including Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song", "Dazed and Confused", "Heartbreaker", and made a studio recording of Kiss' "Do You Love Me?". Cobain also talked about the influence of bands like The Knack, Boston, and The Bay City Rollers. There were also earlier influences: Nirvana's MTV Unplugged concert ended with a version of "Where Did You Sleep Last Night", a song popularized by blues artist Lead Belly, whom Cobain called one of his favorite performers. Critic Greil Marcus suggested that Cobain's "Polly" was a descendant of "Pretty Polly", a murder ballad that might have been a century old when Dock Boggs recorded it in 1927. Cobain also made efforts to include his favorite performers in his musical endeavors. At the 1991 Reading Festival, Eugene Kelly of the Vaselines joined Nirvana onstage for a duet of "Molly's Lips", which Cobain would later proclaim to be one of the greatest moments of his life. In 1993, when he decided that he wanted a second guitarist to help him on stage, he recruited Pat Smear of the legendary L.A. punk band The Germs. When rehearsals of three Meat Puppets covers for Nirvana's 1993 performance for MTV Unplugged went awry, Cobain placed a call to the two lead members of the band, Curt and Cris Kirkwood, who ended up joining the band on stage to perform the songs. Cobain also contributed backing guitar for a spoken word William S. Burroughs recording entitled "the "Priest" they called him".
Where Sonic Youth had served to help Nirvana gain wider success, Nirvana attempted to help other indie acts attain success. The band submitted the song "Oh, the Guilt" to a split single with Chicago's The Jesus Lizard, helping Nirvana's indie credibility while opening The Jesus Lizard to a wider audience.
Legacy
In the years following his death, Cobain is now often remembered as one of the most iconic rock musicians in the history of alternative music. In 2005, a sign was put up in Aberdeen, Washington that read "Welcome to Aberdeen - Come As You Are" as a tribute to Cobain. The sign was paid for and created by the Kurt Cobain Memorial Committee, a non-profit organization created in May 2004 to honor Cobain. The Committee also planned to create a Kurt Cobain Memorial Park and a youth center in Aberdeen.
As Cobain has no gravesite, many Nirvana fans visit Viretta Park, near Cobain's former Lake Washington home, to pay tribute. On the anniversary of his death, fans gather in the park to celebrate his life and memory.
Gus Van Sant based his 2005 movie Last Days on what might have happened in the final hours of Cobain's life. In January 2007, Courtney Love began to shop the biography Heavier Than Heaven to various movie studios in Hollywood to turn the book into an A-list feature film about Cobain and Nirvana.
Books and films on Cobain
Prior to Cobain's death, writer Michael Azerrad published Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana, a book that chronicled Nirvana's career from its beginning, as well as the personal histories of the band members. The book explored Cobain's drug addiction, as well as the countless controversies surrounding the band. After Cobain's death, Azerrad re-published the book to include a final chapter discussing the last year of Cobain's life. The book is notable for its involvement of the band members themselves, who gave interviews and personal information to Azerrad specifically for the book. In 2006, Azerrad's taped conversations with Cobain were transformed into a documentary about Cobain, titled Kurt Cobain About a Son.
In the 1998 documentary Kurt & Courtney, filmmaker Nick Broomfield investigated Tom Grant's claim that Cobain was actually murdered, and took a film crew to visit a number of people associated with Cobain and Love, including Love's father, Cobain's aunt, and one of the couple's former nannies. Broomfield also spoke to Mentors bandleader Eldon "El Duce" Hoke, who claimed that Love had offered him $50,000 to kill Cobain. Although Hoke claimed that he knew who killed Cobain, he failed to mention a name, and offered no evidence to support his assertion. Broomfield inadvertently captured Hoke's last interview, as he died days later, reportedly hit by a train while drunk. In the end, however, Broomfield felt he hadn't uncovered enough evidence to conclude the existence of a conspiracy. In a 1998 interview, Broomfield summed it up by saying, "I think that he committed suicide. I don't think that there's a smoking gun. And I think there's only one way you can explain a lot of things around his death. Not that he was murdered, but that there was just a lack of caring for him. I just think that Courtney had moved on, and he was expendable."
Journalists Ian Halperin and Max Wallace took a similar path and attempted to investigate the conspiracy for themselves. Their initial work, the 1999 book Who Killed Kurt Cobain? argued that, while there wasn't enough evidence to prove a conspiracy, there was more than enough to demand that the case be reopened. A notable element of the book included their discussions with Grant, who had taped nearly every conversation that he had undertaken while he was in Love's employ. Over the next several years, Halperin and Wallace collaborated with Grant to write a second book, 2004's Love and Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain.
In 2001, writer Charles R. Cross published a biography of Cobain titled Heavier Than Heaven. For the book, Cross conducted over 400 interviews, and was given access by Courtney Love to Cobain's journals, lyrics, and diaries.In 2002, a sampling of Cobain's writings was published as Journals. The book is 280 pages with a simple black cover; the pages are arranged somewhat chronologically (although Cobain generally did not date them). The journal pages are reproduced in color, and there is a section added at the back that has explanations and transcripts of some of the less legible pages. The writings begin in the late 1980s, around the time the band started, and end in 1994. A paperback version of the book, released in 2003, included a handful of writings that were not offered in the initial release. In the journals, Cobain talked about the ups and downs of life on the road, made lists of what music he was enjoying, and often scribbled down lyric ideas for future reference. Upon its release, reviewers and fans were conflicted about the collection. Many were elated to be able to learn more about Cobain and read his inner thoughts in his own words, but were disturbed by what was viewed as an invasion of his privacy.
In 2003, Omnibus Press released Godspeed: The Kurt Cobain Graphic. It was written by Jim McCarthy and Barnaby Legg with illustrations by Flameboy. It depicts Cobain's life, but is not a factual biography. Rather, it uses artistic license to tell Cobain's story from his own point of view. Read More......Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Michael Angelo Batio Guitar Studied
Michael Angelo Batio (pronounced /ˈbeɪtioʊ/, also known as Mike Batio or MAB) (born in 1956) is an American guitarist and columnist from Chicago, Illinois. Considered to be one of the fastest guitarists in the world, Batio was voted the "No. 1 Shredder of All Time" by Guitar One Magazine in 2003. He was also listed as one of the "Top 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists of All Time" by Guitar World Magazine, whom he writes the column Time to Burn for, and one of the "20 Greatest Shredders of All Time" by Total Guitar Magazine, both in April 2008.
Early years
MAB started playing the piano and composing music at the age of five, and first played guitar at the age of ten, reportedly playing faster than his teacher within two years. At the age of fourteen he started playing jazz guitar, and within two years he had won the Chicago-based "All-State Jazz Solo Award". He attended Northeastern Illinois University and achieved a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Theory and Composition. After he had graduated, Batio looked to become a session guitarist in his hometown. When he asked for a job at a nearby studio, he was given a piece of music and simply asked to play it. Naturally, he managed to play it and added in some of his own improvisations and fills, making him the studio's primary call-out guitarist. As a session player, Batio recorded music for such companies as Burger King, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, United Airlines, United Way, McDonalds, Beatrice Corp. and the Chicago Wolves hockey team.
Holland (1984–1986)
Batio began his recording career in 1984 when he joined new Chicago-based heavy metal band Holland, an eponymous project set up by ex-Steppenwolf singer Tommy Holland. With major label Atlantic Records, the band released their debut studio album in 1985 entitled Little Monsters, which saw moderate success in the United States. The band split up soon after, and a compilation of material from the Little Monsters sessions, Wake Up the Neighbourhood, was released in 1999 through Batio's label M.A.C.E. Music.
The Michael Angelo Band (1986–1987)
After the breakup of Holland, Batio started his own eponymous band with singer Michael Cordet, bassist Allen Hearn and drummer Paul Cammarata. The Band did not release any albums, though three of their songs appeared on the 1998 Nitro compilation Gunnin' for Glory.
Nitro (1987–1993)
In 1987 Batio joined glam metal artist Jim Gillette on his solo album Proud to Be Loud, before founding the band Nitro with bassist T.J. Racer and drummer Bobby Rock. In 1989 Nitro released their first studio album, O.F.R., from which they released two singles, "Freight Train" and "Long Way From Home". The music video for "Freight Train", which received much airplay on MTV, was notable for featuring Batio playing his now famous 'Quad Guitar', a notion which FHM Magazine voted one of the "50 most outrageous moments in rock history"
By 1992, Rock and Racer had been replaced by Johnny Thunder and Ralph Carter respectively, and it was in this year that they released their second studio album entitled Nitro II: H.W.D.W.S.. Included on the album was a cover of Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever", which the band also recorded a music video for. Nitro disbanded shortly afterwards.
Solo (1993–present)
In April 1993, Batio founded his own record label, M.A.C.E. Music, which became one of the first labels online in 1996. He used this label when he began recording his first album, No Boundaries, which he released in 1995. Batio's second studio release was Planet Gemini in 1997, which showed a very progressive, experimental side to his playing. In 1999, Batio released his first instructional video, Jam With Angelo, which came with his third studio album as a companion CD: Tradition. This was quickly followed by a fourth full-length album in 2000, Lucid Intervals and Moments of Clarity, which was credited to "Mike Batio and Rob Ross", the latter being the drummer. In 2003, Batio released his first DVD, the title release in his Speed Kills series, followed by the second, Speed Lives, in 2004. It was also in this year that Batio released a compilation album, Lucid Intervals and Moments of Clarity Part 2, which featured songs from Tradition and Lucid Intervals.
In 2005, Michael released his highly anticipated cover/tribute/studio album, Hands Without Shadows, which featured guest appearances from such musicians as Mark Tremonti (of Alter Bridge fame), Rudy Sarzo (of Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot, Whitesnake and Dio fame) and virtuoso newcomer Bill Peck. In 2006, DVD Speed Kills 2 was released, in addition to the first in the new Hands Without Shadows series, Performance. Batio's latest release came in 2007, when his first two albums - No Boundaries and Planet Gemini - were remixed and remastered with additional drums, for an album entitled 2 X Again; the title of a song from the first album. Angelo also released three DVDs in 2007: Speed Kills 3, 25 Jazz Progressions and MAB Jam Session.
Two DVDs are slated for a 2008 release, one that focuses on neo-classical techniques and concepts and another which will contain Batio's live performance at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center on July 9.[10] One of these DVDs is apparently to be entitled The Neoclassical Power Approach, according to the flyer for the aforementioned concert.
Style
Batio is (self-taught) ambidextrous, able to play two guitars at the same time either in synchronization or using separate harmonies, as shown when he plays his famous Double-Guitar. Though naturally left-handed, he plays as a right-handed person when playing one guitar. Batio mastered the "Over-Under" technique, which involves flipping his fretting hand over and under the neck, playing the guitar both regularly and like a piano.
Batio taught guitarist Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave fame) while at college. Morello has credited MAB with teaching him in a feature article in Guitar World Magazine in 2005. Michael also gave lessons to guitarist Mark Tremonti after Creed broke up and Tremonti wanted to learn more techniques.
Equipment
Guitars
Batio is an exclusive user of Dean Guitars, both electric and acoustic. In 2007 he designed and developed a signature guitar with Dean, known as the MAB1 Armorflame.
[edit] The Double-Guitar
Batio was the inventor of the Double-Guitar, a V-shaped, twin-neck guitar which can be played both right- and left-handed.[13] The first version of this instrument was actually two separate guitars simply played together, as opposed to being one entity. A Flying V was fastened to a snare drum in a left-handed position, while another one was strapped around his shoulder. The next version of the guitar, as designed by Batio and guitar technician Kenny Breit, featured a flight case latch attached to the back of each guitar, which could reportedly be assembled in five seconds. In October 2003, Dean designed and built the "Mach 7 Jet", and on March 6, 2007, the newest version was delivered to Batio. The original Double went on display at the Chicago Hard Rock Cafe 'wall of fame' before it was relocated to a HRC in Egypt. Its whereabouts are currently unknown.
When the Double-Guitar was first used in concert, Batio noticed that the guitars created a lot of feedback when played together. He decided that he needed to invent a way to 'dampen' the strings when both guitars were played at the same time, hence the invention of the "MAB String Dampener", which is now available to buy from M.A.C.E. Music.
The Double-Guitar was recently named as the 8th "coolest guitar in rock" by online music magazine Gigwise.
The Quad Guitar
As well as the Double Guitar, Michael Angelo also invented and designed the Quad Guitar. The guitar was originally built in conjunction with Gibson, and built by Wayne Charvel in California. The top two guitars have seven strings, while the bottom two have the regular six. The first Quad, as used in the video for Nitro's "Freight Train", was stolen in El Paso, Texas after the second show of Nitro's O.F.R. tour. When Batio was performing in November 2004, a young fan named Simon Jones and his father turned up with a guitar case which held inside the two top guitars of the Quad, as found by Mick Seymour. Dean designed and built a new Quad Guitar in 2007.
The Quad Guitar was recently named as the 2nd "coolest guitar in rock" by online music magazine Gigwise.
Effects
Batio's effects pedals are exclusively made by T-Rex, with whom he has also developed a signature model, the "MAB Overdrive".[18] In his years with Nitro, Batio used Boss overdrive (DS-1, SD-1) pedals.
In the studio, Michael also uses the following effects pedals:
- Eventide Eclipse
- Rocktron Intellifex
- Rocktron Replifex
- Dunlop Cry Baby
- Vintage original prototype Digitech Whammy
- Vintage Digitech 256 multi-FX
- Morley Wah Pedal
Pickups
Another signature piece of equipment Batio developed is the "MAB Hands Without Shadows" pickup, which he uses in his Double Guitar when touring. The pickup is specially designed for shred guitar, and provides the clean tone Batio is accustomed to. The Armorflame, Batio's signature guitar, uses EMG 81, 85 and SA pickups.
Earlier on in his career when he was first endorsed by Dean guitars he also embraced Dean's tradition of popularising Dimarzio pickups and had used Dimarzios in his guitars. These include the Dimarzio PAF, Super Distortion (sometimes using the Super Distortion both in the neck and bridge position, like how he did in his Gibson Charvel Circuit Board double guitar. This was the main setup during the recording of No Boundaries). Batio has also used pickups of other brands including Seymour Duncan, namely the Pearly Gates and JB models and also Bill Lawrence pickups. Currently other than using EMGs in his signature guitar he also has a collection of the other brand pickups in his Dean limited edition collectors' models, such as Dimarzio Custom Super Distortions (based on the Super 2 and Super Distortion) in his USA Dean Time capsule Blue Burst ML and the Seymour Duncan pair he used (refer to above) in his USA Dean Collectors edition Hardtail.
Strings
Batio uses Ernie Ball guitar strings, favouring the .009 to .042 models for soloing and most rhythm guitar parts while thicker gauge strings are used for detuned guitars. The acoustic gauge is normally .010 to .046 or .011 to .052.
Michael uses black Dunlop Jazz IIIs as his guitar pick of choice, and has used the 'teardop' shape of pick since he first started playing. Different picks are sometimes used for acoustic work.
Amplifiers
Batio typically uses Marshall JCM 2000 amps on tour and for newer studio records. In the studio, he also uses the Marshall JMP-1 preamp and Rocktron Chameleon and Voodoo Valve preamps. During his years with Nitro, Batio used Randall amplifiers. He has been an avid Marshall amp user throughout his career and has used the JCM 800 (mostly Jose Arrendondo modified circuitry, very early in his career) and JCM 900 (especially when recording No Boundaries).
Cabinets
Batio's cabinet setup consists of 4x12 Marshall cabinets loaded with Celeston vintage 30s and Greenbacks in mono and stereo.
Read More......Friday, September 26, 2008
Guitar Studied Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen "Stevie" Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an Americanblues-rock guitarist, whose broad appeal made him an influential electric blues guitarist. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Stevie Ray Vaughan #7 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, and Classic Rock Magazine ranked him #3 in their list of the 100 Wildest Guitar Heroes in 2007.
Early life
Vaughan was born on October 3, 1954, in Dallas, Texas, and was raised in the city's Oak Cliff neighborhood. Neither of his parents had any strong musical talent but were avid music fans. They would take Vaughan and his older brother Jimmie to concerts to see Fats Domino, Johnny Williamson III, Jimmy Reed, and Bob Wills.
Even though Vaughan initially wanted to play the drums as his primary instrument, Michael Quinn gave him a guitar when he was seven years old. Vaughan's brother, Jimmie Vaughan, gave him his first guitar lessons. Vaughan was later quoted in Guitar Player as saying, "My brother Jimmie actually was one of the biggest influences on my playing. He really was the reason I started to play, watching him and seeing what could be done." He played entirely by ear and never learned how to read sheet music. By the time he was thirteen years old he was playing in clubs where he met many of his blues idols. A few years later he dropped out of Justin F. Kimball High School in Oak Cliff and moved to Austin to pursue music. Vaughan's talent caught the attention of guitarist Johnny Winter and blues-club owner Clifford Antone.
During the early 1970s Vaughan played the Austin bar and club scene with the Cobras. After the Cobras broke up, in 1975 he started Triple Threat, which in 1978 became Double Trouble with Vaughan as lead singer. From Austin, their success spread throughout Texas.
In the early 1980s, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger saw Vaughan and Double Trouble playing at a club, and invited them to play at a private party in New York. This led to their acquaintance with producer Jerry Wexler, who managed to get them their first big break performing at the 1982 Montreux Jazz Festival. As a result they were able to meet Jackson Browne, who gave the band free time in his Los Angeles studio, and David Bowie, who had Vaughan play lead guitar on his next album, Let's Dance.
Soon a record contract with Epic followed, as well as their first album release in 1983, the successful Texas Flood, which charted at number 38 and gained positive reviews. After a successful tour, their second album, Couldn't Stand the Weather, charted at number 31 in 1984 and went gold in 1985. Their third album, Soul to Soul, charted at number 34 in 1985.
Drugs and alcoholism
Drug addiction and alcoholism took a toll on Vaughan by mid-1986. Cocaine and Crown Royal whiskey were his drugs of choice. Vaughan would dissolve cocaine in his whiskey for a morning "pick-me-up". Doctors later discovered that this morning ritual was causing severe ulcerations of the stomach lining. Nevertheless, he carried on and put out Live Alive in 1986 and did a concert tour in America in 1987. After becoming acutely ill in Germany while on tour, Vaughan managed to struggle through three more shows, but was soon admitted into a hospital in London. Dr. Victor Bloom, who had helped Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend with their addictions, told Vaughan that if he had not come to the hospital he would have died in a month. After a struggle to get sober in London, he then flew to Atlanta, Georgia, to a rehabilitation center. He eventually recovered fully from his addictions in the program of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Recovery
Upon his return from rehab, Vaughan worked with a number of artists including Dick Dale (making a cameo appearance as himself performing a duet of "Pipeline" with Dale in the movie Back to the Beach, which was then released as a single), Jennifer Warnes, and Stevie Wonder (playing "Superstition" on the MTV special Stevie Wonder's Characters).
In 1988, Vaughan continued to tour with Double Trouble throughout Scandinavia and performed at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Vaughan and Double Trouble recorded In Step in February 1989, their fourth studio album, which was praised by some as the band's best work since Texas Flood. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Vaughan shared a headline tour with guitarist Jeff Beck in the fall of 1989. In his beloved Austin, the "Live Music Capital of the World," Vaughan was presented with a proclamation from the mayor declaring November 26, 1989 "Stevie Ray Vaughan Day."
On January 3, 1990, Vaughan gave a speech and addressed the Aquarius Chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous. On January 30, Vaughan made his first appearance on MTV Unplugged in New York City. It was originally scheduled for Vaughan to do a closing jam with Joe Satriani, but Vaughan said he had to leave right away.
Vaughan had spoken two years earlier about wanting to help produce an album with his brother, Jimmie Vaughan. That time came in March 1990, when the Vaughan Brothers went to work at the Dallas Sound Lab, the same studio used to record Soul to Soul.
Around this time, Vaughan said that singing was becoming painful for him due to a condition he called "hamburger throat." He received acupuncture to his neck, but still had to take cortisone shots to relieve the pain, which caused his face to swell.
Death
On August 25 and August 26, 1990, Vaughan and Double Trouble finished the summer portion of the In Step Tour with shows at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, just outside of East Troy, Wisconsin. The show also featured Robert Cray & His Memphis Horns, and Eric Clapton, who played the closing set, also bringing all the musicians back onstage for an encore jam.
Double Trouble drummer Chris Layton recalls his last conversation with Vaughan backstage. He then remembers Vaughan saying he had to call his girlfriend, Janna Lapidus, in Chicago, before heading out the door to the helicopters, which had been arranged for flight (through Omni Flights) by Skip Rickert, Double Trouble's tour manager.
The musicians had expected a long bus ride back to Chicago. However, Vaughan was informed by a member of Clapton's crew that three seats were open on one of the helicopters returning to Chicago with Clapton's crew, enough for Vaughan, his brother Jimmie, and Jimmie's wife Connie. It turned out there was only one seat left; Vaughan requested it from his brother, who obliged. At 12:44 a.m. pilot Jeffrey Browne guided the helicopter off the ground. Moments after takeoff the helicopter crashed into a ski slope and all five on board were killed. Although the crash occurred only 0.6 miles from takeoff, it went unnoticed by those at the concert site.
The search for the wreckage began at 5:00 a.m., finally being located two hours later with the help of its locator beacon. The cause of the crash was believed to be pilot error.
Chris Layton and Jimmie Vaughan did not find out about the crash until they returned to their motel in Chicago. The following morning Jimmie Vaughan was called to identify the body of his brother. The coroner's report stated that the cause of death was exsanguination caused by severing of the aorta. The severance was caused by high deceleration during crash impact.
Stevie Ray Vaughan is interred in the Laurel Land Memorial Park, Dallas, Texas.
Posthumous events and recognition
September 1990 saw the release of Family Style.
The 1991 album The Sky Is Crying was the first of several posthumous Vaughan releases to achieve chart success. Jimmie Vaughan later co-wrote and recorded a song in tribute to his brother and other deceased blues guitarists, entitled "Six Strings Down".
The 1991 album of Bonnie Raitt, Luck of the Draw, was dedicated to him.
Many other artists recorded songs in remembrance of Vaughan, including Eric Johnson, Buddy Guy and Steve Vai ("Jibboom" on the album The Ultra Zone, 1999).
In 1991, Texas governor Ann Richards proclaimed October 3, Vaughan's birthday, to be "Stevie Ray Vaughan Day." An annual motorcycle ride and concert in Central Texas benefits the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Scholarship Fund.
In 1992, the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation released the Stevie Ray Vaughan Signature Stratocaster, which Vaughan had helped design. As of 2007, the model is still in production. In 2004, Fender also released a limited edition exact replica of "Number One".
Stevie Wonder included a song on his 1995 live album Natural Wonder entitled "Stevie Ray Blues". On the album, Wonder refers to the song as "Stevie Ray Vaughan Blues".
Stephen King's short story "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band" concerns a small town called Rock and Roll Heaven that's populated by late rock musicians, one of whom is Vaughan.
In 1994, the city of Austin erected the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Statue at Auditorium Shores on Lady Bird Lake,
In 2000, Stevie Ray Vaughan was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
The last guitar that Vaughan played before his death is on display in the Hard Rock Cafe in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
In November 2007, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation released a second tribute to Vaughan, an exact replica of his second beloved guitar: Lenny. This guitar was given to him by his wife Lennora ("Lenny") on his 26th birthday and Vaughan was very fond of it. According to Fender, the original Lenny was a 1965 Strat that he saw in the window of a pawn shop that he was unable to afford. The guitar is sold with a strap, a case with Vaughan's name embroidered in the fabric lining, a number of brochures and memorabilia and a leather bound certificate of authenticity.
Also in November 2007, Sony BMG, Epic Records, and Legacy Records released the CD Stevie Ray Vaughan & Friends: Solos, Sessions & Encores.
Stevie Ray Vaughan will become eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.
In 2008, residents voted to rename Dallas' Industrial Boulevard, with Vaughan's name being one of the finalists alongside Stanley Marcus, Eddie Bernice Johnson, and Cesar Chavez.
Vaughan's blues style was strongly influenced by many blues guitarists. Foremost among them were Albert King, who dubbed himself Stevie's "godfather," Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, and Jimi Hendrix. The song "Rude Mood" is a direct derivative (according to Vaughan himself) of a Lightnin' Hopkins tune called "Lightning Sky Hop." He was also strongly influenced by early blues-rock guitarist Lonnie Mack, who, according to Vaughan, "really taught me to play guitar from the heart" (Davis, History of the Blues, DaCapo 2003, p. 246). Vaughan, who had idolized Mack since childhood, produced and played on Mack's 1985 Alligator Records album Strike Like Lightning and covered two Mack tunes from the early 1960s, "Wham!" and "Chicken-Pickin'" (which Vaughan renamed "Scuttle-Buttin',") as well as a Mack tune from the 1980s, "If You Have To Know." Vaughan's brother Jimmie Vaughan has stated that Johnny "Guitar" Watson was the guitarist he and Stevie studied the most.
Vaughan's sound and playing style, which often incorporated simultaneous lead and rhythm parts, drew comparisons to Hendrix; Vaughan covered several Hendrix tunes on his studio albums and in performance, such as "Little Wing," "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," and "Third Stone from the Sun." He was also heavily influenced by Freddie King, another Texas bluesman, mainly in the use of tone and attack; King's heavy vibrato can clearly be heard in Vaughan's playing. Another stylistic influence was Albert Collins. By utilizing his index finger as a pick a la Albert Collins, he was able to coax various tonal nuances from his amplifiers.
Known for his warm blues-rock tone, Vaughan characteristically used very heavy strings on his guitar ranging from 13 to 56-gauge sets to give a fuller sound which he tuned down a half-step to the key of E flat.
Musicians such as John Mayer, Robert Randolph, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Colin James, Jonny Lang, Jason Wayne Loftice, Los Lonely Boys, Mike McCready, Eric Johnson, John Petrucci, and Doyle Bramhall II have cited Vaughan as an influence.
Read More......Monday, September 22, 2008
Richie Kotzen Guitar Ibanez
Richie Kotzen (born February 3, 1970 in Reading, Pennsylvania) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter.
At a young age, Richie Kotzen was taken by music and first began playing piano at the age of five. At the age of seven he was inspired by New York City band KISS to learn the electric guitar. Relentlessly developing chops and his own unique voice on the guitar, he started his career in a band named Arthur's Museum. Kotzen was eventually discovered by Shrapnel Records' Mike Varney, and he recorded his first album by the age of 19. During that same year, he also graced the cover of several publications including Guitar World Magazine. He created the video Rock Chops for REH video in 1989, highlighting many of his formative techniques, including using wide-intervals and fluid sweeping.
In 1991, Kotzen made his big break when he joined the rock band Poison at age 21, co-writing and performing on the album Native Tongue. This album produced two top twenty singles which Richie co-wrote, "Stand" and "Until You Suffer Some (Fire & Ice)". In 1999 Kotzen replaced Paul Gilbert as guitarist in the mainstream rock band Mr. Big. Kotzen maintained the band's enormous success, performing on the Mr. Big record Get Over It, which sold more than 175,000 copies in its first two weeks in Japan, eventually reaching platinum status. Kotzen also contributed guitars to Mr. Big's subsequent release Actual Size. The record included the Kotzen song Shine, which debuted at number one on Japanese radio charts. Following the disbanding of Mr. Big, Kotzen released the solo album Change, in 2003. The title track, and the song Get A Life were featured in TV commercials throughout Japan.
In 2002 Kotzen bought a commercial building in Los Angeles and established a recording Studio/Production company. He has since been producing acclaimed solo albums and collaborating with various figures in rock, jazz, and fusion including jazz legend Stanley Clarke.
In mid 2006 Kotzen was the opening act in Japan for the Rolling Stones on their Bigger Bang tour.
He has also covered various songs from the Gundam franchise including Soldiers of Sorrow, The Beginning, and Fly! Gundam.
Richie Kotzen has used Fender electric guitars for most of his career. His most notable instruments are his signature model Telecasters and Stratocasters, as well as other custom made models. Currently, there are two Richie Kotzen signature models, made by Fender Japan - a Stratocaster (STR-145RK) and a Telecaster (TLR-155RK). Both guitars feature ash bodies with flame laminated maple caps, maple necks and one piece maple fretboards with 22 super jumbo frets. The Telecaster model features a DiMarzio Chopper T pickup in the bridge position (single spaced humbucker) and a DiMarzio Twang King in the neck position. The Stratocaster is fit with three custom made DiMarzio single coil pickups.
At the beginning of his career, Richie Kotzen used Ibanez guitars and Laney amplifiers, later moving on to Fender guitars and Marshall amplifiers in the early 1990s. He used Marshall Super Lead, JCM800 and JCM900 models.
In 2005, Cornford Amplification issued a Richie Kotzen signature model - RK100, a single channel tube amp head developed and designed in collaboration with Kotzen to suit his expansive playing style. There is also a matching signature model speaker cabinet, equipped with four Celestion Vintage 30 12" speakers. Both the amplifier head and the speaker cabinet are the only Cornford models fit with Kotzen-style black tolex covering. However, if on tour, Kotzen will use amplifiers supplied by the venue, as requested, most likely Cornford models or Marshall JCM900 master volume heads.
Kotzen prefers not to use many pedals (effects in general) when playing live. Therefore, currently he only uses a Boss TU-2 pedal tuner and a footswitch to control the gain level of his Cornford amplifier. However, during his career, he has used Sobbat DriveBreaker distortion pedals (DB-1, DB-2 and DB-3), a Guyatone Wah-Rocker, a Dunlop Crybaby and Rotovibe pedal, a Boss DD-3 delay, Boss OC-2 octave and Boss CE-5 chorus pedals, etc.
Read More......Thursday, September 18, 2008
Slash Guitar Ibanez
SLASH was born in Hampstead (London), England on July 23, 1965, and he was raised in Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire, England. His given name is Saul Hudson. His mother is a Black American, and his father is a white Englishman. Both parents are artistic and work in the entertainment field. His mother is a clothing designer for entertainers. She designed some of David Bowie's unforgettable costumes. His father provides art direction for record albums. Two notable clients are Neil Young and Joni Mitchell.
At age 11 SLASH moved to Los Angeles with his mother while his father remained based in England. Born in the UK, SLASH was an immigrant in the United States and was to remain one for many years. The family eventually lived together again in L.A. where SLASH had a rough transition to conservative Southern California. The long hair, jeans and t-shirts that he wore even then didn't exactly fit with the other kids. An outsider at school, he lived a bohemian life at home. Surrounded by artistic friends of his parents, SLASH grew accustomed to the moods and eccentricities of those in the music world. Frequent visitors at the Hudson household included Joni Mitchell, David Geffen, David Bowie, Ron Wood and Iggy Pop. SLASH has said that these surroundings prepared him for coping with the stress of the music industry, the conflict between artistry and business.
In the mid-1970's, his parents separated. SLASH moved in with his beloved grandmother until he could sort out the situation at home. About this time SLASH discovered BMX (bicycle motorcrossing), joined up with a group of kids, and rode with a passion. It's not surprising to hear that SLASH would ride without brakes! SLASH eventually became a professional BMX biker winning awards and money for his great riding.
While in junior high school (age 15), SLASH's grandmother gave him his first guitar. Although it had just one string, SLASH was able to learn to play. SLASH's early musical influences were Led Zep, Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith,Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Neil Young. He credits the Aerosmith album ROCKS with changing his life. Getting to play with the musical idols of his life means a lot to him. Standing on a stage in Paris with Jeff Beck and Joe Perry was overwhelming. SLASH also has gotten to play with guitarist "god" Eric Clapton. He has played with many other artists including Lenny Kravitz, Paul Rogers, Iggy Pop, Michael Jackson, Brian May to name just a few. 
Soon the bike was put aside. SLASH devoted at least 12 hours a day to playing guitar. His schoolwork suffered when he skipped classes and sat in the bleachers all day playing guitar. School may have suffered, but his social life got better! The other kids now thought SLASH was cool, and he was no longer a social outcast. SLASH joined band after band jamming with other young musicians. Eventually, SLASH gave up on school and dropped out in eleventh grade. Another education was waiting for him in the L.A. band scene. SLASH met Steven Adler, formed the band Road Crew, and was looking for a good singer. Then he met Izzy Stradlin who played him a tape of W. Axl Rose singing. SLASH went to see Axl perform and immediately wanted to steal him from Izzy, but the two Indiana natives were fast friends. SLASH found his bass player in Duff McKagan when Duff answered an ad SLASH had placed in the paper. All the players changed combinations, but the result was Guns N'Roses! With a lot of talent and a lot of drive, the band became an international success story.
After the Illusions tours, Guns N'Roses went on a well-deserved hiatus, and SLASH became a U.S citizen. He decided that immigration hassles, lost green cards, etc. were just too timeconsuming for his lifestyle. So SLASH became a citizen of the United States. Welcome, SLASH! About this time, SLASH became restless and decided to form a new band as a side project to his GNR work which seemed to be taking forever to get started. Matt Sorum, Gilby Clarke, Mike Inez, Eric Dover, and SLASH formed SLASH's Snakepit and recorded the album IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE. Never content to stay home and smell the roses, SLASH went on the road with his touring band: Gilby Clarke, Brian Tichy, James Lomenso, Eric Dover. Playing to small venues, SLASH was able to get back to playing in clubs and being toe-to-toe with the audience. IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE went platinum worldwide, and SLASH promised that Snakepit would be back again.
In the summer of 1996, SLASH was invited to play at a blues concert in Budapest, Hungary. He got together some musicians and headed for Europe. From this beginning came a terrific band called SLASH's Blues Ball. And though this band never recorded an album, it was in big demand by promoters and fans. While this was going on, SLASH was waiting for Axl Rose to get Guns N'Roses together. SLASH and Axl had talks about the musical direction of the band. SLASH saw GNR as a rock band while Axl Rose wanted to go in a more techno/industrial direction with GNR. After many, many meetings and heated discussions, SLASH resigned from GNR in October 1996 with Rose retaining the rights to the band name.
SLASH didn't sit at home with his head in his hands. He got busy with Blues Ball! Blues Ball played blues covers, so they could start playing gigs right away. Throughout the end of 1996 till the fall of 1997, SLASH's Blues Ball played at clubs throughout California, into the southwest and the northeast. Blues Ball has rolled away for the time being but may play some one-offs. You just never know with SLASH!
When SLASH left Guns N'Roses, his many fans wondered what he might be going do with all that talent and personality. The media were wondering, too. At first, there was speculation that the Axl - SLASH rift would be of short duration and a reconciliation was inevitable. SLASH had been quoted as saying that when Axl Rose was ready to make a rock and roll album, he would be back. As Rose filled GNR with hired guns and unknowns, SLASH made it clear that Snakepit will be his permanent band. He says he could do a one off or a short tour with the original band, but he would never walk on stage with a band pretending to be the Guns N'Roses band.
As promised, SLASH brought back Snakepit! He had 300 demo tapes from musicians who wanted to be in his band. He settled on drummer Matt Laug (formerly with Venice) and bassist Johnny Griparic (formerly with SLASH's Blues Ball). Rhythm guitarist was at first Ryan Roxie. Ryan was in Dad's Porno Magazine and Alice Cooper's band. Ryan did the pre-album tour and the recording, but then decided to stick with his many other bands. SLASH was able to enlist the wonderful Keri Kelli as the band's second guitarist. Snakepit's vocalist is a newcomer, Rod Jackson, from Virginia and the band Ragdoll there. The new album was released October 10, 2000 in the US with the upbeat title Ain't Life Grand. Elsewhere in this website, you will find some song clips, lyrics and reviews. SLASH's Snakepit began their tour by opening for AC/DC on the North American leg of their tour. This gave the band huge exposure. The band toured the Far East with great results and and then did a European tour in December. In February 2001, the 'pit launched a club show in the US. The tour did very well, but on March 11, SLASH came down with the flu and the rest of this tour was cancelled. The band was also to open for AC/DC again in March in the US until SLASH's flu turned into pneumonia. It's hard to imagine this dynamo stopped by illness, and he won't be for long. May 2001 finds SLASH recuperating and planning the next leg of the tour. Snakepit gave its last performance in July 2001. The band went home for some rest before recording the next album. The rest time was getting long, so Snakepit (minus SLASH) got together to write some songs. Sadly, SLASH announced publicly that Snakepit was no more. SLASH was breaking up the band in order to do some solo projects of his own. He said that he had been through all that excitement of touring and arranging gigs when he was starting out. He was glad the guys had a good time, but he was not interested in repeating what they had done. So, Snakepit band members disappeared to other bands. 
SLASH then decided he would do a solo project involving music from different countries. He would use guest musicians, but he would write all the music. At the same time, he started jamming with Duff and Matt. Soon, this project went from "not a high priority" to the three ex-Gunners' sole focus. Izzy was in and out, and The Project (this site gave it this temporary name) had music and some lyrics for 40 songs. Izzy decided he did not want to tour although he might jump in and out of a tour, and the guys picked up the guitarist from Duff's Loaded band, Dave Kushner. In early 2003, The Project auditioned vocalists. After throwing the job open to experienced and unknown singers, Scott Weiland, ex-Stone Temple Pilots was selected. The band called themselves Velvet Revolver and played their debut gig in the summer of 2003 at the El Rey theater in L.A. The band did some soundtrack work on The Hulk and The Italian Job and found a label (RCA). Velvet Revolver was to have their debut CD in the hands of the label by year's end 2003, and they had it in by 12/19. Unfortunately, Scott Weiland continued to have drug and legal problems that kept pushing the release date back further and further. The album title is Contraband and the release date is now June 8. While Scott is doing rehab, SLASH and Duff have been doing global promo! They promise a worldwide tour after the album is released. The first single off the album is "Slither", and a video was done where fans took part. The second single was "Fall To Pieces" with a video where fans again took a small part. The third is "Dirty Little Thing" with some great animation and graphics. The band received a great honor in being nominated for three Grammy awards and carrying away one for Best Rock Guitar Performance ("Slither"). Every day there is news on this great band and/or SLASH solo work. Here, we just hit the high points. For additional, frequent information, check out the Velvet Revolver on this site. Also follow the News Section for additional updated information on SLASH's new band. Rock 'N' Fuckin' Roll! 
SLASH's life once seemed a symbol of rock and roll decadence, but things have calmed down with him in some ways. Once a heroin addict, SLASH has been off drugs for several years. His astounding drinking habits are sometimes in evidence, and he still smokes his Marlboros and Galitanos. A major change occurred when SLASH fell in love with Renee Suran. They were married October 10, 1992 in Marina Del Ray, California. Renee stayed out of the rock spotlight but was described as beautiful, sweet, and very much in love with SLASH. She pursued her own career as model and actress. Renee and SLASH both appeared in Howard Stern's movie "Private Parts". The two separated and divorced in the fall of 1997. They remain friends. After his divorce, SLASH was in Las Vegas when he ran into a young woman he had known for many years. Her name was Perla Ferrer, and the couple soon began dating seriously. Perla and SLASH eventually started living together, 
and fans started seeing Perla on the SLASH's Snakepit tours and his appearances in clubs or on TV. It became clear that Perla was someone very special to SLASH, and in 2000, the two became engaged to be married. Perla's beautiful, sparkling diamond ring was designed by SLASH himself. On October 15, Saul Hudson married Perla Ferrar in Maui in a solemn relgious service there. The bride wore a strapless, pleated white wedding gown and carried a beautiful floral bouquet that matched those in her long brown hair. SLASH wore new black leather pants, a white shirt, his faithful black leather jacket and a floral lei matching Perla's flowers. All their fans and friends and families wish Mr. and Mrs. Hudson a wonderful married life. The Hudsons returned to Los Angeles where they will buy a new home. In February 2002, SLASH and Perla announced that they are expecting their first child in September! On August 28, 2002 little London Hudson made his appearance! Despite some problems Perla had with the pregnancy, London was in excellent condition. He is a beautiful baby and the center of the family. SLASH just loves him so much, and he always has a sweet story about his son. As London approaches his second birthday in the summer of 2004, the Hudson's were also looking forward to the birth of their second child at the end of April. Cash Anthony Hudson was born on April 22, a healthy baby boy. SLASH's lifestyle has changed over the years. From being a wild rocker, SLASH has settled into a role of husband and father. Some things about SLASH don't change - his love for his music, his wife, his fans and his friends as well as the California climate and the Los Angeles setting. If you are in the Sunset Boulevard area, you might run into SLASH hanging out with Perla and his friends or jamming with a band on the Strip. He looks healthy and happy and a little more settled, but you can still see a little of that devilish rocker in his eyes!
About his small tv and movie parts, SLASH says that he is not looking to become an actor. He loves music and plays with a lot of artists. He seems not to have changed from the young musician who formed band after band, always looking for another chance to play. It was a family friend who nicknamed Saul Hudson "SLASH". He said SLASH was always in a hurry, zipping around from one thing to another. He named SLASH well!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Guitar Ibanez Roland Grapow
Roland Grapow, born August 30, 1959 in Hamburg, Germany is a professional guitarist. Roland is most well known for his time in the power metal band Helloween, who he played with for 12 years after replacing founding member Kai Hansen. Roland played on the albums Pink Bubbles Go Ape, Chameleon, Master of the Rings, The Time of the Oath, High Live, Better Than Raw, Metal Jukebox, and The Dark Ride. During his time with Helloween Roland also formed a solo project. The first release, The Four Seasons of Life, featured members of Helloween playing backup, with Roland trying his hand at singing in addition to guitar playing. On the second album, Kaleidoscope, current and former members of Yngwie Malmsteen's band were utilised. In 2001, Roland and bandmate Uli Kusch were fired from Helloween due to musical and personal differences. The side project they had been planning, Masterplan, instead became their new full-time band. Roland Grapow is a producer and main songwriter of Masterplan Name: Roland Grapow |
| Musical Influences: Mark Farner (Grand Funk Railroad), Michael Schenker, Steve Lukather (TOTO), Uli Occupation That Would Like To Have If He Wasn't On Music: Car mechanic Most Important Thing: "Enjoy my life and respect people and animals." |
