Episode 1 - Steve Vai

Episode 1 - Steve Vai

The guitar virtuoso and genius composer talks about his guitars, inspiration and the journey.

Malibu Guitar Festival

Duration: 08:03

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Episode 2 - Robby Kreiger

Malibu Guitar Festival

Episode 2 - Robby Kreiger

Robby Kreiger from The Doors talks art, golf and guitars.

03:292 years ago

Episode 3 - Tommy Emmanuel

Malibu Guitar Festival

Episode 3 - Tommy Emmanuel

A chat with a guitar genius.

08:092 years ago

Joe Bonamassa solos in Josh Smith's studio.

Joe BonamassaJosh SmithNorman's Rare GuitarsNewsVintageRockBluesRecording

Joe Bonamassa solos in Josh Smith's studio.

Joe Bonamassa came by Josh Smith's studio 'Flat Five Studio' to record lead guitar for Norman's new song that will be featured in his upcoming Netflix documentary. Check out Bonamassa's new guitar 'Gate Crasher' purchased from George Kooymans of Golden Earring. As Joe says, 'You can never have too many guitars Norm...'

16:272 months ago

Episode 2: Recording acoustic guitars....the basics

LessonsNewsTips, Tech & RepairsAcousticRecording

Episode 2: Recording acoustic guitars....the basics

In this episode, Brandon gets into the basics of recording acoustic guitars....from mic selection to mic placement and all the other tricks you need to get the best out of your acoustic recordings.

19:586 months ago

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Exclusive Interview with Andrew Kastner

Exclusive Interview with Andrew Kastner

Andrew Kastner, guitarist, songwriter and founding member of the great LA band, Jack Mack And The Heart Attack opens up about the time as a 15 year old kid back in 1965, he called The Beatles hotel in Boston and somehow managed to get through to John Lennon's room. After Paul McCartney hung up on him, he called back and had a casual conversation with John Lennon for 15 minutes.

09:048 hours ago

IBANEZ ANNOUNCES NEW ADDITIONS TO THEIR 2021 ELECTRIC GUITAR LINEUP

IBANEZ ANNOUNCES NEW ADDITIONS TO THEIR 2021 ELECTRIC GUITAR LINEUP

Bensalem, PA. Ibanez has JUST announced the latest editions to their vast selection of electric guitars. New for 2021, the exceptional AZ-N Series and three new Prestige Hollow Body models are sure to help guitarists ring in the new year. New for 2021, the AZ line is adding a new offshoot called the AZ-N series. This new breed of AZ is built around three principal differences from the originals. The first, are newly designed Seymour Duncan® Fortuna™ pickups with a more scooped mid-range, giving them a classic, organic, open voice. As a result, the guitar is extremely natural sounding which is what the “N” in AZ-N represents. This design also features a Rosewood fingerboard, with a compound radius; 9” towards the nut and 12” towards the bridge. This creates a neck that strikes the perfect ergonomic balance for clean melodies and chordal playing along with searing fast solo work higher up on the neck. The AZ-N still retains the musically flexible nature of the originals, while offering specifically tailored elements aimed at the player whose sound centers on a more traditional tone. No word yet on the ESTIMATED STREET PRICE: Ibanez also Announced Three New Prestige Hollow Body Models the professional-grade Artstar series. The influences of these legendary instruments are immediately apparent with a bone nut, ebony fretboard, and Ibanez's signature Super 58 custom pickups. The critical eye will appreciate the attention to detail poured into these instruments like the smoothness of the fretboard and the skill applied to the fretwork, generally found on instruments costing twice as much. The Artstar embodies the pure jazz-box and the continual evolution the genre represents. For 2021, there are three revamped made-in-Japan Artstar models: the AF2000, AS2000, and AM2000. The AF2000 represents the quintessential Jazz Box and is the most traditional design among the three. It’s full-hollow body construction produces a rich, complex tone, expressed with a pure voice and full body, the tonal characteristics most highly desired among the discerning Jazz player. The AS2000 utilizes a semi-hollow body construction and is built to tackle just about any genre of music you throw at it, with the pickups mounted directly to the center block for increased sustain and feedback elimination. The AM2000H Is smaller in size than other two models, but this guitar provides warm, punchy tone and abundant sustain. It offers the added benefit being compact enough that players more accustomed to a solid body electric will feel right at home on this new Artstar guitar. For more information click the info button now.

02:4430 hours ago

Guitar of the Day 2020 Fender American Professional II Stratocaster Norman's Rare Guitars

Guitar Of The Day

Guitar of the Day 2020 Fender American Professional II Stratocaster Norman's Rare Guitars

Guitar of the Day 2020 Fender American Professional II Stratocaster Norman's Rare Guitars

17:3230 hours ago

Update: Jan 15th, 2021: Jerry Garcia Music Arts Releases "Front Street Outtakes", rare studio recording session between Jerry Garcia and Sanjay Mishra.

Update: Jan 15th, 2021: Jerry Garcia Music Arts Releases "Front Street Outtakes", rare studio recording session between Jerry Garcia and Sanjay Mishra.

News out of SAN FRANCISCO, that the Jerry Garcia Music Arts label has just released a new album titled "Front Street Outtakes" featuring studio out-takes from a 1994 recording session Jerry recorded with Indian American guitarist-composer, Sanjay Mishra. The unreleased recordings represent one of Jerry's last full album recording projects completed at the Grateful Dead's iconic Club Front Studios and originate from unedited material used in the creation of the 1995 album "Blue Incantation." As with all of Sanjay Mishra's work, the music on the album has a multicultural and eclectic appeal merging Eastern and Western influences, combining his brilliantly Indian-inspired guitar textures with Jerry's masterful musical fluidity. Jerry Garcia Music Arts will donate 25% of its net revenue from every digital music stream of the album to the Self-Realization Fellowship founded by Paramahansa Yogananda back in the 1920's. Yogananda is known for writing the highly acclaimed "Autobiography of a Yogi" and the Self-Realization Fellowship is a worldwide spiritual organization founded by Paramahansa Yogananda to serve as an instrument for the preservation and worldwide dissemination of his writings and teachings, including Kriya Yoga. "Front Street Outtakes" was mastered by Grammy Award-winning audio engineer David Glasser and the album will be available on most digital streaming platforms. As you can see on the album cover, Jerry played the Eagle guitar for this recording — the first of several custom instruments built for him by Luthier Doug Irwin in 1971, it's interesting to note that a Sanskrit prayer for happiness is inlayed on the guitar's fingerboard. Reflecting on the music that he produced with Garcia, Mishra commented, "Unique and mysterious, these mixes consist of the recordings in pure form, with just the guitars and percussion, all unedited, including the tape reel running out on the first track." The visual elements that accompany the release include a booklet of liner notes featuring rare in-studio photos of the session along with Garcia's music-themed pen-and-ink drawing "Uncorrected Manuscript." This image, in its unedited and pure form, can be interpreted as a visual metaphor for the recordings on "Front Street Outtakes." said Manasha Garcia, co-producer at Jerry Garcia Music Arts, "It is an honor to support Paramahansa Yogananda's teachings with my late husband's music. There's an interesting circularity to this project, as my grandfather gave me his copy of 'Autobiography of a Yogi' to read when I was a teenager. Later, when I began singing in the Self-Realization Fellowship choir, Jerry would listen to the choral practice tapes and play guitar to help me follow the sheet music for the holiday recitals." For more, click the info button.....

03:082 days ago

Introducing the Taylor GT K21e A Solid Hawaiian Koa Masterpiece

Alamo Music Center

Introducing the Taylor GT K21e A Solid Hawaiian Koa Masterpiece

"Taylor is back with the most luxurious incarnation of their GT, or Grand Theater, body shape. The GT K21e features solid Hawaiian Koa top/back and sides, C-Class bracing, and beautiful Spring Vine inlay. Its punchy midrange and crystalline high end are a product of the body shape and scale length combination— this short scale guitar packs the punch of any full sized competitor. With tone for days and unbeatable aesthetics, Taylor has done it again". Click the INFO button to visit Alamo Music website for pre-order information.

19:122 days ago

Exclusive Interview with Spanish Guitarist/Composer, Russ Hewitt

Exclusive Interview with Spanish Guitarist/Composer, Russ Hewitt

It has been quite a year for guitar virtuoso Russ Hewitt with his current CD, ‘Cielo Nocturno’, showing all the signs of becoming a run-away success. Shimmering with the rumba flamenco rhythms and lightning guitar runs that have become trademarks of Hewitt’s distinctive style, the album includes a stellar line up of returning musicians including percussionist Raphael Padilla (Miami Sound Machine, Chris Isaak), drummer Walfredo Reyes Jr. (Santana, Steve Winwood, Chicago), bass player Bob Parr (Cher, Barry White), guitarist Alfredo Caceres (Gipsy Kings All-Stars) and most notably Larry Carlton who features on the delightfully easy grooving ‘North of Home’. The radio single featuring Larry Carlton was a mainstay on stations worldwide. The recording was mastered by Chris Bellman who, in his time, has worked with the likes of Van Halen, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Elton John while completing the lineup are guitarist Ardeshir Farah (Strunz & Farah) on the fiery ‘Persian Sky’ and accordion player Vladimir Kaliazine. Bellman mastered Hewitt’s two previous releases, ‘Bajo el Sol’ and ‘Alma Vieja’ which not only garnered outstanding reviews from around the world but also drew fulsome praise from his peers. Accolades are coming from all over the world in forms of press and reviews including making the ballot for the 59th Grammy Awards (Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, Engineered Album, Instrumental Composition ‘Persian Sky’); Two silver medal’s from the Global Music Awards in the instrumental category for the song ‘Presido’ and album category for ‘Cielo Nocturno‘; Nominated for ‘Best Acoustic Guitar Album 2016’ from One World Music Awards; Nominated in the Best Jazz Single category from RoundGlass Music Awards (‘Samba Sao Paulo’). The latest CD also made several ‘Best of’ lists including #2 by Vincent Furnier at Soundcheckdfw.com, #4 by Travis Tutwiler at at Soundcheckdfw.com (‘Persian Sky’ featuring Ardeshir Farah was at #6 for his song of the year), #5 by Michael Debbage at MainlyPiano.com, Kathy Parsons at MainlyPiano.com (She did not put number orders to her selections) and honorable mention from Scott Itter at Dr.Music.org. In addition to the ‘Best of lists’ several reviews added their own score rating: 9.5 of 10 by Arthur Gonzales at Rock N Roll Industries; 8.1 of 10 by James McQuiston at NeuFutur; a (perfect) “EQ” (energy quotient) rating of 5.00 by Rotcod Zzaj at Contemporary Fusion Reviews; 4.0 out of 5 by Matt Jensen at Divide and Conquer; Five Starz by Scott Thomas at Guitarz Forever. In fact the favorable opinion gained from Hewitt’s debut CD, ‘Bajo el Sol’, rapidly translated into prolific airplay and a ten-week stay at #1 on Music Choice. It took up residence on the Smooth Jazz indie charts for 16 weeks and the first track to be released to radio (the dazzlingly Latin flavored title cut) climbed rapidly into the Top 20. The follow-up single, ‘Lydia’, enjoyed similar success, peaking at #15 and storming into the Billboard’s Top 40. Not content with that, Hewitt then made it three for three with ‘El Beso’ which also made it onto that same Top 40 listing and was named as one of the top smooth jazz tunes of 2009 by www.smoothjazznow.com. In addition, ‘Bajo el Sol’ was generously acknowledged by the music industry. It was included on the ballot for the 52nd Grammy Awards in the categories Best Pop Instrumental Performance, Best Pop Instrumental Album, Best Instrumental Composition, Best Instrumental Arrangement and Best Engineered Album whilst elsewhere Hewitt gained an ‘Honorable Mention’ for the album’s title cut at the 2009 International Songwriting Competition. When Russ’s sophomore project, ‘Alma Vieja’ came long in 2011 it delivered two more Top 40 smooth Jazz singles, ‘Pacific Sunrise’ and ‘Samba Samba’. Not surprisingly, Russ has endorsements from a wide spectrum of suppliers and manufacturers. These include Godin guitars, Radial Engineering (Tonebone), Analysis Plus Cables, Morley Pedals, V-Picks, Neunaber Audio Effects, Voodoo Lab, BBF Pedal Boards, Primacoustic, Mission Engineering and DLS Effects. Always striving to extend his boundaries into sound tracks and commercial work, Russ contributes artist interviews and a monthly guitar lessons column to ‘The Sound’ magazine whereas his prowess as a composer has resulted in five Telly Awards (for ‘Parent Compass’) and the DVD companion to the New York Best Seller ‘The Harbinger Decoded’ by Jonathan Cahn. Russ has written the music for the upcoming feature film ‘Thirst: Mission Liberia’ which has already won a Silver Telly in the Spiritual – Faith category and a Bronze Telly in the Documentary category.

37:532 days ago

Guitar of the Day 1983 Gibson Custom Shop Korina Explorer

Guitar Of The Day

Guitar of the Day 1983 Gibson Custom Shop Korina Explorer

Stay safe, be kind and hope you’re all well! Enjoy this new episode of #GuitarOfTheDay: Lemmo playing an Original 1983 Gibson Custom Shop Korina Explorer available here at #NormansRareGuitars! For any questions you may have or price inquiries about this #Gibson #Explorer #ElectricGuitar please give us a call at 818-344-8300.

07:383 days ago

Update: Jan 14th, 2021: Martin Introduces First Acoustic Guitar That Is Both FSC-Certified And Plastic-Free

Update: Jan 14th, 2021: Martin Introduces First Acoustic Guitar That Is Both FSC-Certified And Plastic-Free

On March 15, 2019, artist Robert Goetzl watched the news in awe as a million students, across 125 countries, took part in the School Strike for Climate, an international movement of students who skip Friday classes in protest to demand action from political leaders against climate change. The movement started in 2018, when Greta Thunberg, a then 16-year-old activist from Sweden, staged a lone protest outside the Swedish Parliament holding a sign that read "School strike for climate," inspiring students across the globe to stand together to fight for the future of the planet. The movement fanned a flame in Goetzl that had been slowly burning for many years and now he wanted to use his talent to become part of the solution, so he immediately dropped what he was doing and painted a watercolor of the earth. His hope was that it would one day adorn the top of a Martin guitar that could be used to bring awareness to the urgent need for climate action. Upon completing the painting, Goetzl wasted no time, driving to Nazareth to share his idea with Martin Chairman and CEO, Chris Martin. Like Goetzl, the sixth-generation leader of Martin has a deep passion for fighting climate change and preserving the earth for future generations. This shared passion, reignited by the energy and perseverance of this new generation of activists, put into motion the plans to develop what is now being introduced as the Martin 00L Earth guitar—the first acoustic guitar that is 100% FSC® certified AND 100% plastic-free. said Goetzl., "When I first heard this eloquent young woman, Greta Thunberg, speak so passionately about climate change, I was immediately inspired and thought, why not design a guitar with a visual element as a tool to promote the message 'Save the Earth'. Perhaps this is a way to help raise awareness of resource sustainability and our society's failure to take action against the global crisis that this troubled planet is facing." With Chris Martin's blessing, Goetzl set about doing what he does best—turning his initial ideas into refined art—and he later presented several variations to the Martin team. The final design featured the earth and stars with a beautiful light burst peaking over the horizon. While Goetzl was finalizing the artwork, Martin Lead Instrument Designer Tim Teel and former Martin Green Team Leader Chris Thomas began working on building out the model that would ultimately become the master canvas for Goetzl's artwork. Teel and Thomas decided to use the framework from the Martin 17 Series and then went on to collaborate with many colleagues throughout the company to select and source only materials that are 100% FSC certified and free of all man-made plastics. Even the gig bag was specially sourced and made with hemp, a fast-growing and highly sustainable material, another first for the company. said Teel., "I respect working for a company that takes environmental issues seriously. This project illustrates the importance of our planet and is depicted in this amazing graphic by Robert Goetzl. By using responsibly harvested materials, we will ensure the next generation of musicians and luthiers will have great tonewoods to choose from when designing, building, and playing stringed instruments of the future." Martin chose to go plastic-free with this model because single-use plastic is destroying entire ecosystems and greatly contributes to global warming. The world urgently needs to reduce single-use plastic, and Martin hopes this guitar will be another vehicle for spreading the message. said Chris Martin., "There's so much that we can do as individuals to fight climate change in our daily lives. Yet we are continually looking for ways that our company can inspire musicians and their fans to take action. Not just on Earth Day, but every day. Music has always been a powerful tool for bringing people together for change." In honor of the 00L Earth guitar, Martin will make a charitable donation to the Rainforest Alliance. The guitar is priced at $2,249. click the INFO BUTTON for more.......

04:084 days ago

Do You Need Another Guitar Talking Guitar Collecting and Musical Investments

Alamo Music Center

Do You Need Another Guitar Talking Guitar Collecting and Musical Investments

"Do you need to add another guitar to your collection? How many guitars does one person need? Chris and Cooper have some differing opinions on these questions, as well as some thoughts on the difference between types of collecting. We'd love to hear from you in the comments below! Do you have a massive collection or do you prefer to just hold on to one or two guitars? What are your desert island picks? Let us know!"

22:414 days ago

Guitar of the Day: 1969 Gibson ES-175D Sunburst

Guitar Of The Day

Guitar of the Day: 1969 Gibson ES-175D Sunburst

Guitar of the Day: 1969 Gibson ES-175D Sunburst

10:034 days ago

Jim White: Need Your Love So Bad

The Upload Crew - (you can upload media to the AGN app, try it..!)

Jim White: Need Your Love So Bad

"Thinking of Peter Green this morning.", Jim

01:234 days ago

Exclusive Interview with Chicken Pickin Master, John Lere

Exclusive Interview with Chicken Pickin Master, John Lere

John W. Lere Jr. was born with a guitar in his hands. Not really, but it's a romantic thought and seems very fitting if you're familiar with him. Whether banging on different toys with a pencil or plucking around on various beginner guitars as a child, John Lere has been making music his entire life. He began traditional study on the guitar at the age of 9, taking weekly lessons from Art Gomez at Vesley Music in Las Vegas, NV, learning the fundamentals and written language of music. John started giving his own lessons to neighborhood kids or friends at school and loved everything about the guitar. As a freshman in High School he joined the Stage Band and was introduced to jazz music. The piece of music given to him to play for his audition was 'Birdland' by Weather Report. All of the sudden an obsession with this different type of music took over and John went on to play in many different High School Jazz Ensembles around Las Vegas, constantly learning and improving. He was accepted to the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies and Performing Arts after his sophomore year and the study of jazz music went into overdrive! This new learning environment was a dream come true to any kid that wanted to play, practice and study music all day and that is exactly what John did. LVA Jazz band director Alan Lawson, introduced John to legendary & local guitar instructor Hap Smith(RIP Hap. You will be forever missed) and was taught a deeper lesson in discipline and music theory. John continued regular study With Hap Smith during his junior and senior years, and began teaching part time(mostly to kids and beginners) at local music shop Pat's Desert Music. With College just around the corner, John set his sights on a school on the other side of the country. Being Alumni of Berkeley School of Music in Boston, Hap helped John prepare an audition piece and gave a very gracious letter of recommendation. After much consideration however, the decision was made to stay in Las Vegas For College and he accepted a scholarship from The University Of Nevada Las Vegas. Over the next few years John studied with jazz great Joe Lano, focusing on chord inversions, chord solos, different picking techniques and smoking cigarettes. John Played in many different bands, many different styles and genres, toured around the country many times, teaching along the way where ever possible. He was lead guitar for the late, great Elvis Presley Tribute Artist, Trent Carlini, headlining showrooms up and down the Las Vegas Strip. He has worked for Carnival Cruise Lines and traveled to Mexico and Canada, but never really feeling satisfied with what he was doing. That would soon change! Even though John had listened to and been a big fan of country music throughout his whole life, when he heard the music of The Hellecasters he became totally intrigued by the many different sounds, that in the right hands, the Telecaster could produce, and so began the journey towards Tele-mastery. All of the sudden that fire and enjoyment of playing the guitar was back! A desire to teach was also resurrected and a feeling of responsibility to give back to anybody aspiring to learn the guitar. John Lere has dedicated his life to music and of all the many different instruments in the world, the one that chose him was the Guitar. He has acquired an extremely large amount of knowledge and skill and he continues to strive for new things on the guitar as well as in Life. Fortunately, it is all available for purchase for a great low price! LOL

15:155 days ago