Nick at the Guitritus guitar blog recently indicated that Joe Bonamassa will be releasing a new live album called “From Nowhere in Particular” on August 19. The live album will consist of 14 tracks on two CDs and was recorded during Joe’s Fall 2007 tour. After seeing him during his Fall tour, I’m definitely looking forward to this release. Nick also indicates that Gibson will be releasing the Joe Bonamassa signature guitar in July.

In more Bonamassa news, Music Radar has recently interviewed Joe about his soloing technique. They’ve posted a video of Bonamassa demonstrating how he approaches a solo, and they’ve even tabbed the solo so that you can try to play along.

It is Memorial Day in the US, and in honor of the men and women who have lost their lives serving our country, here is a video of Jake Shimabukuro playing the Star Spangled Banner.

John Mayer will be releasing a live CD/DVD combo called “Where the Light Is” on 7/1/08. The CD/DVD combo is a recording of the charity show that Mayer did last December featuring three sets. The first set was an all-acoustic set, the second set featured the John Mayer Trio, and the third set featured the full John Mayer Band. The following details the track listing on the CD/DVD:

Acoustic Set:
1. Neon
2. Stop This Train
3. L.A. Song
4. Daughters
5. Free Fallin’

Trio Set:
6. Everyday I Have The Blues
7. Wait Until Tomorrow
8. Who Did You Think I Was
9. Come When I Call
10. Good Love Is On The Way
11. Out Of My Mind
12. Vultures
13. Bold As Love

Band Set:
14. Waiting On The World To Change
15. Slow Dancing In A Burning Room
16. Why Georgia
17. The Heart Of Life
18. I Don’t Need No Doctor
19. Gravity
20. I Don’t Trust Myself (With Loving You)
21. Belief
22. I’m Gonna Find Another You

It looks like a great track list! I didn’t get to make it out to the show in December, so I’m looking forward to the release of this CD/DVD set.

* Photo courtesy of JohnMayer.com

If you happen to be near Fort Wayne, IN on Saturday, May 31, be sure to stop by the Sweetwater headquarters where they will be having the Sweetwater Gearfest ‘08 to celebrate the grand opening of their new headquarters building. It’s free to the public and will feature exhibits, workshops, studio tours, product demos, gear giveaways, the OCC Peavey Chopper, as well as fun and games for kids. It looks like it will be a big day for guitar gearheads in the Midwest. A concert by Tower of Power will take place on May 30.

I’m really enjoying all of the responses to the Four Questions I’ve been posting. Here are four more questions:

1. How do you discover new music?

2. How long have you been playing guitar?

3. What is the favorite guitar you’ve ever owned?

4. How do you get your guitar-related info? (online, magazines, friends…)

Here are my answers:

1. In general, I find out about new music from friends, either in person or online. In fact, I recently learned about some new music on Twitter.

2. I’ve been playing off and on for the past 16 years.  I wish I could say I’ve been playing straight through, but there’s been times I’ve set the guitar aside for a prolonged period of time, unfortunately. I don’t plan on letting that happen again.

3. Probably my current Strat, although there’s a special place in my heart for all of the guitars I’ve owned.

4. Nowadays, I actually get a lot of info through guitar blogs and other online sites. I still subscribe to several magazines, though, which seem to be struggling to stay relevant.

I recently discovered a site called Fake Plastic Rock, which is a celebration of all things that are fake, plastic, and that rock. It’s a fun site devoted to music-related video games, particularly Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Enjoy!

I was listening to Music Business Radio this past Sunday night, and the featured guest was guitarist/comedian Mike Rayburn. He was giving some great advice about being a successful independent musician, but my interest was really piqued when I learned he was also a classically trained guitarist. He’s quite funny, and manages to successfully merge comedy and music. But, what I was most impressed with his guitar playing ability. Here’s a video of Mike playing Quicksilver:

A few months ago, Tom Bocci sent me a review copy of Ted Greene Remembered, a musical tribute to guitarist Ted Greene. Truth be told, I hadn’t heard of Ted Greene prior to receiving the CD. However, it became clear with a little research that Ted was a well-respected guitarist and teacher with many fans.

The Ted Greene Remembered CD seems to be a fitting tribute to Mr. Greene. The CD features great performances by Tommy Emmanuel, Laurence Juber, Lee Ritenour, Phil du Gruy, Stephen Bruton, Steve Ferguson, Mark Goldenberg, Jay Graydon, John Pisano, Dan Sawyer, Anthony Wilson, George Winston, and Tom Bocci.

Proceeds from the sale of the CD will help support the TedGreene.com Web site, which will allow future students to benefit from Mr. Greene’s teachings.

I recently came across this great video by Joe Cefalu of Shred Academy about breaking out of the pentatonic box. Enjoy!

I’ve finally caught up with 2007 and started twittering. This should be fun!