Gibson has recently posted a recap of their Summer Jam ‘08 event they held during the Summer NAMM show here in Nashville. The Summer Jam event included concerts, custom shop tours, guitar showcases, and more. Some artists that showed up included Slash, Johnny A., Johnny Winter, Kenny Olson, Jerry Cantrell, and many more.

I wish I’d known about it in time…I would have love to have gone. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for next year’s event. Check out more photos and information from the event on Gibson’s Web site.

* Photo courtesy Gibson.com

I had the pleasure of seeing Tommy Emmanuel perform live at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) this past Friday, June 27. Although I’ve heard many great things about Tommy Emmanuel as a guitarist and performer, I wasn’t all that familiar with his music. So, before the show, I listened to the samples on Amazon’s page for Emmanuel’s recently released Center Stage album. One of the reviewers for the album stated:

…if you ever get to see Tommy in a live performance, your life will be forever changed for the better.

After seeing the show, I can say that this is only a slight overstatement. This was one of the best shows I have seen in a long time. And, for the most part, it was just Emmanuel on stage with his guitars. More than a show, this was an intimate experience with Tommy telling stories using his guitar. As you would expect with one of the best acoustic guitarists in the world, there was plenty of excellent guitar playing. But, the guitar playing never seemed superfluous. It always seemed to fit in with the feel of the song.

Not only is Emmanuel a great guitarist, he is a great performer. He engaged the audience and was quite funny and fun to watch. He played for over 2 hours and I could have sat for 2 more if he would have kept playing.

It may sound like I’m gushing, but that’s because I am. I was barely a casual Tommy Emmanuel fan before this show, but now I’m a believer. If you ever get a chance, do yourself a favor and go see Tommy Emmanuel in concert. Here’s a clip of Emmanuel playing a Beatles Medley:

Anyone who has purchased a new, high-quality acoustic stringed instrument knows that it takes a long time to “break in” the instrument so that the full tone of the instrument can be heard. ToneRite claims to have produced a product that significantly shortens the time it takes for the tone of a violin, cello, or guitar to mature. ToneRite says:

By simulating the very same physics of playing, in a safe and gentle manner (ToneRite applies less structural stress than playing yourself), the ToneRite Signature is able to accomplish more than previously thought possible. According to our customers, in 24hrs the ToneRite Signature accomplishes what would normally take 6 months worth of playing.

You simply place the ToneRite device by the bridge of the instrument, and the device does the rest of the work. ToneRite claims that audible results can be heard after just one hour. I haven’t had a chance to test this on my classical guitar, but I’d be interested in hearing if anyone else has used one of these devices. For further information on why a device like this is useful, take a look at the research posted on ToneRite’s Web site.

* Photo courtesy ToneRite.com

(via Taylor)

Are you in the market for a custom-painted guitar? Art Guitar is a company based out of Colorado that custom paints guitars. They also make custom-painted Guitar Hero controllers. Although at $399, the Guitar Hero controllers aren’t cheap. They have KISS, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ozzy Osbourne, Megadeth, and Pantera Guitar Hero controller models.

Rob Weychert, aka Windhammer, recently blogged about his experience of becoming the Philadelphia regional champ of the U.S. Air Guitar Championship:

Parading around on that stage in front of all those people, playing an invisible instrument without a (pardon the pun) shred of self-consciousness, I came to realize that I wasn’t even thinking about what I was doing. It was simply what came naturally, what the music caused to be as it passed through me. Is it silly? Sure. Is it stupid? Absolutely not. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that, as far as I’m concerned, that’s also a pretty accurate description of rock and roll.

Sounds like it was a blast! You can watch Windhammer’s winning performance below.

If you think you’ve got what it takes to be the next Air Guitar Hero, there are still a number of regional competitions coming up, including competitions in Minnesota, Iowa, Colorado, Utah, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada, New York, and Texas. See a list of all of the upcoming competitions on the Air Guitar Championship Web site. It’s hard to believe that they’re not coming to Nashville or Atlanta. The National Finals will held on August 8, 2008 in San Francisco.

(via Shaun Inman)