Guitar Edge magazine recently spoke with Joe Bonamassa backstage at one of his shows. During the discussion, Bonamassa plays a lick and then breaks it down. He also talks about a new guitar acquisition, a Gibson Firebird.

Robben Ford’s instructional DVD “The Art of Blues Rhythm” looks to be an excellent resource for learning how to play rhythm in a blues context. I haven’t seen the whole DVD yet, but the clips I’ve seen have all been interesting and informative. Here’s one clip I found on YouTube:

In just over a week on December 8, Jimmy Buffett will release a new album titled Buffet Hotel. The album was produced by Mike Utley and Mac McAnally, long-time members of Buffett’s band The Coral Reefers.

Buffett usually surrounds himself with some great guitarists and musicians, and this release is no different. In addition to his band, Buffett is joined on the album by Sonny Landreth, Jake Shimabukuro, Cedric Burnside, Steve “Lightnin’” Malcome, and Toumani Diabate.

The track listing for the album is:

1. Summerzcool
2. Lot to Drink About
3. Nobody from Nowhere
4. Big Top
5. Wings
6. Beautiful Swimmers
7. Turn Up the Heat and Chill the Rose
8. Rhumba Man
9. We Learned to Be Cool from You
10. Surfing in a Hurricane
11. Life Short Call Now
12. Buffet Hotel

I have partnered with Fret12 to give away one copy each of Mark Tremonti’s and Leslie West’s instructional DVDs. These are both two of the best produced instructional DVDs I’ve seen. Not only are they chock full of instructional material, there’s some nice insight into their background as well.

You can see my review of the Tremonti DVD here. The Leslie West DVD is similarly produced with background info, instructional content, and special guests, including Zack Wylde and Mark Tremonti, as well as a look into the making of West’s Dean signature guitar. For you amp geeks out there, there’s also a guest appearance by Budda co-founder Jeff Bober!

So, how can you win these DVDs? Easy! All you have to do is use the Contact page to send me an e-mail letting me know that you want to be entered into the contest. Please use “Fret12 Contest” in the subject line. Please note that these DVDs are encoded for US and Canada only.

The fine print: The contest will run through Saturday, Dec. 12, and I will randomly select the winner on Sunday, Dec. 13. This should allow me to get the DVDs to you before Christmas. One winner will win both DVDs. You must supply an e-mail address, but I will not use the e-mail addresses for anything other than to contact the winner.

Here’s a trailer for Mark Tremonti’s instructional DVD:

Here’s a trailer for Leslie West’s instructional DVD:

As we enter the holiday season, it’s time to start thinking of gift ideas for that special guitarist in your life. Perhaps consider a unique handmade guitar-related item from Etsy, a site where craft artists can sell their handmade products. You can find unique picks, straps, and even complete guitars on Etsy. There’s a little something for everyone.

Below is a video of Carl Verheyen playing his song “Constant as the Wind” from his album Trading 8s during rehearsals for his recent tour. Check out that Strat in action!

Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam recently opened for Chickenfoot during their US tour. On the final show at the Gibson Amphitheatre, Knowles got to jam with Chickenfoot. It had to be a little intimidating to share the stage with Joe Satriani, but Knowles held his own.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you get a chance to catch Knowles and Back Door Slam, you should definitely do it. They put on a great show.

Here’s Davy jamming with Chickenfoot:

To kick off the release of his new album Battle Studies, John Mayer played a concert at the Beacon Theatre in NYC and the concert was broadcast by Fuse. Mayer played a number of guitars throughout the show, including of course a collection of Strats and his signature Martin acoustic. He also played a Telecaster, which isn’t too much of a surprise as he’d posted videos of himself playing a Telecaster during the recording of the album. However, what was surprising was him playing an SG at the end of the show on “Friends, Lovers, or Nothing”. He got a great tone out of it through his Two Rock amps.

Below is a video of Mayer playing the song with his SG:

Here is a video of a recent performance John Mayer did of “Crossroads”, the Cream/Robert Johnson cover from his upcoming album Battle Studies. I really like the slower feel Mayer took with the song, and he rips out a nice solo. The slide part by Robbie McIntosh is also nice. Check it out: