Guitar Center’s King of the Blues grand finals will be held this year on September 2 at the House of Blues in Hollywood, CA. Kenny Wayne Shepherd will host the event with Derek Trucks and Honeyboy Edwards performing.

In addition to speaking with Jimmie Vaughan, Jason Shadrick also had the opportunity to talk to acoustic guitarist Pete Huttlinger as part of Guitar Edge’s Crossroads 2010 coverage. Pete shows how to play the same tune in a country style as well as in a more funky, pop style. Pete really knows how to bring the groove in anything he plays. Watch how he does it:

Jason Shadrick of Guitar Edge magazine recently interviewed Jimmie Vaughan just before his CD release party at Buddy Guy’s Legends club. The interview covers Vaughan’s decision to record in Austin, how he chose the material for his new album Plays Blues, Ballads and Favorites, and how he chose the other players on the album. Jason also recorded a video with Vaughan discussing Vaughan’s playing style:

A few weeks ago, the Summer NAMM show was held in Nashville, and I had the chance to check out the new ToneRite 3G product. If you’re not familiar with the ToneRite product, you can check out my previous review for more information.

The new version offers the following improvements: new electronics and new Elastone feet. The new electronics offer finer control over the intensity of the ToneRite treatment. An added bonus is that the new version is significantly quieter than previous models. The new Elastone feet help the ToneRite product fit better on the guitar and, according to the website, provides for better energy transfer between the device and the guitar.

Overall, this looks like a nice evolution of the ToneRite product. Check out the latest information about ToneRite products on the ToneRite website.

On December 31, 1999 I made the trek to Atlanta to see Gov’t Mule’s New Year’s Eve show at the Roxy Theater. Earlier that year, Gov’t Mule had released Live…With a Little Help From Our Friends, which was recorded on New Year’s Eve in 1998, so I was really primed for the show. I knew it was going to be something special, and it was.

Joined by guests Little Milton, Audley Freed, Robert Kearns, Johnny Mosier, Mark Van Allen and Barry Richman, the original Gov’t Mule lineup of Warren Haynes, Allen Woody, and Matt Abts played for over three hours that night to a relatively small crowd of devoted fans. If you recall, 1999 was the year of Y2K hysteria, and we didn’t know what awaited us when we finally left the theater, but we didn’t care. The Mule were on fire that night, and I could have watched them play for several more hours. I’ve seen Gov’t Mule several times since then, but the New Year’s Eve show is by far the best show of theirs I’ve ever been to.

In the 10 years since the show, I’ve often wondered if they would ever release it like they had done with Live…With a Little Help. I don’t have to wonder any more. Gov’t Mule will be releasing the show on August 3 as a three-disc collection titled Mulennium. The album has been remixed and remastered from the original master tapes from the show.

The track list of the Mulennium album is:

Disc: 1
1. Bad Little Doggie
2. Lay Your Burden Down
3. Blind Man In The Dark
4. Life Before Insanity
5. Larger Than Life
6. Towering Fool
7. 21st Century Schizoid Man
8. We’re Not Gonna Take It
9. Dazed and Confused

Disc: 2
1. When The Blues Comes Knockin’ (feat Little Milton)
2. My Dog and Me (feat Little Milton)
3. Lump On Your Stump (feat Little Milton)
4. I Can’t Quit You Baby (feat Little Milton)
5. It Hurts Me Too (feat Little Milton)
6. Blues Alright (feat Little Milton)
7. It Is My Body? (feat Audley Freed)
8. Power of Soul (feat Audley Freed)

Disc: 3
1. Helter Skelter (feat Audley Freed)
2. Sometimes Salvation (feat Audley Freed)
3. 30 Days In The Hole (feat Audley Freed and Robert Kearns)
4. End Of The Line (feat Audley Freed)
5. Out Of The Rain (feat Audley Freed, Johnny Mosier and Mark Van Allen)
6. I Shall Be Released (feat Barry Richman, Robert Kearns, Johnny Mosier and Mark Van Allen)
7. Simple Man (feat Audley Freed and Mark Van Allen)

The only thing that could make this collection better would be a DVD of the show, but, alas, YouTube will have to suffice for now. Here is a video of Gov’t Mule playing the Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” with guest Audley Freed from the New Year’s Eve show:

In addition to building great guitars, Paul Reed Smith is also a very good guitarist who fronts his own band. He’s released two albums.  His first album, simply titled The Paul Reed Smith Band, features collaborations with Derek St Holmes, Mike Ault, and Gary and Greg Grainger. The recently released Look At The Moon album was recorded at the Ricky Skagg’s Family Studio here in Tennessee. Get more information about these albums  at the Paul Reed Smith music site.

Below is a video of guitar Eric Gales debuting his Two Rock signature model amplifier. Gales debuted the amplifier at a benefit for guitar maker Taku Sakashta, who was murdered outside his shop earlier this year. Although Gales has had his share of troubles, he’s definitely still got it when he straps on a guitar.

Lee Ritenour released a new album titled 6 String Theory this week. The album is a celebration of the guitar and features a number of great guest artists, including George Benson, BB King, Slash, Steve Lukather, John Scofield, Joe Bonamassa, Robert Cray, Vince Gill, Keb’ Mo’, Taj Majal, Guthrie Govan, Andy McKee, and Jonny Lang, among others. There are a total of 20 great guitarists on this album! As you might expect from the wide-ranging styles of the guest artists, the album covers many different genres, including blues, jazz, rock, and even classical thanks to a contribution by 16-year-old Shon Boublil, who won Ritenour’s Yamaha Six String Theory Guitar Competition.

The track listing for the album is as follows:

1. Lay It Down (feat. Lee Ritenour and John Scofield)
2. Am I Wrong (feat. Keb’ Mo’ and Taj Mahal)
3. L.P. (For Les Paul) (feat. Joey DeFrancesco, Pat Martino, and Lee Ritenour)
4. Give Me One Reason (feat. Joe Bonamassa and Robert Cray)
5. “68″ (feat. Neal Schon, Slash, and Steve Lukather)
6. In Your Dreams (feat. Lee Ritenour, Neal Schon, and Steve Lukather)
7. My One and Only Love (feat. George Benson)
8. Moon River (feat. George Benson)
9. Why I Sing the Blues (feat. Keb’ Mo’, B.B. King, Vince Gill, Lee Ritenour, and Jonny Lang)
10. Daddy Longlicks (feat. Joe Robinson)
11. Shape of My Heart (feat. Lee Ritenour, Steve Lukather, and Andy McKee)
12. Drifting (feat. Andy McKee)
13. Freeway Jam (feat. Lee Ritenour, Mike Stern, and Tomoyasu Hotei)
14. Fives (feat. Guthrie Govan and Tal Wilkenfeld)
15. Caprices, Op. 20, No. 2 and 7 (feat. Shon Boublil)

Below is a preview of the album:

Gruhn Guitars, which features a large collection of vintage instruments, survived the recent Nashville flooding only to suffer water damage due to a burst pipe on the second floor of their downtown Nashville location. Dozens of instruments sustained damage including some vintage instruments. News station WKRN reporting on the damage:

“Some of these were very good instruments,” [Gruhn] said. “This was not a couple dozen cheap, student model guitars. This was a couple dozen good ones.”

Some of those guitars are irreplaceable, vintage instruments.

“It’s emotionally tough,” said Gruhn. “These instruments are things that I view as though they were alive. They have soul and personality, and they have history.”

Very sad to hear. Gruhn’s has a well-respected staff of instrument repair technicians, so I hope they are able to return these instruments to their prior glory.

Below is a video of Eric Johnson playing Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” with Ian Thornley of Big Wreck and Paul Langlois and Bobby Baker of the Tragically Hip. In all the videos I’ve seen of EJ, I’ve never seen him playing a Zeppelin tune. He seems a little out of place in this environment. What do you think?