Sweetwater’s annual GearFest is happening later this week at Sweetwater’s headquarters in Fort Wayne, IN, on June 24 and June 25. At GearFest, you can test drive gear, learn from experts, hear live music, and get deals on gear. Sounds like a guitar lover’s idea of a great day! Alan Parsons is one of the featured speakers, as well. I’ve had the chance to hear Parsons speak, and he has a lot of great stories to tell. I won’t be able to make this year’s GearFest, but maybe next year.

Joe Walker, who runs the From the Woodshed blog, has recently moved from Southern California back to Seattle, and he has started a new guitar educational website called Deft Digits. In conjunction, he’s now offering guitar lessons in Seattle. I don’t know Joe personally, but based on his From the Woodshed blog, I think Joe has a lot to offer students.

Not to be outdone by Metallica, AC/DC will be releasing their own collector’s edition of Monopoly in August:

The AC/DC Collector’s Edition of Monopoly is the first and only game that combines the risk taking, deal making Monopoly game play with one of the most legendary and enduring rock ‘n roll bands of all time, allowing fans to vie for control of AC/DC’s most iconic albums and international locations.

Game Play: Players will buy, sell and trade AC/DC albums and international locations. Players improve their properties with Gold and Platinum Records.

6 Tokens: Cannon (“For Those About To Rock”), Bundle of Dynamite (“T.N.T.”), Bell on Fire (“Hells Bells”), Lightning Bolt (“Thunder Struck”), Angus’s School Boy Hat (“School Days”), Stacks of Cash (“Money Talks”)

Thanks to Guitar Lifestyle reader Darren M. for the information.

Just in time for Father’s Day, Metallica have released a Metallica-themed collector’s version of Monopoly:

The fast-dealing property trading game just got faster! MONOPOLY METALLICA Collector’s Edition takes the popular board game to a whole new level. Every aspect of the game designed for the true Metallica fan in mind. You’ll “Pass Go” through historic Metallica events and locations around the board such as club shows, festivals, studios, childhood homes and other metal landmarks. Create your own real estate empire by adding arenas and stadiums to all your properties!

To quote The Gear Page forum member A-Bone: “Nothing says metal like a board game.”

Chris Liscio’s excellent Mac-based Capo application recently won an Apple Design Award. If you don’t know, Capo is a music learning and transcription application that slows down music without changing the pitch. I use Capo on both my Mac and my iPad, and it’s great.

To celebrate the award, Chris is discounting Capo by 20%.

I saw that DunlopTV recently posted a video interview with Derek Trucks. In the interview, Trucks talks about his new band, Tedeschi Trucks Band, which he formed with his wife Susan Tedeschi. He also talks about their new album, Revelator, how he got started playing guitar, his gear, and, perhaps most importantly, the fact that he is a Braves fan.

Check out the interview below:

Matt Proctor recently wrote me to let me know about his guitar company, M-tone Guitars. I’ve never played one of Matt’s guitar, but they definitely have a unique vibe to them, likely due to Matt’s 15-year stint as a sculptor. I like his philosophy:

I remember when I was ten years old in Santa Fe, NM, looking in a pawn shop window at a beat up blue paisley Jaguar and getting a gnawing, excited feeling that never went away. Thinking about that guitar 35 years later still fires me up, and I try to build guitars that make me feel like that over and over again. My guitars play like a dream and feature top of the line electronics and hardware, but most importantly they are sexy and fun and can make you remember why guitars are important to begin with. The world always needs more cool guitars.

He makes a point of mentioning that he does all of the work himself and doesn’t rely on robots or computers to help him out. He also chooses not to use plastic whenever possible. For example, he uses steel for pickguards, which I think add to the funky vibe of the guitars.

I can’t attest to how they play or sound, but Matt’s guitars certainly look cool:

Read more about Matt’s guitars at the M-tone Guitars website.

Jon Bloomer found this interesting video of Joe Bonamassa comparing the three different signature Les Paul models that Gibson has made for him:

I like the fact that Joe has worked with Gibson to create three different levels of his signature model so that people who couldn’t afford the Custom Shop model but wanted a Les Paul with specs similar to it could get one. Joe could probably make any guitar sound good, but I think all three models sounded pretty good in the video.

ArtofManliness.com has a series called “So You Want My Job” where they profile men who are in interesting or desirable jobs. A few years ago, they profiled Jason Stoltzfus, who is a touring guitar technician based out of Nashville. In the interview, Jason talks about how he got the job and what it’s like to live on a tour bus for most of the year. He also talks about his favorite part of the job:

I would have to say the best part is the travel. I love traveling, and this job allows me to see the country and world. I’ve been to all 50 states, Mexico, and Canada in the short year and a half I’ve been touring. That’s a really unique opportunity, to get paid to see the world and play shows in the meantime. There are a lot of great perks about the job, but that’s the best.

It’s interesting to read about what it’s like to be a guitar tech. It sounds like a lot of fun.

Thanks to Guitar Lifestyle reader Darren M. for the heads up about this article.