Sebastian Bach as Next Lead Singer of Velvet Revolver?
In this week’s Four Questions, I asked who you would pick as the next lead singer of Velvet Revolver if you were Slash. Well, according to Sebastian Bach, Slash has talked with Bach about joining Velvet Revolver. However, it’s likely the drama might be too much if he were to join the band:
Not without reservations, Bach said his potential union with Velvet Revolver would be “awkward,” explaining that he prefers his current solo work to the work of Velvet Revolver. “It would all depend on music,” Bach said. “I wouldn’t just join the band just to join the band. If we came up with some incredible new songs, then maybe I’d think about it.”
Bach also made it clear that his loyalties are to Axl Rose, who’s maintained a longstanding feud with ex- Guns N’ Roses bandmate Slash.
Say it ain’t so, Slash!
Joe Satriani - Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock
Tomorrow, April 1, marks the release of Joe Satriani’s new album, Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock. As I mentioned last week, Joe has been releasing a podcast a day for the past week or so with samples of each song from the new album. The last podcast was released today, and now all podcasts are available online. I’ve listened to each of the podcasts, and I think this album is going to be very good; I can’t wait to hear the full songs! Hearing the stories behind the songs has brought a little extra life to the songs, although they sound great on their own. You can watch the full video for “I Just Wanna Rock” on the www.satriani.com Web site.
Slash at CES
Slash was recently the “ringer” Bill Gates brought out on stage to help him win his Guitar Hero battle against Microsoft executive Robbie Bach and gamer Kelly “TipperQueen” Law-Yone at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). You can watch a video of the “battle” below. (via Listening Post)
Gov’t Mule: A Tail of Two Cities
Today Gov’t Mule have released a new two-DVD set titled A Tail of 2 Cities. The DVD spans two shows, one from The Orpheum Theatre in Boston, MA recorded on 10/15/04 and one from The Riviera Theatre in Chicago, IL recorded on 12/9/06. I’ve seen Gov’t Mule live several times and they always put on a great show. The set lists for the shows are as follows:
Disc One:
Recorded at The Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA on 10/15/04
Set I:
1. Bad Man Walking
2. About To Rage
3. Mr. Man
4. Banks Of The Deep End
5. Temporary Saint
6. Sco-Mule
7. Beautifully Broken
8. Slackjaw Jezebel
9. Blind Man In The Dark
Set II:
10. Thelonius Beck
11. Painted Silver Light
12. No Need To Suffer
13. Devil Likes It Slow
14. Drums
15. Burro Of Brighton Jam
16. My Separate Reality
17. Bad Little Doggie
18. Lola Leave Your Light On
Encore:
19. I’m A Ram
Disc Two:
Recorded at The Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL on 12/9/06
Set I:
1. Blind Man In The Dark
2. Bad Little Doggie (4:06)
3. Mr. High & Mighty (5:51)
4. About To Rage (11:04)
5. Unring The Bell (8:56)
6. Rocking Horse (9:13)
7. Larger Than Life (6:28)
8. Slackjaw Jezebel (8:07)
9. Brand New Angel (7:03)
Set II:
10. So Weak, So Strong (6:40)
11. 32/20 Blues (8:25)
12. Time To Confess (9:19)
13. Brighter Days (6:50)
14. Like Flies> (5:04)
15. Drums> (9:04)
16. Mother Earth (9:38)
17. Gameface > Mountain Jam > Gameface > Power Outage > Gameface (12:54)
18. Thorazine Shuffle (11:29)
Encore:
19. Reggae Soulshine (8:04)
* Information from Gov’t Mule’s online shop
Joe Bonamassa Live @ TPAC in Nashville
I had the recent pleasure to catch Joe Bonamassa as he traveled through Nashville on November 24th playing at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. This was the first time I’ve seen Joe in concert, so I didn’t know what to expect, though I had heard that he puts on a good show. It was by far one of the best shows I’ve seen in a while.
I’m a relatively new fan of Bonamassa, having heard his name for years but never really paying attention to his music. I’m paying attention now. After jamming with Bonamassa, Ted Nugent was recently quoted as saying “This kid deserves to be in the same class with Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmy Hendrix and Jeff Beck.” That’s some pretty heavy praise, but not unwarranted. Bonamassa is a fantastic guitarist and showman.
During the show, Bonamassa mentioned that his latest album, Sloe Gin, had been at the top of the Blues charts since it came out, only recently being replaced by the Stevie Ray Vaughan collection Solos, Sessions & Encores. I can attest that Sloe Gin is an excellent album. The album contains a generous mixture of electric and acoustic songs, and Bonamassa excels at both. The mixture extends to his live show with Joe playing an acoustic series of music, which was a highlight of the show.
Since I enjoyed the entire show so much, it’s hard to pinpoint any particular part that was the highlight. However, I did really enjoy Bonamassa’s covers of ZZ Top’s “Just Got Paid” and Led Zep’s “Dazed and Confused” and would consider those a definite highlight. The encores were fantastic, as well.
I didn’t know this ahead of time, but it looks like Joe posts about his day on his Web site. His Nashville post includes such details as the Tyson after show chicken he ate for lunch, but also includes information about his trip to Gruhn’s Guitars and subsequent purchase of a 2006 National Resophonic guitar (which he did not play at the show). Most interestingly, though, is his conversation with the Gibson Custom Shop guys about a JB Limited Edition Les Paul. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with that.
Although his current US tour is winding down, I’d highly recommend checking out his show if it comes to your area. In the meantime, you can check out some videos that Joe has put online from the North Sea Jazzfest, which includes many of the songs from his current setlist.
* Photo taken by Al and courtesy of www.jbonamassa.com.
John Mayer Charity Concert
Tickets recently went on sale for a John Mayer’s 1st Annual Holiday Charity Revue, which will be held on December 8 at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live. This will be a special show with Mayer performing an acoustic set followed by a John Mayer Trio set and finishing up with a set featuring the full band from the Continuum tour. It sounds like it’ll be a fantastic show!
Proceeds from the show will benefit Toys for Tots, Inner City Arts, and the Los Angeles Mission.
* Image from JohnMayer.com
Eric Johnson Interview @ Harmony Central
I just noticed that Harmony Central has posted a six-part video interview with Eric Johnson. The interview covers many topics, including how he’s trying to create more of a live feel for his upcoming album, his signature Stratocaster, playing acoustic, his effects and his amps. The video also displays some excellent live footage of EJ.
The acoustic part of the interview included an interesting tidbit about Paul Reed Smith and a possible acoustic guitar being produced by PRS in the near future. Eric plays the guitar and discussed that it uses bracing similar to classical guitars, but uses steel strings. I’m really interested in seeing what comes out of Paul Reed Smith over the next few months. I’d love to see them producing an acoustic guitar.
The Harmony Central video site also includes discussions with Nathan East, Steve Lukather, Derek Trucks, and more.
I also recently noticed that Eric Johnson has released a cover version of Jeff Beck’s Beck’s Bolero. From what I can tell, the song is only available as a single on iTunes.
Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Birthday
JP reminded me that today, October 3, is Stevie Ray Vaughan’s birthday. In his post, JP linked to the video below, which is marked as being from May 11, 1980.
I’ve said before that Stevie Ray is one of my favorite guitar players of all time, so I’m always interested in seeing videos like this. Apparently, Number One actually did used to be sunburst!
In celebration of Stevie Ray’s birthday watch the video and add a few Texas blues licks to your arsenal this week.
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet: Brazil
The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet have released their latest CD Brazil, which features the music of Sergio Assad, Marco Pereira, Hermeto Pascoal, Baden Powell, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and more. This CD marks the first recording with newest member Matthew Greif, and also on the recordings is vocalist Luciana Souza. The Brazil CD was recorded at George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch, which I imagine was an interesting experience in and of itself.
As an editorial aside, I am a big fan of Andrew York who left the group last year. It’ll be interesting to see how the dynamic has changed with York no longer in the group.
The LA Times have reviewed a recent performance by LAGQ. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing a live performance by the LAGQ, and I would agree with the LA Times:
Although the four guitarists — John Dearman, William Kanengiser, Scott Tennant and new guy Matthew Greif — are classically trained, their omnivorous musical interests have brought them to a global repertoire of genres and styles. And, like Yo-Yo Ma, they have explored these genres with extraordinary authenticity.
Jaco Pastorius
Twenty years ago on September 21, 1987 the world of music lost bass legend Jaco Pastorius. His death was a tragic result of a violent confrontation that occurred outside a Florida club on September 11, 1987, during which Jaco sustained critical injuries. Although Jaco had suffered health problems later in his life, he made a tremendous impact on the world of bass guitar, both as a solo musician and as a member of Weather Report.
I must confess that I’d never heard any of Jaco’s music until last week. I finally picked up and listened to a bit from his solo album, Jaco Pastorius, and Heavy Weather by Weather Report. I’m amazed at how good he really was. I see why he was called The World’s Greatest Bass Player. In addition to his solo work and his work with Weather Report, Pastorius played on many other albums, including albums by Joni Mitchell, Al Di Meola and Mike Stern.
Jaco was well known for playing Fender Jazz Basses. On one Fender Jazz Bass, he removed the frets in order to make a fretless bass. According to Wikipedia, he felt that frets were “speed bumps” that got in the way.
I encourage you to add Jaco Pastorius to your musical playlist this week in remembrance of one of the greatest bass players to ever play the instrument. Below is a video of Jaco Pastorius playing “The Chicken.”
* Photo credit: JacoPastorius.com
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Welcome to my guitar blog! My name is Josh, and this site is my attempt to celebrate the guitar, its history, and its players. Read more...
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