Last month, Heritage Guitars announced that they had been sold to new owners: "The new ownership group is led by private local investors who have a long track record of revitalizing buildings and businesses in the Kalamazoo area," said a news release by Kyle Sobko, marketing director for Heritage Guitar Inc. The ownership group is not named in the release. I'm a fan of … [Read more...]
Cassettes are Back?
I grew up in the 80s and 90s, so cassettes were a large part of my early musical life. The first album I ever bought was on cassette (Michael Jackson's Thriller, natch). I had a cassette player hooked up next to my bed, and I listened to cassettes every night. Even though I loved the cassettes that I owned, I was very glad to see cassettes go away as CDs became the dominant … [Read more...]
The Ukulele As an Educational Tool
Ed. note: This is the first in a series of posts by Guitar Lifestyle contributor Russ about the ukulele and its growing popularity among musicians and educators. Photo credit: Zachary Sumners via Flickr Creative Commons Aloha! Since this is my first editorial article for Guitar Lifestyle, I figured it would be best if I introduced myself and explained why I'm … [Read more...]
Wilson Center Guitar Competition & Festival
This looks like an interesting guitar competition and festival being held this Fall in the Milwaukee area: The Wilson Center Guitar Competition & Festival is an annual, multi-genre competition which features four different categories—Rock/Blues, Fingerstyle, Jazz, and Classical. Four competitions, one festival. Contestants compete for $22,000 in prize money! The performer … [Read more...]
Weapon of Choice: Why the Stratocaster Survives
NPR recently talked about the venerable Fender Stratocaster in Weapon of Choice: Why the Stratocaster Survives: The Fender Stratocaster turned 60 last year. When it came out of the factory in 1954, it didn't sound — or look — like any other guitar. Leo Fender's small company was looking to improve the Telecaster, its groundbreaking solid-body electric, first introduced three … [Read more...]