Guitar MX Blog » News

Guitar Legend Les Paul Dead at 94

Guitar MX Admin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 01:32:10 +0000

Les Paul died today; he was 94 years old. Les was much more than a guitar player. He was a tinkerer, inventor, innovator, visionary and legend. He is best known for inventing the solid body guitar that bears his name. But that’s not all, he also invented. multi-track recording and pioneered many recording innovations, such as overdubbing and reverb effect. Modern rock music wouldn’t exist as it is today without Les Paul.

Les created his own electric guitar at age 13 by placing telephone receiver under the strings of this acoustic guitar. He continued to experiment with various methods of guitar amplification, and liked the sound that was made by a solid body. In 1952, Gibson asked Les to create a solid body guitar for them, and the rest is history.

In this video, Les performs a song with his wife Mary Ford, and briefly discusses the multi-tracking technique he invented.

There were very good documentaries made about this great man, which can be viewed here:

Anthrax Guitarist Cashes in World Series of Poker Tournament

Guitar MX Admin — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 03:05:20 +0000

The World Series of Poker draws many celebrities, and this year, one of them was Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian. Scott competed in the World Series of Poker Main Event, taking place now in Las Vegas. Out of over 6,000 entrants, Scott finished in 637th place. Not bad! He will take home a prize of $21,365.

Scott takes his poker seriously. Anthrax scheduled their world tour around the tournament. He also plays in a home game with Jerry Cantrell, Kirk Hammett, Slash, Greg from Mudvayne and Vinnie Paul. Here’s an interview with Scott after being knocked out of the tournament.

Eddie Van Halen Says Sobriety Makes it More Difficult to Play Guitar

Guitar MX Admin — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 05:04:26 +0000

The now sober Eddie Van Halen told told Spinner.com that sobriety has made it more difficult to play the guitar.

It takes me a good hour to loosen up my fingers… after two and a half, three hours, you kind of get into a zone that I’m kind of relearning because I’m not drinking anymore. When I used to drink, it would get me there quicker. It’s kind of the zone where you’re not thinking

Maybe that explains this horrible performance a year and a half ago in Las Vegas. He wasn’t loose enough!

Shortly after that performance, Van Halen had to cancel several tour dates so Eddie could check back into rehab. I think it’s safe to say that Eddie is a better player sober.

Another Musician Claims Coldplay Song is His Work

Guitar MX Admin — Tue, 05 May 2009 04:45:05 +0000

You may remember the story of Joe Satriani suing Coldplay for copyright infringement with their song “Viva La Vida”. The song bears a striking resemblance to Joe’s tune “If I Could Fly”. Well, someone else is claiming that Viva La Vida is their work. This time, it’s Cat Stevens, who now goes by the name Yusuf Islam. He is claiming that the song bears an uncanny resemblance to his song Foreigner Suite, which also predates the Satriani song. Stevens has not taken legal action yet.

So is there copying going on, and if so, who’s copying who? You can listen to the songs yourself and judge. The Coldplay part starts at 5:18, which a poster at MusicRadar mercifully pointed out.

You can hear the Coldplay song here, and the Satriani song here.

Chickenfoot Tour Dates Sell Out in Record Time

Guitar MX Admin — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:57:17 +0000

Moe Chickenfoot news. It seems the band has sold out nine concerts that had scheduled for May. These intimate venues sold out in record time, and it seems there will be high demand for their debut album to be released on June 9, 2009, which can be pre-ordered here.

The band released this video on their YouTube channel, announcing their spring tour.

You can find more Chickenfoot news here.

Chickenfoot Releases 2 Songs Online

Guitar MX Admin — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 04:22:49 +0000

There is more news concerning Chickenfoot, the supergroup featuring Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony and Chad Smith. The band has released two of their new songs on their web site and MySpace page. The songs are called “Soap on a Rope” and “Down the Drain”.

The band will also be featured on the cover of next months edition of Guitar World.

Chickenfoot is currently working on their debut album. MusicRadar will have a full review of it soon.

Gibson Guitar Hero Lawsuit Thrown Out of Court

Guitar MX Admin — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 22:48:41 +0000

You may recall a lawsuit filed last year by Gibson Guitars against Activision, owners of the Guitar Hero game. Gibson’s lawsuit claimed that the video game infringed a patent of theirs, and requested that Activision obtain a license from Gibson to distribute the video game. There has been a recent development to this story. Last week, the lawsuit was thrown out of court. In a sternly worded decision, Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer wrote:

No reasonable person of ordinary skill in the relevant arts would interpret the ‘405 Patent as covering interactive video games…Gibson would have this Court determine that any device that controls something that produces musical sounds is covered by the ‘405 Patent

This is good news for Activision, who already had a relationship with Gibson with the Guitar Hero game. No word on if that relationship will continue. You can read more about this story here.

6 Most Famous Guitar Injuries

Guitar MX Admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 04:08:10 +0000

An Australian guitarist named Ian Haug, of the band Powderfinger, is currently suing a Brisbane casino for an alleged assault, which injured his wrist. The guitarist claims that the injury has affected his guitar playing, and he has to now re-learn the instrument.

In response to this story, MusicRadar.com took a look at some injured guitarists who put Haug’s injury to shame. They put together this list of 6 famous injuries by famous guitarists who adjusted (or are adjusting) and played on.

Links go to stories about the injuries.

Click here to read comments by MusicRadar.com.

Chickenfoot Supergroup Releases New Promo Video

Guitar MX Admin — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:23:06 +0000

A while back, the Guitar MX Blog brought you the story of Chickenfoot, the new supergroup featuring Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar, former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. The group is currently working on a new album, and just released this new promo video.

Joe Satriani had promised in an interview with MusicRadar that Chckenfoot would not be the final name of the group. “We just had to call it something for the time being. It’s definitely not going to be Chickenfoot. I guarantee it.” But as you can see from the video, they have now fully embraced the name.

Fender University Spring 2009 Classes Start Soon

Guitar MX Admin — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 03:17:56 +0000

Fender University Spring 2009 class is about to start. Fender University is a new program open to guitar and bass players worldwide. The program runs from March 4 through March 9 and includes the following:

Attendance for five days and five nights at Fender University.
Hotel accommodations: Full service hotel—the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, Riverside, Calif.
All meals during your stay.
Your very own exclusive, limited edition Fender American Standard Series instrument.
All ground transportation while at Fender University. Airfare not included.
Behind-the-scenes tour of the state-of-the-art Fender manufacturing facility and famed Fender Custom Shop.
Personal tour of the Fender Center Museum and Fullerton Museum featuring the Leo Fender exhibit.
8+ workshop hours, jamming and one-on-one instruction from Fender staff, clinicians and artists.
Priceless meet-and-greet moments with some of Fender’s closest friends and legends.
All the school supplies you need—lots of cool stuff!
VIP pass to all festivities and the Fender University commencement party.

Among the special guests at Fender University’s Spring 2009 Session will be John 5.

If you are interested in enrolling at Fender University, the cost is $6,500 per student. If March is too soon, there’s a Fall Session coming up. Click here for more information.