More on the Upcoming Rock House Releases

Well after spending some time on the phone with Rock House HQ, I got to the bottom of a few things. So here's the scoop on the DVDs that are being released in mid-October.

The long awaited DVD featuring Ravi Bhadriraju & Stephen Thompson of Job for a Cowboy will give all you Dark Metal players a thrill.

The first level DVD will feature lessons on Diminished Triads, Heavy Chugging & Dark Harmonies. From what I hear you will learn how they use natural minor scales and lead techniques like hammer-ons and pull-offs, tremolo picking; and how they shred riffs with alternate picking. They reveal the secrets to their dark sound with diminished triads, heavy riffs, and brutal breakdowns. As well as show you how two guitars create intense sequences and diminished harmonies. By the time you get dome with this program you will be able to play some pretty jaw-droping Heavy Metal.

In level 2 You will be challenged by the technique-building, hand-stretching exercises, hammer pull-offs and advanced shred riffs. Ravi is going to show You some of his secret weapons like harmonic minor scales, syncopated riffs, whammy tricks and pivoting rhythms. You will rock complete leads with backing tracks right from JFAC studio recordings that pull you into the band!

I origionally reported 6 new releases coming out but there are 7. I'll post more about those later today. I gotta get some sleep.

John McCarthy working on new CD

I noticed on John McCarthys myspace the other day http://www.myspace.com/johnmccarthyrhm that he is working on laying down some tracks for a new CD. I have no other information as to what kind of CD it's going to be but if it's anything like his "Drive" CD it'll be a good one. Who knows maybe we will hear some singing from John?

I'll post more info as I get it.

New Releases Coming From Rock House

I was fumbling through my bookmarks yesterday. I saw on John McCarthys myspace site http://www.myspace.com/johnmccarthyrhm his greeting said that Rock House is preparing to release 6 new products in October. I can't wait to see what's coming out.

B.B. King Museum Opens With Fanfare, Star Power & Peavey Sound

Source: http://www.peavey.com/

The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center opened September 13 with a three-day celebration and an historic, Peavey-powered concert that paired the blues legend with several of the marquee artists he has inspired.

Tracing King’s journey from the fields of the Mississippi Delta to Beale Street and beyond, the museum displays a trove of memorabilia to illustrate the artist’s life and inspiration. Among the guitars and artifacts are 1950s-era 78-rpm recordings from the personal collection of Peavey Electronics Founder and CEO Hartley Peavey, a lifelong blues aficionado. Even the $15 million facility itself is part of the collection, built onto the cotton gin where King worked as a young man.

The 83-year-old King, who still performs more than 100 shows a year, headlined the celebration with a defining set of hits and standards featuring guest guitarists Robert Cray, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Keb ‘Mo. The main stage, provided by Nashville-based TMG Production Services, featured twin ground-stacked Peavey Versarray™ 212 line-array arrangements, configured with four Versarray 212 line arrays and two Versarray 218 subwoofers per side and powered by sixteen Crest Audio® Pro 9200™ amplifiers.

“The Peavey Versarray 212 performs exceptionally well,” said Jim Wakefield, Audio Department Manager at TMG Productions. “I found that the 2x12 box focuses and couples really well. It has an extremely pleasant high end, with very smooth-sounding ribbon drivers that have no overriding side tones. They definitely keep up with the 12” woofers without a problem.”

For the ribbon cutting celebration, the more compact Peavey Versarray 112 line array—four per side flown on Vermette lifts—powered by six Crest Audio Pro 8200™ amplifiers projected the voice-only event with precision and clarity. A Peavey VSX™ 26 loudspeaker manager handled system processing, with mixing accomplished on a Crest Audio XRM® rack-mountable console.

Each Peavey Versarray VR212™ enclosure is outfitted with two 12” Black Widow woofers, four planar ribbon drivers and ten midrange drivers. The proprietary ribbon drivers are mounted to a manifold line source that works with the specially designed midrange drivers to create a high-energy field that enables critically damped operation with immediate transient response. All 16 line-array components utilize neodymium magnets that yield lighter weight and greater efficiency over traditional magnet designs.

Peavey’s patent-pending Ram Air Cooling design, a dissipation process that radiates heat away from the voice coil and speaker cone on the VR212, helps achieve enhanced efficiency and power handling, and overall improved performance over conventional cone-type transducers. The VR218™ subwoofer features the patented UniVent venting system, which uses an exclusive process to literally pump air through the enclosure, maintaining cool operating temperatures, increasing reliability and reducing power compression under heavy continuous-drive conditions.

Ask the Teacher - What is an Adjustable Neck

The Rock House teaching staff field all kinds of questions about instruments. One of the things a lot of new guitarist want to know about is the adjustable neck on the guitar and how to use it if needed. John McCarthy gives a a quick explaination below from the "Ask the Teacher" section available to members of The Rock House Method.

Most quality guitars have a metal rod inside the neck that’s called a “truss rod” that is used to adjust the neck to have less or more of a bow.

When string tension is placed on the guitar neck, the neck will naturally want to bow forward with the tension, truss rods help us control and adjust neck bow.

To put it simply, when strings are plucked they vibrate in somewhat of an elliptical pattern and because this pattern is wider near the center of the neck and tighter where the strings are anchored, relief (bow) gives the strings room to vibrate without contacting the frets and causing a buzz. Because necks, playing styles, truss rods and strings gauges vary, neck relief can also vary from one instrument to another.

Tightening a truss rod forces the neck back and normally reduces bow.

Loosening a truss rod decreases resistance and allows the strings tension to pull more relief into the neck.

Other types of nonstandard truss rods are:

Dual action truss rods can not only be tightened to counteract string tension and straighten the neck, but when turned counter clockwise they actually add upward bow. Basically, they are an added insurance policy. While creating more relief is rarely a problem you will encounter some necks that are dead flat or back bowed even with string tension and a loose truss rod. With dual action truss rods you can "force" a neck to bow forward and create relief.

Dual/Double truss rods. Most commonly found on 12 string or bass guitars, some necks incorporate 2 truss rods inlaid side by side in the neck. This is used primarily with high tension guitars.

We hope this helps answer some of your questions about an adjustable neck. For more info you can log into http://www.rockhousemethod.com/ and find answers to many questions you may have about musical instruments and playing instruments.

The Limit - "Reinventing the Sun" Review

Don't walk, run to the iTunes music store and download The Limit's latest CD "Reinventing the Sun"

Trying as good as I can to remain unbiased I have to say this is one of the freshest sounding CD's to hit the air waves in a long time.

Mark Daniel - vocals and guitar, Bob Chmiel - drums and Todd Grosberg on Bass have really hit the nail on the head when they put "Reinventing the Sun" together. Each song has amazing qualities in it and each song is different. I found while listening to it from beginning to end that there was nothing boring about this CD in the least, it kept my attention through each song.

The music takes you through many classic styles of rock and injects new energy into your system. The surprises are that as your listening to a song all the sudden it just burst into the power that we all love about good rock music. They do it all using the beauty of acoustic guitar styles in "A little Like Dying" and "Mother Maria" to hard driving rhythms in "Sky Walker" and "House of Sand"

It's a breath of fresh air to listen to "Reinventing the Sun".

Here's the link to buy or listen to "Reinventing the Sun". http://thelimitmusic.com/estore/StoreProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=70 Yes you can actually listen to the CD before you download it.

Children of Bodom enjoying US tour.

The Children of Bodom are having a ball on their US tour according to their myspace site www.myspace.com/childrenofbodom

Henkka writes "The first headlining tour in the States since 2006. We are excited!!! Our first time in Baltimore was really cool. Of course we didn't expect anything but there were people and the crowd was great!! Thanks for that. McNulty didnt show up tho...

And the show in Masquerade Atlanta was one of the hottest we have experienced ever. Really. It was difficult for us, but I bet it was difficult for the crowd too. But we pulled it off somehow and it was sweaty and intense. Just the way I like it!

Now we are heading to Texas, hope there are no hurricanes coming our way. Looking forward to play the new venue in Dallas, and also to hang out more with the Black Dahlia and Between guys later on, not enough parties yet, but I m sure we ll fix that!'

Be sure and check The COB out if they come close to you. You will not be disappointed.

Ovations New iDea Product Line

Ovation Guitars introduces the only acoustic/electric guitar with a built-in MP3 player/recorder which comes loaded with free WorkshopLive lessons. This is also the first guitar to be introduced with its own support & educational website http://www.ovationidea.com/ .

Specifications

BODY: Mid-Depth Cutaway
TOP: Spruce
TOP FINISH: Satin Platinum
BRACING: Modified X
SOUND HOLES: iDea Elliptical
NECK: Eastern Mahogany
NECK FINISH: Satin Platinum
PEGHEAD FINISH: Gloss Black
FINGERBOARD: Dark Rosewood
WIDTH AT NUT: 1-11/16” (17.5mm)
STRING PITCH AT NUT: 1-3/8” (9.5mm)
PITCH AT BRIDGE: 2-1/8” (54mm)
F/B INLAYS: 12th fret ‘i’
F/B BINDING: Black
SCALE LENGTH: 25” (635mm)
BRIDGE: Dark Rosewood
TUNERS: Black Ovation
PREAMP: Ovation iDea OPi-1
PICKUP: Ovation Original; Black Saddles

Dan Jacobs teaches the lead to "Falling Down"

This lesson is from Rock House Methods Metal Guitar series about leads, runs and rhythms. The video features Dan Jacobs of ATREYU. In this lesson Dan teaches the lead to "Falling Down".

It's a good intermediate lesson.

Be sure to watch the video lesson until the end. There is a member number for The Rock House Methods web site that you can use to gain full access to the site. For information on other products or purchase information go to http://www.rockhousemethod.com/ or http://www.musiciansfriend.com/

Music Theory - Half Steps & Whole Steps/The Chromatic Scale

By: Steve Gorenberg & John McCarthy

Have you ever wanted to totally understand where all music comes from? Well I'm here to make it real simple for you "all music no matter if it's the most complicated classical compisition or the most simple Punk Rock song is made of only 12 different notes" Thats right there are only 12 notes that are combined to make up all music....pretty cool ha. Here is the Chromatic Scale made of 12 half steps.

Half Steps & Whole Steps

The distance in pitch between any two musical notes is called an interval. An interval is how much higher or lower one note sounds from another, or the space in between the notes. The smallest interval on the guitar is from a fretted note to the fret next to it on the same string. This distance is called a half step. Twice the distance, or the distance of two frets, is called a whole step.

 

The musical alphabet uses the letters A through G. The distance from one letter or note to the next is usually a whole step (two frets), with two exceptions: there is only a half step between the notes B and C and between the notes E and F.

 

 

 

 

 

After counting up from A to G, we get to a higher sounding A and can continue to count up higher through the alphabet again from there. The distance from that first A to the next A (higher or lower) is called an octave.

 

The Chromatic Scale

Counting up or down the musical alphabet in half steps (or frets) is called a chromatic scale. The regular letters of the alphabet are called natural notes. Where there is a whole step between two natural notes, the note that falls in between them is a sharp (#) or flat (b) note. The # next to a note makes the note a half step higher. The b lowers the note a half step. For example, the note in between A and B can be called either an A# or a Bb since it’s actually the same note with two different names. Whether you call a note sharp or flat depends on what key you’re playing in or what the context is. The half steps that occur between B and C and between E and F (where there aren’t other notes between them) are referred to as natural half steps. If you memorize where these two natural half steps occur you can use that knowledge to find any note on the guitar. Just start with any open string and count up in half steps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Ascending Chromatic Scale

The following is an exercise that goes up through the chromatic scale in the 1st position of the guitar. Notice that when playing up the scale there are only twelve different notes until you reach an octave and start over with the same letters. These are the twelve notes that make up all music. The name of each note is written above the tab staff.

Descending Chromatic Scale

Here’s the first position chromatic scale in reverse, descending from highest to lowest note using all flats. Practice both the ascending and descending chromatic scales using the metronome to build up speed and coordination.

For more lessons like this check back regularly to The Rock House Blog or subscribe to us through your favorite RSS feeder. Be sure to vist our mother site http://www.rockhousemethod.com/

AxeKit™ Introduces Upgrade Kits

Wow here's a nice way to upgrade without investing too much time into your project or money either. I've got an old off brand tele that I really like but was thinking aboout dumping on ebay and getting something different. I think I'm going to upgrade it with an AxeKit™ upgrade kit and see if I like it before I sell it.

I'm thinking, if I already have a nice base to work with why sell this baby and get a couple hundred bucks for it if I can upgrade the pick ups and shield it it for less than 200 bucks.

According to their web site, "The AxeGuardz™ AxeKit™ is the easiest upgrade solution for getting the best tone and maximum shielding you demand from your guitar. Tailored to specific tone styles, the easy-to-install performance-matched AxeKit™ redefines your axe".

• Up to 40% Less RFI & EMI "Noise"

• Available for Strat® and Tele®

• FREE Cavity Guard™ Shielding

• O.E.M. Seymour Duncan® Pickups

• Easy Installation in just 30 minutes

You can check out their site @ http://www.axeguardz.com/

RIP - Pink Floyd Founding Member Richard Wright

Richard Wright, a founding member of the legendary rock group Pink Floyd, has died after a short battle with cancer. Wright was 65.

Wright died Monday after a battle with cancer at his home in Britain. His family did not want to give more details about his death.

Wright, was a self-taught pianist and keyboardist whose keyboard style was part of the unique blend of sound made famous by the band, appeared on Pink Floyds first album “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” in 1967 and wrote several songs throughout his career with the band, including tracks on “Dark Side of the Moon” and “Wish You Were Here.”

Richard Wright met Pink Floyd members Roger Waters and Nick Mason at college and joined their early band Sigma 6.

Sigma 6 eventually became Pink Floyd and Wright wrote and sang some of the band's key songs. He wrote "The Great Gig In The Sky" and "Us And Them" from Pink Floyd's 1973 "The Dark Side Of The Moon."

Major League Gaming Release New ATR Song

All That Remains and Major League Gaming, the professional gaming league, today announced an innovative promotion that will allow fans of the band to download a track from their highly-anticipated new album, OVERCOME one week before the album's release date. The track "Chiron" will be exclusively available from the MLG website for one week starting on September 9th. OVERCOME (Prosthetic Records/Razor & Tie Entertainment) hits streets September 16th.

All That Remains frontman Phil Labonte added, "It's really great to be working with Major League Gaming. I'm a huge fan of the organization. Besides music, gaming is another great passion of mine and I am very happy to find a way to bring the two together."

In a move to capitalize on the marriage of games and music, players are encouraged to use the music in their game play montages and send it to the MLG game room at www.gameroom.mlgpro.com. The MLG experience includes online tournaments, live events, broadcast-quality programming, and a competitive gaming social network where players and fans can express themselves through video montages, blogs, and profiles.

Two weeks ago, All That Remains frontman/die-hard video game enthusiast Phil Labonte stopped by MLG's Live Pre-Game show at the Toronto stop of the Pro Circuit on August 22, to talk with host Chris Puckett about his favorite MLG Pros, playing Halo3 on the MLG playlist, and to debut the video for "Chiron" for the MLG community. In another first, MLG's legendary team, Final Boss, will be using the All That Remains track "Two Weeks" as their theme song in MLG Pro Circuit events moving forward.

Source: ATL Blog

A Favorite Riff of "Big" Dan Jacobs - Video Lesson

This lesson is from Rock House Methods Metal Guitar series about leads, runs and rhythms. The video features Dan Jacobs of ATREYU. The lesson is about Crazy Gnarley Finger Tapping.


It's a good intermediate lesson.
 
Be sure to watch the video lesson until the end. There is a member number for The Rock House Methods web site that you can use to gain full access to the site. For information on other products or purchase information go to http://www.rockhousemethod.com/ or http://www.musiciansfriend.com/

A Website Dedicated to Free Jam Tracks

There is a web site http://www.freejamtracks.com/ that is dedicated to making free jam tracks.

There not much info about the site or the owner other than he makes the tracks himself.

There are jam tracks for guitar, bass and Drums. Check it out!

StagePlayer™ Guitar Stool & Stand

This was a cool piece of equipment I came across on http://www.guitarlifestyle.com/

It's The StagePlayer is a combination folding stool/guitar stand created by Nick Vail Designs. I use a folding stool similar to this when I play guitar, and I can see the benefit to having an attached guitar stand.

No assembly required,weighs only 10lbs, fully padded and comfortable. It fits most guitars, basses, and banjos. Has a neck support and non-slip foam on the folding support arms. Safe for all finishes and is made of rugged metal construction. It holds up to 250lbs.

Suggested retail: $49.95

Remembering September 11th

I think everyone should take a moment to day and and reflect on what happened in this great country of ours on September 11th 2001.

Take time to reflect on the profound effect that one group of people had on an entire nation. Take time to reflect on the shock, awe and horror of the event. Take time to reflect on the anger, confusion and questions that arose from it. Take time to reflect and remember the Innocent American Citizens who lost their lives and the Brave ones that gave their lives unknowingly to rescue the ones that survived.

Just take a moment today and remember.

Free Guitar Lessons From Gary Hoey

While everyone one is waiting for the new Rock House Method/Gary Hoey project to come out I thought I would turn you onto Gary Hoeys web site.

The world renowned musician has just added a new guitar tips section to his web site. There are 3 sections. Picking excecises, blues licks and guitar psyche. All are in PDF format and have audio to go along with them.

Check it out here http://www.garyhoey.com/ and click the guitar tips tab.

Rock the Vote

I have to admit. I have a lot of interest in the upcoming election. I'm not going to get into who I'm supporting right now, but I do feel it's an important enough election that some sort of article to promote voter registration is appropriate.

Tomorrow I'll be posting about the candidates. The important thing right now is to get registered to vote.

Why vote? There's a lot of reasons. Reasons like it's time to inspire. Time to lead. Time to seek peace. Time to be courageous. Time to be outraged. Time to believe. Time to fight for what is right. Time to think. Time to make history.

I invite everyone to comment on issues that are important to them. Issues that you feel inspire you to vote for one candidate or the other.

So hit the link below and take the first step in changing the direction of this great country of ours and register to vote.

Laguna LB224 Beginners Bass Package w/ A Line 6 Lowdown LD15

If your an aspiring  Bassist and looking for a bass pack to get your started I think Laguna has come up with a pretty decent package. They took their Laguna LB224 and packaged it with a Line 6 Lowdown LD15. Plus threw in pretty much every accessory you would need to get you up and playing.

The Laguna LB224 is a double-cutaway bass is made of solid basswood with a hard maple neck and an Indonesian Sonokeli fretboard. It is equipped with Alnico bridge humbuckers and chrome hardware. It comes in a 34" scale with a bolt neck joint and a standard U-shaped neck with 24 frets.

Line 6's LowDown LD15 pushes 15 watts through a punchy 8" speaker and boasts 4 channels of  LowDown bass tones, 3 brilliant Smart Control FX, and the ability to dial in a great sound instantly. It's ideal for jamming and practicing, LowDown LD15 features a CD/MP3 input for playing along to any music. Plus, the headphone output can also be used for easy direct recording of album-ready LowDown bass tones. 

The Bass Accessory Pack includes a nylon padded gig bag with accessory pouch, IC-10 digital chromatic tuner, fully adjustable nylon strap, 10' instrument cable, an adjustable, padded, dynamic headphones with 1/8" stereo plug (includes 1/4" stereo adapter) and 6 heavy-gauge picks.

Street Price $399

LIMITED EDITION SLASH SIGNATURE LES PAUL

Epiphone announces the new Slash Les Paul Goldtop guitar. The guitar is limited to the production of 2,000 guitar world wide and is being built to strict Gibson standards.


The Epiphone model starts with the traditional Les Paul body consisting of a hand-selected premium solid mahogany back based on historically correct specifications and topped with A-grade maple. Using a traditional roller-type carving machine, Epiphone has tediously carved each body creating the sexy curves and subtle “dish” along the outer edge of the top that transforms it into an authentic Les Paul.

The neck is crafted from premium mahogany, utilizing a long-neck tenon typically found on the Les Paul models from the late 1950s and early 1960s. This provides additional strength which ultimately results in sweeter tone and longer sustain. The neck also features a “Slash Custom” neck profile patterned exclusively from the neck on Slash’s original Les Paul and a Rosewood fingerboard fitted with 22 nickel/silver alloy medium-jumbo frets. The pickups are the same ones used by Slash in many of his Les Pauls – Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro-II – providing the same crunch, power and performance as Slash when he cranks it up on stage.

 Other specs include Epiphone’s patent-applied-for LockTone Tune-o-matic and stopbar tailpiece, vintage nickel hardware and tulip-button tuners, fully shielded electronic cavities, 12 inch radius fingerboard, custom “Slash” truss rod cover and the stamped “Limited Edition” logo on the back of the headstock.

For more information on the Epiphone Les Paul Slash Goldtop and the Gibson USA Les Paul Slash Goldtop including a list of authorized dealers go to www.epiphone.com

F5 Releases New Video of "The Reckoning"

David Ellefson and the band F5 have released a new video for their song "The Reckoning" from their new album. The new F5 album THE RECKONING is available now at your local record stores and online everywhere.

All That Remains Announces New Tour Dates

Rock House Artist/Instructor Oli Herbert and his band All That Remains have announced a New Tour. In an announcement on their MySpace site the band says that they just finished their run on Vans Warped Tour last weekend in Los Angeles. The band is now at home and gearing up for a co-headlining tour with Trivium, which will also feature 36 Crazy Fists and The Human Abstract, after which ALL THAT REMAINS will be direct support in major markets to In Flames, which will also see the band playing with Gojira and 36 Crazy Fists.

ALL THAT REMAINS TOUR DATES
 
9/09 Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution
9/10 St. Petersburg, FL – Jannus Landing
9/11 Myrtle Beach, SC – House of Blues
9/12 Asheville, NC – Orange Peel
9/15 Memphis, TN – New Daisy Theater
9/17 Corpus Christi, TX – Concrete Street
9/18 Odessa, TX – Dos Amigos
9/19 Lubbock, TX – Tequilla Jungle
9/20 Farmington, NM – Big City Night Club
9/21 Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theater
9/23 Bakersfield, CA – The Dome
9/25 Reno, NV – New Oasis
9/27 Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
9/28 Missoula, MT – Wilma Theater
9/30 Fargo, ND – The Venue

10/01 Sioux Falls, SD – Sioux Falls Expo Building
10/03 Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom
10/04 Omaha, NE – Sokol Auditorium
10/05 Columbia, MO – Blue Note
10/06 Cedar Rapids, IA – Hawkeye Downs
10/07 Green Bay, WI – Riverview Ballroom
10/09 Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
10/10 Ft. Wayne, IN – Pierre's
10/11 Grand Rapids, MI – Orbit Room
10/12 London, ONT – Cowboys
10/14 Louisville, KY – Headliner's
10/17 New Haven, CT – Toad's Place
10/18 Richmond, VA – The National
10/19 Charlotte, NC – Amos Southend

(In Flames, All That Remains, Gojira, 36 Crazy Fists)
11/06 Montreal, QC – Metropolis
11/07 Toronto, ON – Sound Academy
11/08 Detroit, MI – Emerald Theater
11/10 Chicago, IL – House Of Blues
11/12 Minneapolis, MN – Myth
11/14 Calgary, AB – MacEwan Hall
11/15 Edmonton, AB – Events Center
11/17 Vancouver, BC – Commodore
11/18 Seattle, WA – Showbox Sodo
11/19 Portland, OR – Roseland
11/21 San Francisco, CA – Warfield
11/22 Los Angeles, CA – The Nokia Club
11/23 Las Vegas, NV – House Of Blues
11/24 Phoenix, AZ – Marquee Theatre
11/25 Albuquerque, NM – Midnight Rodeo
11/26 Denver, CO – Fillmore
11/28 Dallas, TX – Palladium
11/29 Austin, TX – La Zona Rosa
11/30 Houston, TX – House Of Blues

12/02 Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live
12/03 Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
12/04 Norfolk, VA – The Norva
12/05 Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live
12/06 Worcester, MA – Palladium
12/07 New York, NY – Terminal 5
12/09 St.Louis, MO – Pageant
12/10 Milwaukee, WI – The Rave

All That Remains has unveiled the band's new video for the track "Chiron," from their forthcoming album OVERCOME. The clip was shot earlier this summer while the band was in Los Angeles.



The band has also unveiled the track listing for OVERCOME, which marks the first time ATR has covered a song, Nevermore's "Believe In Nothing."

"We decided to do a cover on this disc and we didn't want to do what every other band is doing these days and take a pop or rock song from the 80s," frontman Phil Labonte says. "We figured a song by a band with real metal cred would do best for us. This song never got the attention it deserved. It's an amazingly well written song and even though it's not the most complex song Nevermore has done, it is, in my opinion, one of their best. We ran the idea by Nevermore and they gave us their blessing so we were very happy to have the original artists behind it. I couldn't be happier with the way it came out!"

OVERCOME is due out in stores on September 16th.

Lead Guitar Techniques - Crazy Gnarley Tapping Madness with "Big" Dan Jacobs

This lesson is from Rock House Methods Metal Guitar series about leads, runs and rhythms. The video features Dan Jacobs of ATREYU. The lesson is about Crazy Gnarley Finger Tapping.

It's not for the faint of heart.

Be sure to watch the video lesson until the end. There is a member number for The Rock House Methods web site that you can use to gain full access to the site. For information on other products or purchase information go to http://www.rockhousemethod.com/ or http://www.musiciansfriend.com/

R.I.P. Jerry Reed - The Original Guitar Man

Jerry Reed passed August31, 2008. Jerry Reed, was an American country music singer, country guitarist, session musician, songwriter, and actor who appeared in over a dozen films. As a singer, he may be best known for "Amos Moses", and "When You're Hot, You're Hot", for which he received the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 1972 and "East Bound and Down", the theme song to the first Smokey and the Bandit movie in which he portrayed the "Snowman", Cledus Snow.

After a two-year stint in the military, Reed moved to Nashville in 1961 to continue his songwriting career, which had continued to gather steam while he was in the armed forces, thanks to Brenda Lee's 1960 cover of his "That's All You Got to Do." He also became a popular session and tour guitarist. In 1962, he scored some success with the singles "Goodnight Irene" and "Hully Gully Guitar," which found their way to Chet Atkins, who produced Reed's 1965 "If I Don't Live Up to It."

 

In 1967, Reed notched his first official country chart hit with "Guitar Man," which Elvis Presley soon covered. Presley had come to Nashville to record in 1967, and one of the songs he was working on was "Guitar Man," which Reed had written and recorded.Reed also played the guitar for Elvis Presley's "Too Much Monkey Business" (1968), recorded in the same session. After Presley recorded another of Reed's songs, "U.S. Male," the songwriter recorded an Elvis tribute, "Tupelo Mississippi Flash," which proved to be his first Top 20 hit. Reed's guitar style can also be heard on other Elvis tunes including "Big Boss Man". Elvis also recorded two other Reed tunes; "A Thing Called Love" in 1971 and "Talk About The Good Times" in 1973 for a total of four.

After releasing the 1970 crossover hit "Amos Moses," a hybrid of rock, country, and Cajun styles, which reached #8 on the U.S. Pop charts, Reed teamed with Atkins for the duet LP Me & Jerry. During the 1970 television season, he was a regular on the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, and in 1971 he issued his biggest hit, the chart-topper "When You're Hot, You're Hot," which was also the title track of his first solo album and reached #9 on the Pop charts.

In 1974, he co-starred with his close friend Burt Reynolds in the film W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings. While he continued to record throughout the decade, his greatest visibility was as a motion picture star, almost always in tandem with headliner Reynolds; after 1976's Gator, Reed appeared in 1978's High Ballin and 1979's Hot Stuff. He also co-starred in all three of the Smokey and the Bandit films; the first, which premiered in 1977, landed Reed a Number 2 hit with the soundtrack's "East Bound and Down."

In 1982, Reed's career as a singles artist was revitalized by the chart-topping hit "She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)," Reed had a role as a Commander/Huey Pilot for Danny Glover's character in the 1988 movie Bat*21 starring Gene Hackman. He also acted as executive producer on this film.

Jerry Reed will be sorely missed, but always remebered for his guitar and perfoming style.

Refrence Source: wikipedia

Washburn Unleashes The Paul Stanley Signature Series Electric Guitar

Paul Stanley has collaborated with Washburn to create a whole new series of electric and acoustic guitars designed by Paul himself. The Paul Stanley Collection includes everything from entry level to U.S.A. built solid body and acoustic guitars along with a variety of music instrument accessories.

SPECS
Mahogany body
Gloss finish
Tune-o-matic bridge
Star Tailpiece
Randall pickups
3-way toggle switch
2 volume, 1 tone control
Mahogany set neck
Rosewood fingerboard with unique gothic inlays
22 jumbo frets
24.75" scale
18:1 Grover® tuners
Buzz Feiten Tuning System™
Case: GB4 Included
Colors: Black, Silver Burst, Blueburst

Gibson Guitar of the Month - Reverse Explorer

The new limited addition Reverse Explorer – Gibson USA’s Guitar of the Month for September 2008, is a guitar ready for the 21st century.

Gibson USA has turned the world upside down by introducing the new limited addition Reverse Explorer. The engineers of the Reverse Explorer have flipped the body of one of the most iconic guitars. The result is spectacular.

The neck is a hybrid between Gibsons standard 50’s rounded contour and its 60’s slim taper profile. The fret board is rosewood with 22 frets and carbon inlays at the 5th and 12th fret. As an added treat there is a rare art-deco style Gibson logo added that was found among old drawings of logos. The headstock is a McCarthy era inspired shape. Steinberger tuners round out the package. The poles pieces are concealed by covers that are copper plated. The rest of the hardware is gold plated.

The new Reverse Explorer is only available in an Antique Walnut finish and includes a custom Guitar of the Month case. As with all Guitars of the Month, production is limited to 1,000.

More info can be found at http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Divisions/Gibson%20USA/Products/GOTM/ReverseExplorer/

Living Colour - The Bowery Collection

Rock House Artist/Instructor Doug Wimbish and the guys from Living Color announced the upcoming release of their newly mixed CD "The Bowery Collection".

This CD was recorded live at a benefit for CBGBs at the famed NYC institution on August 19th, 2005. Their original mix of rock, funk, punk and even reggae made Living Colour a household name. They still bring the magic and this live recording proves it. Anchored by Corey Glover on vocals and Vernon Reid on guitar, this CD spans their career and includes the hits "Glamour Boys" and "Cult of Personality," as well as timely songs like "Open Letter to a Landlord," "Terrorism" and "Sacred Ground." This is a pristine live recording, direct from the soundboard.

The target release date will be at the end of October. More info will be posted when I get it.

FREEKBASS in Skope Magazine

Skope Magazine has a review of the new FREEKBASS CD posted. FREEKBASS has been getting a lot of rave reviews for his work lately.

An excert from Skope says "...Funk seems to flow right out of Freekbass’ soul and flows smoothly like crystal, clear water to his bass guitar."

Check out the CD at http://www.homegrownmusic.net/

Check out the FREEKBASS learn to play funk products at http://rockhousemethod.com/products/bass.aspx?i=653

Guitar lesson featuring Rusty Cooley

Rock House artisit instructor Rusty Cooley has teamed up with Premier Guitar Magazine for a guitar lesson that covers some techniques he uses in his playing. He starts with a legato, four note per string sequence using all four fingers -- a concept he calls milking an idea for everything its worth.

Premier Guitar says, "...an awe-inspiring glimpse into Rusty Cooley’s world of guitar shredding. Obviously these examples are not for the faint-hearted, but if you follow Rusty's instructions you’ll notice a dramatic improvement in your overall guitar playing."

Hit the link below and check it out!

Rusty Cooley Rips