This is a roundup of a few things I've been enjoying this month: 1. Doom Side of the Moon - This is a side project from Sword guitarist Kyle Schutt. As its name suggests, this is a tribute to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. It's a fairly faithful interpretation, while adding in some of the "Doom" elements that Sword is known for. I'm enjoying this one more than I thought … [Read more...]
EarthQuaker Day 2017
If you can't make it to see EarthQuaker Devices here in Nashville this week at Summer NAMM, you can still see them at EarthQuaker Day 2017, to be held on August 5 in EarthQuaker's hometown of Akron, Ohio. It looks like quite a party. There will be live music, clinics, workshop tours, food & drinks, games, giveaways, and prizes. There will also be a Riff Contest to win a … [Read more...]
A Guitar Collecting Tip from Joe Bonamassa
Few guitarists have the knowledge and experience collecting guitars as Joe Bonamassa. Having grown up the son of a guitar dealer and now a world-class collector himself, there's little Bonamassa doesn't know about guitars. Furthermore, few of us will ever have the opportunity to play, much less own, even a small percentage of the guitars that Bonamassa regularly gigs with. … [Read more...]
Heritage Guitars Sold to New Owners
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...]