nme.com

European Commission pushes for a new ruling on volume


The European Commission in Brussels has proposed new rules on volumes for MP3 players in a bid to prevent users suffering from hearing problems.

Under the new proposals, the maximum setting for all MP3 players and mobile phones with music-playing capabilities should be 80db. Currently, the maximum volume setting on iPods can reach 130db.

Speaking about the calls for a ruling to be brought in, Meglena Kuneva, the EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner said that young people are particularly susceptible to hearing damage, reports the Telegraph.

"It's easy to push up the sound levels on your MP3 player to damagingly loud levels, especially on busy streets or public transport," Kuneva explained. "And the evidence is that particularly young people - who are listening to music at high volumes sometimes for hours each week - have no idea they can be putting their hearing at risk."

The Who's Pete Townshend has previously spoken about his fears for young people's hearing due to excessive headphone use, saying: "Hearing loss is a terrible thing because it cannot be repaired."

The European Commission's new proposals are now set to be evaluated by the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (Cenelec). The consideration process can take up to two years.

Labels: Guitar News Daily, Ipod, mp3 players

WENN.COM

Three men have been arrested for allegedly stealing a rare Eddie Van Halen guitar.

Jeronimo Frutero, a shipping supervisor at the American Musical Supply store in New York, and his friend Richard Rodriguez worked together to orchestrate the scheme, which saw them steal more than $50,000 worth of musical instruments, according to the Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli.

He claims Rodriguez, posing as a customer, purchased several inexpensive items online from the store, which Frutero then replaced with more expensive items.

Frutero is then alleged to have switched the shipping labels and had delivery workers package and send the high-end music equipment.

A third man, Michael Nuzzo, also allegedly ordered cheaper items online and actually received more expensive ones, says Molinelli.

Police allegedly discovered $55,000 worth of stolen items, including the limited-edition Van Halen replica guitar, worth $25,000, in Rodriguez's New Jersey home.

All three men are due to appear in court on Tuesday.

Labels: guitar crime, Guitar News Daily, Van Helen

This is one way to take care of business, but we see now it too has it's consequences... Now would the sentence have been different if it were a guitar instead of a banjo?

www.queensryche.com

QUEENSRYCHE -- who have been touring since late March in support of their newest effort American Soldier (Atco/Rhino) -- will be taking The Queen of Heavy Metal, Lita Ford, on the road with them for over two dozen dates beginning October 15th (see full itinerary below).

Ford will hit the stage during the QUEENSRYCHE set to perform three songs including her Top 10 Billboard hit (performed with Ozzy Osbourne), "Close My Eyes Forever," which she will duet with QUEENSRYCHE front man Geoff Tate.

For all songs, Lita will be backed by QUEENSRYCHE -- Geoff Tate on vocals, Michael Wilton and Parker Lundgren on guitars, Eddie Jackson on bass and Scott Rockenfield on drums.

"We're elated to have Lita Ford performing with us," comments Geoff Tate. "I have been a fan of Lita's as long as I can remember and look forward to the upcoming tour with her."

The feeling is mutual as Lita comments, "I'm so excited about how we're doing this tour. It's a really cool way to do a show. I'm looking forward to getting out there and seeing my fans again as well as meeting Queensryche's fans. It should be a real fun time for all."

Earlier this month, the video for QUEENSRYCHE's new single, "Home Again," made its worldwide debut on Military.com (the largest military and veteran membership organization) and can now be seen on the band's official website at www.queensryche.com. The video features photos submitted by service members from all over the world.

As for the song, itself, it's become a fan favorite along the tour. Performed by Geoff Tate and his 11-year-old daughter Emily, "Home Again" examines the emotional toll of war from two perspectives -- Geoff singing from the soldier's point of view and Emily singing the point of view of the child left behind.

Prior to the performances with Lita Ford, QUEENSRYCHE will be joining Chickenfoot (Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani and Chad Smith) beginning Friday, September 25th, for three consecutive California performances in Berkeley, Valley Center and Universal City, respectively.

Also on the QUEENSRYCHE horizon is the forthcoming ShipRocked Cruise (www.getshiprocked.com) which sets sail from Fort Lauderdale, Florida (to Ocho Rios, Jamaica and Grand Cayman) on November 15th for a five-day music festival on the sea. Those on the cruise will have an opportunity to be a part of a private QUEENSRYCHE-hosted wine gathering and drink Geoff Tate's wine, Insania (www.threeriverswinery.com). For an advance donation of $20, fans will have access to the special onboard event. All proceeds of the wine party will benefit the National Military Family Association, an organization that QUEENSRYCHE has been involved with since the inception of American Soldier.

Labels: Guitar News Daily, Lita Ford, Queensryche

thecelebritycafe.com

Billy Bragg brings out surviving Clash members to support Jail Guitar Doors.

The Clash surviving members, Mick Jones and Nicky “Topper” Headon have entered the studio to record a new version of the song “Jail Guitar Doors,” the b-side of the 1978 punk rock single “Clash City Rockers.”

The pair last recorded together in 1981 for the “Combat Rock” album though Headon appeared on stage with Jones’ band Carbon Silicon last year in London.

Jail Guitar Doors is the independent initiative founded by punk/ folk, activist, Billy Bragg, which aims to provide instruments to those who are using music as a means of achieving the rehabilitation of prison inmates. The initiative takes it name from the song.

Bragg became inspired in 2007 when on the fifth anniversary of Joe Strummers’ death he was contacted by Malcolm Dudley, a drug and alcohol counselor in a local prison in Dorset, England asking for help. Dudley was setting up guitar classes as a means of engaging prisoners in the process of rehabilitation, but soon became aware their development was being held back by the lack of available instruments.

"I immediately grasped the potential of Malcolm’s work, knowing from my own experience how playing guitar and writing songs can help an individual to process problems in a non-confrontational way. I bought half a dozen acoustic guitars and, just as Joe Strummer had painted slogans on his guitar, had them spray-painted with the titles of Clash songs - "Clash City Rocker", "Stay Free," and, of course, "Jail Guitar Doors," Bragg said.

Bragg delivered the guitars and was overwhelmed by the positive effect of the work being accomplished and wondered if there were others willing to do the work, but held back by lack of instruments.

In 2007, during an NME Award ceremony, Bragg announced the formation of Jail Guitar Doors to locate that interest. "I am pleased to say that the first person in the room to walk up to me with an offer of support was Clash guitarist Mick Jones," Bragg said.

"The guys were telling us how much this scheme had helped them move on from their previous lives before prison," Jones said in a statement. It was really touching to think we've helped, even if it's in a small way."

Headon agreed admitting: "When I was in prison myself, many years ago, I was lucky enough to have access to a guitar, which belonged to the prison vicar! I know how much it helped me get through it."

The recording session was filmed for a documentary called "Breaking Rocks," which will premiere as part of the Raindance Film Festival at the Proud Gallery in Camden Town, London, on October 1. The film will be followed by performances from Bragg, Jones, the MC5s' Wayne Kramer and Chris Shiflett of the Foo Fighters among others.

Labels: Guitar News Daily, Mick Jones, Nicky “Topper” Headon, The Clash

elle.com

There are a few names missing from this list like Bonnie Raitt, Elyse Steinman and Sister Rosetta Tharpe but ain't that always the way it goes?

"You can caress [a guitar] like a woman," says Jimmy Page in the opening of It Might Get Loud, a new documentary by Davis Guggenheim that invites electric-guitar virtuosos Page, U2's The Edge, and Jack White to meet on an L.A. soundstage, tell their guitar stories, and do a little impromptu jamming. In theaters now, it's the kind of gripping music doc that could inspire girls and boys everywhere to ditch Guitar Hero for a real Stratocaster. And yet, as good as it is, we couldn't help but think, Why no female guitarist in the bunch? Could be that since the electric guitar's popularity blossomed in the mid-twentieth century, collective wisdom has suggested that great female guitarists simply don't exist. Take Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Only two women, Joni Mitchell and Joan Jett, were honored. In a Washington Post article written in response to Rolling Stone's list, the writer suggests that as interest in electric guitar was revving up in the '60s, women weren't encouraged to step out of their ladylike gender roles, leaving them with an impossible game of catch-up to Jimi Hendrix and Page. Maybe. But Kelley Deal, lead guitarist of the Breeders, doesn't buy it. "I think we do exist," she says, "but in a different capacity. Guys really like to hear themselves talk. Women guitarists seem more song-oriented. What they choose to play contributes to making the song better, not just riffing all over it. It's a deeper relationship." And it's a relationship that could helm its own documentary (cough, cough, Mr. Guggenheim). In the meantime, ELLE presents 12 of the greatest female electric guitar players to ever pick up the instrument.


Joan Jett

A no-nonsense player who in only a few strums can get an entire barroom howling her 1982 hit, "I Love Rock 'n' Roll." That kind of power, often amplified by painted-on leather pants, sets the bar high for Twilight's Kristen Stewart, who's playing Jett in an upcoming Runaways biopic.


Lita Ford

After jamming with Jett as lead guitarist in the Runaways, Lita Ford took her pop-metal shedder sound solo and hired fellow rocker chick Sharon Osbourne as her manager. In 1988, she released Lita, a sexy riff-filled album that not only pleased rockers with its head-banging tunes but also got mainstreamers in the pit, especially with "Close My Eyes Forever," her duet with the prince of darkness Ozzy Osbourne.


Nancy Wilson

Only a few seconds into the riff of Heart's "Barracuda" and you know that only Nancy Wilson could knock you over with solos that beg to be air-guitared. Which makes us even more excited to hear that Nancy and sister Ann are preparing a new album slated for next summer.

Jennifer Batten

Jennifer Batten's shredding is just as outrageous as her platinum-spiked locks, both of which must have caught the attention of Michael Jackson, who called on her to play Eddie Van Halen's "Beat It" guitar solo on his Bad, Dangerous, and HIStory tours. Must-watch video here.

Donita Sparks

Donita Sparks, the woman behind ’80s girl group L7's guitar-heavy riffs, gave birth to boozy garage grunge (download "Pretend We're Dead," or play your own version on Rock Band 2), as well as her own group, Donita Sparks + the Stellar Moments, whose 2008 Transmiticate proves she hasn't lost her hard-rock edge.

Kelley Deal

Kelley Deal didn't pick up the guitar until she was 30, but that's the reason her disheveled playing for the Breeders (and later the Kelley Deal 6000) moves us. It's untrained, uncalculated, and completely unreal.

Carrie Brownstein

Sleater-Kinney could have fallen into obscurity like some of their '90s indie-rock classmates (what ever happened to Joan Osborne?) but not with Carrie Brownstein's riotous wailing, especially Page-like in the group's 2002 record, One Beat. And lately, she's taken to blogging for NPR. Photo: Courtesy of Retna


Poison Ivy

The Cramps were playing envelope-pushing '80s psychobilly before it became mainstream in the '90s and influenced bands like the Black Lips, the Jesus and Mary Chain, and My Bloody Valentine. With Poison Ivy on the ax (and late husband Lux Interior on vocals), her garage-punk attitude, though totally hard-core, seemed to come from a place of love. Creepy, fetish-filled love.


Ruyter Suys

When her band Nashville Pussy plays live, lead guitarist Ruyter Suys whips her fiery red mane back and forth and lies on the stage floor (sometimes in only her underwear), all while creating the high-pitch electric screams that frame their "good old-fashioned, humping-in-the-back-seat-of-a-car rock 'n' roll," as Suys describes it to Rolling Stone.


The Great Kat

Of all the shredders on our list, Juilliard-trained violinist the Great Kat (aka Katherine Thomas) is the most mind-bogglingly fast. Watch her fingers do the talking in the Beethoven Mush video here. (Or just imagine the composer’s electrical symphony on amphetamines.)

Marnie Stern

Marnie Stern's twitchy rhythms and face-melting licks take what we love about Eddie Van Halen's fast-paced playing and paints it with a rock-girl feel. On her second record, This Is It- (2008), Stern is a virtuosic badass.


Orianthi

At 24, Australian newcomer Orianthi's melodic wailing has already been endorsed by Carlos Santana ("If I was going to pass the baton to someone, she would be my first choice," he told the Aussie Today show) and Michael Jackson handpicked her for what would have been his comeback tour.

Labels: Donita Sparks, Guitar News Daily, Jennifer Batten, Joan Jett, Kelley Deal, Lita Ford, Marnie Stern, Nancy Wilson, Orianthi, Poison Ivy, Ruyter Suys, The Great Kat

irishtimes.com


A NEW Irish-based social network hopes to help guitar collectors find out whether their battered Strat was once gripped by Rory Gallagher, or whether Jimmy Page’s fingers ever danced across the frets of an old Gibson Les Paul.

Called dbTwang, the site aims to become a trusted place on the web where players and collectors can keep information about their guitars securely, over time building a history for their instruments, be they electric, acoustic or bass.

Although there are many guitar forums and marketplaces online, there is no direct equivalent to dbTwang, claims chief executive Keith Bohanna. “There isn’t yet a social network for people who are passionate about guitars,” he said.

The company has just completed follow-on investment to the tune of 80,000, Pounds and Colm Lyon, founder and chief executive of Realex Payments, will assist the company as an adviser and investor.

Mr Lyon is highly regarded in the online payments industry. His company processes billions of euro for companies such as Aer Lingus and Virgin Atlantic. Gerry McQuaid, the former commercial director of O2, is a non-executive director.

DbTwang has received 200,000 Pounds in funding to date. The company is on target to turn over 400,000 Pounds by the end of next year and to break even by mid-2011, Mr Bohanna said.

The website, at www.dbtwang.com, is currently in beta testing and will be fully launched in November.

Close to 900 people have already become members, and the plan is to ramp up numbers aggressively after that.

"In the very short term, we hope to have 10,000 users by the end of Q1 next year. Our forecast is that by the end of year five we will have four million members," said Mr Bohanna.

The site will use a "freemium" business model, where many services will cost nothing, and other exclusive features will be available only to paying subscribers. Data from the US suggest the conversion rate to paying users is between 3-8 per cent of a site’s total audience, Mr Bohanna said.

When the site builds up sufficient visitor numbers, Mr Bohanna said leading guitar and accessories manufacturers would pay to work with the site and develop content for members.

"We want to bring it from a niche to a substantial commercial opportunity," he said.

DbTwang’s backers also have plans for an ambitious "guitar genome project" to build up a database on as many guitars in existence as possible, so that collectors will be able to check the origin of any instrument through the site.

Labels: Guitar News Daily, Jimmy Page, Rory Gallagher

nme.com

Electric guitar player Mick Taylor has dismissed rumours that he intends to sue The Rolling Stones.

Taylor took over from Brian Jones in the long-running group in 1969, appearing on records such as Exile On Main Street, Sticky Fingers and It's Only Rock 'n' Roll.

This week, the Daily Mail suggested that he is planning to sue his former bandmates to obtain unpaid royalties.

However, Taylor's manager Jeff Allen has insisted that this is not the case and said he still has a good relationship with the group.

"There's absolutely no animosity between Mick and the Stones," he told NME.

"The last time we met up with them, him and Keith were hugging and happy to see each other."

Allen also revealed that when Taylor was ill several months ago, Mick Jagger rang his hospital to check on his condition.

As well as The Rolling Stones, Taylor has also performed and recorded with artists such as Bob Dylan, Jack Bruce and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.

Labels: Guitar News Daily, Mick Taylor, The Rolling Stones

WENN.COM


Coldplay have settled their legal spat with guitar great Joe Satriani, who accused the Brits of stealing "substantial" segments of his song If I Could Fly.

The two parties have reportedly agreed a legal settlement and the guitarist's copyright infringement lawsuit has been dismissed.

Coldplay will not be required to admit to any wrongdoing, according to Billboard.com.

Satriani filed suit against Chris Martin and his band and their record label bosses in December, claiming their hit Viva La Vida featured "substantial, original portions" of his 2004 track.

He told website MusicRadar he was very upset when he first heard the track, explaining, "I felt like a dagger went right through my heart. It hurt so much... Almost immediately, from the minute their song came out, my e-mail box flooded with people going, 'Have you heard this song by Coldplay? They ripped you off, man.'"

The members of Coldplay have always denied the allegations, insisting they did nothing wrong.

A statement from the Brits read, "If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him."

Both acts are refusing to comment about the settlement.

Labels: Coldplay, Guitar News Daily, Satriani

gibson.com

Only a month after Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followill smashed his No. 1 guitar - a vintage Gibson ES-325 - on-stage at Scotland's T in the Park Festival, the Gibson Repair & Restoration department returned the good-as-new guitar to its owner.

The guitar-smashing incident was followed by plenty of media speculation about why Caleb would destroy the guitar he'd favored since writing his band's first album in 2002.Reportedly, it was his response to a night's worth of frustration over sound difficulties.

Alas, Caleb wasn't yet ready to say goodbye for good to his 1972 Gibson, even if it meant retrieving its various pieces from audience members in hopes of salvaging it. Has the guitarist learned his lesson about impetuous guitar smashing? Doesn't look like it. This past weekend, after a headlining gig at the Reading Festival, Caleb repeated the act. No word yet on whether it was the ES-325. Again.

Here's the tale of how Repair & Restoration made Caleb's guitar new again. The repair work was courtesy of Phil Crabtree, who has worked in the department for 12 years. In this interview, we speak to Repair & Restoration Manager Todd Money.

What condition was Caleb's guitar in when it arrived?
The neck was severed from the body. The fingerboard was nearly off the neck. The neck itself had impact damage on the head and neck. There were quite a few loose pieces as well, some dime-sized or smaller. The nut was missing and the frets themselves were worn and in need of replacement.

Have you fixed guitars with similar problems?
Broken necks or broken headstocks are not uncommon but in most cases the break was accidental so the effect is more of a splintering. This was a pretty violent impact so the neck joint more or less exploded. He should show Kyle Busch how it's done.

Have you fixed other guitars that people have purposefully broken and then later regretted doing it?
What we see a lot of is instruments that have been purposefully broken by someone's significant other, usually after the owner has proven unfaithful. We've had bullet holes, caved in tops on acoustics, pretty much any atrocity that can be committed, we've seen at one time or another.

What was the process of mending this guitar like?
The reconstruction aspect was a bit like a jigsaw puzzle except that we didn't have all the pieces so we had to make some of our own. Figuring out where all the pieces needed to go and then deciding in what order to reassemble everything is important both for structural integrity and best fit and appearance. A lot of little steps are involved - gluing one small piece at a time and waiting for that to set up before proceeding with the next piece. We have a lot of scrap bodies and necks that we save for instances like this where we need to match a particular binding or say, a maple neck on a mahogany body. When all the original pieces are back in place we'll fabricate whatever is necessary to replace the pieces that were lost. Once all that's done everything is sanded smooth. Then it's on to finishing. First we'll paint the repaired area, taking care to match the original colors. Then we'll 'antique' the area to match the yellowing that age, sun and smoke impart. We may also add some scratches, dents and dings to make the repaired area consistent in appearance with the rest of the guitar.

Was this a particularly difficult guitar to repair?
Not necessarily difficult but certainly challenging. There were some advanced techniques used but the key was to plan the process in such a way that everything goes back together in good order. You want to work in reverse order of the way it came apart so it all takes some figuring.

Can you speak to the rarity of this kind of guitar? Financially speaking, was it worth the dollars spent in repairing it or was this more likely a sentimental move?
The ES-325 is pretty rare. This one more so because it has the "Gibson" name embossed on the pickup covers and Gibson only did that for one year - 1972. Whether the cost to repair was worth it from a financial standpoint is really kind of a toss up. The difference between the cost to repair and the value of the guitar could be negligible today but given the volatility of the vintage market, 325's could see a resurgence and the value could go crazy overnight. For that matter, Caleb could turn out to be the reason! Look what Dave Grohl did for the Trini Lopez or a number of contemporary guys who play the RD Artist.

Can you reveal the names of any other famous musicians whose guitars you've repaired recently?
Among the Nashville players there's Brooks and Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Tracy Lawrence, Keith Urban, Sugarland, James Otto, Brad Paisley, Big and Rich, Darius Rucker, and on and on. As for rock players, we've worked on guitars for Rick Derringer, Tom Petersson from Cheap Trick, Ted Nugent, Kerri Kelli from Alice Cooper, Ace Frehley, Dave Meniketti, Dave Grohl, Jack White, Ed King, Gary Rossington, Ricky Medlocke, Peter Frampton, Dan and Justin Hawkins from The Darkness, etc. Of course the greatest honor of all was working with Les Paul on various projects!

Labels: Caleb Followill, Guitar News Daily, Kings Of Leon, Smashee Guitar

antimusic.com

Fuel Records released the Guitar Zeus project by legendary drummer Carmine Appice, featuring a compilation of 24 of the best Guitar Zeus songs. Conquering Heroes hit the streets on August 25th. The double-disc set showcases the prolific talents of many world-renown rock guitarists including Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big), Yngwie Malmsteen, Neal Schon (Journey), Steve Morse (Deep Purple), Jennifer Batten (Michael Jackson), Mick Mars (Motley Crue), and the core band featuring Tony Franklin (The Firm, Blue Murder) on bass, Kelly Keeling (Blue Murder, MSG, TSO) on vocals/keys/rhythm guitar, with Appice on drums.

Guitarists Brian May, Richie Sambora, Zakk Wylde, and Ty Tabor had this to say about their roles in the project: "As soon as I heard the track, I thought it had a very haunting quality to it," remarks Brian May (Queen) about the song Nobody Knew (Black and White House), "evoking the 70's in some ways perhaps, but with a very modern slant. I also found the backing track itself very powerful and appealing, driven by Carmine's very recognizable style so I was keen to play on the track straight away, despite being incredibly snowed-under with work at the time!"

"I've always been a fan of Carmine's," notes Richie Sambora, Bon Jovi guitarist. "It was great playing with him and Tony. What a great rhythm section. I loved the song [Gonna Rain] - the vocals. I had a great time playing on this track. I think everyone will love this track - check it out!!!!"

"I had a great time playing on Carmine's Guitar Zeus album," affirms Zakk Wylde. "I'm glad he asked me to play on this great project with some great guitarists. The song I played on [Code 19] is a really cool song as well. Enjoy!!"

"I've been a fan of Carmine's for many years so when he asked me to be a part of Guitar Zeus, I was honored to accept," states Ty Tabor of King's X. "Not often does a guitarist have the opportunity to play records filled with so many great and respected musicians. However, at first I was apprehensive about whether the material would be strong. I have heard many albums filled with great musicians, but not great music. Carmine sent me a tape of some of the music and dispelled my worries. I am happy and honored to be a part of these recordings. This is great music."

Author, clinician, drummer... Carmine Appice first came to prominence as the percussionist with the late 1960s psychedelic band Vanilla Fudge. He contributed distinctive background harmonies with bassist Tim Bogert, adding to the group's high decibel sonic assault. After five albums, Appice and Bogert left Vanilla Fudge to form the blues rock quartet Cactus with vocalist Rusty Day and guitarist Jim McCarty. Eventually, Appice left Cactus with Bogert to join Jeff Beck in the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice, and then later joined Rod Stewart's backing band in 1977, co-writing hit songs such as "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" and "Young Turks". In 1978, Appice played drums on Paul Stanley's first solo album. He was a member of KGB featuring Ray Kennedy, Rick Grech, Mike Bloomfield and Barry Goldberg, and has recorded with Stanley Clarke, Ted Nugent, and Pink Floyd. He was the drummer for the bands King Kobra and Blue Murder, and toured with Ozzy Osbourne.

Appice first created Guitar Zeus in 1995 when he recruited some of the most famous guitarists in the world to be a part of his project, from Zakk Wylde and Ted Nugent to Brian May (Queen) and Slash (Guns N Roses), even tennis legend John McEnroe. Songs also included guest vocals by Dug Pinnick and Edgar Winter. Throughout the late 1990's, three Guitar Zeus CDs were released to worldwide critical acclaim.

"Guitar Zeus for me was an amazing experience, working with so many great guitarists", Appice affirms. "It was fun picking out songs for each. Each guitarist loved the songs. It was awesome. I would do it again in a minute even though it was alot of work. I consider these drum tracks to be some of my best drum performances in my career!"

Labels: brian may, Carmine Appice, Guitar News Daily, Richie Sambora, Zakk Wylde

sundaymercury.net

THE guitarist of Scottish band Texas is fighting for his life after suffering a brain haemorrhage.

Alistair McErlaine was taken to a London hospital on Tuesday since when his wife Shelly has been keeping a bedside vigil.

Texas singer Sharleen Spiteri said: "I am thinking of Ally and all of his family at this time. My thoughts are with them.

"Like everyone else, I am desperately hoping Ally will get well and pull through.

"It is a shock. He is a personal friend and all of us are wishing him well with all our hearts."

A spokesman for the band said: "It s something we are still coming to terms with. Ally is a great lad and well-liked by everyone.

"We have been told the next 48 hours are critical."

Formed in Glasgow in 1988, Texas sold more than 1.5 million copies of their 1996 album White On Blonde in the UK.

They have notched up 13 top 10 hits including Say What You Want, Summer Son and I Don’t Want A Lover, and played dozens of shows in the Midlands.

Labels: Alistair McErlaine, Guitar News Daily, Texas

NME.com


Bass guitar player Sir Paul McCartney has said The Beatles' back catalogue should be available on services such as iTunes.

Most artists now allow fans to legally download their songs on the internet, with the notable exception of The Beatles and Led Zeppelin.

However, ex-Beatle Sir Paul has stated that he would like to give music lovers the option of downloading the Fab Four's songs, as lots of people purchase music in this way.

He blamed the ongoing delay in getting The Beatles' music on services such as iTunes on record label EMI.

A senior figure at the company this week dismissed rumours that the band's back catalogue would soon be made available online.

Ernesto Schmitt, a senior executive at the label, told the Financial Times that negotiations between Apple and EMI are ongoing, but insisted the music would not be issued in this format imminently.

However, he added that EMI is looking forward to the day when The Beatles' music is available digitally.

Labels: Guitar News Daily, The Beatles

gear4music.com


Electric guitar player Joe Perry has spoken of how he ended up playing the instrument the wrong way round.

Speaking to MusicRadar, the Aerosmith star revealed that he was a big fan of acts such as Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley during his youth.

Perry revealed that his passion for music led to his parents buying him an acoustic guitar at an early age.

A 45 single that came with the instrument told him to hold a plectrum with the right hand and the neck with the left.

However, Perry is naturally left-handed, which means he should have been doing the exact opposite.

"Since that's how the record said to play the guitar, that's how I did it," he commented.

"It never occurred to me to change."

Perry's guitar playing can be heard on many classic rock hits by Aerosmith, including Walk This Way, Sweet Emotion and Love in an Elevator.

Labels: Guitar News Daily, Joe Perry, Left Handed

cmt.com

Country Music Hall of Fame member Barbara Mandrell has become the first woman inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. Her induction took place Saturday (Sept. 5) at the International Steel Guitar Convention in St. Louis, Mo. Mandrell displayed her skills on a variety of musical instruments, including the steel guitar, during her concert tours and the TV show, Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters. In related news, Mandrell will help dedicate the Garden of the Stars in downtown Nashville on Sept. 29. The garden, located across the street from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, will feature namesake flowers honoring those who have contributed to the country music industry. Others expected to attend the dedication ceremony include Lynn Anderson, Ralph Emery, Patti Page, Steve Holy, Jeffrey Steele, Donna Fargo, Jeff Cook, Marty Raybon and Jett Williams.

Labels: Barbara Mandrell, Guitar News Daily, Steel Guitar Hall of Fame

nme.com

Danny Dyer has labelled Sid Vicious "talentless" ahead of playing the Sex Pistols bassist in a new play about him and Kurt Cobain.

Speaking after a rehearsal for 'Kurt And Sid', Dyer said he finds it difficult to fathom exactly why Vicious has become so revered among fans.

"What could Sid do? Jump around and cut himself? He became the biggest thing in the Pistols. People would come just to see him, but why? What was it about this guy? He was talentless really," Dyer said.

He added that as a character, Vicious was difficult to portray in the play, reports BBC News.

"He's not like Kurt. Kurt was a twisted genius, a great songwriter, brilliant with a guitar."

The play, by Roy Smiles, sees Vicious appear before Cobain moments before the Nirvana singer takes his own life in his Seattle home.

"It's these two tortured souls in a room together, that's why it's such a mad idea," Dyer said of the production. "These two people that would have never met, two totally different generations, two people that died before they should have, in a room having it out with each other."

Dyer went on to criticise Gary Oldman's portrayal of Vicious in Alex Cox's 1986 film 'Sid And Nancy', saying: "I don't like what Oldman did with him, I think he played him like an idiot and I don't think that's fair."

'Kurt And Sid' runs at London's Trafalgar Studios 2 from September 9 to October 3.

Labels: Guitar News Daily, Kurt Cobain, Sid Vicious

WENN.COM

Led Zeppelin star Jimmy Page has turned down a string of lucrative offers to lift the lid on his time in the legendary band - insisting he's just "not interested" in writing a book.

The veteran guitarist admits he has been approached by numerous publishing houses over the years, all eager to sign him up to pen his autobiography.

But Page keeps turning the offers down as most books about the Whole Lotta Love hitmaker are "a load of rubbish".

He says, "I've had so many offers over the years, but I'm not interested. I wouldn't know how to go about it."

Labels: Guitar News Daily, Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin

infoworld.com

I hate running Guitar Hero stories but I love running Cortney stories.... Such a classy lady... what's a boy to do?

Kurt Cobain's widow and Hole frontwoman Courtney Love posted a series of messages on her Twitter account over the last 24 hours about objections she had to her late husband's appearance in Guitar Hero 5, starting with a proclamation stating:

FOR THE RECORD I DID NOT APPROVE KURTS AVATAR FOR GUYITARHERO5. i think Kurt would despise this game alone let alone this avatar

[ Find out the latest craziness in the world of technology: Read InfoWorld's Notes from the Field blog or newsletter by our man on the street, Robert X. Cringely. ]

She later added:

now theyre just LIQUIDATING kurt and IM THE DEVIL? I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH GUITAR HERO I LOATHE IT AND FIND IT ODIOUS KURT WOULD HAVE TOO

Love did admit to speaking with Guitar Hero publisher Activision, writing in back-to-back tweets:

we have NOTHING to do with this it was presented to me and oi said "show me a better avataR" TO DRAG MY HEELS., never did i intend on allowi

allowing GUITARHERO for me or for Kurt i am NOT yoko fucking Ono no ofense to her, but i am a different person entirely and this is insane

Kotaku, however, contacted Activision and received a reply from the company, in which they said "Guitar Hero secured the necessary licensing rights from the Cobain estate in a written agreement signed by Courtney Love to use Kurt Cobain's likeness as a fully playable character in Guitar Hero 5"

Love has just recently shot back, stating that her agreement with the company wasn't as solid, saying:

activision is fulllof shit they have a a contcrct called a deal memo that said upon approvale they could use an avatar i approved i .

and i never inteneded to aPPROVE this shit, they are doing a recall you can be sure o fthat. waita ew hours maybe tomorrow press and etc

We'll be sure to keep deciphering tweets and reporting the news on this growing feud.

Labels: Beatles Guitar News Daily, Courtney Love, Guitar Hero, Kurt Cobain

WENN.COM


A Motley Crue fan is recovering after he was stabbed in the leg during the band's concert in New York on Saturday night.

John Michael Bieganski was attacked with a knife when he tried to break up a fight between his friend and two other men at the weekend gig in Darien.

The 23-year-old was rushed to hospital where he received 28 stitches to a gaping four-inch long wound on his leg.

Police are appealing for any witnesses to come forward in a bid to identify the attacker.

Labels: Guitar News Daily, Motley Crue

guardian.co.uk

Beatles back on top with videogame and remastered albums

Nearly half a century after they first wowed the nation and a full 39 years since the band split, the Beatles were today the biggest noise in popular music yet again with the launch of a dedicated videogame and a series of remastered albums.

The Beatles Rock Band, in which players follow on-screen cues to "play" a scaled down plastic guitar, bass or drum kit with the band, or else sing along, is the first game officially endorsed by the group. It was released this morning and is expected to be become a top seller.

Also on sale from today, as part of a carefully planned marketing exercise by a group whose catalogue remains one of the most lucrative assets in entertainment, is a series of new versions of the band's albums.

The stereo sound has been remastered on 14 albums from Please Please Me to Let It Be, plus a compilation of B-sides and alternate takes, for the first time since their original CD release in 1987. They are available individually and as a £180 box set. Also on sale, for the purist, is a £200 collection of albums in mono.

The sets were this morning ranked second and fourth on the Amazon UK sales chart, separated by the Abbey Road album. The rock trio Muse - one of only four modern groups in a top 10 also featuring Vera Lynn - were the top seller.

The Rock Band game was officially launched at midnight in front of a Beatles tribute group in the rebuilt Cavern Club in Liverpool. A queue built up this morning outside the HMV store in Oxford Street, central London, where early arrivals had the chance to buy the game for a cut price.

The head of the queue was occupied by a 59-year-old self-described Beatles obsessive and collector, Alan Harrington, who said he planned to keep his edition of the game pristine in its box, but the great majority of early customers were born long after the group's demise.

"I grew up with the music. My mum was a big fan," said Lee, a 24-year-old from London. "It just feels very natural - homely, even. I rejected most of my mum's other music, but this was the one thing that stuck."

Critics of the Rock Band series of games, plus its near-equivalent, Guitar Hero, complain that young people who obsessively master the button-pushing facsimile guitar skills would be better off mastering a real instrument. "It encourages kids not to learn, that's the trouble," said Bill Wyman, the former Rolling Stones bassist.

Ross, 21, queuing alongside Lee, disagreed: "If you play a Fifa football game it doesn't stop you playing football. You can do both. It's not as if kids like us are going to be able to be on stage in front of thousands of people. It gives us the experience of what this might have been like. Anyway, I play the drums properly too."

Paul McCartney, one of the two surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney, said ahead of the game's release that he had not been tempted to give it a go.

"I haven't tried it. When you go to a demo they play it and I go 'God, that looks hard'," he told the New Musical Express for a special Beatles edition of the magazine.

While a basic version of the game is available for around £30, the truly dedicated can spend more than £350 if they add in the microphone, tiny drum set and plastic versions of McCartney's Hofner bass, John Lennon's Rickenbacker guitar and the Gretsch guitar used by George Harrison.

Labels: Beatles Guitar News Daily

billboard.com

Ace Frehley intends his new "Anomaly," the former Kiss guitarist's first set of new material in 20 years, to "kind of pick up where I left off with my first solo album" -- 1978's "Ace Frehley," which was recorded and released during Kiss' commercial zenith.


"Prior to going into the studio, I listened to that first album, which everybody cites as their favorite Ace record," Frehley tells Billboard.com. "I dissected it and tried to get into the same mind set this time around. I think I recaptured some of the musical textures and attitude and vibe that I had on that first record."


Frehley recorded "Anomaly" -- due out Sept. 15, on the third anniversary of his sobriety -- at Schoolhouse Studios in New York and at his home studio in Westchester, N.Y. He produced all but one of the album's 12 tracks -- Marti Frederiksen, who mixed the album with Anthony Fox, helmed a cover of Sweet's "Fox on the Run" that was suggested by Frehley's stylist (and also features Meat Loaf's daughter Pearl Aday on backing vocals). The album's first single, "Outer Space," is already out, and "Anomaly" also includes a track called "Fractured Quantum," which completes a "Fractured" trilogy that Frehley began with "Fractured Mirror" on "Ace Frehley" and continued with "Fractured Too" on 1987's "Frehley's Comet."





"Anomaly" also marks the first time Frehley has recorded using ProTools, but he doesn't feel like it changed his sound. "I really believe if you use the same process that you always do, if you have the right engineers working with you, you can get that analog sound wtih digital recording," he says.
Frehley intends to hit the road later this fall to support "Anomaly" and will have a new custom model Gibson Les Paul guitar issued before the end of the year. With four songs left over from the "Anomaly" sessions, he also intends to issue a follow-up in short order.


"It'll probably in the next year and a half or so -- it's not gonna be another 20 years," he promises with a laugh. "I went away for awhile. I went to outer space...and came back. Now I'm stronger than ever, with a vengeance. I just hope everyone likes ('Anomaly'). I really put my heart and soul into it."

Labels: ACE FREHLEY, ANOMALY, Guitar News Daily, Kiss

lacrossetribune.com

Food drive and electric guitar event set Friday

Dave's Guitar Shop and Fender Guitars will hold a combined food drive and electric guitar setup workshop on Friday beginning at noon.

Here's how it works: Bring in your electric six-string guitar (any brand) and five nonperishable food items. Someone from Dave's Guitar Shop will replace the strings - and Jack Schwarz of Fender will set the intonation and adjust the action, neck, bridge and pickups.

Schwarz, a guitar repair expert, music manager and performer, is Fender's vice president of global customer services.

Dave's Guitar Shop is located at 1227 S. Third St., in La Crosse. All food items will be donated to the La Crosse Hunger Task Force.

Labels: Dave's Guitars, Fender Guitars, Guitar News Daily

examiner.com

The NTSGA ( Nashville Steel Guitar Association ) will hold it’s annual steel show September 25 & 26, 2009 at The Hotel Preston in Nashville.

The NTSGA was created in 1999 by musicians who wanted to bring the steel guitar to the public eye and to show the many different styles of music that the steel guitar is used in.

The show will start on Friday, September 25, 2009 at 12:20pm and run through 11:30 pm with a scheduled break from 5pm-6pm. Some of the players scheduled to play throughout the day are Carco Clave, Billy Poe, Bobbe Seymour, Ron Elliot, Tommy Dodd, Mike Sigler, Mike Johnson and family and Lynn Owsley closing the Friday show out from 10:40pm-11:30pm.

The Saturday show is set to begin at 12:20 also, with a special tribute to the late John Hughey and Don Helms beginning at 1:00pm by the NTSGA Staff band with Ernie Rowell, featuring ISGHOF member, Weldon Myrick and Mike "Cookie" Jones. You’ll also want to see Paul Franklin, Russ Hicks, Doyle Grisham and family, Doug Jernigan & Gary Adams, and more perform throughout the evening.

Ticket prices are $25.00 per day. Please visit the NTSGA website for further information and player schedules. If you will be needing hotel reservations, please visit the Hotel Preston online or call 866-986-8089.

Labels: Dates, Guitar News Daily, Nashville Steel Guitar Association, NTSGA

Labels: mastodon; jonah hex; guitar news daily

Labels: Guitar News; Robert Cray

nypost.com

NYU undergrads coughing up $50,000 a year to attend the Greenwich Village institution can earn college credit for playing air guitar and kickboxing this fall.

Psychology prof Gary Marcus is offering a freshman seminar on video games and human cognition called "Guitar Heroes (and Heroines): Music, Video Games and the Nature of Human Cognition."

"Video games are an understudied area," said Marcus. "People dismiss them unfairly, but 'Guitar Hero' is a good tool for teaching and I'm interested in the nature of learning."

The course will tackle questions such as: "Why are human beings so easily sucked in by video games?" The class, which Marcus capped at 16 students, had a waiting list, he said.

This fall, neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki is also debuting an undergrad science course that can save students the cost of a gym membership.

In her new class, "Can Exercise Change Your Brain?" Suzuki leads students in an hourlong high-impact aerobics class every session. The sweaty students then sit through a lecture on how exercise enhances cognitive performance.

"I got the idea at Equinox Gym," Suzuki said. "I took this kickboxing and dance class that made me feel great. I thought if I could make my students feel like that after my class, I'd be the best teacher in the world!"

Suzuki already has a doctoral degree, but she got certified at her gym as a group fitness instructor to prep for her new course.

"The students are going to analyze their own data," she said. "It's a little hard, because you're really sweaty during the lecture afterward. But it's the most fun thing I've ever done at NYU."

Students without cable in their dorms can nurse their television addictions by signing up for "The Poetics of Television" at NYU's Gallatin School.

"We will watch a lot of TV -- students will choose at least half of the programs we'll study as a group," Professor Karen Hornick wrote in the course description. The class delves into genre, character, plotting and "spectacle" through readings and television programs.

Parents dropping their kids off at the campus were livid at the menu of off-beat courses.

"I just wrote a big check here," fumed Glen Jackson, whose son, Jeff, is an incoming freshman at NYU. "I'm not paying for him to study video games. It seems a bit watered down."

Labels: Guitar Hero, Guitar News Daily, NYU

bbc

Web detective solves musical mystery


The Fender Jaguar guitar was stolen on Wednesday night

A Belfast musician has been reunited with a beloved guitar just hours after it was stolen from outside his house - thanks to an eagle-eyed web user.

Andrew Wilson, guitarist with Ed Zealous, left the replica 1962 Fender Jaguar in his car overnight.

When he came out of his Annadale Avenue home on Thursday morning, the vehicle had been broken into and the guitar was gone.

An acoustic guitar and effects pedals were also taken.

Distraught, Andrew posted details of the theft on the popular Northern Ireland music website, Fastfude.

And despair turned to hope when within an hour, a fellow musician messaged Andrew telling him he was sure he'd seen the distinctive guitar in the window of Cash Converters in Belfast City Centre.

"We got down there as quickly as possible and to be honest, it's hard to express how many different emotions I went through. From despair to ecstasy in such a short space of time," Andrew said.

Sitting in the window was the Fender Jaguar. A fellow musician who went with Andrew to the store said they both knew it as soon as they saw it.

"I had changed the pick-ups and bridge on it so I recognised it straight away," said Ronnie Cartwright, guitarist with The Vals.

"The burgundy colour is distinctive and it's numbered three out of only 500 that were made."

Cash Converters had also become the temporary home of the other items that were stolen.

While the equipment has all been taken away by the police to use as evidence against whoever stole them, Andrew expects to be permanently reunited soon.

He says the whole episode is indicative of the nature of the music community in Northern Ireland.

"The website is used by hundreds of people involved with music.

"If someone gets something stolen, people will come on and say they'll keep an eye out for it or maybe tell you if they've seen it somewhere. So if there was any chance of getting it back, that would be the place to go.

"I am just very lucky, very grateful and very relieved."

Labels: Belfast Ireland, guitar crime, Guitar News Daily

gear4music.com

Electric guitar player Pete Townshend has revealed that The Who may return to the studio to record a new album.

Writing on his blog, the music veteran said he is currently writing a new musical in the style of Tommy and Quadrophenia.

The project will explore themes such as growing old and will include musical montages and "complex" sound effects.

However, Townshend said some of the more conventional songs could appear on a new Who album within the next year.

"As a 19-year-old, with My Generation, I wrote the most explicitly ageist song in rock," Townshend commented.

"At 64, I now want to take on ageing and mortality."

He added that the "ambitious" project would be entitled Floss and tell the story of an ageing pub musician and his wife.

The Who have not released any new material since Endless Wire in 2006.

This was their first album without bass guitar player John Entwistle, who died four years earlier.

Labels: Guitar News Daily, Pete Townshend, The Who

nme.com

Pair have done 'a couple of tracks' together

The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards has revealed that he has been working with Jack White.

Richards was tight-lipped about the hook-up, but told Rolling Stone magazine that the two guitarists have collaborated. However, he was cagey on the subject on whether he might enlist White to produce for his band.

"I enjoy working with Jack," he said. "We’ve done a couple of tracks."

On the possibility of White producing for The Rolling Stones, he added: "I couldn't fuel that rumour any more than to say Jack and I are in touch."

Richards did, however, confirm that it was his plan to get his band into the studio next year to record their next album.

"I'm trying to gather the boys together," he explained. "One way or another, I'll get them back in line."

Meanwhile yesterday (September 2) The Rolling Stones denied drummer Charlie Watts was quitting the band after reports emerged in Australia suggested he was calling it a day.

Labels: Guitar News Daily, Jack White, Keith Richards, Rolling Stones

LOS ANGELES--(Business Wire)--

Labels: Guitar News; Guitar News Daily; Steve Vai

Labels: Guitar News; Guitar Smashing News

jam.canoe.ca

LONDON - Forty years after the body of Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones was found floating in his swimming pool, British police said Monday they are reviewing new evidence about his death turned over by an investigative journalist.

Though Jones' 1969 drowning was ruled an accident linked to a drug and alcohol binge, friends and fans have long insisted the rock star was murdered, and reports have swirled of a death bed confession by a building contractor.

Sussex police in southeast England said they will examine new documents received from a journalist relating to Jones' death. They have not yet decided whether to officially reopen the case.

"It's too early to comment at this time as to what the outcome might be," the Sussex duty inspector said, reading a statement over the telephone. Police did not give further details.

The Mail on Sunday reported that journalist Scott Jones - who is not related to the musician - has handed over 600 documents.

Brian Jones, a founding member of the Rolling Stones, reportedly came up with the band's name, taking it from a song title on a Muddy Waters album cover. Formed in 1962, the band branched out from blues covers to become pivotal in the so-called British Invasion, drawing fans attracted by their rebellious image and surly but sexy style.


Jones was quickly eclipsed by swaggering lead singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards, whose songwriting propelled the band's popularity. Increasingly marginalized and drawn to drugs and alcohol, Jones was convicted twice on narcotics charges, avoiding jail by promising to quit his habit.

He quit the band a month before his death and was replaced by Mick Taylor.

He stood out even among his band mates for his flashy clothes and prodigious appetite for drugs. He died July 2, 1969 at age 27, his body found in the swimming pool at his 4.5-hectare Sussex estate.

Two 1994 books claimed that Jones was murdered by a London builder who had been hired to help renovate Jones' home: "Paint it Black: The Murder of Brian Jones," by Geoffrey Giuliano and "Who Killed Christopher Robin?" by Terry Rawlings.

Both claimed that builder Frank Thorogood confessed on his deathbed in November 1993 to killing Jones.

"It was me that did Brian. I just finally snapped," Thorogood reportedly said to road manager Tom Keylock, Rawlings' book quoted Keylock as saying.

It was not clear why British police did not reopen an investigation after those books were published.

Scott Jones interviewed Janet Lawson, the person who discovered the guitarist's body, shortly before she died last year. In the interview, published in The Mail on Sunday last November, Lawson claimed that Keylock, her boyfriend at the time, had asked her to visit Brian Jones because he was worried about tensions between Jones and Thorogood.

The night Jones died, official reports say there were three guests at his home at Cotchford Farm in Hartfield, east Sussex - Lawson, Thorogood, and Jones's girlfriend Anna Wohlin. All three gave statements to police saying Jones had been drinking that evening. Lawson later told Scott Jones that the police had pressured her.

"The police were trying to put words into my mouth," she is reported as saying.

She told Scott that the evening Jones died, they had all eaten in the early evening, and that Jones and Thorogood began fooling around in the swimming pool. She said a short while later Jones, who was by then in the pool alone, asked her to find an asthma inhaler.

"I went to look for it by the pool, in the music room, the reception room and then the kitchen," she said. "Frank came in a lather, his hands were shaking. He was in a terrible state. I thought the worst almost straight away and went to the pool to check. When I saw Brian on the bottom of the pool and was calling for help, Frank initially did nothing."

She told the journalist her original police statement did not mention any tensions between Jones and Thorogood, or the fact that Thorogood initially ignored her cries for help.

Keylock died in July 2009, according to the British newspaper, The Times.

Scott Jones also spoke to Bob Marshall, the chief investigating officer of the case. Marshall retired in 1974, but still occasionally responds to questions about the case. He told the reporter he still believed Jones' death was "a tragic accident, a simple drowning."

The title of Rawlings' book, "Who Killed Christopher Robin?," is a reference to Jones' estate, which was formerly the home of the late A.A. Milne, author of "Winnie the Pooh," which features the character Christopher Robin.

The Rolling Stones are one of the most influential and biggest-selling rock bands in the world, with album sales estimated at more than 200 million copies. The band's long list of classic hits include "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," "Street Fighting Man" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want."

The band is now made up of Jagger, Richards, Ronnie Wood - who replaced Taylor in 1975 - and drummer Charlie Watts. Emails and phone calls to the groups' publicists and record labels were unanswered.

The Stones topped Forbes' rich list for music acts in 2007, earning some US$88 million between June 2006 and June 2007, mostly from their "Bigger Bang Tour."

Labels: Brian Jones, Guitar News Daily, Rolling Stones

dailymail.com



Man allegedly beat woman with Hannah Montana guitar


CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Police arrested an Elkview man accused of beating his ex-girlfriend in the head with a child's guitar after she asked him to leave.

South Charleston police were dispatched Monday morning to a Colonial Park Drive apartment to investigate a domestic disturbance.

Patrolmen E.R. Moyer and T.E. Parsons met with Amber Young and her mother, Barbara Davis, according to a complaint filed in Kanawha Magistrate Court.

Young told officers that her ex-boyfriend, identified as Franklin Edward Hutchison, 28, of Azalea Road, had been in her apartment but that she had asked him to leave and he refused, becoming enraged, police said.

She told police Hutchison cut her work clothes to pieces, the complaint said. When Young again asked Hutchison to leave, he allegedly began striking her in the head with a Hannah Montana guitar, according to the complaint. He then dropped the guitar and started hitting her repeatedly in the back of the head with his fists, police said.

Davis told officers she tried to call for help but Hutchison jumped onto her back and tried to take her cell phone, the complaint said. He broke her watch in the process and left her with a few scratches on her arm, police said.

Hutchison was taken into custody and charged with domestic assault, battery, and destruction of property. He is being held at South Central Regional Jail. Hutchison's bond was set at $2,500 property or 10 percent cash.

Labels: guitar crime, Guitar News Daily, Hanna Montana