Category: Guitarist Antics

What the Fuzz? Six String Bliss to release free album for download

Six String Bliss Announces the Release of “What The Fuzz?”. Worldwide Launch – Thursday, May 20th, 2010 Six String Bliss, the longest-running guitar-centric Podcast on the Internet announces the release of What The Fuzz, a collaborative effort by members of their listening community.  The theme of this album is the Fuzz Effect; it was not a requirement to use Fuzz specifically on guitar, but each track submitted contains the prominent use of Fuzz. What The Fuzz will feature 10 songs…

Elvis Costello cancels Israel gigs to protest

Posted 18 May 2010 in Artist News, Guitarist Antics

Elvis Costello has cancelled two concerts he was scheduled to play in Israel in protest at its treatment of Palestinians. Costello, one of the most gifted British songwriters of his generation, was due to play on 30 June and 1 July but says his “conscience” dictated that he pull out of the performances. He joins a list of performers who have decided not to play in Israel, including Gil Scott-Heron and Santana. On his website, Costello wrote: “Then there are…

Rock’n’roll jihad

Posted 16 May 2010 in Guitar Heroics, Guitarist Antics

He is a long-haired rocker who plays a mean riff and cites Led Zeppelin among his influences — and now he has been unveiled as the UK government’s latest weapon in the fight against Al-Qaeda. Salman Ahmad, a Pakistani musician whose band has sold more than 30m albums, is to urge Muslim students to choose an electric guitar over extremism. The self-proclaimed “rock’n’roll jihadist” will this week take his message to students at Oxford University, Imperial College and the London…

Lou Reed to stage high-pitched concert for dogs

Posted 15 May 2010 in Artist News, Guitarist Antics

Lou Reed and his partner, experimental musician Laurie Anderson, will be putting on a concert exclusively for dogs as part of Sydney‘s Vivid LIVE festival on June 5. The high-frequency ‘Music For Dogs’ gig will take place on Sydney Opera House’s northern boardwalk at 10am (EST). The show will be 20-minutes long due to the canine audience’s short attention span and will be inaudible to the humans present. “Taking the idea of the apparently inaudible dog whistle to new artistic…

Guitar relieves World Cup worries

Posted 10 May 2010 in Guitarist Antics

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — With each strum of his guitar, the squandered scoring chances fade away for Colorado Rapids forward Conor Casey. Music has become an escape for Casey, a way to keep soccer from consuming him. Playing a few guitar riffs helps him relax, not worry about the little things out of his control such as whether or not he’ll make the U.S. World Cup team. These days, that’s all he hears about, all he’s ever asked. Casey insists…

Paul is Undead!

Posted 08 May 2010 in Guitarist Antics

In the latest example of Hollywood alchemy that mixes real historical figures with flesh-eating zombies, Double Feature partners Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher have optioned Paul Is Undead, an Alan Goldsher novel that re-imagines the history of The Beatles–with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr re-cast as zombies. Written as oral history, the book details how Lennon, a zombie guitarist in Liverpool, kills and reanimates McCartney, then does the same with Harrison and Starr. They create hits and…

Developer Creates Guitar Out of Five Mobile Devices

Posted 08 May 2010 in Gear News, Guitarist Antics

I’ve seen plenty of videos in the past of composers using the latest iPhone, Windows Mobile and Android music composition tools, but this one is the best. Steffest built a guitar out of two Android devices, two Windows Mobile devices and one iPod touch. He then managed to play a rendition of Cracklin Rosie, and put the whole thing on video. According to Steffest, the piano and drum sequencers are written by him, and Pocket Stombox is used for the…

Stereophonics in Singapore flip-flop drama

Posted 03 May 2010 in Artist News, Guitarist Antics

Stereophonics  stormed off stage at a gig in Singapore after lead singer Kelly Jones was hit by a sandal. The band were performing at Fort Canning Park on Friday (April 30) when a fan hurled a flip-flop at Jones’ face, who halted their performance to pick up the object. The singer then muttered “thank you” to the crowd before tossing the shoe aside and walking off stage with his bandmates. Security guards hauled the man responsible outside, before Jones and…

Status Quo inspire whisky logo

Posted 27 Apr 2010 in Artist News, Guitarist Antics

Whisky brand Glen Rossie has redesigned its bottle and label after appointing Status Quo lead singer and guitarist Francis Rossi as its new chairman. Rossi has been made chairman of the 196-year-old whisky after acquiring a significant minority stake alongside the Brand Cellar that has bought Glen Rossie from First Quench. Packaging design agency Pocket Rocket has created a plectrum-inspired label and logo to re-launch the brand. David Birchall, chief executive of the Brand Cellar, said the deal with Rossi…

Slash invites Justin Bieber to strip club

Posted 27 Apr 2010 in Artist News, Guitarist Antics

Slash has revealed that he offered to take Justin Bieber to a strip club when the pair met in Australia last weekend. The former Guns N’ Roses guitarist flew into the country to launch the new MTV Classic music channel, and ran into the ‘Baby’ star after he was forced to axe a gig in Sydney on Monday over safety fears. After hitting it off, Bieber suggested that the pair head out for dinner together – although Slash admitted he…