The Guitar Channel

Greg Howe album update

Greg Howe has begun recording his new album, and will be posting updates on the sessions on his MySpace blog. The first post is up, check it out.

Greg Howe MySpace blog

Robben Ford interview at Modern Guitars Magazine

Modern Guitars Magazine has an interview up with Robben Ford. Conducted by Brian D. Holland, the interview covers many subjects including Ford's latest release, Truth.

Robben Ford interview for Modern Guitars Magazine

Michael Landau and Kirk Fletcher - Worried Life Blues

Wow! This gem that just popped up on YouTube. This is Michael Landau and Kirk Fletcher jamming on "Worried Life Blues".

Brett Garsed NAMM show gigs

One of the cool side-effects of the NAMM show are the great gigs that often take place surrounding the event. The massive music merchants trade event is held in Anaheim California every January, and features every music-related product manufacturer under the sun showing off their latest wares (unfortunately, the show is not open to the general public). I've been lucky enough to attend to the NAMM show several times (once in Anaheim, a few times in Chicago back when they held a second show there every summer) and can tell you the show floor is always teeming with top players promoting the various products they endorse. Oftentimes, musicians who attend the NAMM show, but who don't play live in the states much, will play some gigs in the surrounding area while they are in town for the event. Case in point: guitarist Brett Garsed will play three NAMM show gigs this January in California with his band Dirty Martini. Ric Fierabracci will be on bass, Joel Taylor on drums. Per Ric Fierabracci's MySpace page, reservations are recommended for all 3 shows. The 1/15, and 1/19 gigs are listed as "NAMM show exclusives". Not sure if that means you have to be a member of NAMM to attend or not, so you should call ahead to find out. Here are the dates:

Brett Garsed & Dirty Martini
1/12/08  Tone Merchants - Orange, CA  (714) 288-9583
1/15/08  The Baked Potato - Studio City, CA  (818) 980-1615
1/19/08  Alva's - San Pedro, CA  (800) 403-3447

Cool video featuring Alex Machacek

This is JK Kleutgens, Gary Novak, Antti Kotikoski, and Alex Machacek performing the song "Final Notice" at the Baked Potato in Nov 2005. The video quality isn't great, but Machacek's solo makes up for it.

Mike Varney interview at Modern Guitars Magazine

Modern Guitars Magazine has an interview up with record producer Mike Varney. The founder of Shrapnel Records (and it's fusion-oriented division Tone Center), Varney is a legendary figure in the guitar community. The lengthy interview was conducted by Tom Watson late last year, and is a great read.

Mike Varney interview for Modern Guitars Magazine

All About Jazz wraps up it's McLaughlin coverage

All About Jazz has posted the 7th and final article covering John McLaughlin's recent tour with his band The 4th Dimension. This last article serves as a tour wrap-up, and includes some great stories from the road. Writer John Kelman did a wonderful job with these pieces; they are all worth checking out.

John McLaughlin: On The Road, Part 7: Stories from the Road

Fender releasing limited edition SRV "Lenny" guitar on Dec 12th

The latest Fender Custom Shop creation will be a limited edition Stevie Ray Vaughan "Lenny" guitar. Only 185 of these guitars will be made available in the US, all through the Guitar Center chain, at a price of $17,000 each. This guitar will be an exact replica of the original "Lenny", right down to every nick and scratch.

via Modern Guitars Magazine

John Scofield's "This Meets That" reviewed at All About Jazz

John Kelman has written a great review of the new John Scofield disc This Meets That for All About Jazz. Kelman is also the writer behind the recent John McLaughlin tour coverage for AAJ.

Review: John Scofield - This Meets That

Jeff Richman Interview at InnerViewWorld

InnerViewWorld has a video interview up with jazz guitarist/producer Jeff Richman. Richman discusses the inner workings of the Tone Center label guitar tributes he has produced, and much more.

Jeff Richman Interview

Part 6 of McLaughlin tour coverage

All About Jazz has posted part 6 of their coverage of John McLaughlin and The 4th Dimension's North American tour. This tour has officially ended, but the group is set to reunite for a European tour in May 2008.

John McLaughlin: On The Road, Part 6: Sound Checks and Closing Night

More McLaughlin coverage at All About Jazz

All About Jazz has posted part 5 of their continuing coverage of John McLaughlin's North American tour with his band The 4th Dimension. This time it's a review of the 10/4 show in Ottawa, Ontario.

John McLaughlin: On The Road, Part 5: Ottawa, Canada