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by Anne Erickson We Remember Musicians Lost in 2018 Joe Osborn December 14, 2018 Nancy Wilson December 13, 2018 Pete Shelley of Buzzcocks December 6, 2018 Stephen Hillenburg November 26, 2018 Devin Lima November 21, 2018 Scott English November 16, 2018 Roy Clark November 15, 2018 Lucho Gatica November 13, 2018 Stan Lee November 12, 2018 Hugh McDowell November 6, 2018 Frances Lai November 7, 2018 Josh Fauver November 2, 2018 Hardy Fox October 30, 2018 Baba Oje October 26, 2018 Melvin Ragin October 24, 2018 Tony Joe White October 24, 2018 Oli Herbert October 17, 2018 Carol Hall October 11, 2018 Gretchen Serrao October 10, 2018 Geoff Emerick October 2, 2018 Charles Aznavour October 1, 2018 Marty Balin September 27, 2018 Chas Hodges September 22, 2018 Marin Mazzie September 13, 2018 Mac Miller September 7, 2018 Conway Savage September 2, 2018 Tony Camillo August 28, 2018 Aretha Franklin August 16, 2018 DJ Ready Red August 24, 2018 Jeremy Geffen August 22, 2018 Ed King August 22, 2018 Eddie Willis August 20, 2018 Jill Janus August 14, 2018 Morgana King March 22, 2018 Ray Cooper July 28, 2018 Sam Mehran July 29, 2018 Tomasz Stanko July 29, 2018 Patrick Williams July 25, 2018 Oliver Knudsen July 8, 2018 Harry M. Miller July 4, 2018 Daniel Sais July 2, 2018 Alan Longmuir July 2, 2018 Steve Soto June 27, 2018 Joe Jackson June 27, 2018 Vinnie Paul June 22, 2018 XXXTentacion June 18, 2018 Gennady Rozhdestvensky June 18, 2018 D.J. Fontana June 13, 2018 Maria Dolores Pradera May 28, 2018 Stewart Lupton May 28, 2018 Glenn Branca May 13, 2018 Big T May 2018 Kato Khandwala April 25, 2018 Dick Williams May 5, 2018 Wanda Wilkomirska May 1, 2018 John 'Jabo' Starks May 1, 2018 Charles Neville April 26, 2018 Avicii April 20, 2018 Randy Scruggs April 17, 2018 Larry Harvey April 28, 2018 Yvonne Staples April 10, 2018 Cecil Taylor April 5, 2018 Janka Nabay April 2, 2018 Greg Sill March 17, 2018 Charlie Quintana March 13, 2018 Craig Mack March 12, 2018 Nokie Edwards March 12, 2018 Russ Solomon March 4, 2018 Patrick Doyle March 5, 2018 David Ogden Stiers March 3, 2018 Ronnie Prophet March 2, 2018 Barbara Alston February 16, 2018 Tom Rapp February 11, 2018 Daryle Singletary February 12, 2018 Vic Damone February 11, 2018 Jóhann Jóhannsson Februrary 9, 2018 Pat Torpey February 7, 2018 Lovebug Starski February 8, 2018 John Perry Barlow February 7, 2018 Ndugu Chancler February 3, 2018 Dennis Edwards February 1, 2018 Gary Harris January 15, 2018 Lari White January 23, 2018 Dave Holland January 16, 2018 Hugh Masekela January 23, 2018 Jim Rodford January 20, 2018 Dolores O'Riordan January 15, 2018 Edwin Hawkins January 15, 2018 Chris Tsangarides January 6, 2018 Denise LaSalle January 8, 2018 Mikio Fujioka January 5, 2018 France Gall January 7, 2018 Ray Thomas January 4, 2018 Tony Calder January 2, 2018 Rick Hall January 2, 2018 We'll remember your music. Anne Erickson holds years of bylines in Gannett Media publications, as well as music magazines Premier Guitar, Guitar Edge and more. She also hosts radio shows with iHeartRadio and has been syndicated in Seattle, Dayton, Central Coast California and beyond. Anne is a loyal Spartan and holds a Master’s degree from MSU. She resides in Lansing, Michigan.A

by Anne Erickson ‘Tis the season for holiday cheer, and we want you to have yourself a very merry metal Christmas. From Rob Halford to Dio to Alice Cooper, here are 10 metal-flavored Christmas songs to make any family gathering a little bit louder! Dio, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” Ronnie James Dio’s dynamic voice has the ability to multiply the dramatics of any song by 10, and that’s what happens when he takes on “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” His soaring singing is the perfect match with Tony Iommi’s murky, boiling riffing. It’s a headbang-worthy take on the Christmas classic. Rudy Sarzo and Simon Wright are also on the track. This is my favorite metallic Christmas song. Twisted Sister, “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” Eighties rockers Twister Sister know how to throw a party, and they also know to go catch Santa red-handed. Dee Snider and company call Santa out in their version of “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.” It’s a head-bopping, up-beat, riff-laden version that’s pretty awesome. Dez Fafara, John Tempesta, Blasko and Doug Aldrich, “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” If you don’t like “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” then something is seriously wrong with your level of holiday cheer. That’s especially true when you have a stable of metal musicians – Dez Fafara, John Tempesta, Blasko and Doug Aldrich – performing the tune. This version of the song is so metal, it’s difficult to even tell the song is “Rudolph.” It’s a snarling version that’s all its own. Rob Halford, “What Child is This?” Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford is blessed with a massive vocal range and powerful operatic pipes. He’s such a fan of Christmas that one of Halford’s solo album, “Halford 3: Winter Songs,” is a collection of holiday songs. While all the tracks are killer, “What Child is This?” stands out, with its soft piano work, magical guitar solo and Halford’s warm interpretation of the Christmas story. August Burns Red, “Frosty the Snowman” August Burns Red add a riff-heavy metal vibe to the Christmas favorite “Frosty the Snowman,” complete with crunchy guitars and thick rhythms. The instrumental rendition is very different from the original, but that “Frosty” melody is unmistakable. Alice Cooper, “Santa Claws Is Coming to Town” Alice Cooper sure knows how to celebrate Halloween, but the Coop – a devout Christian – also loves Christmas. Here, he puts a dark, chilling metal spin on the Christmas song “Santa Claws Is Coming to Town.” Notice the “Claws,” too. The song also features Billy Sheehan, John 5 and Vinny Appice, making it an A-list metal jam. Dave Grohl, Lemmy Kilmister and Billy Gibbons, “Run Rudolph Run” Dave Grohl is a spirited fella, so it makes sense that he would want to jam on a Christmas tune. He does just that with “Run, Rudolph, Run,” alongside Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons. The tune has a sludgy, grunge feel that brings an edge to the holidays. Trans-Siberian Orchestra, “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo” The Trans-Siberian Orchestra is pretty much synonymous with Christmas music. The progressive metal orchestra regularly fills huge indoor arenas. Last year, they brought in more ticket revenue than Lady Gaga, Mötley Crüe and Elton John, reports. Here they perform a magical Christmas original, “Wizards in Winter.” Dug Pinnick, George Lynch, Billy Sheehan and Simon Phillips, “Little Drummer Boy” “Little Drummer Boy” is the obvious Christmas song pick for heavy-hitting drummers. This rendition of the song starts with bare-bones vocals and percussion, before enchanting guitars break in to make the song really rock. The tune features Dug Pinnick, George Lynch, Billy Sheehan and Simon Phillips. Warrant. “We Wish You a Hairy Christmas” Warrant put a hair metal take on “Father Christmas” in this ’80-flavored tune. The holly, jolly, glam song appears on “We Wish You a Hairy Christmas,” which also packs Christmas tunes from L.A. Guns, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bullet Boys and other Hollywood strip-style groups. Photo by Anne Erickson ________________________________________________________________ Anne Erickson holds years of bylines in Gannett Media publications, as well as music magazines Premier Guitar, Guitar Edge and more. She also hosts radio shows with iHeartRadio and has been syndicated in Seattle, Dayton, Central Coast California and beyond. Anne is a loyal Spartan and holds a Master’s degree from MSU. She resides in Lansing, Michigan.

by James Rosocha By definition: per·mu·ta·tion pərmyo͝oˈtāSH(ə)n noun "A way, especially one of several possible variations, in which a set or number of things can be ordered or arranged." This lesson can keep your mind running those possible variations for some time to come. An endless variety of melodic phrases can be derived from the permutation (changing the order) of chord tones. Basic seventh chords contain the root, third, fifth, and seventh scale degrees. If we were to mix up these chord tones with variations that start with the root note only, we would come up with the combinations ( 1357, 1375, 1537, 1573, 1735, 1753). When starting from the third, the combinations would be (3157, 3175, 3517, 3571, 3715, 3751). When starting from the fifth, the chord tone combinations would be (5137, 5173, 5317, 5371, 5713, 5731). When starting from the seventh degree, the combinations would be (7135, 7153, 7315, 7351, 7513, 7531). In order to learn this information all over the neck of your instrument, I recommend taking each variation through all seven modes (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian). It's best to start in root position with the standard 1357 chord tones on the Ionian mode or major scale. Continue this sequence through the Dorian mode. Are you beginning to see the amount of work ahead of you? Continue taking this concept through the Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian modes. Now continue this exercise starting with chord tone variation 1375. Does spending hours learning all of this information guarantee that you're going to take a good solo? The answer is "no". This information needs to be experimented with and applied. Below is an example of employing 1537 as a send-off and tagging the phrase with a melodic ending. This is a months of worth of work and information to reflect on. Take one permutation through all seven modes and then experiment with melodies and phrases that can be created with them. These lessons need to be learned in all keys. Good luck! -HC- ___________________________________________ Bassist James Rosocha is an educator, composer, and touring musician. He can be heard on the last nine albums by jazz fusion guitarist B.D. Lenz or on his debut CD “Avalon.”

HC's Rock Rewind A look back at the past two weeks in Rock History by Anne Erickson Week of November 19th - 25th There's plenty to be thankful for when it comes to memorable rock events this week in rock history. From the birth of Duane Allman to the release of U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, here are some major events, historic record releases and notable births and deaths happening from November 19 through November 25. Events 1955 - RCA Records scoops up Elvis Presley's recording contract from Sun Records for $35,000. It's a move that proves invaluable. 1960 - It's discovered that George Harrison is underage, and the Beatles have to perform at Hamburg's Kaiserkeller Club without their 17-year-old band member. 1964 - The UK's first commercial radio station, called Radio Manx, starts broadcasting from the Isle of Man. 1964 - The Who perform their first concert under their new name, after going by The High Numbers, at London's Marquee Club. 1965 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience performs in public in the UK for the first time at the Bag O'Nails Club in London. 1968 - Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce perform their final concert as Cream at London's Royal Albert Hall. 1976 - The Band plays their final show at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. 1984 - Michael Jackson scores a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame directly in front of Mann's famous Chinese Theatre, creating the largest-ever crowd for such an unveiling. 2008 - Roughly 14 years after Axl Rose started working on it, Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy is finally unleashed. 2013 - Loretta Lynn is honored at the White House with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Releases 1963 - The Beatles: With the Beatles 1965 - The Kinks: The Kink Controversy 1968 - The Beatles: The Beatles 1968 - The Kinks: The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society 1972 - Elton John: Crocodile Rock (U.S. release) 1974 - Johnny Winter: John Dawson Winter III 1977 - Eric Clapton: Slowhand 1981 - AC/DC: For Those About to Rock We Salute You 1986 - Eric Clapton: August 1989 - Rush: Presto 1990 - Bad Religion: Against the Grain 1993 - Guns N' Roses: "The Spaghetti Incident?" 1995 - Bruce Springsteen: The Ghost of Tom Joad 1998 - Metallica: Garage, Inc. 2002 - Sum 41: Does This Look Infected? 2004 - U2: How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 2005 - System of a Down: Hypnotize 2008 - Guns N' Roses: Chinese Democracy Deaths Big Joe Turner - November 23, 1985 Peter Grant (Led Zeppelin manager) - November 21, 1995 Michael Hutchence (INXS) - November 22, 1997 Eric Carr (Kiss) - November 24, 1991 Freddie Mercury - November 24, 1991 Albert Collins - November 24, 1993 Chris Whitley - November 20, 2005 Bob Relf - November 20, 2007 Little Smokey Smothers - November 20, 2010 Births Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock)- November 26, 1939 Dr. John (Malcolm John Rebennack) - November 21, 1940 John McVie (Fleetwood Mac) - November 26, 1945 Duane Allman - November 20, 1946 Joe Walsh - November 20, 1947 Steven Van Zandt (E Street Band) - November 22, 1950 Jim Brown (UB40) - November 20, 1957 John Squire (The Stone Roses) - November 24, 1962 Tony Rombola (Godsmack) - November 24, 1964 Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees) - November 25, 1964 Michael Diamond (Mike D of Beastie Boys) - November 20, 1965 Alex James (Blur) - November 21, 1968 Chad Taylor (Live) - November 24, 1970 Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) - November 22, 1978 Week of November 26th - December 2nd The tail end of November and early December offer a crop of memorable rock 'n' roll events, from the births of guitar great Jimi Hendrix to the release of Pink Floyd's The Wall. Read on for some significant events, historic record releases as well as notable births and deaths happening from November 26 through December 2. Events 1959 - The Grammy Awards show appears on national television for the first time. 1965 - Denver, Colorado, declares Nov. 29 "Rolling Stones Day." 1965 - Keith Richards suffers electric shock and loses consciousness when his guitar comes into contact with his microphone during a Rolling Stones concert in Sacramento, California. 1966 - The Beatles record “Strawberry Fields Forever.” 1966 - Jeff Beck leaves The Yardbirds. 1968 - Steppenfolf's self-titled debut album goes gold. 1969 - The Rolling Stones record "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!" at New York City's Madison Square Garden. Guess who's in the audience? Jimi Hendrix. He's celebrating his 27th birthday. 1974 – John Lennon and Elton John perform “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night” and “I Saw Her Standing There” at Madison Square Garden. It's Lennon’s final concert. 1980 - Led Zeppelin officially declare they will not continue as a band in the wake of drummer John Bonham’s death. 1983 – Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video debuts on MTV. 1991 – Freddie Mercury's funeral takes place in London. 2001 - Twisted Sister, Ace Frehley and Anthrax perform a New York Steel benefit concert to raise money for families of firefighters and police officers who were killed in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The show takes place at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. Releases 1967 - The Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour (U.S.) 1971 – Mountain: Flowers of Evil 1971 – Steppenwolf: For Ladies Only 1971 – Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Pictures at an Exhibition 1971 – King Crimson – Islands 1973 – Black Sabbath: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath 1974 – Charlie Daniels Band: Fire on the Mountain 1974 – Deep Purple: Stormbringer 1974 – Badfinger: Wish You Were Here 1976 – ZZ Top: Tejas 1976 – Aerosmith: Draw the Line 1978 – The Doobie Brothers: Minute by Minute 1979 – Pink Floyd: The Wall 1982 - Michael Jackson: Thriller 1983 - Bad Religion: Into the Unknown 1988 – Guns N’ Roses: G N’ R Lies 1993 - The Beatles: Live at the BBC (Recorded 1963-'65) Births Merle Travis – Nov. 29, 1917 Berry Gordy, Jr. – Nov. 28, 1929 Dick Clark – Nov. 30, 1929 Bob Moore (Moby Grape) – Nov. 30, 1932 John Mayall – Nov. 29, 1933 Al Jackson - Nov. 27, 1934 Jimi Hendrix - Nov. 27, 1942 Randy Newman – Nov. 28, 1943 Felix Cavaliere – Nov. 29, 1944 Robb Grill (The Grass Roots) – Nov. 30, 1944 Eric Bloom (Blue Oyster Cult) – Dec. 1, 1944 John Densmore (The Doors) – Dec. 1, 1944 Randy Brecker (Blood, Sweat & Tears) - Nov. 27, 1945 Roger Glover (Deep Purple) – Nov. 30, 1945 Gilbert O'Sullivan – Dec. 1, 1946 Ronnie Montrose – Nov. 29, 1947 Dave Winthrop (Supertramp) - Nov. 27, 1948 Mickey Thomas (Jefferson Starship) – Dec. 3, 1949 Barry Goudreau (Boston) – Nov. 29, 1951 Jaco Pastorius – Dec. 1, 1951 Billy Idol – Nov. 30, 1955 John Ashton (The Psychedelic Furs) – Nov. 30, 1957 Charlie Burchill (Simple Minds) - Nov. 27, 1959 Rick Savage (Def Leppard) – Dec. 2, 1960 Charlie Benante (Anthrax) - Nov. 27, 1962 Mike Bordin - Nov. 27, 1962 Matt Cameron (Soundgarden) – Nov. 28, 1962 Deaths John Rostill (The Shadows) - November 26, 1973 Magic Sam – Dec. 1, 1969 Jerry Edmonton (Steppenwolf) – Nov. 28, 1993 George Harrison – Nov. 29, 2001 Odetta – Dec. 2, 2008 Junior Murvin – Dec. 2, 2013 Bobby Keys – Dec. 2, 2014 ________________________________________________________________- Anne Erickson holds years of bylines in Gannett Media publications, as well as music magazines Premier Guitar, Guitar Edge and more. She also hosts radio shows with iHeartRadio and has been syndicated in Seattle, Dayton, Central Coast California and beyond. Anne is a loyal Spartan and holds a Master’s degree from MSU. She resides in Lansing, Michigan.A

by Dave Ruch (adapted by TEAM HC) Have you ever heard that question as you’re setting up for a gig, or in polite conversation with the person who booked you? It’s often followed by a bit of backtracking: “Or, you know, I mean...is this all you do?” For those of us who perform full time, we’ve gotten quite used to this one. And, of course, it’s an entirely well-meaning bit of conversation, often started by someone who doesn’t know a whole lot of professional entertainers or musicians. They’re really just trying to be friendly, making a bit of small talk with someone with whom they assume they’ll have little else in common. And because what they’re really thinking is “you couldn’t possibly make a living doing this, right?” – but they’ve stopped themselves because it sounds too blunt – what comes out instead is “so, is this all you do?” Unfortunately (for them), they quickly realize “is this all you do?”sounds an awful lot like “you don’t do anything more important or consequential than this?” Then the backtracking begins. The Answer is “Yes!” I take great delight in telling people that “yes,” this is my full-time job, and I support my family of four doing it. “That’s amazing.” “You’re very lucky.” Those are some of the typical responses. Taking It a Step Further Working in schools as a visiting artist as much as I do, I get the “is this all you do?” question pretty frequently, but I’ve noticed that my answer seems to take on extra gravity in deep, late winter. This seems to be the time every year – somewhere around February/March – when overworked, underappreciated teachers start wondering (briefly, for most) what else they could be doing with their lives. The carefree, “doing what you love for a living” lifestyle starts looking awfully appealing to worn out educators, and they really want to know how it all works. So, we talk about the logistics. The conversation doesn’t usually last long. Once I start to describe how I buy my own health care, have no pension or 401k plans from my employer, spend more time on marketing and administrative stuff – and driving – than I do actually “doing what I love,” the reality starts to set in. It’s A Dream Come True It’s just not ALL dreamy… Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t trade my life as an independent performing artist for anything in the world. I’m my own boss, I design my own shows, make my own hours much of the time, set my own rates, and lots more. But I also deal with all the computer malfunctions, booking arrangements, insurance, accounting, travel logistics, correspondence, advertising, marketing, PR, taxes, retirement plans, and everything else related to running my own business. So, yes, This is All We Do! But we also do it all, don’t we? Resources For more, see Julie Balzer’s article On Being a Full-Time Artist And Carolyn Edlund’s How Being a Full-Time Artist Will Change Your Life ________________________________________________ Since leaving a white-collar marketing job in 1992, Dave Ruch has been educating and entertaining full-time in schools,historical societies and museums, folk music and concert venues, libraries, and online via distance learning programs. Along the way, he’s learned a great deal about supporting a family of four as a musician.

by Anne Erickson There’s nothing quite like the look, feel and, of course, sound of a Les Paul. The Les Paul is truly the full package, and that’s why it’s the guitar of choice for countless rockers, from up-and-comers to veterans. Check out quotes from rockers who make the Les Paul their No. 1 pick. What makes Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell a Les Paul guy? “I think it’s a real simple design. The most enduring design elements are simple. It’s got a perfect feel and balance for me. I like the way it sits on my body. For me, I started on a Les Paul and went through years of playing other guitars and just came back full circle to what was more natural to me.” Slash has a longstanding relationship with the Les Paul. “I did go through a trial-and-error period where I tried out lots of different guitars, but within a couple of years I was right back to the Les Paul. From that point it’s stayed with me ever since. I have other guitars—and I love a lot of them—but I’m most at home on a Les Paul. It’s interesting: most of the time I would even rather make a Les Paul do the things those other guitars do. From the get-go, the Les Paul spoke to me.” Aerosmith's Joe Perry has his “Holy grail guitar,” and it’s a Les Paul. “I’m still looking for a ’68 Goldtop. The first Les Paul I bought was a ’68 Gold top. Now that’s a sought-after Les Paul, but I only paid $300 or $400 for it at the time. I’d love to have that guitar back — especially looking like it did before I scraped the gold off of it. I’ve got a couple of Goldtops that are close, but that particular guitar is the one. One of the rumors is that after they stopped making Les Pauls in ’60 or ’61, and then started making them again in ’68, Gibson had a lot of parts left over. If that’s true, a lot of those pieces of wood were just sitting around the factory and got used. And the pickups were great.” Rise Against’s Zach Blair says the Les Paul is pure rock ‘n’ roll. “For me, the Les Paul is the greatest rock ‘n’ roll guitar of all time. If you’re not playing a Gibson guitar and you’re playing this kind of music, whether it’s punk, metal or anything grounded in rock ‘n’ roll, you’re not really doing it right. I don’t think professionally I’d every play anything else.” Faith No More's Jon Hudson is drawn to the Les Paul for a variety of reasons. “It’s the construction and sound of it. With this material, the wood and neck construction and scale length really yields a different sound all together, and I just gravitate towards that. I pretty much get everything I want with it, so I’m very satisfied.” The Sword's John 'J.D.' Cronise says Les Paul is “the pinnacle.” “They have a very full, warm, thick sound that’s traditionally been what I prefer. They’re known for low action and small frets that are really easy to play. They’re just really comfortable. As far as I’m concerned, the Les Paul design has never been topped. It was perfect from the beginning, and it’s the perfect guitar, and nobody has ever really come close to topping it. The Les Paul is the pinnacle, and that’s why I have more Les Pauls than anything else.” Photos by Anne Erickson ________________________________________________________________ Anne Erickson holds years of bylines in Gannett Media publications, as well as music magazines Premier Guitar, Guitar Edge and more. She also hosts radio shows with iHeartRadio and has been syndicated in Seattle, Dayton, Central Coast California and beyond. Anne is a loyal Spartan and holds a Master’s degree from MSU. She resides in Lansing, Michigan.

HC's Rock Rewind A look back at the past two weeks in Rock History by Anne Erickson Week of November 5th - 11th One of America’s greatest bands staged their first-ever performance, Paul McCartney launched his “post-Beatles” group, and a legendary British heavy metal band announced their reunion. Read on for a look back at other significant moments that shaped rock and roll during this historically eventful week. Events 1955 – The Everly Brothers record their first studio tracks, putting together four songs at Nashville’s Old Tulane Hotel studios. 1965 – The Rolling Stones’ “Get Off of My Cloud” tops the charts in the U.S., knocking The Beatles’ “Yesterday” from the Number One spot. 1967 – The first issue of Rolling Stone magazine is published. A photo of John Lennon is featured on the cover. 1968 – Led Zeppelin perform their first-ever London concert, staging a show at the famed venue The Roundhouse. 1968 – The Monkees’ cult classic film “Head” is released. 1968 – Diana Ross leaves the Supremes to launch her solo career. 1969 – Simon and Garfunkel record “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Future Bread member Larry Knechtel plays piano on the session. 1970 – Aerosmith stage their debut performance, playing at a high school in Mendon, Massachusetts. 1971 – Cher scores her first Number One single as a solo artist, with “Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves.” 1971 – Paul McCartney launches his new band, Wings, with a party at London’s Empire Ballroom. 1973 – Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album tops the charts in America. 1975 – The Sex Pistols stage their first concert, opening for a band called Bazooka at St. Martin’s School of Art in London. The lead singer for Bazooka will later achieve fame as Adam Ant. 1975 – David Bowie appears on the American TV variety show, “Cher,” performing “Fame” and singing a medley of songs with the show’s host. 1977 – Rocker Suzi Quatro makes her debut appearance on the TV show “Happy Days.” 1986 – Boston’s “Amanda” becomes the band’s only American chart-topper. 1991 – Izzy Stradlin announces his departure from Guns N’ Roses. Gilby Clarke steps in as his replacement. 2008 – AC/DC begin a two-week run atop the U.S. album chart with Black Ice, their 15th studio album. 2011 – The original members of Black Sabbath announce they are reuniting for a new album and tour. Drummer Bill Ward eventually bows out of the projects, but both the album and the tour prove to be a great success. Releases 1967 – The Moody Blues: Days of Future Passed 1967 – Cream: Disraeli Gears 1970 – Badfinger: No Dice 1971 – Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin IV 1971 – Genesis: Nursery Cryme 1972 – Lou Reed: Transformer 1973 – Billy Joel: Piano Man 1973 – Santana: Welcome 1974 – Thin Lizzy: Nightlife 1974 – Queen: Sheer Heart Attack 1975 – Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Zuma 1975 – Earth Wind & Fire: Gratitude 1976 – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 1976 – Kiss: Rock and Roll Over 1978 – Bob Marley & The Wailers: Babylon by Bus 1978 – The Clash: Give ‘Em Enough Rope 1978 – Queen: Jazz 1980 -- Motörhead: Ace of Spades 1981 – The Cars: Shake it Up 1981 – Rod Stewart: Tonight I’m Yours 1981 – Ozzy Osbourne: Diary of a Madman 1981 -- Mötley Crüe: Too Fast for Love 1983 – Yes: 90125 1983 – The Rolling Stones: Undercover 1983 – Billy Idol: Rebel Yell 1984 – Robert Plant: The Honeydrippers: Volume One 1985 – Aerosmith: Done with Mirrors 1988 – R.E.M.: Green 1989 – Eric Clapton: Journeyman 1990 – Scorpions: Crazy World 1991 – Genesis: We Can’t Dance 1994 – Eagles: Hell Freezes Over (Live/Studio) 1995 – Aimee Man: I’m with Stupid 1995 – Queen: Made in Heaven 1995 – Alice in Chains: Alice in Chains 1996 – Vic Chesnutt: About to Choke 1997 – Led Zeppelin: BBC Sessions 1999 -- Faith Hill: Breathe 1999 -- Prince: Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic 2001 – Paul McCartney: Driving Rain 2002 – The Pretenders: Loose Screw 2002 – Pearl Jam: Riot Act 2008 – Taylor Swift: Fearless 2012 – Aerosmith: Music from Another Dimension! Deaths Billy Murcia (New York Dolls) – Nov. 6, 1972 Berry Oakley (The Allman Brothers Band) – Nov. 11, 1972 Epic Soundtracks – Nov. 6, 1997 Tommy Tedesco – Nov. 9, 1997 Tony Thompson (Power Station, Chic) – Nov. 12, 2003 Hank Thompson – Nov. 6, 2007 John Petersen (Beau Brummels) – Nov. 11, 2007 Mitch Mitchell – Nov. 12, 2008 Allen Toussaint – Nov. 10, 2015 Leonard Cohen – Nov. 7, 2016 Births Mary Travers (Peter Paul and Mary) – Nov. 9, 1937 Guy Clark – Nov. 6, 1941 Tom Fogerty – Nov. 9, 1941 Johnny Rivers – Nov. 7, 1942 Joni Mitchell – Nov. 7, 1943 Phil May (The Pretty Things) – Nov. 9, 1944 Chris Dreja (The Yardbirds) – Nov. 11, 1945 Neil Young – Nov. 12, 1945 George Young (The Easybeats) – Nov. 6, 1946 Roy Wood – Nov. 8, 1946 Glen Buxton (Alice Cooper) – Nov. 10, 1947 Greg Lake – Nov. 10, 1947 Buck Dharma (Blue Oyster Cult) – Nov. 12, 1947 Glenn Frey – Nov. 6, 1948 Bonnie Raitt – Nov. 8, 1949 Jim Peterik – Nov. 11, 1950 Andy Partridge – Nov. 11, 1953 Rickie Lee Jones – Nov. 8, 1954 Tommy Thayer (Kiss) – Nov. 7, 1960 Cory Glover (Living Color) – Nov. 6, 1964 Paul Gilbert – Nov. 6, 1966 Susan Tedeschi – Nov. 9, 1970 Miranda Lambert – Nov. 10, 1983 Week of November 12th - 18th Historically speaking, the third week in November has been marked by a trove of memorable rock events. One of rock’s most important bands made their U.S. television debut, a glam-rock icon staged his own episode of “The Midnight Special,” and Nirvana taped a historic concert. A spate of classic albums was released as well, including landmark records by The Velvet Underground, John Lennon, and U2. Read on for a look back at other significant moments that shaped rock and roll during this historically eventful week. Events 1956 – “Love Me Tender,” the first feature film to star Elvis Presley, premieres at the Paramount Theater in New York. 1960 – Ray Charles’ “Georgia on My Mind” tops the singles chart. 1965 – The Rolling Stones make their U.S. national TV debut, performing “Get Off of My Cloud” on NBC’s “Hullabaloo.” 1966 – Jefferson Airplane records “Somebody to Love.” 1966 – The Doors sign a seven-album deal with Electra Records. 1967 – Pink Floyd kick off their first U.K. tour, performing at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The band is part of a package tour that includes The Nice, The Move, and headliner Jimi Hendrix – among others. 1968 – The Beatles’ animated film “Yellow Submarine” makes its New York premiere. 1968 – Led Zeppelin stage their first-ever show, performing at Manchester College of Science & Technology in the U.K. 1970 – Santana release the single, “Black Magic Woman.” 1973 – David Bowie is the featured artist in a special edition of ABC’s “The Midnight Special.” The elaborately staged special is called “The 1980 Floor Show.” 1973 – The Who’s second rock opera, Quadrophenia, enters the U.K. album chart, eventually peaking at Number 2. 1974 – John Lennon’s “Whatever Gets You Through the Night” tops the U.S. singles chart. 1979 – The Guinness Book of World Records certifies that ABBA is the biggest-selling recording group in music history. 1983 – Michael Jackson’s 14-minute Thriller video makes its debut in a theater in Los Angeles. MTV will begin airing the film the following month. 1993 – Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore quits Deep Purple following a concert in Helsinki. It’s the second time Blackmore has left the band, and this time he does not return. 1993 – Nirvana tapes their MTV Unplugged concert in New York. The show is shot in a single day. 2000 – The Beatles’ launch their first official website. The launch coincides with the release of their compilation album, 1. 2004 – Gwen Stefani makes her television debut as a solo artist, singing at the annual American Music Awards. 2006 – Led Zeppelin is inducted into the U.K. Music Hall of Fame, with Queen’s Roger Taylor performing the honors. 2010 – Patti Smith wins the National Book Award for her acclaimed memoir, “Just Kids.” Releases 1970 -- Syd Barrett: Barrett 1970 – The Velvet Underground: Loaded 1970 – Grand Funk Railroad: Live 1970 – Three Dog Night: Naturally 1971 – Leon Russell and Marc Benno: Asylum Choir II 1971 – The Byrds: Farther Along 1971 – Grand Funk Railroad: E Pluribus Funk 1971 – Faces: A Nod is as Good as a Wink… to a Blind Horse 1972 – Raspberries: Fresh 1972 – America: Homecoming 1972 – The Moody Blues: Seventh Sojourn 1973 – John Lennon: Mind Games 1973 – Emerson Lake & Palmer: Brain Salad Surgery 1974 – Roxy Music: Country Life 1974 – Ringo Starr: Goodnight Vienna 1974 – Genesis: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway 1975 – The Kinks: Schoolboys in Disgrace 1975 – Tommy Bolin: Teaser 1976 – George Harrison: Thirty Three & 1/3 1977 – Various Artists: Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Soundtrack 1979 – Frank Zappa: Joe’s Garage Acts II & III 1979 – Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Live Rust 1980 – John Lennon & Yoko Ono: Double Fantasy 1981 – Joan Jett & the Blackhearts: I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll 1982 – Led Zeppelin: Coda 1983 – Eurythmics: Touch 1983 – Ozzy Osbourne: Back at the Moon 1984 – Don Henley: Building the Perfect Beast 1985 – The Jesus and Mary Chain: Psychocandy 1988 – Cowboy Junkies: The Trinity Session 1990 – Tesla: Five Man Acoustical Jam 1991 – U2: Achtung Baby 1991 – Jeff Beck: Beckology 1993 – Heart: Desire Walks On 1995 – The Rolling Stones: Stripped (live) 1996 – Prince: Emancipation 1997 – Metallica: Reload 2000 – The Beatles: 1 2001 – Shelby Lynne: Love, Shelby 2002 – George Harrison: Brainwashed 2002 – Audioslave: Audioslave 2003 – The Beatles: Let it Be… Naked 2005 – Neil Diamond: 12 Songs 2008 – Sammy Hagar: Cosmic Universal Fashion 2012 – Soundgarden: King Animal Births Vic Chesnutt – Nov. 12, 1964 Booker T. Jones – Nov. 12, 1944 Laurence Juber – Nov. 12, 1952 Johnny Mercer – Nov. 18, 1909 Petula Clark – Nov. 15, 1932 Gordon Lightfoot – Nov. 17, 1938 Rick Kemp (Steeleye Span) – Nov. 15, 1941 John Hammond Jr. – Nov. 13, 1942 Gene Clark – Nov. 17, 1944 Frida Lyngstad (ABBA) – Nov. 15, 1945 Ray Wylie Hubbard – Nov. 13, 1946 Martin Barre – Nov. 17, 1946 Toy Caldwell – Nov. 13, 1947 Terry Reid – Nov. 13, 1949 Roger Steen (The Tubes) – Nov. 13, 1949 James Young (Styx) – Nov. 14, 1949 Graham Parker – Nov. 18, 1950 Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Whitesnake) – Nov. 18, 1950 Stephen Bishop – Nov. 14, 1951 Kim Wilde – Nov. 18, 1960 Kirk Hammett – Nov. 18, 1962 Diana Krall – Nov. 16, 1964 Jeff Buckley – Nov. 17, 1966 Deaths Danny Whitten (Crazy Horse) – Nov. 18, 1972 Ronnie Bond (The Troggs) – Nov. 13, 1992 R.J. Vealey (Atlanta Rhythm Section) – Nov. 13, 1999 Michael Stewart (We Five) – Nov. 13, 2002 Don Gibson – Nov. 16, 2003 Ruth Brown – Nov. 16, 2006 Mark “Moogy” Klingman (Utopia) – Nov. 15, 2011 Jimmy Ruffin – Nov. 16, 2014 Leon Russell – Nov. 13, 2016 Sharon Jones – Nov. 18, 2016 Roy Clark - Nov. 15, 2018 ________________________________________________________________- Anne Erickson holds years of bylines in Gannett Media publications, as well as music magazines Premier Guitar, Guitar Edge and more. She also hosts radio shows with iHeartRadio and has been syndicated in Seattle, Dayton, Central Coast California and beyond. Anne is a loyal Spartan and holds a Master’s degree from MSU. She resides in Lansing, Michigan.A

by Anne Erickson Great guitarists tend to be of a more mature age, but let’s talk about the up-and-comers who are carrying the torch for the next generation of guitar shredders. Here are 10 great young guitarists, mainly rock and metal players, making major waves in music and helping ensure the electric guitar will rule for years to come. Orianthi Equipped with long blonde locks and razor-sharp guitar playing skills, Australia’s Orianthi has played with everyone from Carrie Underwood to Michael Jackson. She was supposed to serve as lead guitarist for Jackson’s This Is It concerts, but the shows never happened due to his tragic death in 2009. Orianthi has also earned her stripes playing guitar with Alice Cooper from 2011 to 2014 and released a solo album in 2010 called, Believe. Nita Strauss Nita Strauss may be best known as Alice Cooper’s current guitarist, but her history packs a diverse lineup of gigs, including playing with ‘80s rockers Femme Fatale, Critical Hit, Jermaine Jackson and, of course, all-female tribute band The Iron Maidens. Anyone who’s seen Strauss with Cooper on the current band’s run with Motley Crue can attest to her power and skillful playing. She fits perfectly in the Coop’s three-guitar attack. Jake Pitts Jake Pitts was just a baby when the ‘80s metal era was in full swing, but you’d never know that listening to the music of his band, Black Veil Brides. The Cincinnati hard rockers pay tribute to the Sunset Strip and bands like Motley Crue and Kiss with their glammed-up, theatrical music. A killer lead guitarist was at the heart of the greatest ‘80s bands, and Pitts’ lead guitar work in Black Veil Bridges takes on that character, with shy-high solos and playing that requires a solid grasp of technique. Gary Clark, Jr. Gary Clark, Jr. is such a name that the mayor of Austin, Texas, once declared May 3 to be Gary Clark, Jr. Day. The guitarist has shared the stage with BB King, the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and Alicia Keys. His one-of-a-kind blend of rock, pop and blues has made him one of the brightest, and most sought-after, young guitarists on the circuit. Clark has his own signature Epiphone model, the Epiphone Gary Clark Jr. “Blak & Blu” Casino. “I absolutely love these guitars,” he told Epiphone. “I like putting them on stands and chairs and just looking at them.” He also has his very own signature Gibson SG. Misha Mansoor Misha Mansoor plays leads in Periphery, an innovative, tech-heavy prog-metal band whose instrumentally challenging, syncopated style is spliced with elements of electronic and other styles. Mansoor and his band play a complex breed of metal music called djent, featuring a down-tuned and distorted guitar chord played in a palm-muted style. Mansoor is a gifted guitarist, producer and songwriter, so music buffs and those who just want to rock ‘n’ roll should appreciate his tracks. Richie Faulkner When Richie Faulkner got the nod to join Judas Priest, he was faced with a massive task. Faulkner wasn’t just joining the legendary metal band for a tour—he was expected to be involved in the writing process for the band’s new album, Redeemer of Souls. He met that challenge head-on, showing off smart songwriting abilities and a capable guitar attack, gripping his bellowed Les Pauls Flying Vs along the way. Brittany Howard Sure Brittany Howard sings leads in rock band Alabama Shakes, but she can play the heck out of her guitar. Head to an Alabama Shakes show, and you’ll see Howard tearing it up on the six-string, along with her belting vocals. Some artists are all substance and no fluff, and Howards is one of them. Ty Segall Ty Segall isn’t 30 yet, but he has the discography of a much more mature guitarist. Segall has released eight solo studio albums and performed with Fuzz, Epsilons, The Traditional Fools and others. His raw, lo-fi garage rock nuggets and experimental playing makes Segall an interesting young guitarist to watch. Matt Heafy Matt Heafy has been coined one of the greatest modern metal guitarists of his generation. As the lead singer and guitarist for heavy metal band Trivium, Heafy has played the world’s biggest stages, from Download Festival to Mayhem, and earned the respect of seasoned metal players, including Metallica’s Kirk Hammett. Heafy slings his two signature models: the Epiphone Ltd. Ed. Matt Heafy Les Paul Custom and the Ltd. Ed. Matt Heafy Les Paul Custom-7 seven-string. Joe Trohman Who says pop-rock doesn’t have any great guitarists? Just listen to Joe Trohman’s catchy, chart-topping pop-rock tracks in Fall Out Boy. Trohman, who has been with Fall Out Boy since its beginning, has helped score the band three No. 1 albums and hordes of fans. While Fall Out Boy’s music doesn’t scream “guitar-heavy,” the guitars are certainly prominent and carry the music’s sweeping melodies to new heights. Faulkner Photo credit: Anne Erickson ________________________________________________________________ Anne Erickson holds years of bylines in Gannett Media publications, as well as music magazines Premier Guitar, Guitar Edge and more. She also hosts radio shows with iHeartRadio and has been syndicated in Seattle, Dayton, Central Coast California and beyond. Anne is a loyal Spartan and holds a Master’s degree from MSU. She resides in Lansing, Michigan.

by Blake Wright, Gearphoria Greer Amps is located in a magical spot for music in Athens, Georgia. The office park, which is a bit off of the beaten path, is also home to Baxendale Guitars, the rehearsal space for a popular Athens-based band and print/ embroidery shop. The shop has various rooms splintering from a main corridor. Immediately to the right upon entry is the studio where visitors can test drive all of Greer’s gear. Further down the hallway are rooms from storage, shipping, Nick Greer’s office and a kitchen. The left side of the office is dominated by a long row of workbenches with stations to host up to four people. “We’ve been running 90 to nothing lately,” confesses Greer. “We have to hire two more people and have to find them room. We’ve got a leaking roof. I’ve been trying my best to find new space in Athens, but everyone over here has suddenly got into their heads that its worth Atlanta prices. Traditionally stuff over here has been dirt cheap. More recently it has been like $19.25 a square foot. What?! For industrial space? What are you smokin’? Industrial space over here had been $2.60 or so. Now, not so much. All of these businesses are moving out of Athens because they won’t pay it. Oconee County is right next door. Lowe’s moved out. Home Depot moved out. There is one Lowe’s left here in Clark Co. There use to be three.” While Greer is proud of its Athens roots, it is not where Nick’s story begins. For that, you’d need to travel two hours south to Tifton, Georgia. Tifton is the county seat of Tift County and home to about 20,000 people, give or take. It was in Tifton where 15-year old Nick built his first effects pedal — on his dad’s pool table. Nick Greer started building amps when he was 15 years old. now, twenty years later...he shows no signs of slowing down. “I started doing this because I had a pedal that kept breaking,” recalls Greer. “It was an MXR Distortion +. I wanted something that wasn’t going to break and I wanted something that sounded a little different, because that pedal was naturally thin-sounding. I wanted something with a little more bottom end and so I came up with the Black Fuzz. I built myself one. People started hearing it and wanting one of there own. So I built a couple for some friends. Next thing I knew one of those made its way to a store in North Carolina and they called and asked for a run of 20 of them. I didn’t think much would come from it until that same store called again and said they needed more. It just snowballed from there.” Beyond a Friday night football game, there was not a lot to do for a teenager in Tifton, so Nick and his friends would often cruise the mall parking lot. He worked at a grocery store, but would get phone calls from music stores about pedal re-orders. He would often sneak away to the back room to take pedal calls. “I never meant to start a business,” confesses Greer. “I had no clue how to run a business. I stayed in the dark about running a business for about the first 15 years because I really didn’t want to learn how to... I just wanted to build pedals. I never really wanted that responsibility... employees, etc. It terrified me. It still terrifies me.” After two years as a biology major at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Greer felt the pull of the University of Georgia. He relocated to Athens and remained a biology major until running into a course called Organic Chemistry I. “It was a dead stop road block for me,” says Greer. “It was the only class I ever failed. It was a filter class. And they filtered me out. At that point I moved to psychology. When I changed majors I had a new list of classes outside of psychology I needed to take and one of those was classical culture, so I took a class in Greco-Roman studies. I had an amazing teacher. Dr. Harrison. He was this old guy that walked everywhere. He always carried a homemade clavichord. He always ended class by playing. He inspired me to jump ship on psychology to a classic culture major for a while.” While studying classic cultures one of Greer’s teachers found out he had a lot of gear that was going to be played on the annual Country Music Awards show. The college sent an email blast out to the arts/ english department saying to check out this students’ stuff on the CMAs. There was a Greer amp on stage with Miranda Lambert. That took the teacher by surprise. “He called me into his office the next day and told me he had never done this but he suggested I quit school and work on the business,” says Greer. “For the first time ever, I took someone’s advice. I’m probably around six courses away from two to three different degrees.” Building Pedals By this time, Greer had been in the pedal game for years, but amps didn’t come along until about five or six years into the business. He went to a local music store to buy a ‘big boy’ amp to help test pedals. “I had a four ohm cab and the amp that I was looking at had an 8 and 16 ohm connection,” recalls Greer. “I knew if those were there, there is usually a four ohm, it is just not marked. So the store called the builder and I asked him if there was a four-ohm tap that is just not hooked up. He just said ‘I don’t have time for this’ and hung up. At that point I took the $1800 I had in my wallet and went home to figure out how to build my own amp. So I started researching things I wanted the amp to do and that was the birth of the Thunderbolt 30. I had interned with a few amp builders and seen and fixed problems, so I wasn’t starting from nothing. I also learned transformer design from one of them. It is still the amp we’re known for and it ticked all of the boxes for what I needed.” Nick believes things really changed for Greer in 2014. He knew he was onto something and knew he needed help. “I hired Andy,” recalls Greer. “He was my neighbor. He was just putting backs on pedals. Then I told him he should learn to build. He was the night manager at Jimmy Johns. When I came up with the Lightspeed I felt I really had something different. I told him to quit his job and that I would make it work. I wrote him bad checks and called the bank asking them to let them go through and charge me whatever fee they had to. The money was coming down the line. It took about two or three months to catch on and us get caught up, but the Lightspeed sort of financed his job and pushed from there. The interesting thing is that people discover us a lot of times through the Lightspeed. Then they discover the rest of the line and we get a lot of questions. They ask when the Sucker Punch came out and I tell them... that thing is 14 years old!” Greer currently builds about a dozen or so different pedal designs and seven or so amp de- signs. There have probably been another 15 to 20 amps designs that have come and gone over the years. The Thunderbolt is the company’s most popular model, followed by the recently-added Mini-Chief. It is a three-watt, all hand-wired, amp with 4, 8 and 16 ohm speaker outs and a Mercury Magnetics transformer. “We build it like we build the rest of our amps,” reveals Greer. “We don’t buy a specific set of cheaper parts for this amp.” With approaching 20,000 pedals and 400 or so amps in the wild and those numbers growing daily, will the world ever see the introduction of Greer guitars? Not likely, but not because he can’t or won’t build them. “I do build guitars... at the house,” says Greer. “I enjoy doing that. Probably not going to pull that into Greer. That is my escape from business. It keeps me sane. Being able to do it and not have the pressure of how are we going to market this, what is it going to cost. I love all of them I’ve built... and that’s 20 to 30 deep right now. There is one that is out in the wild.” Amplified: Part of Greer's studio room where you can test drive your favorite Greer gear. Greer’s longevity is based in brand loyalty. It is not the biggest name in boutique gear and that actually suits Nick Greer just fine...for now, but what about five years from now? “In five years, I’m hoping were are not in this facility,” he laughs. “I’m hoping that by then we would have our own building, but I don’t know if we’ll be there yet. Over the last few years we’ve had tremendous growth and I hope it just keeps going. We’ve kinda solidified ourselves in our own little corner of the market... I’m thankful for that. I think they are that way because we build high- quality products. The one thing that is simple about business is how you treat your customers. I’d love to employ 30-40 people. Athens has a lot of jobs, but not many careers. I’d love to put people to work.” Greer’s office looks like the typical gear bosses digs: a computer for answering email (about 250 per day, according to Nick), a guitar and amp for spontaneous jamming/idea testing and his own personal workbench, which has slowly become a bit of a heirloom over time. “This is the workbench that me and my dad built after I moved off his pool table,” says Greer. “It was designed to go into one of the first houses I rented up here. The angle cut in the corner was so I could still open the closet door. It was purpose-built and it flat-packs. It’s redneck Ikea.” There is a soldering iron, schematics, wire cutters, and a plethora of parts both binned and scattered across the bench top. “And don’t forget this stack of prototypes we can’t talk about yet,” he smiles. -HC- Leader Image - Greer Amplification All other photos - Blake Wright ____________________________________________ Who Are Gearphoria? Blake and Holly Wright are Gearphoria. They travel full-time in their 25-foot Airstream while writing about cool guitars and guitar accessories. Gearphoria is a bi-monthly free-to-read online publication. You can visit their website by going to www.gearphoria.com and while you are there, sign up for their free e-zine.

HC's Rock Rewind A look back at the past two weeks in Rock History by Team HC Week of October 22rd - 28th The final week of October brings major musical milestones, from the Halloween-appropriate first-ever Ozzfest to the release of The Who's Quadrophenia. Read on for a collection of events, historic record releases and notable births and deaths happening October 22 through October 28. Events 1962 - The Beatles give their first radio interview on Radio Clatterbridge near Liverpool. 1962 - The Rolling Stones recorded their first demo, featuring three covers by Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters and Jimmy Reed. 1963 - The Beatles head to Sweden on their first foreign tour. 1964 - The Rolling Stones make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show performing "Around and Around" and "Time is on My Side." Oh, and a riot breaks out. 1970 - Led Zeppelin's Led Zeppelin III reaches No. 1. 1976 - Led Zeppelin perform on American television for the first time when they rock Don Kirshner's Rock Concert. 1996 - The first Ozzfest takes place as a two-day festival in Phoenix, Arizona, and Devore, California. 2001 - R.E.M. performs a surprise gig at Crocodile Cafe in Seattle, owned by guitarist Peter Buck and his wife, Stephanie Dorgan. Releases 1966, The Kinks: Face to Face 1967, Ten Years After: Ten Years After 1969, Johnny Winter: Second Winter 1973, The Who: Quadrophenia 1977, Sex Pistols: Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols 1978, Rush: Hemispheres 1979, Motörhead: Bomber 1982, Prince: 1999 1983, Bob Dylan: Infidels 1984, Deep Purple: Perfect Strangers 1985, ZZ Top: Afterburner 1995, Ozzy Osbourne: Ozzmosis 1995, The Smashing Pumpkins: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness 1998, R.E.M.: Up 1999, Incubus: Make Yourself 2000, Linkin Park: Hybrid Theory 2001, Bush, Golden State 2007, Eagles: Long Road Out of Eden 2007, Exodus, The Atrocity Exhibition...Exhibit A Deaths Duane Allman - October 29, 1971 Steve Took (T Rex) - October 27, 1980 Tom Dowd (producer) - October 24, 2002 Lou Reed - October 27, 2013 Alvin Stardust - October 23, 2014 Jack Bruce - October 25, 2014 Al Jolson – Oct. 23, 1950 “Mother” Maybelle Carter – Oct. 23, 1978 Births Bobby Fuller – Oct. 22, 1942 Leslie West – Oct. 22, 1945 Stiv Bators – Oct. 22, 1956 Shelby Lynne – Oct. 22, 1968 Dwight Yoakam – Oct. 23, 1956 Bill Wyman - October 24, 1936 Denny Laine (The Moody Blues) - October 29, 1944 Jerry Edmonton (Steppenwolf) - October 24, 1946 Peter Green - October 29, 1946 Glenn Tipton (Judas Priest) - October 25, 1948 Garry Tallent (E Street Band) - October 27, 1949 Bootsy Collins (Parliament) - October 26, 1951 K. Downing (Judas Priest) - October 27, 1951 Desmond Child (songwriter) - October 28, 1953 "Weird Al" Yankovic - October 23, 1959 Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) - October 25, 1962 Robert Trujillo (Metallica, Suicidal Tendencies), October 23, 1964 Keith Urban - October 26, 1967 Scott Weiland - October 27, 1967 Ben Harper - October 28, 1969 Neil Fallon (Clutch) - October 25, 1971 Ben Gillies (Silverchair) - October 24, 1979 Week of October 29th - November 4th It's the week of Halloween, but there's a lot to celebrate outside of the spooky holiday. From the release of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" to the birthdays of U2's Larry Mullen and Red Hot Chili Peppers' Anthony Kiedis, the tail end of October through early November offers memorable moments in rock music history. Read on for some major events, historic record releases and notable births and deaths happening October 30 through November 5. Events 1961 - Bob Dylan rocks Carnegie Chapter Hall in New York City for the first time. 1967 - The Stooges perform live for the first time at a Detroit, Michigan, Halloween bash. 1998 - The original members of Black Sabbath get back together for a special, one-off performance on Late Show with David Letterman. 1997 - Jane's Addiction get back together for a Halloween concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. 1998 – Kiss sets off on their Psycho Circus tour with a Halloween gig in Los Angeles. 2005 - Black Sabbath is inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame by none other than Queen’s Brian May. 2016 - The Cubs are in the World Series for the first time since 1945, and Eddie Vedder - a major Cubs fan - leads the crowd in "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch. Releases Led Zeppelin, Immigrant Song, 1970 Pink Floyd, Meddle, 1971 Hall & Oates, Abandoned Luncheonette, 1973 Ringo Starr, Ringo, 1973 Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody, 1975 The Police, Outlandos d'Amour, 1978 George Harrison, Wonderwall Music, 1968 Bad Religion, No Control, 1989 Bon Jovi, Keep the Faith, 1992 Nirvana, MTV Unplugged in New York, 1994 The Beach Boys, The Pet Sounds Sessions, 1997 Beck, Mutations, 1998 John Lennon, John Lennon Anthology, 1998 U2, The Best of 1980–1990, 1998 Lenny Kravitz, Lenny, 2001 The Rolling Stones, Live Licks, 2004 The Eagles, Long Road Out of Eden, 2007 Births Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane), October 30, 1946 Chris Slade, October 30, 1946 Gavin Rossdale, October 30, 1965 Tom Paxton, October 31, 1937 Larry Mullen (U2), October 31, 1961 Johnny Marr (The Smiths), October 31, 1963 Adam Horovitz (Beastie Boys), October 31, 1966 Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne), October 31, 1967 Vanilla Ice, October 31, 1968 Linn Berggren (Ace of Base), October 31, 1970 Ronald Bell (Kool and the Gang), November 1, 1951 Lyle Lovett, November 1, 1957 Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers), November 1, 1962 Rick Allen (Def Leppard), November 1, 1963 Alex James (Blur), November 1, 1968 Dave Pegg (Jethro Tull, Fairport Convention), November 2, 1947 Carter Beauford (The Dave Matthews Band), November 2, 1957 Bobby Dall (Poison), November 2, 1963 Reginald Arvizu (KoRn), November 2, 1969 Nick Simper (Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, Deep Purple), November 3, 1946 Adam Ant, November 3, 1954 Scherrie Payne (of The Supremes), November 4, 1944 Van Stephenson (Blackhawk) November 4, 1953 James Honeyman-Scott (The Pretenders) November 4, 1956 Jeff Scott Soto (Journey, Yngwie Malmsteen band) November 4, 1965 Puff Daddy November 4, 1969 Gram Parsons (The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers), November 5, 1946 Don McDougall (The Guess Who), November 5, 1948 David Moyse (Air Supply), November 5, 1957 David Bryson (Counting Crows), November 5, 1961 Mike Score (A Flock Of Seagulls), November 5, 1967 Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead), November 5, 1971 Ryan Adams, November 5, 1974 Kevin Jonas (The Jonas Brothers), November 5, 1987 Deaths Steve O'Rourke (Pink Floyd manager), October 30, 2003 Bobby Parker, October 31, 2013 Mississippi John Hurt, November 2, 1966 Fred "Sonic" Smith (The Sonics, MC5), November 4, 1994 Johnny Horton, November 5, 1960 Bobby Nunn (The Coasters) November 5, 1986 Fred 'Sonic' Smith (MC5) November 5, 1994 Billy Guy (The Coasters) November 5, 2002 Bobby Hatfield (The Righteous Brothers) November 5, 2003 ________________________________________________________________- Anne Erickson holds years of bylines in Gannett Media publications, as well as music magazines Premier Guitar, Guitar Edge and more. She also hosts radio shows with iHeartRadio and has been syndicated in Seattle, Dayton, Central Coast California and beyond. Anne is a loyal Spartan and holds a Master’s degree from MSU. She resides in Lansing, Michigan.A

by Ian R. Piano practice can be an intimidating thought if you don’t know where to begin. Despite sitting down and playing every day, you might have lingering thoughts that you are missing out on something more important to practice. Luckily for you I went ahead and did some research on how to make the most effective practice routines to help develop your skills in a quick manner. Follow along with the tips below and you’ll be on the fast path to mastering piano in no time. Practice In Smaller Chunks, More Often In a study conducted by UNSW psychology researchers Soren Ashley and Joel Pearson, it was found that studying for too long can actually impede progress. Since learning a task involves rewiring of the brain, you need breaks in order for this to happen. If you don’t allow time for the brain changes to become consolidated by being transferred from short-term memory and locked into long-term memory, they can easily be lost. Things like lack of sleep and learning other skills at the same time can also greatly slow progress. In fact, learning is still going on while you sleep as your brain uses this time process and make sense of everything you’ve learned and tie it in with your motor reflexes. There is plenty of research showing that any practice session that lasts over 2 hours starts to quickly show diminishing returns, and anything over 4 hours barely shows any improvement at all. Because of these diminishing returns, it’s far better to practice for a smaller amount of time multiple times a day rather than all at once, since it gives your brain a chance to catch up. Smarter, Not Harder A pianist who has a clear idea of what to work on next will progress much faster than one who just messes around for the fun of it. Don’t get me wrong, you can still make piano practice fun, but there needs to be a clear and concise plan of action along with dedication in order to make it truly work. Most people think “practice” is sitting down in front of a piano and doing whatever they want, when in reality this is just called “playing”. There’s a big difference, and practice takes much more discipline, planning, and self control. Set Some Goals Setting goals is a great way to have something to look forward to, and it’s also a good way of measuring your progress. When you see that you’ve been progressing along nicely you’ll get a boost of motivation which is really important when developing a daily routine. The best way to go about this is to set both short-term and long-term goals. The short-term goals are in place to help you quickly see measurable results and keep you motivated, and the long-term goals are there to help you reach those important milestones that may take months or years to reach. Get A Teacher The ultimate way to learn piano quickly is to get a teacher. I was absolutely shocked as to how quickly I progressed once I got one. Having somebody sitting right next to you allows them to correct your mistakes in technique and posture, while at the same time creating a custom learning plan that works specifically for you. Be sure to let them know what YOUR goals and ambitions are and they should be able to help you get there. You are the one paying after all, so don’t be afraid to steer the lessons in the direction you want to go. Some Practice Routine Ideas If you can’t afford a teacher, here are some guidelines for a solid practice routine that will ensure quick progress on your own. Stretch Those Fingers! Warming up properly will help protect your fingers from injury, and it’s also a good chance to help develop your dexterity. Keep it simple here - stick to very simple scales and riffs that you already know. This isn’t the time for music theory! Practice Technique Here is where music theory comes into play. Use this time to learn things like scales, chords, inversions, triads, and modes. Try to see how the different elements like chords and triads fit inside each major and minor chord. Start simple with the essential piano scales and work your way up. Work On Sight Reading You might not think that sight reading is an essential skill, but it can really speed up your learning experience by developing your hand-eye coordination and helping you learn new songs easier. Start with something fun and easy, and just do a few minutes each day. Learn New Songs The key do this one is to not just play songs you already know. It’s important to challenge yourself and continually learn new pieces so that you keep your brain engaged. Pick one song that you love and learn it from beginning to end before moving on to the next one. Party Time! This is your time to let loose! Do whatever you want in the last part of your practice session. Jam along with some songs, play your favorite songs and riffs, and experiment with new sounds and ideas. Having fun here will help motivate you to continue your practice routines day after day. Conclusion My suggestion? Set aside 1 hour each day before bed to go through this practice routine just mentioned. If you can do 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes at night I think that would be even better since you are giving your brain a break between sessions. Even just practicing for 15 minutes each day can have a huge impact on your progress and help you get to where you want. There’s no need to overwhelm yourself and try practicing for hours-on-end every day if you don’t think you can handle it. You’ll end up wearing yourself out which will cause you to despise sitting down in front of the piano. There really should be no excuse though to practicing a little every day. If you are too busy, try setting your alarm 15 minutes earlier in the morning and play a little bit before you start your day. Hopefully these tips can help you get on the fast path to learning. Good luck on your piano journey! -HC- __________________________ Ian R. is the founder of the popular piano website, www.thrivepiano.com - A website for piano players of all levels filled with buyer’s guides, how-to articles, tips for becoming a better pianist, and much more.

HC's Rock Rewind A look back at the past two weeks in Rock History by Team HC Week of October 8th - 14th The Beatles met one of their heroes for the first time, Rod Stewart said goodbye to a beloved band, and one of rock and roll’s pioneering founders performed his last show. Read on for a look back at other significant moments that shaped rock and roll during this historically eventful week. Events 1902 – Orville Gibson founds the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Manufacturing Company, based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. 1962 – Little Richard headlines a concert bill in England that includes The Beatles, affording the band the chance to meet one of their heroes for the first time. 1965 – The Beatle’s “Yesterday” begins a four-week run atop the U.S. singles chart. 1965 – The Who record “My Generation” at Pye studios in London. 1966 – Grace Slick makes her debut stage appearance with Jefferson Airplane. 1969 – The Jackson Five make their national television debut, appearing on the ABC show “Hollywood Palace.” 1969 – Muddy Waters suffers severe injuries in an auto accident outside Chicago. Henceforth, the blues legend will generally perform while seated. 1970 – The musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” makes its Broadway debut. 1971 – “Maggie May” becomes the first of six U.K. Number One hits for Rod Stewart. 1975 – Rod Stewart’s longtime affiliation with Faces ends, with the staging of a final concert in New York. 1979 – The mayor of Los Angeles, Tom Bradley, declares October 10 “Fleetwood Mac Day.” The band is honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 1979 – ABBA perform their first concert in North America, staging a show in Vancouver, Canada. 1990 – Dave Grohl makes his on-stage debut as Nirvana’s drummer, appearing behind the kit at a show in Olympia, Washington. 1996 – At long last, the Rolling Stones release their legendary 1968 BBC television special, The Rolling Stones’ Rock and Roll Circus. 1993 – Nirvana’s third studio album, In Utero, enters the U.S. album chart at Number One. 2000 – The first John Lennon museum opens. Located in Japan, it makes its debut on what would have been Lennon’s 60th birthday. 2012 – The Rolling Stones release a well-received new single titled “Doom and Gloom.” 2013 – Paul McCartney stages a surprise show for New Yorkers, performing a free (albeit brief) concert from the platform of a truck parked in Times Square. 2014 – Chuck Berry performs his final show, staging the last of his long-running monthly gigs at the Blueberry Hill club in St. Louis. 2016 – Rod Stewart is knighted at Buckingham Palace. 2016 – Bob Dylan is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the first American to receive the distinction since Toni Morrison was similarly honored in 1993. Releases 1966 – The Monkees: The Monkees 1969 – The Kinks: Arthur 1969 – King Crimson: In the Court of the Crimson King 1969 – Frank Zappa: Hot Rats 1970 – Pink Floyd: Atom Heart Mother 1972 – Santana: Caravanserai 1973 – Genesis: Selling England by the Pound 1973 – Neil Young: Time Fades Away 1974 – Billy Joel: Streetlife Serenade 1974 – Jethro Tull: War Child 1975 – Deep Purple: Come Taste the Band 1977 – Kiss: Alive II 1977 – David Bowie: “Heroes” 1978 – Toto: Toto 1979 – Fleetwood Mac: Tusk 1981 – U2: October 1981 – Prince: Controversy 1983 – Cyndi Lauper: She’s So Unusual 1984 – Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense 1984 – Julian Lennon: Valotte 1985 – INXS: Listen Like Thieves 1985 – Rush: Power Windows 1986 – Billy Idol: Whiplash Smile 1987 – Bruce Springsteen: Tunnel of Love 1987 – Joe Satriani: Surfing with the Alien 1988 – U2: Rattle and Hum 1989 – The Jesus and Mary Chain: Automatic 1993 – Letters to Cleo: Aurora Gory Alice 1994 – Suede: Dog Man Star 1994 – The Cult: The Cult 1995 – Peter Frampton: Frampton Comes Alive! II 1995 – Green Day: Insomniac 1996 – Counting Crows: Recovering the Satellites 1996 – Donovan: Sutras 1997 – Green Day: Nimrod 2000 – Slash’s Snakepit: Ain’t Life Grand 2001 – The Strokes: Is This It Deaths Gene Vincent – Oct. 12, 1971 Ed Sullivan – Oct. 12, 1974 Jacques Brel – Oct. 9, 1978 Ricky Wilson (B-52s) – Oct. 12, 1985 Leonard Bernstein – Oct. 14, 1990 John Denver – Oct. 12, 1997 Freddie Fender – Oct. 14, 2006 Dickie Peterson (Blue Cheer) – Oct. 12, 2009 Solomon Burke – Oct. 10, 2010 Births Thelonious Monk – Oct. 10, 1917 Ennio Morricone – Oct. 10, 1928 Dottie West – Oct. 11, 1932 Sam Moore (Sam & Dave) – Oct. 12, 1935 John Lennon – Oct. 9, 1940 Cliff Richard – Oct. 14, 1940 Paul Simon – Oct. 12, 1941 John Entwistle – Oct. 9, 1944 Robert Lamm – Oct. 13, 1944 Alan Cartwright (Procol Harum) – Oct. 10, 1945 John Prine – Oct. 10, 1946 Daryl Hall – Oct. 11, 1946 Justin Hayward (Moody Blues) – Oct. 14, 1946 Sammy Hagar – Oct. 13, 1947 Jackson Browne – Oct. 9, 1948 David Lee Roth – Oct. 10, 1954 Tanya Tucker – Oct. 10, 1958 Thomas Dolby – Oct. 14, 1958 Bob Mould – Oct. 12, 1960 Martin Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Oct. 10, 1961 Polly Jean Harvey – Oct. 9, 1969 Sean Lennon – Oct. 9, 1975 Week of October 15th - 21st Pop music’s most important band made their television debut, one of rock’s greatest heavy metal bands kicked off their third U.S. tour, and classic rock legends Santana made a spectacular comeback. A spate of classic albums was released as well, including landmark records by David Bowie, Bob Seger and the Rolling Stones. Read on for a look back at other significant moments that shaped rock and roll during this historically eventful week. Events 1959 – Paul McCartney makes his debut appearance with The Quarrymen, performing alongside John Lennon and three other band members. 1960 – Roy Orbison scores his first U.K. Number One hit, with “Only the Lonely.” 1962 – The Beatles make their television debut, performing the songs “Some Other Guy” and “Love Me Do” live on a show titled “People and Places,” in Manchester, England. 1966 – The Jimi Hendrix Experience play their first major public show as a band, appearing at the Olympia Theatre in Paris, France. 1969 – Peter Frampton meets singer Steve Marriott. The two begin plans for a new band, which emerges the following April as Humble Pie. 1969 – Led Zeppelin kicks off their third U.S. tour, performing at New York City’s Carnegie Hall. 1969 – Rod Stewart joins The Faces. 1972 – Creedence Clearwater Revival disbands. 1976 – Keith Moon plays his last show with The Who, as the band completes a North American tour in Toronto. The drummer dies two years later in September of 1978. 1977 – The Led Zeppelin film “The Song Remains the Same” premieres in New York City and in London. The band attends the New York premiere. 1977 – In Greenville, S.C., Lynyrd Skynyrd play their last show prior to the plane crash in which three members of the band lost their lives in one of rock’s most devastating tragedies. 1978 – The Police make their U.S. debut, performing at CBGB’s in New York. 1986 – Footage of a tribute concert celebrating Chuck Berry’s 60th birthday is shot in St. Louis, for the 1987 documentary film “Hail! Hail! Rock ‘N’ Roll.” In addition to Berry himself, performers include Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, and Etta James, among others. 1991 – Red Hot Chili Peppers kick off their Blood Sugar Sex Majik tour. Up-and-comers Pearl Jam are one of the opening acts. 1999 – Santana’s Supernatural album tops the charts, giving the group their first Number One album in 28 years. 2001 – Concerts are staged at Madison Square Garden in New York and at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., to raise funds for victims of the 9/11 attacks. David Bowie, Paul McCartney, The Who and Eric Clapton are among the performers. 2006 – Legendary punk club CBGB closes after a 33-year run in New York City. 2008 – Guns N’ Roses release their first new material in nearly a decade, issuing the title track from the new album, Chinese Democracy. Singer Axl Rose is the sole original member of the band. Releases 1964 – The Rolling Stones: 12 x 5 1964 – Simon & Garfunkel: Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. 1964 – Dusty Springfield: Dusty 1968 – Three Dog Night: Three Dog Night 1968 – The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland 1969 – Led Zeppelin: II 1969 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono: Wedding Album 1970 – Bob Dylan: New Morning 1971 – The Doors: Other Voices 1973 – Bob Marley & The Wailers: Burnin’ 1973 – America: Hat Trick 1973 – Peter Frampton: Frampton’s Camel 1973 – David Bowie: Pinups 1973 – Montrose: Montrose 1973 – The Wailers: Burnin’ 1974 – KISS: Hotter Than Hell 1974 – Rolling Stones: It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll 1976 – Frank Zappa: Zoot Allures 1976 – Elton John: Blue Moves 1976 – Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains the Same (live) 1976 – Bob Seger: Night Moves 1977 – Lynyrd Skynyrd: Street Survivors 1977 – Meat Loaf: Bat Out of Hell 1979 -- Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: Damn the Torpedoes 1979 – Prince: Prince 1980 – U2: Boy 1980 – Bruce Springsteen: The River 1980 – Cheap Trick: All Shook Up 1981 – The Human League: Dare 1981 – Eurythmics: In the Garden 1985 – The Cult: Love 1987 – INXS: Kick 1988 – Steve Earle: Copperhead Road 1988 – Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation 1989 – Nine Inch Nails: Pretty Hate Machine 1989 – Kiss: Hot in the Shade 1990 – Goo Goo Dolls: Hold Me Up 1990 – ZZ Top: Recycler 1990 – Paul Simon: The Rhythm of the Saints 1991 – Matthew Sweet: Girlfriend 1991 – Neil Young: Weld 1992 – Keith Richards: Main Offender 1993 – Pearl Jam: Vs. 1993 – Sarah McLachlan: Fumbling Towards Ecstasy 1995 – Steely Dan: Alive in America 1998 – Black Sabbath: Reunion 1999 – Keith Urban: Keith Urban 2000 – Tony Iommi: Iommi 2001 – Ozzy Osbourne: Down to Earth 2002 – Foo Fighters: One By One 2002 – Santana: Shaman 2003 – Paul Westerberg: Come Feel Me Tremble 2011 – Coldplay: Mylo Xyloto Births Jelly Roll Morton – Oct. 20, 1890 Richard Carpenter – Oct. 15, 1946 Chuck Berry – Oct. 18, 1926 Nico – Oct. 16, 1938 Manfred Mann – Oct. 21, 1940 Jim Seals (Seals & Croft) – Oct. 17, 1941 Steve Cropper – Oct. 21, 1941 Elvin Bishop – Oct. 21, 1942 Bobby Fuller – Oct. 22, 1942 Peter Tosh – Oct. 19, 1944 Keith Reid (Procol Harum) – Oct. 19, 1946 Lux Interior (The Cramps) -- Oct. 21, 1946 Bob Weir – Oct. 16, 1947 Laura Nyro – Oct. 18, 1947 Patrick Simmons (Doobie Brothers) – Oct. 19, 1948 Gary Richrath (REO Speedwagon) – Oct. 18, 1949 Tom Petty – Oct. 20, 1950 Alan Greenwood (Foreigner) – Oct. 20, 1951 Keith Knudson (Doobie Brothers) – Oct. 18, 1952 Karl Wallinger (The Waterboys, World Party) – Oct. 19, 1957 Steve Lukather – Oct. 21, 1957 Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Oct. 16, 1959 Bob Mould – Oct. 16, 1960 Norman Black (Teenage Fanclub) – Oct. 20, 1965 Ziggy Marley – Oct. 17, 1968 John Mayer – Oct. 16, 1977 Deaths Cole Porter – Oct. 15, 1964 Leonard Chess – Oct. 16, 1969 Gene Krupa – Oct. 16, 1973 Ronnie Van Zant – Oct. 20, 1977 Steve Gaines – Oct. 20, 1977 Merle Travis – Oct. 20, 1983 Son House – Oct. 19, 1988 Don Cherry – Oct. 19, 1995 Shannon Hoon (Blind Melon) – Oct. 21, 1995 Glen Buxton (Alice Cooper) – Oct. 19, 1997 Derek Bell (The Chieftains) – Oct. 17, 2002 Elliott Smith – Oct. 21, 2003 Sandy West (Runaways) – Oct. 21, 2006 Levi Stubbs (Four Tops) – Oct. 17, 2008 Dee Dee Warwick – Oct. 18, 2008 ________________________________________________________________- Anne Erickson holds years of bylines in Gannett Media publications, as well as music magazines Premier Guitar, Guitar Edge and more. She also hosts radio shows with iHeartRadio and has been syndicated in Seattle, Dayton, Central Coast California and beyond. Anne is a loyal Spartan and holds a Master’s degree from MSU. She resides in Lansing, Michigan.A

by Anne Erickson Les Paul was a man with vision and instinctual genius— an inventor, virtuoso guitarist, performer and technical visionary. His solid-body electric guitar and studio advances changed popular music in the 20th-century, and his original designs will live on forever. Paul passed away on Aug. 12, 2009, from complications of severe pneumonia at White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York, surrounded by family and loved ones. Here are some Les Paul fun facts. Les Paul’s original name was Lester William Polfuss. (A “Lester Polfuss” guitar just doesn’t sound as cool.) Paul was creating at an early age. He built his first crystal radio at age nine. Paul was a semi-professional guitarist at age 13, playing country music and starting to dabble in sound innovations. Paul built his first solid-body guitar in 1941 and continued to work on in through that decade. Paul’s experiments sometimes put him as risk. He almost electrocuted himself in 1940 during a session in the cellar of his Queens apartment. Paul suffered a severe car accident in 1948 in Oklahoma, when he slid off a bridge into a river in the middle of a snowstorm. His right arm and elbow were shattered, and his back, ribs, collarbone and nose were broken. He asked surgeons to set his arm at such an angle that he could still play guitar, and after a year and a half of recovery, could once again play. The year 1952 was a big one for Paul. He unleashed the first eight-track tape recorder and also released the Les Paul gold-top solid body electric guitar, forever changing rock ‘n’ roll. Paul and his wife Mary Ford performed together as a duo in the 1950s. Paul played the guitar and Mary Ford sang. In just 1951, they sold six million records. The final design for the new Les Paul Custom was finished in early 1954, and the guitar made its official debut at the Chicago NAMM show in July of 1954. Paul was guitarist Steve Miller’s godfather. Jimi Hendrix consulted Paul when building his famed Electric Lady Studios. Paul is a member of the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Jimmy Page, Slash, Zakk Wylde, Joe Perry, Eric Clapton, Bob Marley, Billie Joe Armstrong and Pete Townshend are all known for strumming Les Paul guitars. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame paid tribute to Paul in 2008 with a week-long celebration of his life. Paul performed at the celebration, too. In honor of Paul, the Les Paul Foundation continues to work to “inspire innovative and creative thinking by sharing the legacy of Les Paul through supporting music education, engineering and innovation as well as medical research.” The foundation awards grants to music, music engineering and sound programs for youth; gives grants for medical research and programs related to hearing impairment; and supports public exhibits displaying Les Paul’s life achievements. For more information, visit www.LesPaulFoundation.org. ________________________________________________________________ Anne Erickson holds years of bylines in Gannett Media publications, as well as music magazines Premier Guitar, Guitar Edge and more. She also hosts radio shows with iHeartRadio and has been syndicated in Seattle, Dayton, Central Coast California and beyond. Anne is a loyal Spartan and holds a Master’s degree from MSU. She resides in Lansing, Michigan.

by Anne Erickson “Girl Tonight” comes off Stovall’s EP, Heartbreak. While she’s known for her violin playing, Stovall displays keen songwriting chops and twangy vocals on the set. She spoke about her favorite guitars and what it’s like being a woman in the music business. What are your first memories of making music? Oh, my goodness! I started playing violin when I was 4 years old, so from a very early age, I remember practicing violin and trying to figure out how to make noise on the instrument. I didn’t really enjoy practicing a lot. I don’t think any kid does! So, my mom would try to come up with ways to get me to practice more. She would take me to the park, because if I could draw a crowd, I would want to play all day. Those are some of my first memories: going to Woodland Park in Columbia, Tennessee, practicing my violin and having people stop by and watch. Regarding Your album Heartbreak. Would you say this is a good breakup album? It is mostly about heartbreak and about a lot of different forms of heartbreak. For the title track, I was writing about how heartbreaking it was in my career at the time and my experience being with record labels. For me, I was using my label as a relationship, because it sounds like a relationship song! A lot of what I was writing about was not giving up and not giving in, and there are some songs that are obviously about relationships, too. Do you have a favorite song off the album? I don’t know! (Laughs) “We Are” is one of my favorites, because it’s about not giving up, and I never will give up or give in on things or dreams I’m chasing down. Lately, one of my favorites to perform is “Girl Tonight.” It’s a really powerful song to sing, and I really enjoy playing it. What are some of the challenges you’ve faced as a woman in the music industry? Well, one of the biggest right now is simply radio in country music. It has been a very large topic of conversations over the past few years, and it’s apparent to fans that there’s not a lot of women on country radio. It has started to get better, and I think a lot of it is cyclical. In the ‘90s, women dominated country radio. Now, a lot of it is the dude country songs. But one of the best things is that there is all this great music coming out. Some of the women have been killing it. Let’s talk guitars! What are your go-to guitars on the road? I have a Gibson Nighthawk that I won when I was 12 in a talent competition, and it’s the only electric guitar I play on stage. I think the Gibson J-45 is the most incredible guitar in the world, as far as acoustics go. I’m more of an acoustic person. It’s always been fun for me to play the Nighthawk, because that’s the first guitar I ever owned. It’s black and has gold hardware. It’s beautiful. She’s a sexy little guitar, and I love the way she looks holding her. You only mention your two guitars as Gibsons. What draws you to the Gibson? The quality! Gibson has been making guitars for so long, and it’s one of the most stellar brands. Even when I was a kid, I didn’t know what it was I was looking for in guitars, but the first guitars I ever had in my hand were Gibson guitars. The quality is so incredible, and I have fallen in love with the guitars. If I can help it, I’ll have my Nighthawk with me my entire life. Natalie Stovall and the Drive have Gibson to thank for their first experience with 360 degree video. “Gibson called us and asked us if we wanted to do a 360 degree video for our song, ‘Girl Tonight,’ and of could we did!” Stovall said. “It was really cool! I’ve never seen anything like that before.” You can watch the video . Visit Natalie's Website ________________________________________________________________ Anne Erickson holds years of bylines in Gannett Media publications, as well as music magazines Premier Guitar, Guitar Edge and more. She also hosts radio shows with iHeartRadio and has been syndicated in Seattle, Dayton, Central Coast California and beyond. Anne is a loyal Spartan and holds a Master’s degree from MSU. She resides in Lansing, Michigan.

by Blake Wright SINGER, SONGWRITER, guitarist, Berklee graduate, podcast host, newsletter author, essayist, solo artist, member of the Allen Stone band, world traveler — such is Trevor Larkin, a self-described “happy nomad” and public person who keeps a surprisingly low profile. He’s been on the move since a young age, relocating a few times with his family, and exploring internationally with them while growing up. It fostered a sense of discovery and a desire to see the world, as well as opening his eyes and mind to new cultures and sounds. All of this has informed his music and his prose, as well as building a perfect foundation for being a member of Stone’s band. “I’m very lucky and grateful that we had the reason and the means to travel,” he says, looking back. “It was very special. When you travel, you realize important things. You realize that the human condition is a universal one. It’s a cliché to say that we’re all basically the same, but it’s true. We all want our bellies to be full, we want shelter, we want to feel love, and we want to feel a part of something greater than ourselves, and that can manifest in a lot of different ways.” Trevor Larkin - The Happy Nomad Guitarist is Stone Rollin' “You realize that no one has the monopoly on good ideas. There are a whole lot of ways to live life that are beautiful. I’m grateful to have traveled in the Third World as well, because you encounter challenging situations, and when you see people’s humanity shine through that, and that sense of community, and cultivation of purpose, and the kindness in environments that are truly horrific and impossible, especially to Westerners—I feel lucky to have experienced a lot of that at a young age.” “From a musical standpoint, you appreciate the different cultures and what all these musical languages have to offer, and that a career in music doesn’t have to be in the United States, and that’s valuable too. Also to be willing to go on that journey with your art. I feel I’m in a position to do that—to go where the wind blows, sharing my songs from the road, taking the podcast on the road, and that’s powerful. I live my life out there. It’s in my nature to float around wherever inspiration and opportunity take me, and for the first time in my life, I feel like I’m embracing that. It’s hard for me to imagine a life without travel.” Larkin was waiting for the new Allen Stone album to be finalized, and make its way to mixing and master- ing, when Gearphoria caught up with him. Mostly he was eager to begin a fall tour and bring some new material to live audiences. “It’s in my DNA to travel,” he says. “I recharge and burn cleaner on the road. My writing is better, I think clearer, my mood improves, and my energy improves.” Live To Play Live: Trevor, Allen and the rest of the band play live to a packed house on the recent Radius Tour Gearphoria: Let’s start with the new album. How far along are you, what can you tell us, and also let’s talk about how you like to record guitars. TREVOR: My general philosophy, and how I approach it live, is I’m very much a guitar-cable-amp kind of guy. I’ve got maybe three ped- als on the floor, because the Allen Stone project is a keyboard-heavy thing, and Allen plays guitar too, and if I have too much going on, it doesn’t work. I’ll try to get more ambitious with my guitars and ef- fects onstage, and then I’ll listen back to the board mix or Instagram clips that fans post, and the guitar just doesn’t cut through. It doesn’t sound very good. So my approach and my setup are very simple. Two shout-outs. Our producer, Jamie Lidell, is an absolute genius when it comes to sound and sound design. He was so much fun to work with for someone like myself, who doesn’t come to the table with a lot as far as nerdy gear goes. He was able to guide my hand and say, “Try this.” The other important player in all this is my buddy Nick Bearden from Jamestown Revival. He rented to us the majority of the vintage instruments that we used. I went to his house in Nashville, played through a bunch of his stuff, and picked out my favorites, because even though I don’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of gear, I know what good stuff sounds like and feels like, and I have my tastes aligned in a certain way. Those guitars sound really cool, and the record would not have been pos- sible if it wasn’t for him being a gear nerd and collecting all this stuff over the years. We had Studio A at Sound Emporium reserved for ten or twelve days, and 80 to 90 percent of the record was live in the room togeth- er with no headphones, no click track, nothing. We had all the amps set up in line with the drum set, so everything was projecting out and there was minimal bleed into the microphones. So we had this great energy of playing live, and our favorite way to make music was how we recorded this album. We had most of the amps in the main tracking room, we had some stuff isolated—a whole percussion station and a miscellaneous instrument station—and whenever there was an idea, we could hop between those different areas and make music and see what happened. It was so much fun to go, “What does this do?” and listen to the sounds, and have Jamie or our chief engineer, Eddie Spear, who’s also a sound design genius, come in and start to manipulate it. It was cool to see them work, and I feel like I understood the whole inner workings of the sound just by being a fly on the wall with them. The best gear is a creative tool. You stomp on a stomp box, you manipulate a synthesizer, and what comes from that should be exciting and inspiring, and energize you to create the next section or embellish the section you’re working on. I was able to present them with cool parts and ideas that in turn were inspiring for them to sit down with a lot of equipment and do their part of it. It was a great partnership in the studio. Sometimes there is a tendency for the musician to play a passive role and let the producer and engineer take over, but that wasn’t the case. Everybody in the band contributed so much and everyone’s voice was heard. The end result, sonically, was so ambitious and so cool. The last record, Radius, didn’t have much guitar on it. The producer was more of a keyboard guy. So it was important for me, on this record, to have the guitar be an integral part of the arrangements. All the gear that Jamie brought into the studio was really cool because it sounds beautiful and dissonant and it’s ambitious. It was so much fun to create in that way. Most of the songs were written before we got to the studio, but we deliberately left them in a skeletal demo form. We didn’t embellish a lot of the ideas. We went to the studio and let the environment and equipment influence the creative process, which is how I know a piece of gear is really good—it’s something I’m excited about. It could be a simple piece of gear, like the MXR Univibe pedal. That is my love of the Police and Rush; that oscillating texture is so power- ful, especially when the keyboards are moving quite a bit, and the drums and keyboards and vocals fill up a lot of space. So for me to click on that Univibe and play an extended voicing, like a minor eleventh chord or a minor ninth, or something like that, and let that shimmer and float over the top of what they’re doing—stuff like that makes me so happy. Jamie was supportive of my voice on the instrument, and as he got to know me better as a player, the equipment he chose for the guitar sounds changed and evolved, and that was fun to see. The end result sounds like our voices on these songs, and it’s really cool. Ultimately, it goes back to is the song good, is the ini- tial idea really strong, are the parts you’re coming up with in the moment—do those sing? Do they sound like they belong in the band? We definitely had a few mo- ments when it was, “I feel like this is for us, as opposed to for the audience.” It’s cool to have a few of those moments for the fellow mu- sicians, but it’s easy to start losing the song in that, so we had to double-back and go, “When the fans listen to this, is there too much going on?” It’s a good sign, because it means we’re having fun in the studio, but are we losing the plot? It’s the same thing live. We can all play, and we all have our moments when that’s obvi- ous, but are we losing the plot? We’re constantly policing ourselves to make sure the music still sounds intentional. It’s great to have those moments, but not to the detriment of the song, and I think we’ve done a good job of balancing those two worlds. What led to recording in Nashville with Jamie Lidell? Obviously you live there, but what made the band choose Sound Emporium? We’re back with ATO Records, and while they have a voice in the room, we’re given a lot more freedom. We were given the green light to just go for it. We’re all fans of Jamie Lidell as an artist, and he is having a lot of success right now as a producer and writer. We needed someone who was willing to work with the band and let us do our thing, and who could connect with Allen on a deep level. Jamie has a lot of respect for us as musicians, so we were left to our own devices to be creative, and he spent a lot of time with Allen, listening to his ideas. Jamie is based in Nashville, so Sound Emporium was a logical choice. He has a great relationship with that studio, and our chief en- gineer is a good friend of Jamie’s who does a lot of work there, and Sound Emporium was able to work with our budget, so they won out pretty quickly. Also they do a lot of live sessions, and the A room is set up to be conducive to that type of environment and workflow. So it all made the most sense. And there’s something about Nashville. It’s a Southern city, it moves at a slower pace, and everything is accessible. The guys were staying ten minutes from the studio. That type of thing, being relaxed and not stressed out, is important for the creative process. The record was supposed to come out during the fall, but anyone signed to a label knows that if they say three months, expect it to take nine. That’s just how it works. I learned from Capitol that if you are signed to a label, when it’s time for them to take the ball, let them run with it. Whatever the pro- cess looks like, let them be there and figure it out. Provided everyone’s on the same page with the songs, however much time it takes is however much time it takes, and just be patient. The upside of that is this tour we’re doing in the fall. We haven’t toured as a full band in a while, so we need to build up some momentum again. The singles are doing well, and it feels like we’re back in a lane that makes sense and closer to where we need to be. Hopefully, when the record comes out early next year, the fans will be primed and excited. This is far and away the best record that this project has put out. It’s a big leap forward, a pronounced evolution. How so? For one, we’re playing live, and we wrote the majority of the songs together. Since we started play- ing in 2011, and since it became a full-time, internationally touring thing in 2012, what made the project successful is the band and Allen Stone performing together onstage. That’s the chemistry that’s special. That’s the lightning in a bottle. We’ve never honored that on a record before. Into it: Larkin moves between Strats and Teles with relative ease. There is almost no information about you anywhere. Here is what we know. You are from Seattle, graduated with honors from Berklee College of Music, and played in a house band called Vintage Pink on Sunday nights at the Sea Monster in Seattle, which is where you met Allen Stone. Let’s fill in the blanks going all the way back. First, are you originally from Seattle? No, I grew up in Walla Walla, a small town in Washington state. My sister and I were born in Chicago. We were there for a few years, then we moved to Los Gatos, California, and I was there until fourth grade or so. My dad was running a company that he sold, and one of his clients offered him a job running an educational soft- ware company in Walla Walla. I was in elementary school and my sister was in middle school. And so that’s where I grew up. I went to Berklee, graduated with honors, and moved to Seattle. When did you begin playing guitar? My parents are not musicians, but they are supportive of the arts, and music of some description was always going on in the house. I discovered on my own the desire to make and play music, which I think is powerful, because when I started playing guitar in my freshman year of high school, there was no period of “Do I want to do this or not?” It was 0 to 60 in 60 seconds flat. I was a big sports geek, and in those developmental years I was grateful for my sports background because that’s how I approached the guitar. It made sense to look at it from a technique standpoint and develop chops. So I focused on the technical side during those early stages. When I got to Berklee, I started to relax on that a little bit and expand creatively. Some people treat Berklee like a technical college. They study music production and engineering and zero in on that. My nature is to do a lot of things, so I treated it like a liberal arts school. I took classes in ethnomusicology, music therapy, music education, guitar performance, film scoring, production, engineering, music history, the list goes on and on. While there, I started appreciating myself as being a creative person rather than just a guitar player. I realized almost immediately, thank- fully, that the “virtuoso guitar play- er” route was not that exciting for me. What was exciting was to sit down with music, express myself, and feel like I understood it. That’s been my approach ever since. Right at my first year at Berklee is when I started writing songs and being more of a creative spirit rather than a technician, which is good, because when I was young, I wasn’t ready for that. There’s a certain amount of life experience that I feel needs to happen. You need to let your guard down, in a sense, in order to be open to cre- ativity. It was important for me to spend time with the metronome and the progressive metal records and shredding. During my sophomore year of high school I had a back condition get worse, so I wasn’t able to play sports at a high competitive level. Fortunately, the guitar was there, and heavy music was there, and I could get out my adolescent rage in a constructive way. New Wood: Something the Walla Walla Guitar Co. cooked up for Larkin...the Gypsy Guitar What happened between Berklee and Vintage Pink? I graduated from Berklee in two years. I was able to test out of a bunch of core classes. I took some college courses in high school at Whitman College, a liberal arts college in Walla Walla, so I didn’t have to do a lot of the general education requirements that Berklee had. I knew that I wasn’t ready for L.A. or New York. I was a sensitive, shy kid, and I knew I wasn’t ready for those places. So it was between London, England, and Seattle, Washington, because clearly a kid who isn’t ready for New York City is ready to leave the country and move to a city that’s just as formidable! But my parents are South African, so I’ve been to London many times over the years, and growing up in a British Com- monwealth household, there were a lot of cultural touchstones there that made sense to me. So it didn’t feel scary going to London. It felt familiar. I ultimately decided to go to Seattle, which was the right choice, absolutely. My plan was to spend six months to a year there and collect myself after Berklee, because I experienced such a shift in perspective there that I was overwhelmed and kind of burned out. So my plan was to go to this easier, more user-friendly city, gather myself, and then go to L.A. But I ended up getting some cool gigs and freelance work for the symphony and the opera and the ballet, and teaching lessons, and playing in punk and hardcore bands. I started my own Foo Fighters-style trio and we almost got signed to a label. But the band broke up and that led to playing in Vintage Pink at the Sea Monster on Sunday nights, just for fun. Everyone who subsequently became part of Allen’s band either sat in or played in the house band from time to time. Allen would sit in, and that was the genesis of it. I was asked to come along on a four-city tour in California, one of the first tours that Allen did. He wasn’t playing much at all, and nothing out of town. I don’t know how this tour came about, but he was offered a four-city run opening for Nikka Costa and he needed a band. So the core group of us got in the van and did these dates together, learned the tunes in the van, and the first time we played together was at soundcheck at the Independent in San Francisco. Everyone had a good time, we got a booking agent in L.A., at the Roxy, that we have to this day, and suddenly we were on the road. In a sense it’s bizarre, because it was seven years ago and there’s been some success, but the project was only supposed to be around for those four shows, so the rest of it has just felt like an added bonus for me. I haven’t overthought the process, I don’t ask too much of it, I’m just happy that it’s still happening. Over the past year or two, every-one in the band has been excited to get their own things happening outside of Allen Stone Universe. For me, that’s the podcasts and focusing on my own music again. That’s going to be happening in earnest over the fall, releasing songs and doing more one-take videos. My daily newsletter has a lot of subscribers, and that’s fun. I enjoy writing, and I look forward to keeping that going and having more articles and essays published. The Allen band is a great platform for being a creative spirit. Most bands at our level don’t travel the world as much as we do, but soul music is a universal language, so we get out and see things, and it’s an inspiring place to be. I’m grateful now that I’m honoring my genuine creative self and have all these outlets through which to express myself. That’s really exciting. And, over the course of the evolution of the band and my personal evolution within it, to take a look at the music I want to make, and the sounds I want to hear, and find the best piece of equipment for the job. The Univibe is a great example. There are plenty of pedals that are more boutiquey and expensive, but it’s a classic sound, it’s the thing I get excited about, and it works, so I stick with it. It’s fun for me to try different things and see what resonates and what doesn’t. Because of my nerdy disposition and what I’m into, and the way I write and talk, people expect me to know the exact dimensions of the screw in the headstock of the Suhr Tele, but my nerdiness hasn’t carried over so much into that world. There’s time. I’m still relatively young, so hopefully there’s time. But again, my focus from a gear standpoint is that gear as a creative tool is inspiring and I’m all about it, but if it’s just there because it sounds weird, it’s hard for me to get excited unless there’s an application for it in the song. Take One: Larkin produces a music video series called 'One Take Videos.' Let’s back up again. You had a scholarship to Berklee. What led to that? Your degree is in what, exactly, and what were you planning to do with it? Growing up in Walla Walla, there weren’t outlets to play. I would play with the weekend warrior guys at rodeos and monster truck rallies and stuff like that. We’d play Garth Brooks, AC/DC, Allman Brothers, crowd pleasers, and it was awesome. I was also playing in the standard high school bands, playing punk and thrashier stuff, and some fusion. I was taking jazz courses at Whitman College. I never gravitated to jazz as a player, but as a listener, I appreciated it and enjoyed the harmonic stuff. It was a great tool for learning about music. So it was an interesting combination of being totally fine onstage at a county fair, but also transcribing all the instruments for a Mahavishnu Orchestra record, learning progressive metal songs, and transcribing jazz vocal stuff. In between my junior and senior years of high school, I did a five-week summer course at Berklee. That was my first experience being around people my age who were as much into music as I was. Some professors came up to me during that course and told me that I should do the scholarship audition. My audition happened at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Vancouver, and for reasons I don’t understand, I played a bluegrass song. I shredded this bluegrass chicken-picking thing, which I think made a good impression on them. They were used to hearing the typical academic music, so to hit them over the head with bluegrass I think was really welcome, and they gave me a very nice scholarship. People ask me about Berklee all the time. Music school is a difficult concept for people to wrap their heads around, but what I tell people is that if you’re a musician, just own it. If you want to play punk music and get in a van, do it and dedicate your energy to that. It’s the same with music college. Go, be a student, embrace that, and soak up as much as you can, read every book, listen to all the music, play with everybody you can. That’s what I tried to do. Graduating was a very unsentimental time. I had enough credits, I left, and I got my diploma in the mail a few months later. But it was an important time in my life. I have a bachelor’s of music degree in professional music. It’s like a jack-of-all-trades degree. I took courses in everything that looked interesting, and I was able to do that because I had tested out of core requirements and general education. I was lucky enough to go in as a pretty good guitar player, so I got placed in some challenging ensembles. Professional music was a catch-all major for people who didn’t specialize in anything. Most people speak to you about Berklee and advise you to go in with a plan. I went in thinking I’d be a guitar performance major, but if you feel yourself pulled in another direction, listen to that. That can be a fruitful experience as well, letting the completely opposite thing happen. If you had told me back then that I would make my living playing guitar in a soul band, I would have laughed out loud. I never even really listened to soul music. So it’s funny where things take you when you’re open to opportunity and you’re not so committed to a specific path. There was a moment of “Now what?” after leaving Berklee, because I didn’t have a plan. I arrived in Seattle, and that degree was just exotic enough that I was able to get in pretty quickly with the symphony, the opera, and the ballet, and be hired on recording sessions for films and video games, and for teaching gigs. I was by no means a cool kid on the Seattle music scene, but I was busy all the time and I was making a living. When Allen Stone really took off in 2012, that was exciting because it was closer to what I had fantasized about as a kid—getting in the tour bus, playing big shows, traveling around the world, and being a guitar player. Over the past couple of years I transitioned into wanting to holistically share my own story, my music, and conversations and writing that veer away from the traditional guitar player stuff but to me are complementary to that. So I’m about to enter a new chapter in my career, and that’s exciting. My role in the Allen project is firm and established, and when we get together, it feels like a healthy place, so there’s a lot more mental real estate and time for me to expand into this new world that I occupy and what does that look like. It’s fun. Were you surprised by the success? What were the odds for a band like this one? At the same time, as you said earlier, soul music is universal. I felt both things equally, which maybe is a little strange. The likelihood of this kind of thing happening isn’t even one in a million; it’s one in ten million. It’s so unlikely that we may as well call it impossible. And the fact that it’s a soul artist, and a weird soul artist at that, with this motley crew of musicians in the band, it feels like we’re on a pirate ship a little bit. But there’s an honesty about it, and the way we’ve done it hasn’t been social media or a lot of the modern approaches that have broken the band. It’s been playing live. I have nothing against social media or the modern distribution of music. I’m a huge fan of it, actual- ly. But in the case of this band, we got in a van and pounded the road. By doing that, we found an audi- ence that was enthusiastic and supportive of what we were doing, in a way that online can’t be by virtue of the way the artist communicates. They started coming to shows, and we started seeing real money and got real offers and opportunities from real people to go overseas and do festivals and headlining tours and stuff like that. I think people gravitate toward authenticity. Especially in a world where there’s so much information, and people are inundated and their attention spans are pulled in all sorts of different directions, if the art is not spot-on and honest, people don’t have time for that. So we were fortunate to find a way to communicate that was honest, people followed and supported us, and we’re now in this neat position where the band is successful but it’s not famous, so we can play cool shows and live this unique and interesting life, but it’s low pres- sure and it feels sustainable, which is a great place to be. SOLO: Larking stands alone at rehearsal for the Special Olympics gig We have to talk about the Special Olympics. Allen always seems so happy and in the moment, and it really shows in that video. There’s such joy and exuberance in his performance. Is that contagious? If you’re having a bad day, or a bad mood, does being onstage with him bring you out of it? It sure can and it often does, and especially that performance, it was so special and cool. Allen said afterwards it’s the most fun he’s ever had playing music. It’s moments like that I feel grateful for. Not a lot of bands get the opportunity to play an event like that, and it was so remarkable. “Warriors” had just been released and it was the perfect soundtrack for that moment. That song will forever be associated with that incredible energy, that moment in the stadium, the euphoria that Allen experienced, and our joy as a band. It’s easy with this band to become lost, in the best way, in the music and the moment. We all comple- ment each other well with that. And Allen is a real, pure vocalist. He loves to sing. He communicates with the world through his voice. To be put in an environment like that where it’s keyed up to be “This is going to be perfect, this is amazing,” it’s absolutely contagious. As we’ve been around longer and matured as individuals and as a band, we find ourselves in situations like that more and more, where it’s like, “This moment needs these guys, and these guys are perfect,” because it is about joy, it is about this almost youthful exuberance. Coming from a background like mine, of a lot of time in a room with a metronome, definitely self-serious, it feels great to go onstage with these best friends of mine and smile and experience and share with an audience. My favorite thing to do is to look out over the crowd as we’re playing, and look at people who are smiling, dancing, crying, laughing, whatever the reaction, and be, “This is the reason why. This is my connection with music.” That’s another reason why I keep things simple with gear onstage—I don’t want to be performing this intricate ballet on my pedalboard and miss those moments. I want to communicate the music as quickly and effectively as possible so I can be on the same wavelength as the audience. And Allen brings that out of me, which I’m really grateful for. Was this band an adjustment for you as a guitarist? The role of the guitar is completely different in the Allen Stone band than what I grew up playing and what I’m used to. My background is as a rock and metal guy, and the guitar is the primary instrument. It’s way up in the mix, double-tracked, it’s loud, it’s aggressive. The role of the guitar in this band is completely flipped. I think R&B and soul in general, and especially this project, it’s rhythm section and keys driven, and that’s how the genre works. My job as a guitar player is to paint over the top of that, play a supportive role, and find my pocket where I can add something. I think of my role as the hi-hat on the drum set, where you almost don’t notice what’s going on until it’s not there, and then all of a sudden it’s an incomplete, empty sound. I hadn’t played a lot of soul music prior to joining this band, so there was a big learning curve. When I realized that this gig was going to take over my life, I did a deep dive into the genre. I listened to all of Marvin Gaye’s catalog, all of Steve Wonder’s catalog, on down the line, took in soul music through a hose, and tried to figure out my relationship with it. Also my love for guitar players like Andy Summers from The Police, the way that he approached playing pop music, leaving a lot of space, using these cool, extended voicings from jazz and landing them in a pocket of music in a way that makes sense. It doesn’t sound gratuitous. I relied upon this balance of my own aesthetic and influences, and a more traditional approach to soul and funk, guys like Nile Rodgers and Prince. They’re influential on my approach. At first it was difficult because I was not used to playing with musicians who were so active. There is a lot of movement on the drums, keys, and bass, and Allen is doing runs and stuff vocally, so there’s a lot of information happening on- stage. At first I was overwhelmed, almost to the point of “Do I even need to be up here?” But the more I listened to the classics of the genre, and the more confident I got in my role in the band, I started to discover these neat moments where I could channel Andy Summers and some of the more textural stuff that Alex Lifeson did. Those James Brown records were influential from a guitar standpoint because it was about finding a part and creating this musical moment, as opposed to busier, fluttery stuff. Tip Of The Cap: The cat...in the hat How does all of that relate to what you do on your own? There are five solo tunes up on Spotify and iTunes right now, and I describe those as Tom Petty meets Radiohead: big, melodic, guitar-driven tunes, like good, classic, American rock and roll, but with a lot of neat ambience and textural stuff. I’m also doing a lot of one-take acoustic videos of original songs. I think there are fifteen out now, and in fall I will put out a lot more, and then an EP. I’m pursuing that voice, and it is so different from the Allen project, so by focusing on my solo material, I can go back to the band, be present in that moment, and be respectful of the art and the music and the chemistry, which is important to me. And then I have this other outlet, where I can sing and strum open chords, and do more traditional singer-songwriter rock and roll stuff, and it feels good. We’re all so different and complementary onstage and away from the band, but it works and it’s part of the same continuum. That seems like a healthy, holistic perspective for our own stuff. We’ ve all worked hard over these past seven years, we’ve made a lot of sacrifices, and we’ve had a lot of success and setbacks, so I think we’ve earned that confidence to go out and be ourselves. Different but complementary, and that’s a good place to be. -HC- photo credits: Blake Wright - Cover Image Courtesy D'Addario ____________________________________________ Who Are Gearphoria? Blake and Holly Wright are Gearphoria. They travel full-time in their 25-foot Airstream while writing about cool guitars and guitar accessories. Gearphoria is a bi-monthly free-to-read online publication. You can visit their website by going to www.gearphoria.com and while you are there, sign up for their free e-zine.

HC's Rock Rewind A look back at the past two weeks in Rock History by Team HC Week of September 24th - 30th To say the week of September 24 - 30th is a big one for rock history is an understatement. From the release of one of the most championed rock albums of all times (The Beatles’ Abbey Road) to the tragic death of John Bonham, this week is packed with significant events. Read on for a collection of major milestones, historic record releases and notable births and deaths. Events 1964 – The Beach Boys rocked “The Ed Sullivan Show” for the first time. The guys performed “I Get Around.” 1970 – The legendary Jimi Hendrix is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Seattle. He died on Sept. 18, 1970. 1980 - Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham suddenly dies at age 32 of asphyxiation from vomiting after an evening of drinking. 1984 – Prince unleashed his hit song “Purple Rain.” 1990 - Dave Grohl, former drummer of Scream, becomes a member of Nirvana. 1997 – Bob Dylan performs "Knocking on Heaven's Door" and "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" for Pope John Paul II during a concert and mass in Bologna, Italy. 1998 – MTV Russia aired for the first time. 2008 - MySpace Music is officially launched following an agreement with EMI, the last major label that wasn't on board. Releases The Beatles, Abbey Road, 1969 John Lennon, Walls and Bridges, 1974 Rush, All the World’s A Stage, 1976 Styx, Crystal Ball, 1976 Prince, Diamonds and Pearls, 1991 Prince, The Gold Experience, 1995 Nirvana, From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, 1996 Bob Dylan, Time Out of Mind, 1997 The Verve, Urban Hymns, 1997 The Rolling Stones, Forty Licks, 2002 Shine On, Jet, 2006 Bad Religion, The Dissent of Man, 2010 Thom Yorke (of Radiohead), Tomorrow's Modern Boxes, 2014 Deaths John Bonham (Led Zeppelin), September 25, 1980 Mark Loomis (The Chocolate Watchband), September 26, 2014 Jimmy McCulloch (Paul McCartney’s Wings), September 27, 1979 Cliff Burton (Metallica), September 27, 1986 James Dean, September 30, 1955 Births George Gershwin, September 26, 1898 Joe Bauer (The Youngbloods), September 26, 1941 Olivia Newton-John, September 26, 1948 Craig Chaquico (Jefferson Airplane), September 26, 1954 Randy Bachman (The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive), September 27, 1944 Meat Loaf, September 27, 1947 Stephan Jenkins (Third Eye Blind), September 27, 1966 Ed Sullivan, September 28, 1902 Ben E. King, September 28, 1938 Nick St. Nicholas (Steppenwolf), September 28, 1943 George Lynch (Dokken), September 28, 1955 Jerry Lee Lewis, September 29, 1935 Mark Farner (Grand Funk), September 29, 1948 Les Claypool, September 29, 1963 Brad Smith (Blind Melon), September 29, 1968 Johnny Mathis, September 30, 1935 Dewey Martin (Buffalo Springfield), September 30, 1940 Marc Bolan (T. Rex), September 30, 1947 Robby Takac (The Goo Goo Dolls), September 30, 1964 Week of October 1st - 7th Happy October, rockers. The first week in October packs a major punch when it comes to musical milestones, from the release of Led Zeppelin III to the tragic death of Janis Joplin. Events 1962 - "Love Me Do," the debut single from the Beatles, was released in the UK. 1967 - The Beatles start recording "Hello Goodbye." 1968 - The Beatles' Abbey Road album reached number one on the UK charts. 1978 - Gene Simmons has something to celebrate, as his self-titled solo album is certified Platinum. 1985 - Bruce Springsteen closes out his Born in the USA tour with the final of four shows at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. 1995 - (What's the Story?) Morning Glory is unleashed and thrusts Oasis into the worldwide spotlight. 2003 - For a third the third year in a row, Radiohead snags the "best act in the world today" award at the Q Awards in London. Releases 1963 - The Beach Boys, Little Deuce Coupe 1968 - Muddy Waters, Electric Mud 1970 - Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin III 1973 - Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 1975 - The Who, The Who By Numbers 1977 - ELO, Out of the Blue 1978 - Dire Straits, Dire Straits 1979 - The Who, Quadrophenia (soundtrack) 1980 - The Police, Zenyatta Mondatta 1981 - The Police, Ghost in the Machine 1982 - Accept, Restless and Wild 1983 - Genesis, Genesis 1986 - Slayer, Reign in Blood 1988 - Keith Richards, Talk Is Cheap 1992 - R.E.M., Automatic for the People 1992 - Soul Asylum, Grave Dancers Union 1994 - The Cranberries, No Need to Argue 1995 - Oasis, (What's the Story?) Morning Glory 1997 - Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Trouble Is... 1999 - Live, The Distance to Here 2000 - Green Day, Warning 2002 - Bon Jovi, Bounce 2006 - The Killers, Sam's Town Births Julie Andrews, October 1, 1935 Jerry Martini (Sly and the Family Stone), October 1, 1943 Donny Hathaway, October 1, 1945 Michael "Cub" Koda (Brownsville Station), October 1, 1948 Kevin Griffin (Better than Ezra), October 1, 1968 Eddie Cochran - October 3, 1938 Chubby Checker - October 3, 1941 Steve Miller - October 5, 1943 Don McLean - October 2, 1945 Brian Connolly (Sweet) - October 5, 1945 Brian Johnson - October 5, 1947 Lindsey Buckingham - October 3, 1949 Eddie Clarke (Motörhead) - October 5, 1950 Mike Rutherford (Genesis) - October 2, 1950 Bob Geldof - October 5, 1951 String - October 2, 1951 Tico Torres (Bon Jovi) - October 7, 1953 Stevie Ray Vaughan - October 3, 1954 Kevin Cronin (REO Speedwagon) - October 6, 1954 Freddie Jackson - October 2, 1956 David Bryson (Counting Crows) - October 5, 1961 Tommy Lee - October 3, 1962 Tommy Stinson (The Replacements) - October 6, 1966 Thom Yorke (Radiohead) - October 7, 1968 Gwen Stefani - October 3, 1969 Tiffany - October 2, 1971 William Butler (Arcade Fire) - October 6, 1982 Deaths Al Jackson Jr. (Booker T. & the MG’s), October 1, 1975 Bruce Palmer (Buffalo Springfield), October 1, 2004 Johnny Kidd - October 7, 1966 Janis Joplin - October 4, 1970 Woody Guthrie - October 3, 1967 Gene Autry dies - October 2, 1998 Benjamin Orr (The Cars) - October 3, 2000 Eddie Kendricks (The Temptations) - October 5, 1992 Mike Gibbins (Badfinger) - October 4, 2005 Tom Petty - October 2, 2017 Geoff Emerick - October 2, 2018 ________________________________________________________________- Anne Erickson holds years of bylines in Gannett Media publications, as well as music magazines Premier Guitar, Guitar Edge and more. She also hosts radio shows with iHeartRadio and has been syndicated in Seattle, Dayton, Central Coast California and beyond. Anne is a loyal Spartan and holds a Master’s degree from MSU. She resides in Lansing, Michigan.A

by Anne Erickson While the world of guitar rock, admittedly, is male-heavy, a number of female players have risen to the top over the years, proving women have just as much aptitude for the 6-string as their male colleagues. These women crushed instruments and eardrums in pursuit of a new way to make the guitar sing, scream, shout and move souls. In this Top 10 list, we pay respect to those pioneering players. Who are your top female strummers? 10. Joni Mitchell Beginning her career as a folkie with an impressive armory of open tunings and evolving into a jazz-influenced player, Joni Mitchell brought a silky touch and smooth, bending voice to her pop-folk songs, with subjects that touched on everything from lost love to the government. Musicians of every genre – Prince, Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan – count Mitchell among their key influences. Meditative and thoughtful, her songs helped create the flourishing style of early ‘70s California, and her songs scaled the charts, including “Help Me,” “Big Yellow Taxi” and “Free Man in Paris.” 9. Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Raitt's honeyed voice, skillful slide guitar work and archetypal collection of folk, pop, blues, soul and R&B songs have made her one of the most hailed musicians of her generation. Though she was an industry favorite from the early ‘70s, Raitt didn’t reach the equivalent in commercial success until her tenth studio album, 1989’s Nick of Time. The #1-selling Billboard 200 album whirled her into the mainstream with captivating, flawlessly performed tracks “Have a Heart” and “Thing Called Love.” After multiple Grammy wins, platinum-selling albums and an induction into the Rock on the Roll Hall of Fame, Raitt has achieved the kind of widespread success fans and critics had expected for decades. 8. Nancy Wilson Nancy Wilson's sweeping guitar work helped define ‘70s and ‘80s classic rock. As songwriter and guitarist for Heart, she brought loud-and-proud arena rock songs and high-volume power ballads to a hungry rock ‘n’ roll public. Wilson’s playing presented acoustic fingerstyle work in an electric environment, and it came together with her sister Ann’s muscular vocals. Forceful yet melodic rockers such as “Sing Child,” “Magic Man” and “Crazy on You” quickly coined the band “the female Led Zeppelin,” but Wilson’s knack for near-folk ballads made it clear she had her own identity and vision for Heart from the get-go. 7. Kaki King Georgia-born solo guitarist Kaki King brings an illustrious fusion of jazz, punk and folk to her shows, not to mention a rare percussive technique and the use of unique tunings on acoustic and lap steel. That originality and imagination earned her the first-ever female “Guitar God” from Rolling Stone. As for collaborations, King has teamed with Eddie Vedder (for the soundtrack for the movie Into the Wild), Dave Grohl (on the Foo Fighters’ Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace) and co-produced a track for Miley Cyrus with Timbaland. Call King a new generation of guitar player, with an acoustic sound that’s full of tapped melodies and darting rhythms. 6. Orianthi Swapping licks with Carlos Santana and sharing the stage, all too briefly, with Michael Jackson surely wasn’t enough for twenty-something guitarist Orianthi. The Australian-born, blonde-haired shredder was set to play lead guitar for the King of Pop’s ill-fated This Is It tour. After his untimely death, she came back as a singer-guitarist, touring the world to promote her debut Geffen release, Believe. The album’s title track hit the Billboard 100. Between lightning-fast guitar solos, the album goes from blues to jazz to pop-rock and has a wide scope of sounds proving Orianthi is the real thing. 5. Sister Rosetta Tharpe Sister Rosetta Tharpe was a gifted jazz guitarist and vocalist, and even though she spent years staking her claim in the gospel world, Tharpe never abandoned her jazz origins. A lively performer who often trifled with blues and swing, she brought spiritual music and soul into the mainstream by playing clubs and theaters, helping to spearhead the upsurge of pop-infused gospel. During World War II, Tharpe and the Golden Gate Quartet were the only American gospel acts to tape V-Discs for American militaries overseas. A prodigy who mastered guitar by age six, Tharpe’s legacy packs heaps of genuine feeling and tight musicianship. 4. Jennifer Batten Guitar shredder and two-handed tapper Jennifer Batten's big career break happened in 1987, when she got a tip from a friend that Michael Jackson was holding auditions for a guitarist for his upcoming tour in support of Bad. Batten tried out on the last day, which gave her as much time as possible to master the King of Pop's music, and Jackson hired her has a touring guitarist for the next year-and-a-half. She toured with him on-and-off through the years, and in 1998, Jeff Beck asked Batten to join his backing band. Since linking with Beck, Batten has played on 1999's Who Else! and 2001's You Had It Coming, plus several tours. 3. Mary Ford Singer and guitarist Mary Ford and her guitarist husband Les Paul, ruled the ‘50s with 16 top-ten chart-toppers. At their onset in 1951, the couple sold six million records. Over time, the pair churned out a string of popular jazz standards, their biggest being “How High the Moon.” The hits featured Mary harmonizing with her own vocals, singing closely to the mic, giving the recordings a very intimate sound. From 1953 through 1960, Paul and Ford also hosted a syndicated television program, The Les Paul and Mary Ford at Home Show, and kept recording until they divorced in 1964. Watch a classic video clip from the show, below. 2. Lita Ford After rocking with Joan Jett as lead guitarist in the Runaways, Lita Ford took her pop-meets-heavy metal guitar heroics solo and hired Sharon Osbourne as her manager. In 1988, producer Mike Chapman (Blondie, The Knack) helped Ford concoct her breakthrough album, Lita, packing it with gigantic, glossy arena pop-metal hooks and catchy concepts. The spicy, riff-heavy album not only pleased die-hard shredders but also got the mainstream’s attention with focused, digestible hits. Sweaty rocker “Kiss Me Deadly” and ballad “Close My Eyes Forever,” the latter a duet with Ozzy Osbourne, both reached the top 15 of the Billboard 100 chart. Although Ford never lived up to her true potential, especially after alternative rock’s rise in the ‘90s, she was at the pinnacle of ’80s arena rock. 1. Joan Jett A down-to-earth player who, in a few strums, can get an entire audience chanting to her early-‘80s chart-topper, “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll,” Joan Jett made a name by playing sincere and simple rock ‘n’ roll. In the process, she became a role model for numerous generations of female rockers. The leather pants-sporting player carries a large-scale range of influences, from undying ‘50s and ‘60s rock ‘n’ roll to primal three-chord punk to glam. Her brand of rock ‘n’ roll is loud and organic, with larger-than-life hooks in the mood of AC/DC and the Stones. Jett’s boisterous, tough-chick attitude is simply the icing on the cake. Many have tried, but few rival her personality-packed chops, genuine delivery and “real deal” vibe. ________________________________________________________________ Anne Erickson holds years of bylines in Gannett Media publications, as well as music magazines Premier Guitar, Guitar Edge and more. She also hosts radio shows with iHeartRadio and has been syndicated in Seattle, Dayton, Central Coast California and beyond. Anne is a loyal Spartan and holds a Master’s degree from MSU. She resides in Lansing, Michigan.

by Mike O'C There is nothing quite like the feeling and presence of a full acoustic drum set. The timbre of the sounds and sonic variety of cymbals are very difficult to reproduce using electronic means. They have been the staple of bands for decades. However, many modern music genres now often require a wider variety of sounds. This is where hybrid drums or acoustic-electronic sets come in. Hybrids drum contain a combination of both acoustic and electronic components. Drummers simply upgrade their current set by adding elements such as triggers, sample pads, and drum pads. These can all be connected to an external drum brain or trigger module, which produces the sounds. Tackling the Drawbacks of Electronic Drums Electronic drum sets have been around for decades. They have some great advantages, but they’re still looked down upon by many drummers. This is for some very valid reasons. The convenience, quietness, and range of sounds that can be utilized on electronic drum kits can be extremely interesting. However, they often do not match up to the presence and range of complex sounds that can be gathered from a real-life drum set. Many modern genres as characterized by electronic drum samples. Therefore, some may decide to replace their drummers entirely and opt for an electronic drum machine or backing track. However, you can retain the dynamic aspect of live drums while also blending electronic sounds into the mix. Blending Electronic and Acoustic Sounds There are now some very interesting ways to blend both acoustic and electronic drum sets together. For example: Drum triggers: You can attach electronic drum triggers to regular drum heads. These will pick up a signal every time the drum is hit. Hooking up the trigger to an external drum module can electrify your drum set while keeping all the benefits of your regular drum set intact. Dual triggers recognize the rims of your drums as a separate trigger surface. This is great for additional samples and effects sounds. The triggered sounds can be blended to the tone and pitch of your drum head, using a good drum trigger module. This can really beef up your sound for live performances. Sample pads and percussion pads: One of the easiest ways to mix acoustic and electronic drum sets is through the use of electronic drum pads. You can place these beside your drum set and use it for interesting electronic effects like claps, loops, and synthesizer sounds. Electronic drum pads are definitely not all created equal. Some allow for custom sampling, whereas others rely solely on built-in sounds. It is a matter of preference based on how much you want to customize your sounds. Sample pads are generally all-in-one options. They produce the sounds internally and contain audio outputs that can be connected to an amplifier or sound system. Therefore, these are great options for simple and compact kits. Kick pads: Another really interesting idea is to have a separate kick pedal that triggers electronic sounds. This can be useful for pop and electronic music during breakdowns. You can connect the pad to either a sample pad or an external drum brain or trigger module. Trigger bars: These are rubber pads that can attach to the rim of a drum. It adds an extra playable surface to your kit while staying compact and discreet in your setup. MIDI controllers: MIDI is a standard interface that allows you to connect music gear to each other. There are a wide variety of drum controllers, such as the Korg Nanopad or Akai MPD 218, which can allow you to trigger samples and other effects from other gear or music software. This would be more suitable for drummers that have an interest in music production. External automation: Some drummers are starting to hook up music production effects into their playing also. For example, drummers can automate the sound and effects of a drum pad based on the part of the song. This might sound like a lot of work, but many modern music groups use digital audio workstation software while performing. Therefore they just extend their current setup to tie in with the electronic elements of their drum set. What are the benefits of adding electronic sounds to a drum set? Much bigger sound for live situations: Blending drum samples along with your acoustic set can really beef up your live sound. This is particularly useful for kick drums, which can often lack power and low-end for small gigs. Some drummers opt to not set up microphones altogether for their kick, as the natural volume of their drum supplemented with the drum sample can be enough. This can help to reduce your setup time. Add new sounds to your repertoire: Electronic samples can offer an almost unlimited potential of sound variety. This enables drummers to adapt to different musical situations with ease, while also keeping their set-up familiar and simple. Encourages personalized setups: Hybrid drums are rarely sold as an all-in-one package. The electronic components are often bought separately, or scavenged from your electronic drum set. This really helps to get the drummer to question their setup choices. The future of electronic drum sets The production of electronic drums is swinging in two directions. Budget electronic drum sets will continue to get more accessible to the public in both price and size. However, top-end sets are pushing the boundaries to something much closer to acoustic drum sets. The top electronic drum manufacturers are really innovating in drum heads, trigger surfaces, and drum modules. The most difficult element to tackle will always by simulating of the complexity of real-life cymbals, but the current results are already quite decent. Electronic drum sets have drawbacks. However, they are still a great option where a full drum set is not a viable option, such as in small houses or intimate gig situations. Conclusion Technology is constantly advancing in the modern world. It’s not surprising that this is also influencing innovation in music gear and instruments. However, if used correctly, music technology can be used to augment instruments with new sounds and abilities, while still preserving what’s great about the original instruments. Drummers can sometimes struggle to reproduce studio-quality productions on stage. They can tap into these sounds without changing their setup significantly using electronic drumming elements. -HC- _________________________________ Mike O’C is the creator of Electronic Drum Advisor, a website dedicated to the world of electronic drums. He writes informative how-to guides, lessons and gear reviews related to drumming. Mike has been playing drums for 16 years and also has a passion for music production.

HC's Rock Rewind A look back at the past two weeks in Rock History by Team HC Week of September 10th - 16th During this week in rock history, the Monkees made their debut on American television, a pioneering prog-rock band performed onstage for the first time, and the surviving members of Led Zeppelin made a landmark announcement. Read on for a look back at other significant moments that shaped rock and roll during this historically eventful week. Events 1955 -- Little Richard records “Tutti Frutti” in New Orleans. It’s the last of nine songs he records for his debut album, Here’s Little Richard. 1962 -- The Beatles record their first British singles, “Love Me Do” and “P.S. I Love You.” 1965 – The Ford automobile company begins offering factory-installed 8-track tape players in its Mustang, Thunderbird, and Lincoln models. The tapes, which often get chewed up by the malfunctioning players, are at first available only at auto parts stores or at Ford dealers. 1966 -- The TV show “The Monkees” makes its American broadcast debut on the NBC network. 1967 -- The Beatles begin filming Magical Mystery Tour. 1967 -- Jimi Hendrix's debut album, Are You Experienced?, enters the Billboard Hot 200 album chart, where it remains for more than two years. 1969 -- John Lennon introduces the Plastic Ono Band while in Toronto for the Rock and Roll Revival Show. The group’s performance at the event is later released as the live album, Live Peace in Toronto 1969. 1969 -- Genesis perform onstage for the first time, playing at a cottage owned by frontman Peter Gabriel's former Sunday school teacher. 1972 -- Peter Frampton stages his first solo concert, opening for the J. Geils Band in New York. 1974 -- An AM radio station in Roanoke, Virginia, starts playing the Doobie Brothers’ song “Black Water,” as a nod to a local stream that bears the same name. The response from listeners proves so positive, the label releases the track as a single. The recording goes on to become a #1 hit. 1976 -- KC and the Sunshine Band top the U.S. singles chart with “(Shake Shake Shake), Shake Your Booty.” The track is the band’s third Number One hit in the U.S. 1979 - ABBA kick off their first and only North America tour, performing a show at the Edmonton Sports Arena. 1982 – Pink Floyd's The Wall makes it feature film screen debut. 1996 -- Jack Gillis marries Meg White, thus giving birth to The White Stripes. The couple at first tell journalists they are brother and sister, but the ruse is eventually exposed. 1987 – The TV show “American Bandstand” becomes the longest-running entertainment show in America. 2007 -- Surviving Led Zeppelin members Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones announce they will regroup for a tribute concert to honor Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, with drummer John Bonham’s son Jason filling in for his late father. The concert is staged on November 26 at the 02 Arena in London. Releases 1967 – The Kinks: Something Else 1969 – Rolling Stones: Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) 1971 – The Band: Cahoots 1971 -- Judee Sill: Judee Sill 1972 – Yes: Close to the Edge 1972 – Grand Funk Railroad: Phoenix 1972 – John Denver: Rocky Mountain High 1973 – Bruce Springsteen: The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle 1974 -- Raspberries: Starting Over 1975 – Thin Lizzy: Fighting 1975 -- Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here 1975 – Supertramp: Crisis? What Crisis? 1975 – Foghat: Fool for the City 1976 – Electric Light Orchestra: A New World Record 1976 – Bob Dylan: Hard Rain (Live) 1976 – Lynyrd Skynyrd: One More from the Road 1976 -- Ringo Starr: Ringo's Rotogravure 1977 – Chicago: Chicago XI 1977 – Talking Heads: Talking Heads 77 1979 – Foreigner: Head Games 1979 – Frank Zappa: Joe's Garage Act I 1980 – David Bowie: Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) 1980 – Doobie Brothers: One Step Closer 1981 – Genesis: Abacab 1981 – Billy Joel: Songs in the Attic 1983 – UB40: Labour of Love 1983 -- Huey Lewis and the News: Sports 1984 – Kiss: Animalize 1984 – Motörhead: No Remorse 1986 -- Elvis Costello and the Attractions: Blood & Chocolate 1986 – Cyndi Lauper: True Colors 1987 – Jethro Tull: Crest of a Knave 1987 -- Public Image Ltd: Happy? 1987 -- Mick Jagger: Primitive Cool 1987 – Ramones: Halfway to Sanity 1987 – Yes: Big Generator 1989 – Aerosmith: Pump 1990 – Warrant: Cherry Pie 1991 -- Ozzy Osbourne: No More Tears 1991 – Hole: Pretty on the Inside 1991 -- Guns N' Roses: Use Your Illusion I - 1991 -- Guns N' Roses: Use Your Illusion II 1992 -- Blind Melon: Blind Melon 1993 – Counting Crows: August and Everything After 1993 – Meat Loaf: Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell 1994 -- Eric Clapton: From the Cradle 1995 -- Lenny Kravitz: Circus 1995 -- Red Hot Chili Peppers: One Hot Minute 1996 – ZZ Top: Rhythmeen 1998 -- L.A. Guns: Wasted 1999 -- Iggy Pop: Avenue B 2000 -- Emmylou Harris: Red Dirt Girl 2001 -- Boz Scaggs: Dig 2001 -- Bob Dylan: Love and Theft 2001 -- John Hiatt: The Tiki Bar Is Open 2001 -- Drive-By Truckers: Southern Rock Opera 2001 – Lifehouse: Stanley Climbfall 2003 -- David Bowie: Reality 2004 -- Megadeth: The System Has Failed 2005 -- Paul McCartney: Chaos and Creation in the Backyard 2005 – Queen: Return of the Champions 2005 -- Bonnie Raitt: Souls Alike Deaths Marc Bolan – September 16, 1977 Peter Tosh – September 11, 1987 Rob Tyner (MC5) -- September 17, 1991 Johnny Cash -- September 12, 2003 Johnny Ramone -- September 15, 2004 Rick Wright -- September 15, 2008 Norman Whitfield – September 16, 2008 Jim Carroll – September 11, 2009 Mary Travers -- September 16, 2009 Jackie Lomax – September 16, 2013 Births Bill Monroe – September 13, 1911 Hank Williams -- September 17, 1923 B.B. King -- September 16, 1925 Bill Black -- September 17, 1926 George Jones -- September 12, 1931 David Clayton-Thomas – September 13, 1941 Jack Ely – September 11, 1943 Barry White -- September 12, 1944 Peter Cetera -- September 13, 1944 Dickie Peterson (Blue Cheer) – September 12, 1946 Peter Agnew (Nazareth) – September 14, 1946 Kenney Jones -- September 16, 1948 Steve Gaines (Lynyrd Skynyrd) -- September 14, 1949 Paul Kossoff -- September 14, 1950 Fee Waybill (The Tubes) – September 17, 1950 Neil Peart -- September 12, 1952 Gerry Beckley (America) – September 12, 1952 Don Was – September 13, 1952 Tommy Shaw (Styx) – September 11, 1953 Dave Mustaine -- September 13, 1961 Zak Starkey – September 13, 1965 Ben Folds -- September 12, 1966 Harry Connick, Jr. – September 11, 1967 Richard Ashcroft – September 11, 1971 Jennifer Nettles -- September 12, 1974 Fiona Apple -- September 13, 1977 Amy Winehouse -- September 14, 1983 Week of September 17th - 23th A trove of memorable events occurred during this week in rock history. Led Zeppelin’s recording career got underway, a reggae legend performed his final show, and one of rock’s most beloved alternative bands announced they were coming to an end. Read on for a look back at other significant moments that shaped rock and roll during this historically eventful week. Events 1960 – Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” tops the singles chart in the U.S. 1964 – Herman’s Hermits top the U.K. charts – the only time the band would do so – with their version of the Carole King/Gerry Goffin song, “I’m into Something Good.” 1967 – The Box Tops kick off a four-week run atop the U.S. charts with “The Letter.” 1968 – Led Zeppelin begin recording their debut album at Olympic Studios in London. 1969 – Blind Faith’s self-titled album tops the U.S. album chart. The “supergroup” consists of Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ric Grech, and Ginger Baker. 1971 – Peter Frampton officially leaves Humble Pie to launch his solo career. 1971 – The acclaimed music show “The Old Grey Whistle Test” premieres on BBC television. The trio America is one of two featured “live” artists, with clips of Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix being shown as well. 1980 – Bob Marley performs his last show, staging a concert with the Wailers at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh. 1981 – Simon & Garfunkel reunite to perform a free concert in Central Park in New York. More than 400,000 people are in attendance. 1983 – Kiss appear on TV without their trademark makeup for the first time, sitting for an interview with MTV about their new album, Lick It Up. 1985 – The first Farm Aid benefit concert is staged in Champaign, Illinois. Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and John Mellencamp are the main organizers of the event. 1997 – The VH1 show “Storytellers” is broadcast live for the first time, with Elton John performing in New Orleans from the House of Blues. 1997 – The Rolling Stones kick off their “Bridges to Babylon” tour with a performance in Chicago. 1998 – The first Lilith Fair concert to be staged outside North America takes place at the Royal Albert Hall in London. 2011 – R.E.M. announce the band is coming to an end after a 30-year-plus run. Releases 1967 – Beach Boys: Smiley Smile 1969 – The Band: The Band 1969 – Isaac Hayes: Hot Buttered Soul 1969 – Laura Nyro: New York Tendaberry 1970 – Neil Young: After the Gold Rush 1970 – Allman Brothers Band: Idlewild South 1971 – T. Rex: Electric Warrior 1973 – Thin Lizzy: Vagabonds of the Western World 1973 – Black Oak Arkansas: High on the Hog 1975 – Rush: Caress of Steel 1977 – Steely Dan: Aja 1977 – Randy Newman: Little Criminals 1977 – Rolling Stones: Love You Live 1977 – The Stranglers: No More Heroes 1978 – Yes: Tormato 1978 – Ramones: Road to Ruin 1979 – Foghat: Boogie Motel 1979 – Cheap Trick: Dream Police 1979 – Eagles: The Long Run 1980 – Utopia: Deface the Music 1981 – King Crimson: Discipline 1981 – Frank Zappa: You Are What You Is 1982 – Billy Joel: The Nylon Curtain 1983 – Kiss: Lick It Up 1985 – 10,000 Maniacs: The Wishing Chair 1986 – Megadeth: Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? 1986 – Alice Cooper: Constrictor 1986 – Boston: Third Stage 1987 – Kiss: Crazy Nights 1988 – Bon Jovi: New Jersey 1989 – Bob Dylan: Oh Mercy 1989 – Lenny Kravitz: Let Love Rule 1990 – AC/DC: The Razors Edge 1990 – Megadeth: Rust in Peace 1991 – Red Hot Chili Peppers: Blood Sugar Sex Magik 1991 – Nirvana: Nevermind 1992 – Nine Inch Nails: Broken (EP) 1992 – Bad Company: Here Comes Trouble 1993 – Nirvana: In Utero 1994 – Grant Lee Buffalo: Mighty Joe Moon 1994 – Liz Phair: Whip-Smart 1995 – Mercury Rev: See You on the Other Side 1995 – Son Volt: Trace 1996 – Sheryl Crow: Sheryl Crow 1996 – Susanna Hoffs: Susanna Hoffs 1997 – Elton John: The Big Picture 1997 – Gilby Clarke: The Hangover 1997 – Bob Dylan: Time Out of Mind 1998 – Goo Goo Dolls: Dizzy Up the Girl 1998 – Kiss: Psycho Circus 1998 – Queens of the Stone Age: Queens of the Stone Age 1999 – Yes: The Ladder 1999 – Chris Cornell: Euphoria Morning 1999 – Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile 2000 – Willie Nelson: Milk Cow Blues 2001 – Alice Cooper: Dragontown 2001 – John Mayer: Room for Squares 2004 – Green Day: American Idiot 2004 – John Fogerty: Deja Vu All Over Again 2005 – Buddy Guy: Bring ‘Em In 2005 – Bon Jovi: Have a Nice Day Deaths Jimi Hendrix – September 18, 1970 Gram Parsons – September 19, 1973 Jim Croce – September 20, 1973 Robbie McIntosh (Average White Band) – September 23, 1974 Steve Goodman – September 20, 1984 Jaco Pastorius – September 21, 1987 Lawrence “Booker T.” Laury – September 23, 1995 Jimmy Witherspoon – September 18, 1997 Skeeter Davis – September 19, 2004 Doug Grassel (Ohio Express) – September 21, 2013 Births John Coltrane – September 23, 1926 Joni James – September 22, 1930 Ray Charles – September 23, 1930 Brook Benton – September 19, 1931 Jimmie Rodgers – September 18, 1933 Brian Epstein – September 19, 1934 Leonard Cohen – September 21, 1934 Roy Buchanan – September 23, 1939 Paul Williams – September 19, 1940 Bill Medley – September 19, 1940 Lee Dorman (Iron Butterfly) – September 19, 1941 Cass Elliott – September 19, 1943 Jesse Ed Davis – September 21, 1944 Freda Payne – September 19, 1945 Lol Creme (10cc) – September 19, 1947 Don Felder (Eagles) – September 21, 1947 Neal Smith (Alice Cooper) – September 23, 1947 Bruce Springsteen – September 23, 1949 Daniel Lanois – September 19, 1951 David Coverdale – September 22, 1951 Dee Dee Ramone – September 18, 1952 Nile Rodgers – September 19, 1952 Nick Cave – September 22, 1957 Lita Ford – September 19, 1958 Joan Jett – September 22, 1958 Joanne Catherall (Human League) – September 18, 1962 Trisha Yearwood – September 19, 1964 Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme) – September 20, 1966 Matthew Nelson – September 20, 1967 Gunnar Nelson – September 20, 1967 Faith Hill – September 21, 1967 Liam Gallagher – September 21, 1972 ________________________________________________________________- Anne Erickson holds years of bylines in Gannett Media publications, as well as music magazines Premier Guitar, Guitar Edge and more. She also hosts radio shows with iHeartRadio and has been syndicated in Seattle, Dayton, Central Coast California and beyond. Anne is a loyal Spartan and holds a Master’s degree from MSU. She resides in Lansing, Michigan.A

Gothic Instruments DRONAR Master Edition The wait is over! by Matthew Mann Gothic Instruments has been around for some time now and have established themselves as creators of cinematic (yet unique) sample-based instruments using Native Instruments’ Kontakt. Their instruments are excellent and unusual and have created a niche for themselves not only in the soundtrack universe, but also in the video game realm. Additionally, creative composers can put these tools to work for non-soundtrack songs and instrumentals as well. With the release of DRONAR, Gothic Instruments upped their game and gave the world a beast of a virtual instrument. Each follow-on module in DRONAR has provided another tool for creating strange soundscapes. Each module is a sound designer’s sweet dream and a listener’s worst nightmare. And now Gothic Instruments has released DRONAR Master Edition. This is the culmination of all their hard work over the past 8 modules. DRONAR ME is, quite simply, massive. It contains 30GB (50GB uncompressed) of raw audio and over 2,000 presets from the first 8 DRONAR modules. This provides composers with the ability to create soundscapes and atmospheres from ethereal to nightmarish – all in one package. Let’s take a deeper look at what DRONAR Master Edition has to offer. But it doesn't just give you access to those previous modules...it combines elements of each into a deceptively simple interface. The boys at Gothic Instruments recommend playing 1 to 4 notes at a time in a preset. Playing a chord spreads sound out over the mid-range. It also adds a bass root note and a high note. Finally, evolving effects are added. This gives simple chords loads of movement and depth. More on all that later. Here are the modules included in DRONAR Master Edition: Hybrid Guitarscapes Live Strings Dark Synthesis Cinematic Atmospheres Vintage Synth Brass Metal & Glass Installation: Installation of DRONAR ME is pretty straight-forward. It starts with downloading Continuata Connect file transfer software. This is one of my favorite ways to download large libraries. Why? It’s FAST…that’s why. Once it’s downloaded, run Connect and paste your license number into the interface. Connect asks you where you want your library downloaded and installed. Choose your library area and Connect will begin a very fast download. The DRONAR library is broken down into multiple files and Connect downloads them one at a time. And if you lose connection, Connect remembers where it left off and will continue downloading from there. Once all the parts are downloaded, Connect decompresses them and installs them to your chosen folder. The only other step would be to launch Native Instruments’ updater to ensure that DRONAR is installed there as well. It’s certainly cleaner to do it there. Opening Kontakt should now present you with your new DRONAR library. Click on the Instruments drop-down on the DRONAR Master Edition panel on the left side of Kontakt and double-click the Dronar Master Edition.nki. This opens the GUI in the main window. Let’s take a walk through the interface. Opening Ceremony The main interface of DRONAR ME is, on first glance, rather Spartan. The user is presented with 4 white knobs down the middle (FX, HI, MID and LOW) and one each to the left (INTENSITY) and right (MOVEMENT). Additionally, there are two smaller dials to the bottom right. These are REV (Reverb) and DEL (Delay) and are what they sound like. On closer inspection, users will notice several tabs at the bottom of the GUI. These are the pages within the instrument and provide all the bells and whistles with which users create and modify sounds. The tabs are: MAIN SOUNDS EXPERT LFO & FX ARP RHYTHM MASTER FX NOTE: The manual mentions that this version of DRONAR has been enhanced over other versions to decrease load times and enhance preset auditioning, as well as reducing the strain on RAM / CPO performance. In the main interface window toward the top (just under the title of the instrument) is the Presets dropdown. Vintage Smooth is the default selection. Clicking this drop-down presents the user with the Factory Banks and the User Bank. The Factory Soundbank is labeled 0-8: 0 being a list of presets blended from all the modules and 1-8 being each module from the library with presets from each module listed. I selected a patch from Guitarscapes as a starting point and began experimenting. Pressing one key started an octave drone. Adding more keys (a chord) adds the aforementioned extras. By default, the Mod Wheel on my MIDI contoller was mapped to the INTENSITY dial. This, in effect, sweeps through the velocity layers of the preset. I mapped the HI, MID, and LO dials to my controller's first 3 faders (Novation Impulse 61) and the FX dial to my 4th fader. This allowed me to bring in the different elements of the patch at will. I like this because I can play a chord, hold the sustain pedal down, and make a pretty excellent ambient soundbed just by fading things in and out. I went one step further mapping the reverb and delay to knobs on my controller for an additional level of control. I should mention that clicking on the name for any of the layers will mute that layer. Additionally, Alt-Clicking solos the layer. So, if I was composing and wanted the middle layer to drop out suddenly rather than fading it out, I would just click the MID name next to the Mid dial. And if I wanted to drop out everything except the Mid, I would Alt-Click on the MID name. I played around with the patch and recorded a basic performance in Reason 10. I had to max out the Buffer Size in Reason to keep my system from getting constant performance error messages on playback. I found that Bouncing in Place was the only way to stop this error completely. So....it's a processor hog. I can certainly see using it, but my workflow will definitely be different using DRONAR. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of reasons to use this instrument - the sounds are excellent and the way that sounds evolve lends itself to experimentation. And if you've heard any of the individual DRONAR packages, you'll know that each library sounds excellent...so bringing them all together in one place is worth the extra bit of hassle. There are some features in DRONAR that should add it to the sound designer’s toolbox. Let’s jump to the SOUNDS page to see what’s what. SOUNDS This is where I started to discover the real power in DRONAR ME. The Sounds page of DRONAR shows that each layer of a patch contains two sounds. As you can see from the image below, the FX, HI, MID and LOW layers each allow you to select the Module and then the sounds from that module. It also allows you to set some basic parameters such as layer volume, width and balance between the two sounds in the layer. There’s also a THICK button for adding octave notes to the patch. Just be careful as sounds get really muddy...really fast...and pull even more on system resources. Experimenting with this section led to some pretty bizarre (and pretty cool) results and I got lost for several hours just experimenting with layering sounds from different module. I already have a pretty healthy set of user patches from my experimentation. EXPERT The EXPERT page is where you get into deeper programming and experimentation; although, it’s not by any means complicated. This page features Attack and Release time dials for each layer as well as Filter settings. The filter settings are as follows: EàF (Envelope to Filter) – This allows the filter to open as the sound gets louder and close as the sound gets quieter. F (Filter Cutoff) Q (Filter Resonance) MwàF (Mod Wheel to Filter) – This adjusts the cutoff frequency of the filter using the Mod Wheel. NOTE: As on the SOUNDS page, clicking Layers names will mute them and Alt-Clicking will solo them on the EXPERT page. Also, the THICK buttons are present here, too. This makes it quick and easy to experiment and tweak your patches. There’s also basic Tone, Width, and Volume settings for each layer here. Additionally, there’s a Smart Bass button. I found this one kind of interesting. When clicked, it determines the root note of the chord the user is playing and plays it. When not clicked, it uses the lowest note of the chord. Cool! LFO & FX This is, as the name suggests, where you can create motion and assign effects to your patches. The first section on this page is the LFO section and features a Rate dial, Mod Wheel assignment, LFO shape (triangle, sine, square, and everything in between), panning, filter, pitch….and a Desync dial. Everything works as expected, but Desync is very cool. Turning this one all the way up basically turns off sync for each sound in the patch. This makes things get pretty random and interesting. I really like this. Everything becomes so much more interesting and organic-sounding when playing out of sync…which is especially important when you’re composing an organic alien soundscape. The next section is for Drone Effects. Here, you’ll find Distortion and Chorus, each with basic controls that you could expect. There’s also Reverb and Delay Sends here with only an amount dial for each. The Distortion section adds yet another assignment to the Mod Wheel, allowing the amount of valve distortion effect to be increased as the MW is increased. (As you can see, you can do an awful lot at once just by raising the Mod Wheel.) ARPEGGIATOR The Arpeggiator page allows the user to create even more movement out of a patch. The Rate can be set from 1/4 to 1/64 and the number of steps can go up to 16. There are selectors for each of the layers in your patch. When you select a layer (FX, HI, MID, LO), controls for that layer appear on this page. There are controls here for Amount and Smooth. These provide the strength of the arpeggio and how quickly the individual notes come in. Combine these controls with the Pitch Arpeggiator to go from shimmery chords to full-on gated arps. And you can select different rates, lengths, gating per layer for chords with a ton of rhythmic options. The Amount control on this page is tied to the Movement dial on the Main Page, so it can be assigned to a controller on your keyboard and “played” at will or programmed. There are several pitch arpeggio options available in the HI, MID, and LO layers. HI (Off, Up, and Down) MID (Off, Up, Down, Cycle, and Random) LO (Off, Up, and Down) These only work when the THICK button is enabled over on the EXPERT page. There’s also an Intensity control in the arpeggiator. This controls the velocity of the notes played and can be drawn in to modulate the intensity of the arpeggio. There are some quick editing controls here as well. The Filter section modulates the filter cutoff frequency. With all the filter options available within DRONAR ME, you can definitely come up with some unexpected results – both good and bad. RHYTHM Did I mention there’s a Rhythm Editor, too? As I understand it, this is only for the Live Brass rhythm samples. The folks at Gothic Instruments wanted brass with a more natural feel. As such, these samples were performed live. The Rhythm Editor allows the user to modify these “rhythm sample” in real time. It also allows you to use the Mod Wheel to modify the dynamics of the samples. This is a great concept and is pretty cool in practice…I just wish they’d included more of these rhythm samples to experiment with. The basic controls here are for editing the rhythms and include a button for selecting either a 3/4 or 4/4 time signature, and a button for selecting between 1, 2, 3 or 4 bars for the length of the loop. There’s also a beat divider that lets you select between 3 different note values (8ths, triplets, or 16ths). You can also select between different trigger modes where the rhythm either runs freely (FREE) as soon as you hit a key….or starting on the next quarter note (BEAT). You can even double or half the time of the rhythm patterns with the TEMPO button. MASTER FX The Master FX page features the onboard effects for sweetening your patches. This section features the usual subjects: EQ with controls for High, Mid and Low frequencies; a Compressor featuring controls for Amount, Time, Output level, Mix control, and Drive; a Delay return; a Reverb return; and a Gate. The Reverb sports a couple of digital reverb algorithms and some convolution impulses to play with. They’re nothing especially fancy, but they sound cool and will give you some variety. LAST WORDS DRONAR Master Edition is fully NKS compatible and integrate well with Native Instruments controllers. Additionally, DRONAR ME is easy to configure to work with a variety of MIDI controllers, keyboards, any smart phone and tablet applications that output MIDI Control Changes, and even some unusual alternative controllers. It was very easy to configure to work with my Novation Impulse and Korg nanoKontrol (Gen 1). It was also easy to setup to control from my Roli Seaboard RISE and Seaboard BLOCK. I tested DRONAR ME in Reason 10, Studio One 4, and Ableton Live 10. It worked fine once each DAW was setup with higher buffer settings. This makes it difficult to perform in real time for more than a couple of instances unless, of course, you have a much newer and/or more powerful machine than I do. With that said, some DAWs compensate for this to a degree, but the bottom line is having a powerful processor and a fast hard drive (preferably SSD). I like the flexibility that it offers when it comes to sound design. One button that I forgot to mention is the RANDOMIZE SAMPLES button. This randomizes every sound in each layer and gives you plenty of opportunity to discover new sounds and patches. Not every randomized patch works, but I found that, more often than not, clicking this button served up some interesting results. I like DRONAR and will certainly find plenty of uses for it. The fact that it makes my computer struggle means I’ll have to write a track, then render it before moving on to a different part of a tune. It’s a little inconvenient, but it’s worth it for the ridiculous number of interesting sounds available. The fact that it’s so easy to map to your controller and the numerous techniques employed to provide movement to your patches means that I will find lots of excuses to continue using it. If you’re in the market for a sample library that’s not like others and provides lots of exploration of alien landscapes and bizarre drones for your next space odyssey or horror nightmare, then this might just be what you’ve been looking for. -HC- You can find it at www.timespace.com for $279 at the moment. It’s regularly $349. ________________________________________ Matthew Mann graduated Berklee College of Music with a Master Certificate, Music Production. Matt has been in bands and run studios for over a decade. He had a 3 year stint as a Sales Associate at GC Pro and has more recently been working in technical writing. As the picture shows, Matt rarely takes himself too seriously.

HC's Rock Rewind A look back at the past two weeks in Rock History by Team HC These past two weeks involve some of the most memorable milestones to ever hit music. From the birth of pop great Michael Jackson to the Beatles playing their final official public show, the end of August and beginning of September offer many cornerstone musical moments. Read on for some major events, historic record releases and notable births and deaths happening August 29 through September 4th. Rock it! Week of August 27th - September 2nd Events 1942 - Frank Sinatra began his career as a solo singer. 1958 - George Harrison became part of the group Quarrymen. John Lennon and Paul McCartney were also in the band. 1964 - The Animals performed for the first time in the U.S. in Brooklyn, New York, at the Paramount Theater. 1966 - The Beatles played their fourth American tour at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California. It ended up being their final proper public concert. 1974 – The final episode of "The Partridge Family" television show aired. 1977 - Blondie inked their first major record company contract with Chrysalis. 1979 - INXS performed for the first time in Sydney, Australia. 1983 - The movie "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" opened in U.S. theaters. David Bowie starred in the film. 1986 – What was once the "American Bandstand" studio was positioned on the National Register of Historic Places. 1991 - Dottie West was in a car accident while on her way to perform at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. She passed away five days later. 1993 - Billy Joel was the debut musical guest on CBS-TV's "The Late Show with David Letterman" when the show started. 1995 - The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum ribbon cutting ceremony took place in Cleveland, Ohio. Births Sterling Morrison (The Velvet Underground), August 29, 1942 Dick Halligan (Blood, Sweat & Tears), August 29, 1943 Rick Downey (Blue Oyster Cult), August 29, 1953 Michael Jackson, August 29, 1958 Kyle Cook (Matchbox Twenty), August 29, 1975 David Desrosiers (Simple Plan), August 29, 1980 “Papa” John Phillips (The Mamas & The Papas), August 30, 1935 Micky Moody (Whitesnake), August 30, 1950 Van Morrison, August 31, 1945 Guitarist Rudolf Schenker (Scorpions), August 31, 1948 Gina Schock (The Go-Go's), August 31, 1957 Jeff Russo (of Tonic), August 31, 1969 Debbie Gibson, August 31, 1970 Greg Errico (Sly and the Family Stone), September 1, 1946 Barry Gibb (The Bee Gees), September 1, 1946 Gloria Estefan, September 1, 1957 Rosalind Ashford (Martha and the Vandellas), September 2, 1943 Billy Preston, September 2, 1946 Mik Kaminski (Electric Light Orchestra), September 2, 1951 Fritz McIntyre (Simply Red), September 2, 1956 Steve Porcaro (Toto), September 2, 1957 Deaths Thomas "Papa Dee" Allen (War), August 30 1988 Sterling Morrison (The Velvet Underground), August 30, 1995 Jerry Reed, September 1, 2008 Releases Roy Orbison, Oh, Pretty Woman, 1964 Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited, 1965 The Byrds, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, 1968 The Rolling Stones, Get Yer Ya Ya's Out, 1970 The Rolling Stones, Goat's Head Soup, 1974 Styx, Pieces of Eight, 1978 George Strait, Strait Country, 1981 Michael Jackson, Bad, 1987 Alabama, I'm in a Hurry (and Don't Know Why), 1992 Oasis, Definitely Maybe, 1994 Week of September 3rd - 9th This week we celebrate the birth of two music icons - Buddy Holly and Freddie Mercury. It was also during this week in 1970 that Jimi Hendrix played his last show. In 1991 Nirvana released "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and completely turned the rock scene upside down. Read on for more exciting events from the rock history vault! Events 1956 - Elvis Presley appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time. The King played "Don't Be Cruel," "Love Me Tender" and "Ready Teddy." 1968 - The members of Led Zeppelin played their first show as a band, although at this time they went under the name The New Yardbirds. The gig took place at a club in a suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark. 1970 - Jimi Hendrix played his last concert. It took place at the Open Air Love & Peace Festival in Fehmarn, Germany on September 6, twelve days before his death on September 18 in London. 1976 - Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington hit an oak tree with his Ford Torino, suffering severe injuries. The accident went on to inspire the lyrics to the Skynyrd classic "That Smell." 1997 - As a marketing tool to promote the reissue of Led Zeppelin's back catalogue, "Whole Lotta Love" was released as a single - their first ever in the UK. 1998 - Aerosmith had their first (and so far only) US number one hit single with "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing." The song, which was written by Diane Warren, was the lead song on the soundtrack to the film Armageddon. Releases 1964 - Manfred Mann: The Five Faces of Manfred Mann 1971 - Poco: From the Inside 1971 - John Lennon: Imagine 1973 - Frank Zappa: Over-Nite Sensation 1973 - Bruce Springsteen: The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle 1974 - Judas Priest: Rocka Rolla 1975 - Kiss: Alive! (live album) 1976 - Electric Light Orchestra: A New World Record 1979 - Siouxsie and the Banshees: Join Hands 1982 - Rush: Signals 1984 - Queensryche: The Warning 1987 - Pink Floyd: A Momentary Lapse of Reason 1989 - Soundgarden: Louder Than Love 1990 - Neil Young and Crazy Horse: Ragged Glory 1990 - Warrant: Cherry Pie 1991 - Nirvana: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (single) 1992 - Ugly Kid Joe: America's Least Wanted 1995 - Blur: The Great Escape 1996 - R.E.M.: New Adventures in Hi-Fi 1998 - Hole: Celebrity Skin 2000 - Ryan Adams: Heartbreaker 2001 - P.O.D.: Satellite 2003 - John Mayer: Heavier Things 2004 - The Black Keys: Rubber Factory 2005 - The Rolling Stones: A Bigger Bang 2006 - Audioslave: Revelations 2010 - Stone Sour: Audio Secrecy 2012 - Chris Robinson Brotherhood: The Magic Door 2014 - U2: Songs of Innocence 2015 - Hollywood Vampires: Hollywood Vampires Deaths Alan Wilson (Canned Heat), September 3, 1970 Major Lance, September 3, 1994 Keith Moon - September 7, 1978 Peter Tosh (The Wailers) - September 11, 1987 Tom Fogerty (Creedence Clearwater Revival) - September 6, 1990 Nicky Hopkins (session musician) - September 6, 1994 Warren Zevon - September 7, 2003 Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - September 10, 2005 Robert Young (Primal Scream) - September 9, 2014 Births Freddie King, September 3, 1934 Al Jardine (The Beach Boys), September 3, 1942 George Biondo (Steppenwolf), September 3, 1945 Eric Bell (Thin Lizzy), September 3, 1947 Donald Brewer (Grand Funk Railroad), September 3, 1948 Steve Jones (The Sex Pistols), September 3, 1955 Perry Bamonte (The Cure), September 3, 1960 Gene Parsons (The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers), September 4, 1944 Martin Chambers (The Pretenders), September 4, 1952 Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), September 4, 1960 Beyoncé Knowles, September 4, 1982 Jimmy Reed - September 6, 1925 Patsy Cline - September 8, 1932 Buddy Holly - September 7, 1936 Otis Redding - September 9, 1941 Danny Hutton (Three Dog Night) - September 10, 1942 Roger Waters - September 6, 1943 Mickey Hart (The Grateful Dead) - September 11, 1943 Ron McKernan (The Grateful Dead) - September 8, 1945 Buddy Miles - September 5, 1946 Freddie Mercury - September 5, 1946 Benjamin Orr (The Cars) - September 8, 1947 Joe Perry - September 10, 1950 Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders) - September 7, 1951 Dave Stewart - September 9, 1952 Benmont Tench (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) - September 7, 1954 LeRoi Moore (Dave Matthews Band) - September 7, 1961 Brad Wilk (Rage Against The Machine) - September 5, 1968 Delores O'Riordan (The Cranberries) - September 6, 1971 Richard Ashcroft (The Verve) - September 11, 1971 Jonny Buckland (Coldplay) - September 11, 1977 Mikey Way (My Chemical Romance) - September 10, 1980 Matthew Followill (Kings of Leon) - September 10, 1984 ________________________________________________________________- Anne Erickson holds years of bylines in Gannett Media publications, as well as music magazines Premier Guitar, Guitar Edge and more. She also hosts radio shows with iHeartRadio and has been syndicated in Seattle, Dayton, Central Coast California and beyond. Anne is a loyal Spartan and holds a Master’s degree from MSU. She resides in Lansing, Michigan.A

by James Rosocha In the last lesson, we covered the various shapes or permutations that occur on the neck of our instrument by simply starting a scale from a different scale degree. Because I used the pentatonic scale for this example, consequently five shapes are constructed from this five-note scale. We also employed the concept of sequencing the scale into groups of four. In this lesson, we will take a look at additional rhythmic variations to practice using the pentatonic scale as our vehicle. These rhythmic concepts can be practiced and applied to any scale such as the major modes, melodic and harmonic minor scales. The first example of sequence starts on the downbeat and breaks the scale into logical four note groupings. The next step is to slightly alter this exercise by beginning the four note sequence on the “e of one” instead of the downbeat. This will give the exercise- along with the lines that you create when applying this concept a different rhythmic flavor. The next example starts the sequence off on the “ah of four.” This slight variation will also change the rhythmic flavor of the sequence of notes. Make sure to take these rhythmic variations through all five pentatonic shapes. Now you can begin working with five note groupings. Follow the same concept as four note sequences. Practice the sequence -- 1) starting on the downbeat 2) progressing to the “e of 1” 3) finishing with the “ah of 4”. Follow this model through sequences of four, five, or even six note groupings and through all the permutations we learned about in the previous lesson. These lessons should be learned in all keys. -HC- ___________________________________________ Bassist James Rosocha is an educator, composer, and touring musician. He can be heard on the last nine albums by jazz fusion guitarist B.D. Lenz or on his debut CD “Avalon.”

by Anne Erickson KT Tunstall is one of pop-rock’s biggest stars, and while she’s known for her hit songs with catchy melodies and relatable lyrics, it's also worth noting that she’s quite a force as a guitarist. On her new album, KIN, Tunstall shows off those compelling guitar chops and an upbeat spirit on what she calls “a real celebration.” Tunstall talks to HC about music, guitars and women in music. Listening to the album KIN, it seems like a really personal release. Absolutely. It's weird, because it's not as personal as the last record but almost like the other end of the spectrum. The last record I released was a down-tempo, melancholy funk record when things were going badly in my life. My dad passed away and my marriage broke up, and my life was totally upside down. Music was a real sanctuary at that time. I made an unusual record for me, because it was a quiet folk record. Then, I was just incredibly surprised to come out a few years later with the other end of the spectrum, which is just as personal an album but a real celebration of coming out on the other end of that difficult time. This album has really bombastic pop-rock choruses and very honest lyrics. It’s a real pop-rock record, which I didn't see coming. What are your earliest memories of playing guitar? My earliest memories of playing guitar are really of other people playing it. My kindergarten teacher would play guitar for us, and apparently, I would constantly be snatching the guitar out of my teacher’s hand. I was desperately wanting to play this instrument. My mom also found these drawings I had done when I was about the same age, probably 3 or 4, and I was trying to draw musical notes and have all these little baby drawings of tiny guitars. It's so weird, because I didn't actually start playing guitar properly until I was 15, but I was really drawn to guitars when I was really young. What draws you to acoustic guitar? I'm a huge fan of playing an acoustic guitar in the same way that you play a bass, so I’ll often be playing bass lines instead of just regular guitar chords, and I would find that with any other guitar I was playing, I couldn't get that force of bass and that real richness of the bass tones that I could get on the Dove. I find that most other acoustics besides Gibsons that I play are really jangly and bright. So, I fell in love with the acoustic Dove immediately. It became my signature guitar. Fans loved the look of it, and it was always a talking point. The other thing that was super important was that it got a breadth of tones that I found very difficult to get on any other guitar. You worked with Gibson Montana to put together a Custom White Dove. What specifics did you want in the design of this guitar? It’s a Gibson Custom White Dove, and it's probably the most beautiful acoustic guitar I've ever seen. Fans really enjoy when you have a signature guitar, because they can see the guitar and know it’s you before you're even on the stage. With the Dove, I really wanted a guitar to mark the moment of this record, because it feels like the beginning of a second chapter in my career. It’s like a rebirth. Southern California has been an incredibly important place for this record. I did a lot of writing there and also went back to New Mexico, so that Southwestern aura is a really big part of this record, and I wanted to use some of the symbolism in the design. The Phoenix is definitely symbolic of this rebirth, and I really wanted to use that with the artwork, and it’s all very geometric. The white, for me, is so nice, because it’s the opposite of the Black Dove. The white looks absolutely stunning and quite retro. What initially drew you to guitars ... especially the Gibson? I love the designs and aesthetics of Gibson guitars. I think it also has a classic history of pairing with great musicians over the years. It's a very authentic brand, and it's a quality control brand. I don't feel like I'm ever going to pick up a Gibson guitar and be disappointed in the quality. I think that reliability when you’re a musician and relying on your instrument to sound good is incredibly worth it. What’s your experience like being a woman in music? From my personal experience, it's been a very positive thing, because being a woman, I’ve found that there's lots of respect coming my way. There's been a lot of celebration of me doing what I'm doing as a woman in a male-dominated environment. I'm certainly aware that there's still very deep sexism in the music industry, as there is in many industries, but thankfully, I haven't been on the receiving end of that. It’s actually been a very positive thing for me. Also, when I get young girls who say, “I've listened to your music since I was a baby, and you made me start guitar,” that makes me the happiest. -HC- ________________________________________________________________ Anne Erickson holds years of bylines in Gannett Media publications, as well as music magazines Premier Guitar, Guitar Edge and more. She also hosts radio shows with iHeartRadio and has been syndicated in Seattle, Dayton, Central Coast California and beyond. Anne is a loyal Spartan and holds a Master’s degree from MSU. She resides in Lansing, Michigan.

by Austin Brentley Up until last year, I’d always thought of ukuleles as novelty instruments – in the same category as kazoos and jaw harps. If I wanted to make music, the guitar was my go-to instrument. But I was “gifted” a ukulele last Christmas. And so to be polite, I decided to give it an honest try. 7 months later, and I’m completely hooked. In fact, I’ve grown to love the ukulele. And for anyone who is thinking about getting into guitar, mandolin, banjo, or any other stringed instrument, I highly recommend starting with the ukulele first. Below are 6 reasons why— 1. Ukuleles Are Surprisingly Inexpensive Sites like Amazon carry pretty decent ukuleles for under $50 – complete with cases, picks, spare strings, capos, and tuners. If you’re just testing the waters, that’s a fairly small investment. 2. Ukuleles Are Super Portable Guitars are pretty easy to carry around – especially if you’re not heavily invested in amps and accessories. But ukuleles are ultra-portable, allowing you to make music anywhere and everywhere you go. This mobility goes beyond sheer convenience. My ukulele is almost always with me. And as a result, I spend more time playing and practicing (which is the best way to improve as a musician). 3. Ukuleles Are Very Accessible I wouldn’t describe the ukulele as “easy.” There are plenty of people who struggle in the beginning. But the instrument is extremely accessible – even for absolute newbies who have never held a ukulele before. 4. Ukuleles Are Uber Fun Because ukuleles are so accessible, this makes them a lot of fun to play. I’m not doing concertos. And I’ll never fill up stadiums. But for relaxed social settings, they’re the perfect instrument to get the party going. 5. Ukuleles Are Incredibly Versatile Pretty much any song you can strum on the guitar – you can also strum on the ukulele. In fact, the music notation is interchangeable. Because the ukulele has fewer strings, the sound isn’t as full as what you’d get on the guitar. Even still, you can do a lot of damage on this tiny instrument. For example, you can play over 1,500 easy ukulele songs using just 3 beginner chords (e.g. C, F, and G). When you add a 4th chord (e.g. Am), that number jumps into the thousands. And when it comes to “shredding,” the ukulele is no slouch. I was skeptical at first too. But Jake Shimabukuro showed me how wrong I was. Check out his amazing performance of Eleanor Rigby down below. 6. Ukuleles Are Quite Humbling Music is often very competitive. Check out any guitar forum or discussion board, and you’ll see exactly what I mean. But it’s hard to be pretentious when you have a ukulele in your hand. There simply isn’t as much ego wrapped up in the instrument. And I actually feel more gracious and outgoing whenever I’m playing. Maybe it’s the diminutive size or the cheerful sound it makes. But in the words of George Harrison, the ukulele is “one instrument you can’t play and not laugh.” Should Everyone Really Play the Ukulele? If it’s good enough for the Beatles’ lead guitarist, the ukulele is good enough for anyone. But if you’re still hesitant, I totally get it. I was once a “non-believer” too. Because of the ukulele’s twangy, plunky sound, I never regarded it as a serious instrument for serious musicians. That was a mistake. And my biggest regret is all the years I’ve wasted by not starting sooner. So my advice is that you give it an honest try. Pick up a cheap ukulele and just play it for a few days. Whether you’re a budding musician or seasoned veteran, I’m pretty sure you’ll be surprised by the results. You might even become hooked. -HC- ____________________________________ Austin Brentley is the creator of the Chord Genome Project – a music search engine that lets you find songs based on the chords they use. Do a search of G, C, and D, for example, and discover hundreds of easy tunes that use those chords (and only those chords).

by Anne Erickson Head to an Eric Church show, and you’ll notice it isn’t the typical country music crowd. You’ll see fans of rock, country and a range of genres, all packed in to sing along to rollicking, high-spirited chart-toppers such as “Springsteen,” “Drink in My Hand,” “Like Jesus Does,” and “Smoke a Little Smoke.” That makes sense. After all, Church never set out to be a standard country singer. “I think for me, I’ve never really made music and thought, ‘It’s this kind of music or that kind of music,’ and I never tried to put walls around anything we’ve done. I think we’ve always made the music we make. Sometimes it falls on one side or another side. I love it because I grew up listening to everything, and I think there’s a wide variety of influences in our music,” Church said. “I would hope that the rock side or country side or any other side would find something in our music.” We spoke with him about his music, his charity work and why he “couldn’t be more thrilled” with his Gibson Hummingbird Dark signature model. What challenges have you had to face in your career that you never expected? The biggest thing is that we’ve always done things in a unique and authentic way, which is pretty consistent with the music. That’s not always been the easiest to get accepted by the industry or commercial format. There are sometimes challenges with the industry finding where you belong. That’s the biggest thing. It’s been difficult to get traction sometimes, and I’m proud we haven’t conformed there. I feel good that I stay true to what the music is and what I want it to be. What is the best advice you could offer aspiring musician’s trying to make it? I think the best thing is if it’s something you would be doing anywhere. You have to have the passion for it. It should never be something you do to make a living. That should not be the driving factor. If you don’t have that love for it, it’s not going to work out for you. You have to want to do it no matter what. You have always played by your own rules and the new album, Mr. Misunderstood, was not released in the traditional fashion. What was the thinking about the surprise and rushing it out like you did? People have to understand, nobody was more surprised than me. I didn’t want a record. I didn’t need a record. We had just finished our last album cycle, and usually I take some time off. With this one, all of a sudden within three weeks, not only had I written but I had recorded an album. It’s the most creative I’ve ever been. It’s the best album I’ve ever made. For me, it felt like a crime against that creativity to put it on the shelf for six months. It didn’t feel right to me to sit on it when it arrived as a gift the way it did. Your live show is spectacular. How do you guys keep it so solid live? We change it up every night. Our first arena tour was the most structured show I’d done, so when I went on the Outsiders tour, it was important to me that I didn’t want it to feel like the same show every night. We didn’t play the same set list every night, and I think doing that keeps it fresh on stage. When did you get your hands on your first Guitar and what memories do you associate with it? My first guitar that I remember was in college was a Gibson. I got into guitar and got my first one my sophomore year. I’ve always been a fan. Gibson’s such an iconic brand, and it’s been around and has that history. When I got in college, I started touring and playing, and I would take it out and carry it to every show. It actually got stolen, but I made a lot of money with that guitar. It was a Hummingbird. My first Bird! How did you learn to play guitar, and did it come easily for you? I don’t know if it came easy. I never compared it to what other people went through. I never took lessons. I just picked it up and worked my way through it. I learned some chords and songs and put them together and taught myself. I started to write songs when I was 13. I got serious when I was in college. All of this really started in college. Do you remember the first gig you attended? Yes! My first show I ever went to, I was 4 years old, and it was Alabama. It was a big fair show. I remember that moment of going up above the crowd and seeing the big stage and production. It was very entertaining, even though I didn’t know what it was yet. Greatest guitarist you've ever seen? I have a couple! One would be Jerry Garcia. I think he’s the most underrated. To me, he was a stylist. He had jazz phrasing and voicing that were so interesting to me. It was Americana before there was really Americana. The other was Prince. I think Prince was the best guitar player we’ve ever had. I think he was unequalled and maybe wasn’t as known for it. I don’t think people know how incredibly gifted he was on guitar. One of the stars of the “Record Year” video is the Gibson Hummingbird Dark signature model, can you tell us how that came about? I’ve always been a Hummingbird guy. When we started talking about maybe doing my own model, I had some ideas about what I thought it needed to look like. I didn’t really want to do a different guitar than the Hummingbird, because I love the Hummingbird. But, I said, “What about a different version of the Hummingbird?” We finally came up with Hummingbird Dark. I wanted it very matte and black and dark and sinister and unique looking. And I wanted it a little smaller of a body style. It went from there, and I’ve been involved with the whole process. I couldn’t be more thrilled. It’s my favorite Gibson I’ve ever played. Authenticity has been a constant in your career, does it get harder or easier to remain true to yourself as you become more and more popular and powerful in the business? Easier. I think when you start off, the hardest thing to do is not bend to what is happening that, you know, will probably help you be more successful quicker. That’s where the authenticity with a lot of artists gets compromised. They start making decisions about other things instead of what is authentically them. As you have more success, you don’t worry about that as much, and you can be more authentic. I think you can take more chances. You can push the envelope more of what you want music to be. For me, it will always come down to creativity. If I’m not feeling that creativity when I go into the studio, I won’t do it. OK, so imagine you have three days off: what do you do? I love to fish. I love the outdoors. I love to play golf. I do something outside. I have two children, so I take my older son fishing, and that’s as good as it gets for me. I just get outside. Would you talk a little about your foundation, the Chief Cares Fund? It’s a foundation we started a few years ago, and the most proud thing, for me, is that we donate a lot of money. We have always really focused on people. It’s Christian-based. It’s about finding small groups of people that are trying to do really big things, and they don’t have the finances to do it, but they’re doing incredible things anyway. We try to be the financial and moral support that they need to do what we already see what they’re doing. “Three Year Old" is a great song and the first you’ve released about your sons. What’s the best part and most difficult part about being a dad?” The best part is the fulfillment, joy and pride and things I never knew weren’t involved in my life before I had kids. I can’t believe I could live without them. The difficulty, for us, is the travel. It’s well worth it. It’s a disruption in everybody’s normal life. I don’t know if it’s harder on me or them. A lot of that is because I’m not a dad who believes in leaving the kids at home and going on tour. I think so many artists are on tour, and their dreams are coming true, but it’s just hollow. So, we all travel together, and that’s a challenge. ________________________________________________________________ Anne Erickson holds years of bylines in Gannett Media publications, as well as music magazines Premier Guitar, Guitar Edge and more. She also hosts radio shows with iHeartRadio and has been syndicated in Seattle, Dayton, Central Coast California and beyond. Anne is a loyal Spartan and holds a Master’s degree from MSU. She resides in Lansing, Michigan.