Search Results for: guitar

In the punk and indie-rock communities, members of different bands often collaborate on side projects and release them through independent labels. Major labels, however, aren’t so hip to the practice, which is why you won’t be seeing New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert touring with Hazen Street this summer. “He was there during a lot of the writing process, and he played on some stuff, but when it came down to politics and legal issues, there were problems,” said co-vocalist Freddy Cricien, who also plays in the hardcore group Madball. “Unfortunately, he couldn’t be a part of the album as… Read more »

Here’s one “guitar greats” list that Jimi Hendrix did not top: “the 100 greatest metal guitarists of all time.” According to Guitar World magazine, the No. 1 metal guitarist is Tony Iommi, the God-fearing axeman with pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. Six musicians claimed the next four spots: Metallica’s James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett tied at No. 2; AC/DC siblings Angus and Malcolm Young at No. 3; Randy Rhoads, the late sideman for Ozzy Osbourne, at No. 4; and Eddie Van Halen, of the foursome that bears his name, at No. 5. Hendrix was No. 12, six places… Read more »

Evanescence lead singer Amy Lee has told Australia’s UndercoverNews website that former Cold guitarist Terry Balsamo is now a permanent member of Evanescence. Balsamo stepped in as a temporary replacement late last year for founding axeman Ben Moody, who abruptly departed in the middle of a European tour last October. Lee said that Balsamo and her band “just clicked” the more they played together. “[It is] better than I ever expected…Terry’s an insane guitar player with awesome stage presence. He has a good personality and he’s down to earth and on top of all that stuff, he’s a great writer… Read more »

Lead guitarist Johnny Quaid and keyboardist Danny Cash have quit My Morning Jacket after four years in the band. Both departures were amicable and both Quaid and Cash cited a desire to step back from the rigorous work schedule that the Louisville, Kentucky, troupe took on in support of its third album and major-label debut, 2003’s It Still Moves. Quaid and Cash were on board for MMJ’s debut, 1999’s Tennessee Fire, and its other independent release, 2001’s At Dawn. With buzz from press and other musicians over their high-energy live shows and unique brand of reverb-drenched rock & roll, the… Read more »

Gibson Guitar Corp. chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz is intent on keeping Gibson on the cutting edge of technology. The company has established a consumer electronics division called Gibson Audio and developed its first product, the Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox. The product is being launched Thursday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and has been awarded the Consumer Electronics Assn.’s best in audio award. The Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox allows consumers to store as many as 1,000 CDs in Windows Media format and access 100 channels of digital radio as well as a download store. “I’m totally focused on what… Read more »

The lead guitarist for the rock band Rush said his arrest at a New Year’s Eve party was unfair. Alex Zivojinovich – known on stage as Alex Lifeson – was arrested for what police described as drunken, violent behavior at the Naples Ritz-Carlton hotel. He faces six charges, including four felonies, the most serious of which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years. “This gives new meaning to dinner at the Ritz,” Zivojinovich, 50, said as he left jail Friday on $14,500 bond, wearing the same black suit he wore to the New Year’s Eve bash. Zivojinovich said he didn’t… Read more »

When the member of a band leaves the group, it’s almost comparable to a divorce. But what happens when the musician’s replacement is immediate? Would that be comparable to an affair? Well, this would seem to be the case forAlien Ant Farm whose guitarist Terry Corso quit due to “irreconcilable differences.” According to a statement on the band’s website, the band members planned the departure carefully so that no dates on their current U.S. tour with 311 would have to be missed. The band has almost immediately introduced a substitute guitarist, Victor Camacho, who played his first show with the… Read more »

R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck is a bit miffed that the group’s newer music doesn’t get much air time. “We do really good work, and I hate to brag but our records are better than most people’s records,” Buck told reporters. “So sometimes it kind of hurts my feelings when I see a record that is obviously a piece of garbage, and everyone knows its garbage, and the guy can’t sing, and then we put out a really good record and they don’t put it on the radio because it doesn’t fit the formats.” R.E.M. is releasing a greatest hits album… Read more »

Zakk Wylde tasted instant success when he became Ozzy Osbourne’s guitar player at age 20, but now he’s steadily coming out of his mentor’s shadow to ride the resurgence of heavy metal as a band leader. His group, Black Label Society, has been building a dedicated following around the United States, releasing four studio albums of aggressive guitars and raw vocals. The band’s first DVD, “Boozed, Broozed & Broken-Boned,” a performance filmed in Detroit last year, reached No. 3 on Billboard magazine’s music video chart in late August, behind Led Zeppelin and the Eagles. “With Black Label I get to… Read more »

When Fuel’s third CD, Natural Selection, comes out next Tuesday (September 23), it faces heavy competition that same day from new releases by Nickelback, Dave Matthews, and Limp Bizkit. But Fuel guitarist and songwriter Carl Bell revealed that he’s confident about the quality of the band’s work on this album. “I think we just really went to raise the bar on this one,” Bell said. “We sat back and said, ‘All right, we’re not gonna rush this one through, let’s take our time and do this one right.’ And I think it shows. The record is, I think, far and… Read more »