Jeff Beck Band and Billy Gibbons play “Foxy Lady”

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Jeff Beck and ZZ Top have announced a joint North American tour that will kick off in August.

According to a press release, the shows will begin with a full Beck set, followed by a full ZZ Top set, followed by a finale that will find Beck and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons on stage at the same time.

Beck added: “Ever since Eliminator, I thought it would be great to play with ZZ Top.” We went on to call Gibbons “the Professor of Grunge.”

Gibbons joined Beck and his band on stage at the 25th anniversary celebration of the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2009 at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where they performed Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxey Lady” (See the video below) and ZZ Top’s “Rough Boy.” The following year, Beck joined ZZ Top in Lucca, Italy, for an extended rendition of “La Grange.”

Check it out…. a match made in heaven?

Jonny Lang Gives a Rig Rundown to Premier Guitar

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Jonny Lang

Jonny Lang is one of the finest blues, gospel, singer songwriting guitarists and recording artists on the planet.

His music is notable for both his unusual voice and his guitar solos.  He has five albums that charted on the top 50 of the Billboard 200 chart and won a Grammy Award for “Turn Around”.

Recently, he gave this candid tour around his rather simplistic touring gear setup to Premier Guitar Magazine:

WE HAVE A WINNER in the “Name The Joe Walsh Painting” Contest!

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Joe Walsh Print Named

(01/18/2014) Breaking News from Tom Noll:

I’d like to thank everybody who took the time thinking about my painting, and submitting possible titles. A lot of good ideas came my way from around the globe. And thanks to the GuitarBuzz for hosting & monitoring this event.

One name in particular hit home with me, as it not only described Joe’s playing as I’ve portrayed him in the painting, but also, it described me doing the painting. That name, and the winner, is “In the Zone”, submitted by Diane Blue of Boston, MA, USA.

Diane will be receiving print number 2/250 next week when they start shipping. After making this title decision, and looking up Diane for the contact information, it appears Diane knows all about being “In the Zone” as she’s a fellow musician. Nice call!!

Congrats!!

Thanks to all of you that pre-ordered prints during this contest. For others of you that would like to purchase a print, as of this moment, there are still a few single digit prints available. Contact me and I’ll hook you up.

 Until next time, keep on rocking!!

Tom

CONTEST: Name This Joe Walsh Painting to WIN A FREE ART PRINT!

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 CONTEST OVER – WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED TODAY! 

Artist Tom Noll has been honing his talent for years in preparation for this masterpiece of the legendary Joe Walsh.

Tom Noll's Sketch of Joe Walsh

Tom Noll’s Sketch of Joe Walsh

Tom says “I am super excited about this project as I’ve followed Joe since his early days. I remember listening to the James Gang back in high school art class, and thinking then, that it would be cool to do a painting of Joe. That was a long time ago…so its well overdue. What a great way to kick off 2014″.

Now, with close to 60 musicians immortalized on canvas, and an international art reputation as the Rock n’ Roll portrait artist, Tom is ready to sink his teeth into this project!

Joe Walsh is a classic American musician who has been a member of three commercially successful bands: the James Gang, Barnstorm, and the Eagles, and holds the number 54 spot in Rolling Stone magazine’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Besides being an incredible talent, Joe has a way of poking fun at himself and life’s situations, and his wit is infectious.

As his popular song portrays, “Ordinary Average Guy”, Joe is genuinely likable and people can relate to him like a good friend who’s there when you need a lift & a smile. This new Joe canvas is coming to life, and Tom is ready to share it with a little creative challenge for you!

IN TOM’S WORDS:

“I need a steller name for this painting…something other than just a song title, so I’d like to see your imaginative ideas here on the GuitarBuzz. I’ll pick the name from those submitted, and the person who nails it, will be rewarded with a complimentary limited edition print.

You can follow the painting progress on my website for inspiration by CLICKING HERE.

I’m looking for delivery of prints in late January 2014, so let’s wrap this contest up at midnight Friday, January 17th. I’ll pick a name and announce it Saturday, the next day.

This will be fun…Good Luck!!”

-Tom

The limited edition (250) print reproductions will be produced with an image area of 27″ x 19″ (48.3 cm x 68.6 cm), and introduced for a short time at $259, plus shipping of $8.95 US and $16.50 International.

To reserve your low numbered print, CONTACT TOM at Tom@TomNoll.com and he will secure your spot with your email. If you’d like to prepay, he will offer an additional $10 savings with a price of $249. Just let him know, and he’ll send a paypal invoice to your email.

Print Specs: The 27″ x 19″ artprints are super high quality giclees, which utilize fade resistant UV archival inks. They’re produced from the original oil painting, and are rolled and shipped in a rigid tube along with a certificate of authenticity. The prints are perfect for matting and framing, and will be a cool addition to any room.

For a view of other available art prints by Tom, visit his website by CLICKING HERE.

SO HOW DOES THE CONTEST WORK?

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO ENTER THIS CONTEST IS LEAVE A COMMENT TO THIS POST WITH YOUR SUGGESTION FOR A NAME OF THE JOE WALSH PAINTING!

TOM WILL SELECT THE OFFICIAL NAME OF THE PAINTING FROM THE COMMENT ENTRIES AND THE WINNER WILL RECEIVE A FREE PRINT OF THE ORIGINAL OIL PAINTING!

 

Tom makes this Promise to Everyone: If you are the winner of the contest and you also pre-ordered a print, your money will be refunded!  So go ahead and CONTACT TOM at Tom@TomNoll.com to pre-order your Joe Walsh print now!

CLICK HERE TO LEAVE YOUR COMMENT AND ENTER THE CONTEST!

Note: In the case of duplicate submissions, the person who suggested the name first will have claim to that name. Also note, the winner will forfeit any and all rights to the name to Tom Noll if it is selected to be the winner.

Do You Have G.A.S. – Guitar Acquisition Syndrome?

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A couple of years ago, I wrote an article titled “How Many Guitars Are Too Many?”

In that article I wrote about something called Guitar Acquisition Syndrome (better known as G.A.S.).  If you missed that post, CLICK HERE to read it.

I have since learned that there is an official web site dedicated to the (somewhat desirable) disease… called GuitarAcquisitionSyndrome.com.

Living With Guitar Acquisition Syndrome

There is even a book available that can be purchased on Amazon.com.  Just click the image to the left if you need immediate help with your addiction.

From the review: This is a fun and unusual book. Your “normal” friends won’t understand it, you won’t really learn anything specific about guitars or collecting… What you will walk away with after reading this book is the comfort of knowing that you aren’t alone in your affliction for acquiring guitars (and that many people are worse than you).

G.A.S. is best described as the uncontrollable need to purchase “just one more” guitar.  Then, when the new guitar arrives, the G.A.S. symptoms return. It’s a never-ending cycle that can be… terminal.

G.A.S. is a growing epidemic among guitar players young and old, regardless of how long one has been playing.

G.A.S. is not rational and appears to be a sister disease to “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder”.

Since it is easily stimulated through the visual sense, it highly recommended that those suffering from G.A.S. avoid the local Guitar Center, Sam Ash and MusiciansFriend.com as very serious financial hardship and/or marital difficulties may occur.

Clearly, the key to curing G.A.S. is early detection.

Research has shown that those who suffer from G.A.S. today had symptoms for many years that were most likely ignored.

I invite you to participate in the official GuitarBuzz reader poll designed to expose early warning signs.  Please answer the following question:

Eric Clapton Shares A Secret…

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Eric Clapton recently allowed a camera crew into his London home for an intimate talk. The purpose was to demonstrate a new series of high-priced, limited-edition reproductions of some of his most famous guitars, which will be sold to benefit his Crossroads Centre in Antigua.

Eric Clapton

These fascinating videos take you inside the head of EC’s desire for that “beat up” strat and the secret to the success of today’s relic guitar market as the old, beat up, worn-out patches on a maple fretboard were a sign to Clapton that the guitar was “well favored” by the previous player — and hence, a more desirable instrument to play.

The relic subject leads me to the contradictory point – that you can’t re-create the favor-ability of a well crafted instrument by artificially altering it’s cosmetic state to imply it will play better than a brand new model.

I have always questioned the logic behind plunking thousands of dollars on the counter at my local Guitar Center so that I could own the latest relic “copy” of a famous players axe. But now I know why EC favored them…at least the originals.

Watch for yourself – the stretch I am referring to comes up at the 1:45 mark:

The series of video interviews goes even deeper when Eric reflects about the Beatles, Cream, Les Paul and His Musical Roots. The full set of videos can be watched by [CLICKING HERE].

What I Love About YouTube and Personal Recording

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We live in an awesome era of innovation, creativity and technological advancement.

Not that long ago, only those with deep pockets, well known sponsors or huge label recording contracts were able to master a quality production for public release. But today, the tools exist to allowing talented no-named artists to produce quality recordings with full-on graphics and staggering production effects.

To see what I mean, check out these professionally produced YouTube videos.

I am not insane! I just love my guitar…

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I came across this image a few days ago and it really speaks about our own unique and individual love of music.

We all gather here because we all love to play the guitar.  We play blues, rock, jazz, country, metal, acoustic, electric and bass.  We are all uniquely different but share a common passion for the instruments we play.

As for me, I start tapping (read:stomping) my feet when I hear Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Bonamassa or Eric Clapton play.  Their music speaks to me and I hear it loud and clear.  The trap we fall into is when we choose not to hear a certain music because it is not “our genre”.

Writing this blog has opened my eyes to so many new artists and so many musical styles I may once have shut my ears to.

But not any more.  I want it all.  Bring it on!

How about you? What guitar styles move you?