NOTE: Information in this post is courtesy of MASCOT RECORDS.

Joe Bonamassa: Live From The Royal Albert Hall on DVD!

When Joe Bonamassa took the stage at Royal Albert Hall in May 2009, he fulfilled a dream he’d held since first picking up a guitar as a kid in upstate New York. The sold-out concert—fresh off the release of his album The Ballad Of John Henry—marked Bonamassa’s headlining debut at arguably the most prestigious concert venue in the world. “May 4, 2009 was a day 20 years in the making,” says Bonamassa. “I have never been so honored in my life. It was truly larger than the sum of its parts.”

The two decades he’s referring to began when—at age 12—he first opened for blues icon B.B. King, who said, “this kid’s potential is unbelievable.” King’s words are as fitting today as they were then. Bonamassa averages 200 shows every year, and with each gig, he comes more into his own as a virtuoso and a vocalist. At the Hall, Bonamassa had the added honor of being joined onstage by the legendary Eric Clapton. The Times of London cited Joe’s “searing excellence and showmanship,” and Planet Rock said, “The sight of two of the world’s best guitarists trading solos was more than a little thrilling.”

This two disc digipack DVD, which also features an exclusive interview with Bonamassa, presents that magical night in full—for posterity, and for all the fans that couldn’t be among the roughly 4,000 concertgoers filling the seats. The twelve-camera high definition, surround sound shoot was produced by Bonamassa’s longtime collaborator Kevin Shirley.

“Joe Bonamassa is a big star amongst his peers,” says Shirley, “garnering awards and magazine covers all around the globe. While he has a devoted audience that’s growing worldwide, his rejection of major label deals in favor of paving his own musical path has left the mainstream largely unfamiliar with his extensive repertoire and skill. Hopefully, this incredible performance—featuring Joe accompanied by an incredible band in addition to a guest appearance by Eric Clapton—will put an end to that. Directed by groundbreaking filmmakers Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen, this concert experience will become the benchmark for the genre. But pigeonhole Bonamassa at your peril—sure, the blues is the anchor, but this virtuoso refuses to play inside the box. Any box. Enjoy!”

The DVD is expected to be released on September 21, 2009. You can pre-order the DVD from Mascot Records HERE

The official trailer from the DVD has been posted on YouTube:

Here is a follow up to yesterdays post…

I made it to ZZ Top & Aerosmith last night in Phoenix. Forget that the temperature was 113 degrees, the concert was outside, and bottled water was selling for $4.00… this was one HOT concert!

First, Aerosmith was amazing. In fact, Aerosmith was the first band I ever saw perform live. They played at a small club called “The Agora” in Cleveland Ohio back in the 70′s. You could barely fit 100 people in there… and I was one of them. That was then, and this is now. Aerosmith is a major draw today packing the largest venues to the max. Like 20,000 max at the Cricket Pavilion Amphitheater.

Steven Tyler rocked…but for my money…Billy Gibbons is the legend I wanted to see. He did not disappoint. He owned the stage!

I am still amazed that 3 people can generate the sound that ZZ Top creates. The main reason? Reverend Willie G!

One last tribute to one of the all-time greats of lead guitar… Billy G — give us a blues lesson!

Billy Gibbons comes to Phoenix tonight… along with Dusty Hill, Frank Beard, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford and me…GuitarDaddy. OK… I will be in the crowd, not on stage. Should be a ripping concert from the Aerosmith / ZZ Top tour.

In honor of the evening, here is a killer video of Billy playing slide on “Just Got Paid”.

After writing my post titled: “The Most Expensive Guitar…”, I continued my Google search and learned about a recent auction of a John Lennon guitar. Special thanks to Gibson.com for this information.

A guitar owned by Lennon during his early years with the Beatles was sold at auction earlier this month for $337,226 (USD).

The guitar, a 1958 Hofner Senator model, was accompanied by a fax of a 1982 letter from George Harrison that verified the instrument was one of Lennon’s first guitars. The auction was held by Christie’s.

To view more photos of the instrument, and to read further details, CLICK HERE.

Guitar legend Steve Vai will release his concert film and live CD, “Where The Wild Things Are”, on September 29 via Favored Nations Records. The show was recorded and filmed at the State Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota before a sold-out audience as part of Vai’s successful “Sound Theories” world tour..

I recently added a Gibson Les Paul Supreme to my personal collection (more on that in a future post) and while the purchase did not break the bank, it did make me wonder… “How much was the most expensive guitar ever sold?”

The key criteria here is “sold”, meaning someone actually paid the price. Well, I did a little Google’ing and was amazed to find the answer. This is not a “new story” and many of you may already know the answer but for those of you who don’t, read on…

Acording to Fender, a signed Standard Series Stratocaster sold for a $2.8 million at auction in Doha, Qatar. The auction was held to aid victims of the 2004 tsunami disaster. The guitar broke the previous record held by Eric Clapton’s $959,500.00 Black Strat (Blackie).

The idea started when Fender Europe’s Jamie Crompton contacted Bryan Adams to see how people from the music industry could reach out to help the victims of such a devastating natural disaster. Bryan got his phone book out and called 19 of rock’s most treasured artists to sign a Standard Series Fender Stratocaster guitar, to be donated by Jamie and Fender Europe.

The artists who signed were: Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, Brian May, Liam Gallagher, Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, Ray Davies, David Gilmour, Bryan Adams, Tony Iommi, Mark Knopfler, Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Paul McCartney, Sting and Noel Gallagher.

Makes the price I paid for my Les Paul Supreme seem really cheap!

Carlos Santana was born on July 20, 1947.

He is a Grammy Award-winning rock musician and a superb guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered a blend of rock, salsa and jazz fusion. The band’s sound featured his melodic, blues-based guitar set against Latin percussion.

Carlos experienced a tremendous resurgence of popularity and acclaim in the last 10 years. Rolling Stone magazine named Santana #15 on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time in 2003.

Happy Birthday Carlos!

If pictures like the one below are more exciting to you than the ones in the next Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition, then I have a web site you MUST visit.

Bjorn Riis authors a wonderful website and blog for David Gilmour fans titled Gilmourish.com. Click HERE to visit.

The site is chocked full of “everything-Gilmour”… from David’s personal gear… to how to get David’s tone… to amplifiers… to some excellent quality backing tracks of those classic David Gilmour songs.

One of my favorite features of the site is titled “The Gear Gallery” where other readers have uploaded pictures of their own personal pedal effect boards and gear. Check it out by clicking HERE.

It is obvious that Bjorn has put many hours into this fantastic site. Send him a quick note to thank him…and be sure to tell him GuitarDaddy sent you!

Looks like it is the season for guitar competitions! Guitar Player Magazine’s 2009 Guitar Superstar Competition is open to guitar players of all ages and styles who believe they have what it takes to earn the title of “Guitar Superstar.”

Ten finalists will be chosen by the staff of Guitar Player Magazine to face-off in front of sold out crowd and a panel of celebrity judges at the 2009 Guitar Superstar event on September 12, 2009 in Northern CA. One transcendent guitarist will be named as Guitar Player’s 2009 Guitar Superstar, and will receive a feature story in Guitar Player magazine, free gear, and some other one-of-a-kind prizes (TBA). Previous celebrity judges include guitar greats such as Joe Satriani, Steve Lukather, Elliot Easton, Nuno Bettencourt, and Greg Howe.

Watch the video below, or CLICK HERE for more information.

The Search For The Nation’s Greatest Undiscovered Blues Guitar Player is Back!

Guitar Center is pleased to announce the return of King of the Blues, the nationwide search for the next great undiscovered blues guitar player. With Sign-ups launching July 1, Guitar Center’s King of the Blues will feature competitions in over 200 Guitar Center locations across the country, culminating with the Grand Finals in Los Angeles this November.

In addition to showcasing the top five finalists, the King of the Blues Grand Finals will also feature performances by renowned blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa and Grammy award winner Pete Anderson.

Introduced in 2006, Guitar Center’s King of the Blues is more than just a competition to find the most technically skilled players. King of the Blues is designed to seek out the most passionate, innovative and authentic undiscovered guitar players and give them a shot at stardom. Some of today’s most iconic and groundbreaking artists, including BB King, John Mayer, The Black Crowes and Kenny Wayne Shepherd have participated at past King of the Blues events, and the winner of Guitar Center’s 2007 King of the Blues, Aaron Loesch, was invited to perform at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Festival in front of over 25,000 attendees.

With “the Blues” being the foundation for nearly all of today’s popular music, the search for the nation’s greatest undiscovered blues guitarist is expected to unearth a goldmine of unsigned talent, some of whom are destined to become tomorrow’s legends.

Guitar Center’s King of the Blues champion will win an impressive package of prizes, including $25,000 cash, a featured spot in a Guitar Center ad campaign, along with a Gibson ’59 Les Paul reissue guitar, a $2,500 Levis shopping spree, a Marshall Vintage Modern 50 watt half stack, a Boss GT-10 Guitar Multi Effects Pedal, a feature in Guitar World magazine, worldwide distribution of their music in iTunes and more, plus endorsement deals from Ernie Ball, Marshall, Vox and Gibson. The five finalists will perform live at the grand finals featuring Joe Bonamassa. Additional regional, district and local prize packages will also be awarded, thanks to the generous support of Gibson , Levi’s, Ernie Ball, Marshall, Boss, Vox , Guitar World and Tunecore, all of whom are proud supporters of Guitar Center’s King of the Blues.