If you want to make a guitar blogger’s day, send them an email saying you really enjoy reading the content on their blog! (hint-hint!)

That’s exactly what Steve Senes did for The GuitarDaddy a few days ago.

Steve came across the TheGuitarBuzz.com while searching on Google for information about Guitar Player Magazine’s “Guitar Superstar” Competition.  I had posted an article about the competition back on July 11th and Google delivered that link to Steve.

Let’s just call it a match made in “Guitar-Cyber-Heaven”!

Now in its fifth year, Guitar Player’s Guitar Superstar competition is the centerpiece of Guitar Player LIVE!, a 3-day celebration of guitars, music, and gear presented by the Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center in Livermore, California (east of San Francisco) on Saturday, September 12, 2009.

Steve is one of the Top-10 Finalists in the competition and after exchanging a few emails, he graciously agreed to give The GuitarDaddy an interview for TheGuitarBuzz.com. Check this out:

GD) Steve, tell me a little about yourself…
“I’m a guitarist living in the Myrtle Beach, SC area, though I’m originally from the Washington, SC area. I’ve played in a lot of different styles of bands, from Metal to Pop Rock to Funk to Country & Southern Rock, which has (I guess) given me kind of a schitzo style; God only knows what’s gonna come out next.”

GD) How long have you played guitar?
“I started playing guitar in late 1985, so that’d make it about 24 years now. I’d fiddled around with it before then, but that is when I started taking it seriously…”

GD) What style of music do you enjoy playing?
“I enjoy playing a lot of different stuff on Guitar, but when it comes right down to it, it’s hard driving rock that I dig the most. I like hitting on some funk as well, but in moderation. I say it like this remembering a band I played with for around three years where we’d go weeks (literally gigging 7 nights a week) without playing a song where I could turn distortion on my guitar. It’d drive me nuts cause after a while, I just gotta crank it and get my wail on…..”

GD) Is this your first time to enter a guitar contest?
“I’ve been in a few contests over the years – starting in the DC area, where I grew up. There were three Hot Licks Guitar Shop contests, the third of which I won. In 1996 I won a contest here in the Myrtle Beach area sponsored by a local rock radio station. In 1999 I won a contest sponsored by Guitar Center in conjunction with Steve Vai. In this contest, the grand prize was to get up and jam with Steve Vai and his band on stage at their gig. Thus far, it’s been the pinnacle of my guitar playing career – and the most frightening – Jack Butler anyone?”

GD) Are you nervous about playing in front of those mega-star judges?
“Not so much playing in front of the judges as much as “boy o boy, I hope I don’t get up there and lay an egg”, LOL! I’m just gonna go up there & play the way I love playing. I love to play guitar, I think that’s the way it should always be.”

GD) What are your aspirations with the guitar?
“To never again have to play gigs that I hate in order to pay the bills. Also, in a questionnaire for this contest I was asked pretty much the same question, to which I answered the following: “To travel the world, playing my music for every guitar music fan I can find. The stages, the lights, the crowds. I want it all!”

Steve has a new CD coming out titled:
dE​-​eVolution oF thEorY.

The release date is October 30, 2009.

Click on the CD cover to the left and you will be re-directed to a site where you can sample all of the songs from the upcoming CD.  You can even download individual tracks (or the entire CD).

The funds collected will go toward the cost of mastering the final CD for production.

Come on GuitarBuzz readers… let’s help the guy out! This is great stuff!

Steve will be performing the first track from the CD titled: “The Swami” for the Guitar Superstar competition.  He gave me permission to embed the track below so you can listen to what the judges will hear (while you continue reading The GuitarBuzz…)

[Play audio of Steve Senes: The Swami]

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The ten finalists receive an all-expenses paid trip to the San Francisco Bay Area. The winner, First Runner-Up and Second Runner-Up will receive custom trophies and complete gear packages. The champion will receive a feature article in Guitar Player magazine and prizes from event sponsors–including Mesa/Boogie, Harmon, Line 6, Peavey, Sennheiser, GHS Strings, DR Strings, and U.S. Music.

The competition takes place Saturday, September 12, 2009, at 8:00 p.m. at the Bankhead Theater, Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center, 2400 First Street, Livermore, California. Admission $23.00. Tickets can be ordered online at www.bankheadtheater.org or call 925-373-6800.

You can contact Steve directly through his MySpace page by CLICKING HERE.

GOOD LUCK IN THE COMPETITION STEVE!!

GuitarDaddy will provide an update on the results…

Besides guitars, I have a passion for fine art. Maybe it is the creativity element that connects the two together for me in my head.

So as you can imagine… fine art pictures of guitars are right up my alley! There are several artists that focus their work, or a portion of it, on our favorite instrument. Today’s contribution to the “Guitar Art” category is a real gem for strat lovers.

The artist’s name is Michael Babyak. Check this out:

Michael was born in Cleveland Ohio and has lived in numerous places throughout the U.S. and Europe. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati, Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor’s degree in Ballet. He has exhibited work in several national shows, including Emerging Visions in Los Angeles, National Works on Paper at St. John’s University in New York and the 3 Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh. He has numerous awards to his credit including the Critic’s Pick Award from Manhattan Arts International Magazine, winner of “Best in Show” from the South Miami Arts and Crafts Festival, and 1st Place Abstract Painting at the Allentown Art Festival. His paintings are a direct reflection of an exploration of feelings about both the physical and imagined, resulting in work that possesses an intangible aspect that somehow strikes a familiar note.

Michael currently resides in Austin Texas.

His guitar paintings are also available as limited edition prints.

You can email Michael at: babyakart@earthlink.com or visit his web site by CLICKING HERE.

If you contact Michael please mention you saw his guitar art on TheGuitarBuzz.com!

This blog was never intended to be a “Guitar Lesson” site. There are lots of those already and I do not want to re-invent a wheel that is already rolling along quite well.

(Coming Soon! A new category that reviews some of the better instruction sites I have seen)

That said, this post is designed to be a “Print Me” kind of post for those of you who want to play lead guitar (read:scales) but hate the thought of learning theory.

So here goes — a simple look at the most common scales known to man… the Minor Pentatonic Scale and the Blues Scale. The key is to FORGET about learning the entire scale and instead MEMORIZE the movable pattern positions.

Here they are:

The Five Minor Pentatonic Positions
A pentatonic scale consists of five intervals (notes) taken from the natural minor scale:
Root (1st), (3rd), (4th), (5th), and the (7th).

The Five Blues Scale Positions
The Blues scale is nothing more than a minor pentatonic scale with an added flat 5th note, which is commonly called the “Blue note.”

There… now that’s not so hard is it?

August 13, 2009 we lost the man who created The Electric Guitar!

I have posted links to “The Chop Shop” in the past and it seemed appropriate today to provide a link to “The Chop Shop Hall of Fame” page that honors Les Paul, and includes a high-resolution (free) download image of the man himself.

From the Chop-Shop Hall-of-Fame Page:
Lester William Polfuss (forever known as “Les Paul”)
Born: June 9, 1915, Died: August 13, 2009

Les Paul was born Lester William Polfuss. Les started playing music on harmonica at the age of 8. By the time he was 13 he was playing guitar in a country band. At age 17 Les dropped out of school to join a radio band at KMOX in St. Louis.

In the mid-30s Les decided he need to make his acoustic guitar louder, and extracted the magnetic receiver from a telephone, used it as a pick up in a 4” X 4” log, inserted into his instrument, and helped create the solid body electric guitar.

In 1947 Les invented a system of sound on sound recording using 8 different guitar parts to create “Lover (When You’re Near Me).” He did the recording with shellac disks. Les would record a track onto a disk, then record himself playing another part, in addition to the 1st recording layer by layer until he was satisfied. This is the 1st known example of multi track recording.

In the early 1950s, Les made a number of revolutionary recordings with his wife, Mary Ford, who sang. These records were unique at the time for their heavy use of overdubbing. Their hits included “How High the Moon,” “Bye Bye Blues,” and “The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise.”

In the 50s Gibson incorporated this design and created the Gibson Les Paul, one of the best selling guitars of all-time.

In 1954, Les continued to develop this technology by commissioning Ampex to build the first eight track tape recorder, at his expense. From this point, he was known as the father of the modern-day recording studio.

In 1978, Les was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

In 1983, he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award.

In 1988, Les was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 1991, The Mix Foundation established an annual award in his name; the Les Paul Award, which honors “individuals or institutions that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of audio technology.”

In 2005, Les was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

In 2006, Les was inducted into the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame. He is also an honorary member of the Audio Engineering Society.

Rest in peace Les Paul, we will NEVER forget you.

Robben Ford has just released a NEW LIVE ALBUM titled “Soul on Ten”.

Jazzuality.com posted an exclusive interview where they asked Robben about the blues, the saxophone, fusion and the new release.

You can read the introduction here, then follow the link for the entire interview.

From Jazzuality:
40 years in business is remarkable, especially when one fills it with colorful experience. Robben Ford is widely known to have a diverse career. Mainly he’s a brilliant blues guitarist with virtuosic skill, but he has marked his path at jazz and rock as well. This has placed him as one of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century” by Musician Magazine plus five Grammy Award nominations. He’s been working with many other big names in different fields, and all these experiences has shaped him into who he is today. Blues is not the same in his hand, because just like a canvas he paints it with many colors and shapes.

Read the entire interview by CLICKING HERE.

Those of you who visit this blog often know that The GuitarDaddy is a huge fan of Joe Bonamassa. It is hard for me to go more than a couple of weeks without posting something about Joe and his amazing guitar skills.

This video appeared on YouTube two weeks ago and the quality is so stunning that I have to share it with The Guitar BUZZ readers.  Be patient as it will take a while to download… once it does, click full-screen HQ then sit back and enjoy. 

This is almost as good as seeing Joe live! FROM THE FRONT ROW!

OK, I realize this title may be offensive to some of you. Please forgive me, I just wanted to get your attention!  There is a new web site service for guitar “lovers” that is totally cool.

The site is called GuitarAffair.

This new site will offer you the ability to enjoy a wide variety of high-end, professional quality guitars, delivered right to your door. At home, on a business trip, or on a vacation, you will have the chance to treat yourself to a truly luxurious guitar, if only for a short time.

From the Guitar Affair web site:

We call our rental experiences “Affairs” because we want each rental to be a positive emotional experience for you. Whether you are on a business trip, a family vacation, or just want an escape at home, we stock a variety of superb guitars that we can deliver to your location for you to enjoy. If you’re on a trip, our Road Trip™ option will deliver a guitar, headphone amp, headphones, cord, strap, and your choice of a variety of instructional items or backing tracks, all in a single road case. When you’re done, just slap on the return shipping label and send it back. What could be easier? All of our guitars are professionally maintained to give you the best experience possible.

How does it work? Enjoying a guitar from Guitar Affair is a simple process:

1. Join – You must be a member in order to rent guitars from Guitar Affair. Because a rental is essentially a credit transaction, they run a credit and background check on all members. There is a $50, one-time membership application fee. You can apply for membership by completing the registration form.
2. Select and reserve a guitar – Simply search their inventory to find an instrument that is available during the desired time frame. You can search the inventory by date, by manufacturer, or by genre.
3. Receive your instrument – Your instrument will be shipped via UPS to your destination, be it a home, hotel, or vacation home. Their guitars ship in custom made Guitar Affair Gig Bags inside a custom made CaseXtreme shipping container.
4. Have fun – Enjoy the guitar for as long as you have it reserved.
5. Return it – On the return ship date, simply put everything back in the shipping container and ship it back. A return UPS label will be provided to you inside the case.

It’s that easy!

So go ahead… have an affair… A GUITAR AFFAIR!

There is a new guitar magazine on the newsstand called Guitar Aficionado.

It is VERY different from all of the other guitar magazines. There is no tab or song translations.

There is no CD or DVD in a plastic bag.

This magazine is more like a “Robb Report” for guitar lovers. It’s all about the high life. The articles are about guitar collections worth millions and lifestyles that are typically only enjoyed by rock stars, CEO’s and celebrities.

Hey… there is nothing wrong with dreaming!

The publisher claims that every issue will include an inside look at the exotic instruments and wondrous collections of people who are passionate about guitars and life’s finer things — including expensive watches, delectable spirits, exotic cars and high fashion.

Like I said… there’s nothing wrong with dreaming!

The Premier issue featured:

• Tom Colicchio: The Top Chef rocks
• Five Blue-Chip Guitars
• At home with Aerosmith’s Joe Perry
• Superstar vintner Robert Foley
• Billy Gibbons’ new Fender Custom Shop Esquire

It also included articles on fine aged bourbons, The Harley V-Rod Muscle, The 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo and touring England like 007 .

Like I said… This is NOT your typical guitar mag!

So lest you think this is a bashing post on the new publication, let me say that I went to my local Barnes & Noble and bought one.  And I love it!

I found myself glued to the magazine for weeks — reading EVERY article. And I can’t wait for the next issue.

Here is a sneak peak at the cover of the 2nd issue… with articles about Jimmy Page, The first electric guitar, Eric Johnson and more…

Guitar Aficionado is not a clone of any other guitar magazine — it is a breath of fresh air. The cover price is $7.99 USD (remember… no cd included) and I recommend you skip the morning Starbucks and go get one.  Better yet, order a 1-year subscription (4 issues) for $24.95 or… put it on your Christmas wish list like I did!

We are all driven and inspired to play like our favorite guitar heroes. We listen to their music and we practice their licks.  We spend hours working on our “Layla” and “Europa” imitations and and perturbed and frustrated when we can’t pull them off note-for-note.

Because of the amazing story of Mark Goffeney, I will not allow that to happen to me — ever again. I will forever look at the guitar — and my ability to “master” playing it — completely different.

I read Mark’s story when a friend emailed me a link to “Ability Magazine”. I immediately went to YouTube look for a video of Mark in action.  All I can say is that this in one of the most inspirational videos I have ever seen.

Mark was born without arms and learned to play the guitar with his feet. He has played and performed as far back as he can remember. He chuckles about being the poster child for “The Easter Seals” and “March of Dimes” telethons.

Mark started singing and playing guitar in a band in the 9th grade. Today, he is the lead guitarist and vocalist for the “Big Toe” band from San Diego.

Take a look at one of the most inspirational videos you will ever see:

There’s a really cool slide show on the AskMen.com web site (I understand that women can visit the site as long as they don’t ask any questions…!)

The slides depict 10 famous guitarists along with their equally famous guitars.

The idea behind the slide show goes like this:

“These iconic guitarists have owned hundreds of different instruments over the years, but the one thing all these men have in common is a deep love for that one special ax. Whether it’s a well-aged acoustic or a banged-up electric, certain guitars have the uncanny ability to become just as famous as their owners.

From the international theft of George Harrison’s “Lucy” to the raging inferno that gave birth to B.B. King’s “Lucille,” these are the stories behind the most celebrated six-strings in the music industry.”

The Top Ten Artists and their famed guitars are:

1. Erick Clapton & “Blakie”
2. Jimi Hendrix & “The Woodstock Strat”
3. Eddie Van Halen & “FrankenStrat”
4. Billy Gibbons & “Miss Pearly Gates”
5. Neil Young & “Old Black”
6. Willie Nelson & “Trigger”
7. Stevie Ray Vaughan & “Lenny”
8. George Harrison & “Lucy”
9. Keith Ricards & “Micawber”
10. B.B King & ” Lucille”

Click HERE to see the entire slide show from the start!

Do you have a favorite guitar and a special story that brought you two together?  We would love to hear about it!