Any time you can see Joe Satriani, Billy Cox, Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Ernie Isley, David Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas, Doyle Bramhall II, Hubert Sumlin and Jonny Lang for the price of one concert ticket – how can you lose?

I was a little too far from the stage to capture a quality video with my “Flip” camera but a quick search of YouTube allowed me to relive my personal favorite performance of the night. Check out Jonny Lang and his red-hot version of Jimi Hendrix’ FIRE.

Note: This video was from Las Vegas show which was a couple of days before the Phoenix show, but the quality and sound are very good — plus this is exactly how I remember them performing it in Phoenix!

Crystal Bowersox is one of American Idol’s Season #9 frontrunner girls. She is certainly my favorite.

One reviewer wrote : The 23-year-old former farmgirl and single mom has a headful of dreads, a chinful of facial piercings, and a mouthful of sandpaper-and-velvet.

She’s been strumming and singing since the age of 10 and cites trailblazing blues women like Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Bonnie Raitt, and Sista Otis as her own musical influrnces. Her most notable “idol” might be Melissa Etheridge–as evidenced by the “Melissa” autograph on the body of her acoustic guitar.

She looks destined to make the “Top 12″ — especially after her soulful performance last night of “Give Me One Reason”.
(video below)

I noticed that her electric guitar has not been signed. Looks like a great place for a “GuitarDaddy” autograph! Hey Crystal, is that space for sale?

Taylor Guitars, Jason Mraz & Spin Magazine are giving you a chance to win Jason Mraz’s Signature Model guitar! The guitar was played and signed by Jason himself at the 2010 NAMM show. You can watch the video of the performance below or by CLICKING HERE.

The Grand Prize Winner will also receive a Taylor Guitars prize pack, which includes a t-shirt, hat, digital tuner and guitar strap, plus an autographed copy of Jason’s latest release, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things., and a one-year subscription to SPIN magazine!

After you enter, you have the option to recruit three Facebook friends to get in on the prizes. If you win, each friend wins a Baby Taylor guitar signed by Jason and a Taylor Guitars prize pack!

Sounds Like nothing to lose on this one… like they say, “You can’t win if you don’t enter”. CLICK HERE for the entry form.

The Experience Hendrix Tour opened on 3/4/2010 in Santa Barbara, Ca and stops in Phoenix on Sunday night.

It features Joe Satriani, Billy Cox of Gypsys and the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Sacred Steel featuring Robert Randolph, Jonny Lang, Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Ernie Isley, David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas from Los Lobos, Doyle Bramhall II, Living Colour, Legendary Howlin’ Wolf guitarist Hubert Sumlin and Chris Layton of Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble performing music written by and associated with Jimi Hendrix.

The Experience Hendrix Tour is presented by Experience Hendrix, LLC, the Hendrix family-owned company founded by James A. “Al” Hendrix, Jimi’s father, entrusted with preserving and protecting the legacy of Jimi Hendrix. Earlier this year, Sony Music Entertainment’s Legacy Division and Experience Hendrix entered into a worldwide catalog licensing venture to make all of Jimi’s extraordinary music, including classic albums, never before heard archive recordings, and filmed concerts available through all forms of media.

Launching on the west coast, the month-long tour will bring the troupe of players, each a headliner in his or her own right, to concert venues in major U.S. markets including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis and Atlanta.

While somebody out there knows who will win the Academy Award for Best Actor tomorrow night, I assure you it’s not me.

But I do have my favorite and I will be rooting big time for Jeff Bridges.

His incredible performance playing the troubled country singer Bad Blake in Crazy Heart (CLICK HERE for more about the movie) was all I needed to join one of those movie download sites so I could replay it over and over before the DVD comes out.

Jeff will be on the cover of the upcoming issue of Guitar Aficionado.

Referring to his career as an actor and his passion for music, Bridges says, “I dug what an actor did, but it took me a while to feel it, to truly appreciate the craft and the preparation. Plus, I was still playing music a lot, and I guess I had a hard time choosing: was I an actor or a musician, or could I be both?”

As for his Crazy Heart character, Bridges explains, “Bad Blake is one of those ‘Dude’ parts. It’s the kind of part you know you’re born to play. Bad’s the last of a breed, one of those guys they just don’t make anymore—like Kris [Kristofferson] or Waylon Jennings or Merle Haggard. The role was such an open canvas for me to work with. And hey, the chance to actually do my own singing and guitar playing on film—what a trip!”

Crazy Heart earned Bridges his fifth Academy Award nomination and his second in the Best Actor category.

I have always admired Jeff as an actor, but as I watched Crazy Heart I kept saying over and over… “This Guy Missed His calling!”. Honestly, he did not miss a thing. He hit the mark of perfection with this performance dead-on-perfect.

The DVD will be released soon. There soundtrack CD is available today.

Watch the movie trailer HERE:

March 7, 2010 UPDATE: CONGRATULATIONS JEFF BRIDGES!!!

For most of my guitar-playing life, I’ve been trying to find the secret to becoming a better guitarist. I’ve spent countless hours reading magazines and books, scouring the Internet, and searching for teachers. What I’ve learned is this: There is no secret.

Becoming a better guitarist takes hard work, dedication, and perseverance. There are no shortcuts. This is a lesson that has taken me many years to learn. Actually, I’m still learning this lesson. The way all the guitarists I admire got better was by playing, listening, and learning. That’s what it’ll take for me and you to get better, too.
-Josh, Guitar Lifestyle

If you have never visited his blog, you are missing out on a great read. Check it out!

Now, on The Golf Channel, you can follow every step of John Daly’s road back to being one of the most elite golfers in the world.

I love John’s quote: “I don’t think anything’s ever too late”. I am rooting for you Big John!

“Being John Daly“ will chronicle not only Daly’s rededication to the game, but also his life makeover. As you witness his successes, failures and struggles, you’ll ultimately be with him on his roller coaster ride to potential redemption.

His work is an inspiration to many with themes that include the struggle for freedom, and forgiveness and reconciliation with enemies.

Vusi can be heard performing on Warren Haynes’ Live at Bonnaroo release during the song “Soulshine” and with the Dave Matthews Band on “Everyday”, from the album of the same name.

Vusi was also one of the performers at the Live 8 concerts.

It has been said that Vusi Mahlasela sings as a bird does: in total response to being alive. Apart from his remarkable songwriting talent, Mahlasela is in fact blessed with one of the most remarkable voices in contemporary popular music.

In June 2007, Mahlasela performed “Thula Mama” at the TED Conference. The video of that performance is presented HERE.

ENJOY!

If you are looking for some super-hi-resolution guitar photos to use as background images on your Windows PC you will want to take a look at Blirk.net.

They have more than just guitar images and they support the popular resolutions like 1024×768, 1280×1024, 1600×1200 and 1920×1200.

Check it out! Great stuff!

Don’t believe me?

• A search on Amazon.com for “Guitar Instruction Book” returns 5,442 titles.
• “Guitar Chords” returns 3,771.
• “Guitar Scales” finds another 779!

So why do we need more study books? We don’t. What we need are new perspectives and creative ideas to learn from. Guy’s Publishing Group has delivered on both counts.

Last summer, I posted a review of a breakthrough guitar chord reference book titled: “Guys Grids”. If you missed that post, check it out: Guy’s Grids: A Master Class in Guitar Chords.

The much anticipated follow up to Guys Grids is now available!

Guy’s Scales, Modes, and Arpeggios is a comprehensive and integrated presentation of all of the most commonly used guitar scales, modes, and arpeggios in all regions of the fretboard.

Every guitarist knows that playing a solo is a skill that requires a strong working knowledge of scales and arpeggios. This book delivers that information in a very user-friendly format that guitarists of all levels will be able to follow with ease.

The book begins with a simple but well executed 5-page study on music theory and is followed by two-page spreads that show the fingering patterns and the corresponding standard notation. The fingering patterns are presented in a grid format, with each horizontal row showing scale patterns, arpeggios and chords all being played in one region of the fretboard. Then, each vertical column displays the same set of information in seven different regions of the fretboard. In the appendix, Guy presents a comprehensive set of triad studies which follow a similar grid format.

“I wrote this book because I needed a comprehensive resource on scales, modes, and arpeggios and I could not find one that I really liked… What really sets the book apart is its thoroughness and clarity. I believe that it will soon be recognized as the definitive resource book on scales, modes, and arpeggios.”
- Author Guy McRoskey (a guitarist)

Make no mistake, I am very impressed with this book. The print quality is superb.  The paper quality is thick and sturdy and yet the book is thin enough to fit inside your gig bag. One thing I really love is that Guy addressed a pet-peeve of mine with most other guitar instruction books by using a spiral binding so the book would lay flat while you are using it. Thank’s Guy!

The book is available directly from the company website for $14.95 and through select retailers. I’d suggest you order one before he realizes he under-priced this encyclopedic reference tool!

To learn more, visit www.GuysGrids.com.