Everything Else...

Rhapsody Debuts John Mayer's Battle Studies a Week Early - Album Review

Will Chen — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:21:00 -0600

John Mayer's latest, Battle Studies, has a release date of November 17th. However, Rhapsody subscribers were treated to a nice little treat when they debuted the album a week early. I gave it a listen and it's hard to imagine this is the same guy who wrote all those the top 40 pop hits in the early 2000's. This is a much more mature Mayer with the lyrical depth one only achieves by getting some years under their belt and getting their heart broken a few times. The album substitutes much of the bluesy groove and Hendrix inspired riffing of Continuum with a subtle, rootsy, Americana tinged shuffle polished with his smooth pop sensibilities.

On the whole, the album is perhaps more mellow than his most recent body of work placing his recently showcased guitar chops in the back seat in favor of densely arranged and produced tracks which somehow sound both smooth and raw at the same time, quite a feat. That being said, he still gives us some tasteful flashes of his lyrical soloing style such as the intro and outro solos of Perfectly Lonely and the bluesy overdriven wailing in Assassin, . Where the album really shines though is when Mayer really pushes outside his saftey zone such as the soulful yet Beatles-esque Friends, Lovers, or Nothing and the fuzzed out, retro soul tinged cover of the Robert Johnson's (popularized by Cream) classic Crossroads.

On Battle Studies, Mayer doesn't reinvent himself retaining enough of his signature sound to keep his long time fans happy yet calls upon some new influences to keep things sounding fresh. Mayer's voice sounds better than ever substituting the forced breathy timbre of his early career with a very controlled and velvety croon. I was hoping to hear a jazz ballad as the album progressed but he's gotta save something for next time...

THE BIG BOSS GIVEAWAY—GUESS THE RIFF, GET THE GEAR

Will Chen — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:26:00 -0600

Los Angeles, CA, November 2, 2009 — BOSS is giving the tone freaks everywhere the chance to win autographed BOSS pedals by top guitar heroes and $1,000 in BOSS gear with The Big BOSS Giveaway.

To enter, contestants should visit www.BossUS.com/BigBossGiveaway, listen to the featured riff, and pick out the BOSS Distortion or Overdrive pedal that is used to make that particular tone.

The riff will change every two weeks, and a different signed BOSS pedal from a famous guitar hero will be given away, as well as $1,000 in BOSS gear. In addition, a grand prize of $1,000 in BOSS gear and one signed pedal from each of the four guitar heroes will be given to any contestant who enters the contest between November 1 and December 31, 2009. Contestants can enter once every two-week period, giving them up to five chances to win.

The Big BOSS Giveaway Prize Lineup:

Grand Prize

11/1/09–12/31/09

One signed pedal for each guitar hero (four in all) and $1,000 in BOSS gear

Biweekly Prizes

11/1/09–11/14/09 Dave Navarro signed DS-1 and $1,000 in BOSS gear

11/15/09–11/30/09 Frank Gambale signed TU-2 and $1,000 in BOSS gear

12/1/09–12/15/09 Yngwie Malmsteen signed NS-2 and $1,000 in BOSS gear

12/16/09–12/31/09 Lincoln Brewster signed DN-2 and $1,000 in BOSS gear

Contest eligible in the U.S. only. For more information, visit www.BossUS.com/BigBossGiveaway.

Yet Another Rock Supergoup - Them Crooked Vultures

Will Chen — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:22:00 -0600

In a time when rock supergroups seem to be in vogue with Velvet Revolver and Chickenfoot being the most recently successful, it only seemed a matter of time before drummer/guitarist extraordinaire and Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl threw his hat into the mix. However, rather than going the more commercially safe route the previously mentioned bands traveled, Grohl's project Them Crooked Vultures looks to be an aggressive mix of groove oriented grunge which brings some authority back the alternative genre (which in name has largely become a parody of itself, alternative to what?).

Them Crooked Vultures features Grohl on drums, Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) serving guitar/vocal duty, and none other than John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) on bass.

The bands self titled debut album is scheduled for release Nov 17th in the US and you can here the album's first single, New Fang, at their website.

Thank You!

Will Chen — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:41:00 -0600

I keep a watchful eye on my visitor stats to see which articles generate the most interest and where the majority of my visitors come from and today I was simply overwhelmed. I mean, I started this little labor of love in February of 2007 with fingers crossed giving myself two years to judge whether this project would be a success or failure. Here we are nearly two years later and the site has taken off averaging around 9,000 visitors a month with a fast growing subscriber list and a forum beginning to generate some of it's own momentum. I've seen articles from the site translated into Chinese, Italian, French, and a few languages which I don't even recognize. It brings me great joy that my little concept has provided such a useful service to so many.

Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for those of you who have loaned/provided gear for review or directly financially supported FrugalGuitarist.com via donation or advertising; Jeff, Alan, John, Brian, and Zack for their written contributions and to all of you out there for spreading the word about FrugalGuitarist.com and supporting our advertisers and affiliates.

Finally and most importantly a big thanks to my wife, son and the rest of my family for the support and understanding they've provided over the years.

Wearable Rock -ThinkGeek Realeases a Playable Guitar Shirt

Will Chen — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:10:00 -0600

You know, I was trying to think of some type of witty commentary to go with this video but you just have to watch it. One the one hand, I feel the need to giggle. On the other, my inner nerd thinks this is the coolest thing since the Commodore 64...

Here's a link to the ThinkGeek site for more info.

AC/DC - America Airlines Center Dallas, TX Nov 2nd, 2009

Will Chen — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:28:00 -0600

In an age when it seems over polished acts which focus more on looks and style rather than substance has thoroughly infected rock, it’s invigorating that AC/DC can still rock with the same politically incorrect raw intensity which has keep them relevant for over three decades. The band stopped in Dallas (for the second time) on Nov 2 in support of their new album, Black Ice.

I hadn’t seen AC/DC before but had been told by many friends that AC/DC puts on one of the best shows they’d ever seen. So with elevated expectations, I entered the arena.

The show opened with a humorous animation in which a devilish Angus Young’s attempts to run a train of the rails were being challenged by a couple buxom scantily clad women. The end of the animation resulted in the busting of a large oversized “rock and roll” train through (actually between) a large screen above the stage complete with sparks and explosions. Wasting no time, the band launched into Rock and Roll Train, the first track and strongest performing single off Black Ice.

While Brian Johnson’s strutting is beginning to bear the signs of an older gentleman more akin to Tom Jones than today’s rock front men, I have to give it to the guys; they’re in their 50’s and 60’s and still perform with an energy that many young bands wish they had. Angus Young on the other hand appeared as youthful as ever constantly running and duck walking back and forth across the stage for the entire show.

The band hit a great mix across all their albums including fan favorites Hells Bells featuring a large bell from which Brian Johnson swung , Whole Lotta Rosie with a large blow up Rosie straddling the train set, and closing the show with For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) with cannons blazing.

AC/DC delivered beyond my expectations and if you’ve never seen them, I strongly suggest adding them to your list of bands to catch the next time they come to your town.

Tradition Jerry Reid Classic Vintage, Hagstrom XL-5, and More Published

Will Chen — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:41:00 -0600

Just published a review of a prototype Tradition Jerry Reid Classic Vintage and a the return of Alan 'Frets99" Sirvent with a review of the Hagstrom Ultralux XL-5. If you've ever been annoyed at the beamy nature of your guitar amp, I stumbled across a cheap and effective method for Taming the Beam as well.

For those contributing over at the the forum, thanks! If you haven't registered yet, what are you waiting for? Come on over and provide your feedback on articles or start a topic.

Happy Birthday Keith Urban!

Will Chen — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:56:00 -0600

New Zealand born country singer and guitarist Keith Urban was born October 26, 1967

Windows 7, Digital Audio, and You

Will Chen — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:47:00 -0600

So here we are a day away from the release of much hyped Windows 7 and the early word is it is a vast improvement in stability over Vista rivaling the stability of Windows XP but with some major tweaks to enhance multi threading performance and memory usage. Will it offer the average DAW enough of an improvement to warrant an upgrade? The jury is still out. To the best of my knowledge Cakewalk is the only company with a marketing push claiming Windows 7 compatibility. But even if your DAW is compatible, that doesn’t guarantee all your lovely VST effects and instruments will be nor your audio interface. Personally, I’m very excited about the release and am looking forward to giving it a spin but will likely wait a bit to hear the reports of the early converters.

Here's a couple links detailing some of the enhancements in the Windows 7 operating system and how they will affect/improve the DAW user experience:

http://blog.cakewalk.com/how-windows-7-will-effect-your-music-production/

http://createdigitalmusic.com/2009/09/29/obsessive-windows-7-under-the-hood-guide-for-music-can-you-finally-dump-xp/#more-7680

FrugalGuitarist.com Unveils Website Redesign

Will Chen — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:56:00 -0600

I've been hard at work redesigning the FrugalGuitarist.com layout to kick it up a notch and deployed the changes last night. There's still a few loose ends which need to be tied up but all in all I'm very excited about it. Stop by and take a look. And while you're at the site, be sure and visit the forum and let me know if you like the new design.