Zack Wiesinger

Guitar Festival in Rhode Island and Halloween Pittsburgh Shows

Zack — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:48:59 +0000

I was invited to play at The Colonel’s Super Dooper Guitar Party in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and Ronnie Grkman (Bass) and Brandon Barnes (Drums) will be my Accessories! We are set to play on Friday Oct 16th with an esteemed line up of guitarist from all over the world. I’ll also be participating in the guitar clinic the following Saturday afternoon with The Colonel and a few other guitarists from the fest! I was told they are going to have a film crew and capture the event for a future DVD release. So, if you can’t make it, keep an eye out for the DVD. It’s gonna be a great time! Can’t wait!

Also, I’ll be playing in Pittsburgh, PA while I’m on the East Coast. Halloween themes for every show. I’ll be playing the Pittsburgh shows with a mix of the usual fellas depending on availability of each band member.

The Dates:
–as guest–
Thursday, October 22, Guitar Zack is Special Guest for Gil Snyder’s Blues Power Open Stage at Irwin Eagles in Irwin, PA. Start Time 8:30PM
–full trio–
Friday, October 23, Guitar Zack and His Accessories at Moondog’s in Blawnox, PA. Start time: 9:00PM
Saturday, October 24, Guitar Zack and His Accessories at Harvey Wilner’s Village Tavern in West Mifflin, PA. Start Time: 9:30PM
Friday October 30, Guitar Zack and His Accessories at The Double Wide Grill in South Side Pittsburgh, PA. Start Time: 9:30PM

I’m really excited to see all the Pittsburgh friends and folk! I might even try to catch a Steelers game while I’m in town…Anybody got tickets available for trade or purchase?!?

See ya soon,
Zack or Thatch

New Bootleg to Hear

Zack — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 00:46:29 +0000

I put up a brief clip of my Pittsburgh band playing Frank Zappa’s “Peaches en Regalia” to check out under the Bootleg section of this here site. Enjoy- (at least until it gets cutoff)!

All Cooped Up

Zack — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:07:57 +0000

Here’s a new tune I made yesterday!
/audio/All-Cooped-Up.mp3
Enjoy! Leave Comments if you want!
Peace,
Zack

Steve Vai DVD

Zack — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:51:24 +0000

Hey Everyone, I am very excited to announce that Steve Vai is releasing his new DVD and CD counterpart of his 2007 String Theories World Tour, Where The Wild Things Are, of which I was included on a few selections playing the Lap Steel! Nearly two years of painstaking video editing and audio mixing and mastering later, Steve Vai will release his DVD and CD on Sept 29. I do mean painstaking. Every time I would stop by The Vai Estate to visit or drop something off, Steve would be diligently working on some aspect of the DVD day in and day out! He’s so particular about every last detail, and there is a lot to be said about all of his hard work and dedication to his craft! He’s probably the hardest working musician in the field, and I respect that and strive to adopt his work ethic in my everyday life.

Well, all his hard work paid off, because the few clips he showed me here and there, after all the audio and video was completed, look and sound amazing! I can’t wait to sit and watch the entire thing at the premiere in Hollywood’s historic Egyptian Theater on Sept 15th! So, for all of you Vai fans in the Los Angeles and surrounding areas, you are invited to the premier for a full screening of the DVD with red carpet entrance of the band members and silent auction. Tickets are $40 bucks and ALL the proceeds from tickets and auction benefit the Hollywood Arts organization of which Steve has been a board member for the past two years. I’ll be there! Hope to see you too! Click the picture above to get all details of ticket purchase and more info on the releases coming out!

Les Paul

Zack — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:49:48 +0000

It’s merely beginning to set in that the father of the electric guitar, the pioneer of multi-track recording, and truly genius musician, Les Paul has passed away yesterday. I never got the chance to see him play or meet him, but I have acquired several LPs and 78s of his recorded legend which is a privilege to drop the needle on the wax each time. Any chance I get to really sit down and listen to any of his classic recordings, I am transfixed by the fact that he invented everything you hear from the very guitar he’s playing to the mesmerizing technique of multi-tracking which creates an orchestra of guitars even down to the tape echo effects. What really amazes me is that he thought to use various speeds of tape to get notes way higher then the guitar can physically go, all while calculating various pitches and tempos to blend in real-time instruments with the sped up ones! Ahhhh!!! What a genius! Truly a remarkable man with countless significant contributions to music and history! It was just last week while he was still with us on this earth that my girlfriend and I celebrated his music in my basement as we danced a two-step to a Capitol label 78 of one of the best versions of Caravan ever! And yesterday, the day of his passing, I went to the record store and picked up a rare LP I have never seen in a store before of him and his trio! I’ll always listen to that particular record with a deep respect and attentiveness. May Les Paul and his legacy live on forever in our hearts and souls.

Guest Appearance Just Added

Zack — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 19:34:49 +0000

I’ll be the guitar player for the Irwin Blues Jam at The Irwin Eagles Club backing up Gil Snyder and Special Guest Kenny Blake on Sax. Come out and bring your instrument of choice and sit in with us! It’s a jam session. First set is the core band, and after that, we get all the musicians in the house to come up and play a bit! See you next Thursday The 30th of JULY at 8:30PM!
Zack

New Show Announcements

Zack — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 05:04:16 +0000

We had a blast up in New York. Thank You to all who came out to see us! Photos and Video Clips coming up soon!

OK, we’re gonna be playing At Moondog’s on Friday the 31st of July at 9:30AM. Sike PM!

Debuting a show at Club Cafe on Carson Street for all you South Siders and local Yinzers on Thirsty Thursday August 6th. (opening band “The Drew Bently Band”). Doors at 7:00PM. We start at 8:30PM.
VENUE INFO:
Venue: Club Cafe
Address: 56-58 South 12th Street
Pittsburgh PA, 15203
Phone: 412.431.4950
Website: www.clubcafelive.com
Capacity: 140 (Let’s sell this puppy out and get rowdy! Tell Everyone! First time here- Don’t want it to be the last- haha!)
**TICKETING / SHOW INFO:
Promoter Ticketing [TicketWeb]:
Web: www.ticketweb.com/clubcafe
Phone: 866-468-3401
Announce Date: Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Onsale Date: Saturday, July 25, 2009

ADV Price: $6.00 DOS Price: $6.00
Doors: 7:00pm Music: 7:30pm Curfew: 11:00pm
Ages: 21+

Then my last show on the East Coast for a while is at Harvey’s in West Mifflin! (My Alma Mater) An Epic Show is Anticipated! A true West Mifflin Reunion of both the Baby Boomer Generation and it’s Offspring Generation in the West Mifflin area! And of course neighboring cities are welcome with open arms! Hope to see all the familiar faces out! No Cover! Bring more people and tell them that little enticing fact!

See you at all of them!
Zack

I made it!

Zack — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:09:29 +0000

Finally after all these years of hard work and dedication, one of my CDs ended up in Amoeba Records in Hollywood, CA on the corner of Sunset and Cahuenga for $1.99 in the clearance bin! I can finally go to sleep!

Now I know how Navin Johnson felt when he got published in the Phone Book!
Zack

Steel Guitar Rag for No Particular Reason

Zack — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:59:45 +0000

It’s late, and I was having difficulties working out a tricky riff for a new tune. So, I took a detour into the 30’s with a very short version of Steel Guitar Rag played on my Silver Strat through my Blackface Princeton, a few overdrive pedals, and my beloved Echoplex!
I guess, enjoy?
/audio/Steel-Guitar-Rag.mp3
Zack

Most Spun Record of the week July-1-2009

Zack — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:03:22 +0000

It’s Wednesday again, and you people know what that means (YOU PEOPLE?!?!?- Who are you calling “You People?”)… It’s time for the most spun record of the week. And the winner with a close “You Only Live Twice” runner-up is… Alvino Rey and His Orchestra “A Drowsy Old Riff.” I read the back of the album, and learned so many cool things about Alvino. This particular record is a pressing from the 1970’s, but it’s a compilation of recordings from the 1940’s with Alvino Rey at the standard electric guitar as well as his “Console Guitar” (nowadays they are called “pedal steel” guitars). He was one of the first to use an electric guitar prototype pickup that he acquired from The Gibson Company in 1935. I read that he was too humble to make the claim that he played the first electric guitar (everyone thinks it was Les Paul). By 1939, he formed his own big band, and later gained further fame with The Kings Sisters.

What kept me coming back to this record was the best version I have ever heard of “In The Hall of The Mountain King.” (I’ll try to put up an Mp3 to hear later, but I wanted to get this post up today since it is indeed Wednesday). His “console guitar” has such an interesting tone throughout the recordings. At times you think he’s improvising a really odd riff or passage on his standard electric or his console slide guitar, but the horns mimic him verbatim which reveals that it was all brilliantly preconceived. This is highly impressive to me because these call and responses are displayed so naturally that they feel improvised. His orchestra is so tight and well-rehearsed, and another talent to be noted is the piano player who sprinkles the most dexterous little ear candy through the entire album in the most tastefully skilled manner.

I learned about Alvino Rey through hearing a record I obtained a few years ago called “Other Worlds Other Sounds” by Esquivel. I did research to find out who the steel guitar player was, and since I latched onto his name, I have been finding Alvino Rey records all across the country as I travel and play shows and visit record shops in between. I only paid 3 bucks for “A Drowsy Riff” of a gem! I hope you find yourself a copy to enjoy over the weekend!

Tell me what you have been into this week! Leave a comment! (it’s free and environmentally friendly- or just mentally friendly!)

-Zack-