For Al’s side of the story regarding his cancelled Australian tour, head over to this post on his official forum.

Some very sad news this weekened. Rest in peace Charlie.

Charlie Wicks, founder of Pro Co Sound, passes away at age 65

Kalamazoo, MI— Charlie Wicks, founder, owner and CEO of Pro Co Sound, Inc. passed away on the morning of March 11, 2010 due to complications related to his battle with cancer.

Charlie, 65, was an icon in the audio industry.   He formed Pro Co in the early 1970’s to manufacture P.A. speakers and shifted to manufacturing cables and interconnect products in 1974.  From that starting point he successfully led the company over the next four decades to become a global presence in the audio industry.  Charlie was known affectionately throughout the audio industry by his non-traditional and self-proclaimed title of “The Captain of the Universe”.  He was a rare and unique blend of tinker, teacher, philosopher, leader and salesman. “The Captain” always challenged those around him to think-outside-of-the-box, as he did. His company, Pro Co Sound, is a reflection of Charlie’s dedication to find solutions to his customers’ problems.

In recent years, Charlie’s health became an impediment to his direct involvement in the business. Debbe Stephenson, friend and President of Pro Co stated, “While our hope has always been that Charlie would return healthy and able to run the company he loved so dearly and put so much of himself into, he will remain in our hearts as we continue to carry on his dream.”

While he worked tirelessly to grow and improve his business, Charlie was also a leader who cared deeply for his employees, customers and vendors.  He created and maintained a family-like environment at Pro Co. He wanted to foster an environment where all could contribute.  Sammy Ash, COO of Sam Ash Music, Corp. added, “He was a very good friend of this company and family. We have had a personal and professional relationship for close to 30 years now. He had a few personal tragedies but he never wore them on his sleeve. We always had a good chuckle. For those who didn’t know, his nickname was “Captain of the Universe”. To this day I do not know how that came about but it always seemed to fit when you saw him smile, it was as wide as the Grand Canyon or as “Big as the Universe”. He will be missed.”

Charlie was a dog lover.  He was very involved in the care and well being of local abandoned animals.  He and his wife Willie formed the organization Canine Safe Harbor in 2006 where they personally provided care for dogs that have lost their families.

Most people, who knew Charlie, were acquainted with him through his business, but few knew he was also a gifted organist and performed in a musical group prior to forming Pro Co.  He received a Bachelor of the Arts degree from Kalamazoo College, in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Charlie leaves behind his wife, Willie and son, John.  He was predeceased by his son, Stacey.

At the request of the family, in lieu of flowers, please make donations to Canine Safe Harbor, 8171 W. KL Ave., Kalamazoo, MI 49009.  caninesafeharbor.com.  Funeral services will be held on Sunday March 14, 2010 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm at Betzlers Funeral Home 6080 Stadium Drive, Kalamazoo, MI  269-375-2900.

© Christie Goodwin

CHICKENFOOT – GET YOUR BUZZ ON “LIVE”

Eagle Rock Entertainment is pleased to announce the April 26th Uk Blu-ray and DVD release of Chickenfoot: Get Your Buzz On “Live” – one of the most highly anticipated live rock’n’roll concert experiences of the year. The Blu-ray & DVD will be released in America on April 20th by EMI America.

Filmed with 16 hi-definition cameras over three sold out concerts, Chickenfoot: Get Your Buzz On “Live” offers fans an unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience four rock’n’roll legends sharing the stage and blowing the roof off with their explosive musicianship and dynamic onstage chemistry.

Chickenfoot, who won Best New Band of 2009 at the UK’s prestigious Classic Rock Magazine Awards, and originally formed in 2008, features vocalist Sammy Hagar (ex-Van Halen, Montrose), bassist Michael Anthony (ex-Van Halen), drummer Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani.

The band’s self-titled debut album, released in heat sensitive packaging, was released to critical acclaim in June 2009, and has since been certified gold in both America and Canada with sales in excess of 750,000 copies. During the same year, the band embarked on a small North American club tour, performed in Europe in the summer including the Montreux Festival and returned to North America to perform two sold out tours, one in the summer, followed by another in the fall.

During the summer of 2009, the electrifying, hi-energy concert performances were filmed in hi-definition by award-winning director Daniel E. Catullo III (Rush, Creed, Godsmack, Smashing Pumpkins) and mixed in DTS 5.1 Surround Sound by Mike Fraser.

The Blu-ray and DVD features one full concert shot at the Dodge Theater in Phoenix, Arizona on September 23rd, 2009, plus live segments from shows at the Tabernacle in Atlanta, Georgia and The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Blu-ray and DVD editions of this exciting concert are jam-packed with exclusive, never-before-seen backstage footage, rare interviews, extra performance footage, photo gallery and hilarious segments featuring a host of surprise special guests including Adam Corolla, Bob Weir and Christopher Guest alias “Nigel Tufnel” from the hit movie Spinal Tap.

Track Listing:

1. Avenida Revolution
2. Sexy Little Thing
3. Soap On A Rope
4. My Kinda Girl
5. Down The Drain
6. Bitten By The Wolf
7. Oh Yeah
8. Learnin’ To Fall
9. Get It Up
10. Turnin’ Left
11. Future In The Past
12. Bad Motor Scooter
13. My Generation

Main Concert:

Running Time: 97 minutes (approx)

Bonus Features:

Documentary
Band Interviews
Running time: 60 minutes (approx)
Photo Gallery

Chickenfoot – Line-Up:

Sammy Hagar – Vocals, Guitar
Michael Anthony – Bass, Vocals
Joe Satriani – Guitar, Vocals
Chad Smith- Drums, Vocals

Audio:

dts 5.1 Surround Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Stereo (DVD)
LPCM Stereo (Blu-ray)

Screen Format:
16:9

LINK: Chickenfoot.us

Chickenfoot: Get Your Buzz On “Live” is released in the UK on DVD and Blu-ray by Eagle Rock Entertainment on April 26th. The DVD and Blu-ray will be released in the US by EMI America on April 20th. Further info: Chickenfoot.us

© Christie Goodwin

© Christie Goodwin

© Christie Goodwin

In what has probably got to be a world first, Mike Keneally Band and the Bryan Beller Band are joining forces for a 5-show tour of the US. It’s got to be the first time anywhere ever that Mike Keneally, Rick Musallem, Bryan Beller, Joe Travers and Griff Peters (the new expanded Mike Keneally Band) have shared the stage with Mike Keneally, Rick Musallem, Bryan Beller, Joe Travers and Griff Peters (the Bryan Beller Band). That’s right, it’s the ‘THEY’RE BOTH THE SAME BAND’ tour!

The following is from Bryan Beller’s latest ‘BellerBytes’ email.

BellerBytes Breaking News: Bryan Beller Band To Tour Northeast With Mike Keneally Band In Early May!

Yes, you read that subject right.

The maiden road voyage of the Bryan Beller Band will be a 5-city tour of the Northeast, supporting my longtime friend, partner, and mentor Mike Keneally.

Not only will the two bands tour together, but the two bands will share members! We’re calling it the “THEY’RE BOTH THE SAME BAND – NORTHEAST TOUR 2010.” Cute, huh?

Here’s the joint lineup:

Mike Keneally – guitar/keys/vocals

Rick Musallam – guitar/backing vocals

Griff Peters – guitar

Bryan Beller – bass

Joe Travers – drums

And the dates at a glance are:

Tuesday 5/4 – Philadelphia, PA: World Cafe Live

Wednesday 5/5 – New Haven, CT: (Lilly’s Pad at) Toad’s Place

Friday 5/7 – Boston, MA: The Regattabar Jazz Club at the Charles Hotel

Saturday 5/8 – New York City, NY: Highline Ballroom

Sunday 5/9 – Baltimore, MD: Orion Sound Studios

This is my first-ever real tour, and the Bryan Beller Band will be playing tunes from both Thanks In Advance and View. Meanwhile, this will also be the touring debut of live material from Keneally’s amazing new album Scambot:One. The five-piece band is a new configuration for Mike’s constantly evolving live project, and I can’t wait to see what he does with it.

I cannot express how grateful I am to Mike Keneally and Exowax Recordings Head Dude Scott Chatfield for giving the green light to this idea. I am deeply committed to the tour’s success (in other words, I’m putting my money where my mouth is!), and I invite you to come out and enjoy a really unique concert experience.

You’re getting early word on this. Some of these venue websites might not have the gig posted yet. Trust me, it’s happening.

I am beyond excited about this. I hope you are too.

I also know that some folks in other parts of the country might be thinking about flying into the NE for this. I won’t discourage it, that’s all I’m saying. I don’t know when we’ll do this again. Hopefully sooner than five years, but you never know. It depends on how this all goes.

So…see you there, right?

Here goes nothing,

Bryan Beller

Head to bryanbeller.com for more info and to sign up for BellerBytes!

:( Noooooooooooooo! I was so looking forward to this! Unfortunately Al Di Meola’s Australian tour has been cancelled. If you’ve already bought tickets, click here for info about refunds.

The promoter’s site says the tour was cancelled after unsuccessful negotiations with the artist.

Tone hounds rejoice! The new Gibson Slash Appetite For Destruction is upon us! It ain’t cheap but man does it look good. The original, of course, was built by Kris Derrig and you can read more about it here – and click here to see Andy Brauer with the original and one of the new Gibson replicas.

The Axe That Launched a Thousand Riffs

From his groundbreaking work with Gn’R, to Slash’s Snakepit, to Velvet Revolver and numerous acclaimed solo and side projects, Slash has continued to embody the ultimate rebel rocker, putting addictive licks and eviscerating tone above all else, and throughout he has continued to do it on a Les Paul. To honor this achievement, Gibson introduces the Slash Appetite for Destruction Les Paul, a guitar equipped with the finest features of the original Les Paul Standards of 1958-’60, and the added punch of Seymour Duncan Signature Series Alnico II Pro Slash humbucking pickups. With looks to kill from a Grade AAA “reverse-chevron” figured maple top with nitrocellulose “Unburst” finish, amber top-hat knobs, rosewood fingerboard with traditional trapezoid inlays, and Slash headstock graphic, and enhanced resonance from a TonePros Tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece at one end and a high-density Corian nut at the other, the Slash Appetite for Destruction Les Paul is as prime a piece of eye candy as it is ear candy.

Playability, naturally, is flawless, thanks to a solid one-piece Grade A quarter-sawn mahogany neck with Slash’s preferred slim ’60s profile, and the 12″ fingerboard radius and 22 jumbo frets that have made Les Pauls notorious for big, meaty rock bends for more the past 50 years. All Slash Appetite for Destruction Les Pauls come with plush-lined hardshell case with silkscreened Slash graphic and Owner’s Manual.

Body and Finish
Crafted from a Grade AAA maple top with Slash-style “reverse chevron” figuring and weight-relieved mahogany body, the Slash Appetite for Destruction Les Paul is finished in nitrocellulose lacquer that replicates a beautifully faded vintage Les Paul Standard. The maple-mahogany combination and thin nitro finish help to bring the most out of these guitars, both tonally and visually.

Pickups and Electronics
To Slash’s own specifications, the Slash Appetite for Destruction Les Paul carries a set of Seymour Duncan Signature Series Alnico II Pro Slash humbucking pickups, which are made in the image of the original Gibson PAF humbucking pickups. From a rich, throaty wail at the neck position to a muscular, eviscerating roar at the bridge, these pickups offer all the tonal versatility that has made the Les Paul Standard famous. Their full splendor is transmitted via a Switchcraft selector switch, high-quality potentiometers with Orange Drop tone caps, and a robust Switchcraft output jack.

Neck and Headstock
The guitar’s neck and headstock are made in the classic tradition of the original 1958-’60 Les Pauls. Carved from a single piece of quarter-sawn mahogany, and topped with a rosewood fingerboard, the design incorporates Gibson’s lauded 17-degree back-angled headstock, which contributes greatly to the instrument’s resonance and sustain.

Hardware
In the image of the great Les Paul Standards of the 1958-’60 the Slash Appetite for Destruction Les Paul wears a classic set of hardware, all enhanced for the tonal standards Slash demands. A TonePros Tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece offer uncompromising resonant coupling between strings and body, while a set of Kluson-style tuners combines an authentic vintage look with efficient modern performance.

LINK: Gibson.com

Christopher Lee is badass. Count Dooku. Sauruman. Dracula. The dude is so metal he makes Ronnie James Dio look like Rainbow Brite, and Rainbow Brite look like Strawberry Shortcake. Check out this press release about his new symphonic metal album. That’s rude, dude’s 87 and he’s releasing a metal album. Think you’ll be that hardcore at 87? Prolly not. Because Christopher Lee is badass.

Legendary actor Christopher Lee, who has appeared in such cinematic milestones as “Lord Of The Rings”, “Star Wars”, “The Man with the Golden Gun” and “Dracula”, was recently interviewed by Metal Express Radio’s U.K.-based reporter Mick Burgess about Lee’s forthcoming album, “Charlemagne”. You can now listen to the 12-minute chat at this location.

A concept effort with original words and symphonic metal music, “Charlemagne” will be released on March 15 via via Charlemagne Productions Ltd.

Composer Marco Sabiu, best known for his collaborations with Kylie Minogue, TAKE THAT, Pavarotti and Morricone, has created a truly epic canvas by introducing modern metal symphonies, in a style which resembles a movie score. Marie-Claire Calvet, a graduate from Bristol University, transports the listener into “The Dark Ages”, with a very powerful storyline and mesmerizing lyrics. A full orchestra, heavy metal musicians, choir and special guest vocalists bring the legend of Charlemagne to life.

The Carandinis, Lee’s maternal ancestors, were given the right to bear the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire by the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. Through his Carandini ancestors, Christopher Lee has a direct link to Charlemagne, and has decided for the first time in his life to pay homage to his distinguished ancestor, who is credited as The Father of Europe.

Lee, 87, has previously collaborated with MANOWAR and RHAPSODY OF FIRE.

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/charlemagnemusical.

I’m not sure when it happened. Some time between chaining a few distortion pedals and a graphic EQ together for pure evil Dimebag Darrell tone when I was 16, and my 27^th birthday or thereabouts, I started to hear the call. Quiet at first, maybe a little distant and muffled, but definitely there. It got louder over the years, and increasingly raspier and sharper. Then before I knew it, there it was:

Fuzz.

I’m not sure why I hadn’t thought of it before. Maybe it was because I spent my teens in an era where amp distortion was king, and even pedal distortion was relatively frowned upon as being synthetic. Maybe it was because I thought of fuzz as, to paraphrase Dethklok, ‘grandpa’s distortion.’ But whatever mental roadblock was coming between me and glorious fuzz gradually started to shift, and now I can’t get enough of those little germanium or silicon-chipped wonders.

My first indication that I was becoming a true analog fuzz hound was when I bought, of all things, a Boss GT-8 digital processor, and found myself dwelling more and more upon the fuzz effects rather than all the other cool stuff the pedal did. A little while later an MXR Classic 108 Fuzz drifted across my desk to review for Mixdown Magazine, and I was instantly in love. You can read that review here to see what I mean. A little while after that I was lucky enough to be loaned a seemingly unstoppable succession of Roger Mayer fuzz pedals to review for Australian Guitar magazine, and I guess that’s when my love of the fuzz really kicked in. As you may know, Roger Mayer is famous for designing pedals for such legendary guitarists as Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page, and if anyone knows their way around a fuzz pedal, it be he.

It’s interesting that parallel to this discovery, I’ve also found myself winding back my amp’s gain control. I used to be an ‘amp gain on 10, and with some kind of distortion or overdrive pedal’ guy, but over the last few years I’ve found my gain control has crept back to about 4 on my Marshall DSL50 (on the regular lead channel, not the ‘ultra’ one), and if I need a little more gain I’ve been stomping on a clean boost pedal (an MXR/Custom Audio Electronics Boost/OD). So on one hand I’m favouring a cleaner, drier tone, more controllable and on the other I’m getting right down into the buzzy, fuzzy, fizzy, farty, gritty world of old school fuzz. Weird!

So now my fuzz arsenal includes two pedals: a Jim Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Octave Fuzz (which sounds a little harsh and edgy, in the best possible way) and the ultra-fat, ultra vibey Way Huge Swollen Pickle MK II. Hopefully I’ll add more fuzz pedals to this batch – I’d love a Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face, a Vox Tone-Bender, a Roger Mayer Axis and Stone X, a Z.Vex Fuzz Factory and maybe a Fender Blender. I’m also kinda entertaining the idea of getting out the soldering iron and trying to build one from scratch some day, but I don’t know if that’s gonna happen any time soon. All I know is that while fuzz was around for almost 50 years before I got around to seriously checking it out, I now can’t picture my playing future without it. Funny how that happens.

It’s a scientific fact that Extreme’s ‘Saudades de Rock’ was one of the best albums of 2008. Of course I missed out on seeing the resulting tour because I had the ridiculous audacity to be born in Australia and the scarcity of bank account to not have moved to the US a decade ago. But at least I can kinda pretend I was there with the forthcoming Extreme live CD and DVD!

Reunited Massachusetts hard rockers EXTREME will release the “Take Us Alive” live CD and DVD on April 23 in Europe and May 4 in the U.S. via Frontiers Records.

In 2008, following a 13-year hiatus, EXTREME returned to the stage for its “Take Us Alive” world tour, which encompassed 75 cities and multiple continents in support of the band’s new record, “Saudades de Rock”.

This recording captures EXTREME at the peak of its game with a renewed enthusiasm led by Gary Cherone’s spellbinding stage performance and powerful vocals, Nuno Bettencourt’s ferocious guitar, Pat Badger’s flawless bass and Kevin Figueiredo’s pounding drums and spot-on back-up vocals.

This brilliant performance was recorded on the last night of their tour at the House of Blues on August 8, 2009 in EXTREME’s hometown of Boston.

“We wanted to do something really special for our hometown fans that were there for us since the beginning… the club days,” states Nuno. “It was the last night of the tour and we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than by bringing it back to where it all started… Boston.”

The concert showcases material from all five EXTREME albums and exhibits the band’s broad stylistic abilities. Features include a blistering rendition of the LED ZEPPELIN-minded “Comfortably Dumb”, the scorching “Play With Me”, the funked-up “Cupid’s Dead” as well as the anthemic “Get The Funk Out”. Songs like EXTREME’s #1 hit “More Than Words” and the Top 5 single “Hole Hearted” highlight the crowds enthusiasm and loyal support their fan base has had for this beloved foursome.

“As much as we enjoy recording, for me, I’ve always loved playing live for the fans,” Cherone says. “We couldn’t wait to get out there and play for our fans.”

The DVD will contain four unreleased bonus videos from “Saudades de Rock” — “King of the Ladies”, “Interface”, “Run” and “Ghost”. The clips were produced by Nuno Bettencourt.

“This DVD/CD is a culmination of all the years we played together and the chemistry the four of us put out live,” explains Bettencourt.

“Take Us Alive” concert track listing:

01. Decadence Dance
02. Comfortably Dumb
03. Rest in Peace
04. It’s a Monster
05. Star
06. Tell me Something I Don’t Know
07. Medley – Kid Ego / Little Girls / Teacher’s Pet
08. Play With Me
09. Midnight Express
10. More Than Words
11. Ghost
12. Cupid’s Dead
13. Take us Alive
14. Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee
15. Get the Funk Out
16. Am I Ever Gonna Change
17. Hole Hearted

Bonus music videos (DVD only)

18. King of the Ladies
19. Interface
20. Run
21. Ghost

Check out this sweet new triple single coil Ibanez JS that Joe Satriani’s been playing on the current Experience Hendrix tour. 

Cool huh? Joe seems to be getting a bit more adventurous with his pickup choices in recent years, with the switch to DiMarzio MoJoe and PAF Joe signature humbuckers as well as the ProTrack in the neck position of his new 24-fret Ibanez JS2400. Wonder if this was made just to play up the Hendrix vibe of the tour, or if we’ll see it on the racks at our local guitar stores in the not too distant future.

EXPERIENCE HENDRIX DATES

March ‘10

04 Thu Arlington Theater Santa Barbara, CA US 

05 Fri Gibson Amphitheater Los Angeles, CA US

06 Sat The Joint @ Hard Rock Las Vegas, NV US 

07 Sun Ikeda Theater Mesa, AZ US   

09 Tue Table Mountain Fresno, CA US 

10 Wed Warfield Theater San Francisco, CA US   

11 Thu Warfield Theater San Francisco, CA US 

12 Fri Silver Legacy Reno, NV US 

14 Sun Paramount Theatre Denver, CO US 

15 Mon Stiefel Theatre For The Performing Arts Salina, KS US 

16 Tue Uptown Theater Kansas City, MO US 

17 Wed Orpheum Theater Minneapolis, MN US 

18 Thu Chicago Theatre Chicago, IL US 

20 Sat Fox Theatre St. Louis, MO US 

21 Sun Riverside Theater Milwaukee, WI US 

23 Tue Civic Theatre Akron, OH US 

24 Wed Wellmont Theatre Montclair, NJ US 

25 Thu Count Basie Theatre Red Bank, NJ US 

27 Sat Fox Theatre Atlanta, GA US 

28 Sun Durham Performing Arts Center Durham, NC US 

LINK: Satriani.com