December 29th, 2008 by Fender Front Row
We had a special treat on Friday, December 5th, 2008 — a visit from Squier® Signature Model Artist Pete Wentz and Gretsch® Signature Model Artist Patrick Vaughn Stump of Fall Out Boy. They invaded our global headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz., to visit their longtime friend and ally, Fender’s Artist Relations Manager Billy Siegle, as well as to meet and sign autographs for Fender employees and their families. Siegle presented Pete Wentz with a ‘Bronx Mowgli’ mini P Bass® guitar as a baby gift from all Fender employees worldwide; “Hands down the best gift ever!” said Wentz as he took a pic of it to e-mail off to wife Ashley. The band’s visit to Arizona was capped off with a concert at Cricket Pavilion (Glendale, Ariz.) where Pete announced from the stage in front of a sold-out crowd, “Hey everybody, there’s this awesome company here in town … Fender guitars (crowd went nuts) and they were cool enough to make this P Bass guitar for my son” as he held the ‘Bronx Mowgli’ P Bass® guitar up for all to see (crowd went even more nuts) … he then read the neck plate, which was engraved with “BRONX MOWGLI WENTZ ::: 11/20/08 @ 8:44 p.m. ::: 7 pounds, 11 ounces ::: 20.5” long”
Check out the video montage above as well as these photos (all photos by Michael Schulz)!
The Squier Pete Wentz P Bass® guitar next to the Fender® Bronx Mowgli P Bass guitar.
December 29th, 2008 by Gibson Lifestyle
Whenever I want to shock my buddies with a tune, I throw on Buckcherry’s hit, “Too Drunk…” It always does the trick!
What amazes me about Buckcherry is that they have some incredibly funny songs, but yet it’s also great rock and roll. A hard beat, really good guitar tone and lyrics that make people laugh.
December 29th, 2008 by Gibson Lifestyle
I love John Hiatt. His bluesy, soulful guitar playing and songwriting on albums like Slow Turning will soothe your savage soul if you’re having one of those bad days.
The 56-year-old Hiatt has been around the music industry for 35 years and is still rocking.
December 29th, 2008 by Gibson Lifestyle
Sure, there’s nothing more gratifying than coining a riff or a style that seems distinctly your own, but most of the world’s best guitarists developed their defining sound by first emulating many other guitarists. Here are 26 feature stories with detailed information about how to achieve the tone of some of the most iconic guitarists in the world.
December 29th, 2008 by Gibson Lifestyle
I’m always writing songs, always looking for ideas. I can be sure that my best ideas come at the most inconvenient time, like while I’m in the bath or the shower or just before I fall asleep at night. If I don’t write an idea down or record it immediately, I lose it. I speak from experience.
December 29th, 2008 by Gibson Lifestyle
There’s a reason why the Foo Fighters are one of the biggest rock bands in the world: They’ve managed to constantly evolve over the past decade without altering the core of who they are as musicians. Here are some of our favorite videos from Dave Grohl & co., all of which prove that it’s difficult to find a band with more emotional and creative drive than the Foo Fighters.
December 29th, 2008 by Gibson Lifestyle
A smashed guitar that belonged to the late Kurt Cobain has sold for $100,000.
As reported by Yahoo Music, the smashed Fender Mustang ? which was used by Cobain on Nirvana’s first U.S. tour ? was purchased by an unidentified collector. The seller was a punk guitarist named Sluggo (a member of the band The Grannies and Hullabaloo), who traded Cobain a working guitar for the damaged instrument at a time when the Nirvana frontman was living hand-to-mouth.
December 29th, 2008 by Gibson Lifestyle
Eartha Kitt, the sultry singer and actress widely regarded as one of America’s most versatile entertainers, has died at age 81. Andrew Freedman, a family spokesman, confirmed that Kitt died on Christmas Day from colon cancer.
Kitt was most famous for her role as Catwoman in the ’60s TV series Batman, and for her definitive recording of the classic Christmas song, “Santa Baby.”
December 29th, 2008 by Gibson Lifestyle
Music Radar.com’s Joe Bosso has named the Gibson Custom Shop’s recreation of John Lennon’s famed Les Paul Junior a must-have for Beatles fans. (See Music Radar article here.)
Calling the guitar “a powerful instrument of change,” Music Radar said, ” You just might feel such magic when you pick up Gibson’s loving recreation of Lennon’s early-’70s favored guitar, the same model he played at Madison Square Garden at his famous One To One concert.”
December 29th, 2008 by Gibson Lifestyle
U2 has announced that its much-anticipated new album will come in five configurations. Scheduled for release on March 3 in North America (March 2 in the rest of the world), No Line on the Horizon will be available in standard CD and double-vinyl packages.