Gig: Return To The Forbidden Planet

Apologies for the post rate dropping off a little of late ( as have the mastertheguitar youtube lessons! ). I’m currently busy with various projects.

One of which is playing guitar for the Allegro Group’s production of ‘Return To The Forbidden Planet‘!

The show will be held at the Churchill Theatre here in Edinburgh and will run from Tuesday 27th to Saturday 31st October. Ticket prices and showtimes are:

Tuesday 27th 19:30 – £10.00
Wednesday 28th 19:30 – £12.50
Thursday 29th 19:30 – £12.50
Friday 30th 19:30 – £12.50
Saturday 31st Matinee 14:30 – £10.00
Saturday 31st Evening 19:30 – £12.50

Tickets can be bought in advance from www.tickets-scotland.com

Really looking forward to being a part of the show, the music consists of some great 50s and 60s Rock n Roll classics, which are great fun to play. Even have a song with an over-the-top extended guitar solo!

Would be cool to see you there!

\m/

INTERVIEW: iheartguitar Steve Vai

Great interview with Mr Vai from iheartguitar:

I Heart Guitar: So where to from here for the ‘ol girl?


Vai: There’s always little innovations. We’re working on a new material pattern – remember the floral pattern? Oh my gosh, we’re doing something like that again but ah, the pattern is so gorgeous. When you see it you’re going to die. And also there’s one innovation, I can’t really tell you what it is, but it’s revolutionary. It’s one of those very simple, practical things that no-one ever did, and it’s just like, ‘Well duh!’

I Heart Guitar: Is this going to be at NAMM in January?

Vai: Yeah, we’re going to have a couple of things there. NAMM show’s amazing. Just tonnes and tonnes of cool stuff!

I Heart Guitar: I notice you’ve been pictured a lot with the ‘For The Love Of God’ Universe lately. Are you using that much?

Vai: Yeah! I’m thinking of using it for my next record.

I Heart Guitar: Cool! What are the plans for the next one? How far off?

Vai: I’ve got a couple of projects I’m working on. One of them, I have to finish up this DVD (Where the Wild Things Are) which at this point means press. Then I’ve got the 25th anniversary of Flex-Able I need to complete. Then I’m getting together a big handful of songs that I’m going to be spoonfeeding digitally once a month. Because I’ve got a vault just filled with stuff in various forms of completion that never quite fit for a particular project, but now if I release them all as singles it doesn’t matter. Then I’m hoping to go into the studio and create a studio record, and I’d like to use the band that I had on the DVD.

Handy Guitar related iPhone Apps

There are literally tens and tens of thousands of iPhone apps out there and being a new iPhone user it’s been a little daunting sifting through them all to find useful apps, especially for Guitar related shenanigans.

I thought I’d blog about some I’ve come across ( so far! ) that have turned out to be very handy for me personally.

iStroboSoft

There are plenty of tuner apps available for the iPhone but once I saw that Peterson were offering a software version of its acclaimed strobe tuner for a measly £5.99, that was that!

Accurate to 1/10th of a cent ( for the obsessed Eric Johnson types out there ) It works really well just using the iPhone’s own mic. An input boost and Noise Filter are also available in help tuning in noisier environments and they both work very well indeed.

Peterson also offer a lead for allowing an instrument to be plugged straight into the iPhone. Something I’ll definitely be getting for a quick tuning check of my electric guitar.

TabToolkit

Created by the same team who developed the popular GuitarToolkit, TabToolkit is great little app that allows you to import ascii, Guitar Pro, Powertab and PDF files for TAB on the go.

It reminds me a little of Guitar Pro itself, in the way it can handle several tracks and uses a simple synth for TAB playback. Files can be imported using the web browser on your main machine or by using the app’s inbuilt browser allowing you to google for TABs and automatically import with a simple click on the TAB link.

The app could be improved since bends and other articulations are not handled by the synth playback. Hopefully something for future updates.

iRealBook

I’m always amazed by those players who just know ‘all the songs’, you know the type . My brain, on the other hand, tends to leak. So having a copy of a Real Book on the go is incredibly handy.

iRealBook features chord charts for 730 songs of Jazz Standards, Jazz Classics and even some Brazilian/Latin Jazz. Songs can easily be transposed ( though tbf you shouldn’t need an app to do that ) and can be edited for any ‘corrections’ you wish to make.

The charts are clearly displayed and fit on a single screen for ease of reading, and a swipe quickly changes pages.

A very handy app for students as well as those looking for a quick refresh on exactly which keys those ii V Is move through again .

Musician’s Practice Journal

If I’m working on something such as learning a song or brushing up on some sloppy technique etc. I note down progress in my notebook. Noting down current BPM of a particular exercise or lick as I work on it or even ticking off parts of a song as they are learned.

Musician’s Practice Journal is a great app for doing all of these things in one place and thankfully saves on notebooks!

Intended as a tool for regular practice the user creates practice items and can specify a starting BPM. Pressing ‘play’ starts a timer and records how much time was spent working on that item. The app records all hisorical data so you can track your progress as you practice over the following days/weeks/months! A great way to explicitly see progress and feel motivated.

It’s also possible to create folders for areas of practice. Personally I’ve got folders for Songs, Technique work and a folder any interesting new stuff to learn.

The app also lets you know the last time you practiced a particular item ensuring you keep on top of things.

Remote

Remote is a great free app from Apple that allows you to control iTunes remotely using your iPhone.

Maybe not the most obvious app for a guitar player, but I find it invaluable for controlling playback of songs/backing tracks without sitting at my Mac. Very handy for practicing songs standing up or just a nice quick way to select particular tracks easily without trying to stretch over a guitar to your keyboard

Simplify Music 2

This is a truly essential iPhone app!

Simplify Music allows you to stream your digital music collection from your home machine to your iPhone, anytime, anywhere!

As long as you have got a wireless/EDGE/3G network connection you can listen to your entire music collection on the go. Really really handy, yes, for listening to your music but also for playing backing tracks at Jams etc. without having to copy stuff over to your iPhone/iPod.

I was a little dubious at first expecting the streaming to lag and break up but I have found it works flawlessly, with music streaming uninterrupted .

So there you have it!

Lemme know if you’ve got any other recommended Guitar related apps you can’t do without!

Jon Gomm: New album ‘Don’t Panic’ released December 7th

If you’ve never heard of Jon Gomm you’re missing out!

A gigging machine, Jon has been playing his brilliant blend of virtuosic acoustic guitar and great vocals for many many years now. I had the pleasure of seeing him perform live few years ago and was blown away.

His new album, ‘Don’t Panic’, will be released on December 7th:

Don’t Panic is the follow up to debut album Hypertension, released way back in December 2003. Why the long wait?

“I made the first record shortly after I’d put together a solo acoustic set and wanted to start touring: it was just a demo to get gigs. I made it a full length album because back then the gig fee was barely covering my petrol money, and I needed something to sell!”

This plan worked a little too well, and Gomm has been touring hard ever since, taking his unique brand of virtuosic acoustic guitar-playing to prestigious festivals around Europe and a punishing tour schedule centred around the UK and Italy, and a new album has had to wait.

The new CD features stronger songs, showcasing Jon’s genuine grasp of a wide range of genres from blues to jazz to rock to country, which comes from his lifelong experience as a session musician and musical academic. Throw in some Urdu lyrics and you’re getting the picture – a one man melting pot. The songs range from dark laments, to sweet melodies, to frenzied romps and there’s even elements of the humour for which Jon’s live shows are renowned.

The guitar playing here is perhaps even more technically demanding than the previous CD too:

“Every time I arrange a new guitar part I make sure I can’t play it without practice. I love the technical aspect as much as the creative process of songwriting, although they are very much separate affairs.”

And as with the debut album, there are no overdubs here, although it may sound like it: there is never more than one guitar on every track.

Jon’s fiercely independent approach to the music industry has meant that the CD was home recorded and is released on the label he owns, which will be launching releases by other artists – including a Grammy winner – in 2010.

Record Label: Performing Chimp Records
Cat no: PCCD006
Mp3s from iTunes and all digital download sites. CDs from Amazon and www.jongomm.com

Jon is available for interview. Mp3s also available. Please contact Natasha at performingchimp@ntlworld.com.

Here’s a taster of the sheer musicality of the man:

Check out more on Jon’s Youtube Channel.