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Marty Friedman’s New Album – Inferno

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Win an Autographed BR-80 Digital Recorder

Marty Friedman’s music career reads like a boxing champ’s intro. It includes playing with hit bands like Megadeth and Cacophony, multiple Grammy nominations, film, television, and more. To celebrate his latest accomplishment, the release of his new studio album – Inferno, we’re giving away an autographed MICRO BR-80 Digital Recorder. According to his interview in Guitar World, Inferno is the most intense writing and playing that he has done so far.

CONTEST: BR-80 Autographed by Marty Friedman

Ends June 31, 2014 More

Video: MDP for the Modern Guitarist

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Pete Thorn’s Demo of the OD-1X OverDrive & DS-1X Distortion Effects Pedals

MDP for the Modern Guitarist

BOSS OD-1X OverDrive and DS-1X Distortion

Guitar nerd Pete Thorn, delivers a detailed demo of the BOSS OD-1X Overdrive and DS-1X Distortion effects pedals. He gives a play-by-play explanation of the pedals with low-gain, single-coil sounds, high-gain sounds and humbucker. He also demonstrates how the technology in these pedals responds to his playing and what it means to the modern guitarist. More

A Star-Studded Lineup for Light Up The Blues

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John Mayer and Crosby, Stills & Nash Headline 2nd Benefit Concert

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2nd Light Up The Blues Concert – An Evening Of Music To Benefit Autism Speaks
(L-R) Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, John Mayer and David Crosby

The annual Light Up The Blues Concert benefiting Autism Speaks is a star-studded showcase that inspires solidarity for the often misunderstood condition affecting millions of families. Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN), John Mayer, Don Felder, Brandi Carlile and Chris Stills headlined the show on April 5, alongside several talented artists on the autism spectrum including indie-rock artist Xolie Morra and The Strange Kind, rapper Rio “Soulschocka” Wyles with guest artist Watsky, and cellist Adam Mandela Walden. CSN musician Stephen Stills and his wife Kristen Stills hosted the sold-out event at the newly refurbished Theatre @ the Ace in downtown Los Angeles, bringing together 1,600 people and raising more than $320,000 for the organization. More

Sound Modules On Tour & In The Studio

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Interview with Eugene “Man Man” Roberts

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Eugene “Man Man” Robert’s rig for John Legend’s “Made to Love” tour.

We caught up with musical director Eugene Roberts (John Legend, Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Lion) during a rare hiatus from the studio and the road. Eugene just added an INTEGRA-7 sound module to his rig, and we asked him why sound modules are still relevant to today’s musician. More

Omar Hakim, The Drummer’s Drummer

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A Career Transcending Music Genres

Omar Hakim

Omar Hakim

Omar Hakim’s incredible groove and highly musical approach to drumming make him one of the most sought-after and talked about musicians the world over. In particular, his ability to play both jazz and pop with unrivaled authority – not to mention a groove that’s so deep you can’t help but fall in – puts his name at a near-legendary status. If he had stopped at Weather Report and Miles Davis, Omar Hakim would be marked as having a formidable career but that was just the beginning. Omar Hakim defined the groove for the groundbreaking Dream of the Blue Turtles, Sting’s first solo undertaking, as well as Sting’s Bring on the Night live CD and feature-length video. And his list of credits since is staggering: Madonna, Jewel, Tracy Chapman, Lionel Richie, Mariah Carey, David Bowie, Sophi B. Hawkins, Joan Osbourne, Everything But The Girl, Dire Straits, David Sanborn, and more. On top of all this studio and live drumming, Omar Hakim is also a gifted songwriter, producer, keyboardist and singer (“with a little guitar thrown in,” he notes). More

Daedelus on Roland Radio

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Making Music with New and Classic Gear

Daedelus Roland Radio Header Image

Photo: Daedelus

Roland has teamed up with the sound wizards at the underground internet radio station Dublab to bring you Roland Radio: A monthly web broadcast featuring cutting-edge artists creating music with new and classic Roland gear.

Coming up this Monday, November 18, at Noon PST, check out Los Angeles-based electronic producer Daedelus. More

Chris Tomlin: Songs with a Purpose

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The Message is in the Music

Chris Tomlin with the V-Piano

Photo: Chris Tomlin with the V-Piano

From a young age Chris Tomlin never really enjoyed it when people were staring at him during his performances. He loved it when people were joining in and singing. “I didn’t know at the time that it was leading people to worship,” says Chris. “I didn’t know the terms, I just knew that it was what I liked. So I started to try and write songs in that way and cannot believe, all these years, this is where it has led.” Today, Chris Tomlin is one of the most successful artists in Contemporary Christian Music. His album, Burning Lights debuted earlier this year at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, becoming the fourth CCM album in history to do so. Despite his music success and accolades, his goal is to deliver music with a purpose. More

Ed Roth: Keyboard Versatility

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How to Raise the Bar as a Keyboard Player

Ed Roth

Photo: Ed Roth

There’s a ton of music out there, but as a guitarist, drummer, keys player, etc., who do you follow to keep your playing chops razor sharp? Who really inspires you? Keyboardist Ed Roth has been known to strike a special chord within an extremely diverse group of musical circles. He is a versatility powerhouse on keys and listening to him play could be just the nudge you need to reach your next keyboarding milestone. Regarded as a “musician’s musician,” Ed Roth innately knows how to raise the bar and compel musical peers, like Quiet Riot’s drummer Frankie Banali, to reach higher. More

Roland V-Drums Artist Keith Harris

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Music Director: Black Eyed Peas and Fergie

Black Eyed Pease Drummer Keith Harris marquee image

Keith Harris is a producer and musician and the driving force behind many top-10 singles and Grammy Award-winning hits. Although highly acclaimed for drumming chops that define the sound of multi-platinum selling recording artists The Black Eyed Peas and Fergie, Keith Harris is also an accomplished composer and powerhouse musical director. More

Javier Colon Records Album with SONAR X2

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Two Years After Winning NBC’s The Voice

Javier Colon with SONAR X2

Javier Colon

Author: Jimmy Landry for Cakewalk (see original article)

It’s been quite a ride in the last two years for Javier Colon after being crowned the winner of NBC’s hit TV show The Voice.  Some highlights include releasing the record Come Through for You on the Universal/Republic label, gaining millions of new fans, and touring around the world sharing the stage with artists like Maroon 5, Colbie Caillat, and Gavin DeGraw, to name a few.  It’s rare for an artist like Javier to experience so many facets of the music industry.  He has been signed to two major labels, successfully published his own music independently, and claimed the top spot on one of the biggest television shows of our time.  But what sets him apart from other artists (besides the obvious) in today’s never -ending plethora of supposable talent?  I recently got a chance to catch up with Javier in his new SONAR X2 home studio in Connecticut to find out what he’s been up to and where he’s going. More

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