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News
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For the second year
in a row, Zac "Mr. Magnet" Monro has won the Air Guitar World
Championship held in Oulu, Finland. Monro, a London, England,
architect, took home a handmade Finnish "Flying Finn" electric guitar.
For information or to enter next year's competition, go to www.omvf.net.
Treasures Untold:
Unique Collections from Devoted Fans, a new exhibit at Nashville's
Country Music Hall of Fame, showcases ten personal collections compiled
by ardent country music fans. Highlights of the exhibit include
a 1950s home movie starring the Louvin Brothers, Minnie Pearl,
June Carter Cash, and Roy Acuff; a daily log of Bob Wills'
1940 radio performances on Tulsa's KVOO; a collection of famous
pickers' picks; and a 1924 Lloyd Loar Gibson mandola. The exhibit
ends in May 2003.
Classical guitarist
Sharon Isbin's recording of concertos by Christopher Rouse
and Tan Dun (Ritual and Phantasmagoria, Teldec) received
Germany's Echo Klassik Award for Best Concert Recording. In addition,
on September 11, Isbin joined cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Gil Shaham,
and the Juilliard String Quartet in accompanying the reading of
the names of victims of the World Trade Center attacks at the memorial
held at Ground Zero.
The Great American
Roadhouse is a new, weekly, hour-long live music television
show featuring independent country singer-songwriters, broadcast
on cable channel Great American Country.
The Lifetime Music Academy
in Aliso Viejo, California, opened its doors in August. LMA's innovative
approach to music instruction incorporates yoga and tai chi
to help students focus before lessons and retain information afterward.
For more information, call (888) LMA-4555 or go to www.ltmac.com.
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Events
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Attendees at Lamb's
Retreat for Songwriters, November 7–10 in Harbor Springs,
Michigan, will participate in workshops and one-on-one sessions
with such successful songwriters as Michael Smith and Tom Prasado
Rao. Each songwriter will also receive an individually tailored
assignment to write and perform a song for the Sunday performance.
To register, visit www.springfed.org.
Augusta Heritage's October
Old-Time Week, October 20–27, offers classes in guitar,
banjo, fiddle, mountain dulcimer, basketry, and Appalachian heritage.
The week culminates with the Old-Time Fiddlers' Reunion (open to
the public). For more information and to register, visit www.augustaheritage.com.
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New
Releases
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In the book Cowboy
Guitars (Centerstream, www.centerstream-usa.com),
authors Steve Evans and Ron Middlebrook round up a passel of high-quality,
vividly decorated cowboy guitars starting with the 1932 Gene Autry
model. Cowboy Guitars also includes biographies of the artists
who made the instruments and a chapter on Greg Rich, a modern-day
Western guitar maker.
Two new videos from
Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop (www.guitarvideos.com),
The Guitar of Elizabeth Cotten and The Guitar
of Mississippi John Hurt, combine rare live footage of their
subjects with instruction from guitarist John Miller on their innovative
fingerpicking techniques. Both are available for VHS and DVD.
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Contests
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Taylor Guitars' Build
It with Bob contest offers players a chance to win an expenses-paid
trip to Taylor's facility in El Cajon, California, to collaborate
with Bob Taylor on their own custom guitar. Other prizes include
guitars from Taylor's standard line as well as accessories. Contestants
can submit their completed entry form (available at www.taylorguitars.com/builditwithbob)
to their local Taylor dealer.
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In
Memory
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The Who's bassist, John
Entwistle, died June 27, on the eve of the Who's U.S. tour.
Entwistle developed his powerful and influential bass style in the
one-guitar band, playing loud and complex parts to fill the rhythm
guitar void. A musical prodigy, Entwistle first teamed with Pete
Townshend in a Dixieland combo, playing trumpet to Townshend's banjo.
In recent years, Entwistle became known for his painting and also
led the John Entwistle Band.
Legendary jazz bassist
Ray Brown died July 2 at age 75. Brown's first instrument
was piano, but he later switched to bass, teaching himself the instrument
by ear. His fluid sound helped define bebop, and he performed with
other bop luminaries Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, and Dizzy Gillespie
in Gillespie's Big Band. In 1948 Brown married and became musical
director for Ella Fitzgerald. He was also a founding member of the
Oscar Peterson Trio.
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Cyber
Notes
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H.E.A.R. (Hearing
Education and Awareness for Rockers) is a non-profit organization
created by ex-punk musician Kathy Peck and physician Flash Gordon
to educate musicians and music lovers about the dangers of excessive
noise. The organization's website, www.hearnet.com,
provides useful information on tinnitus and hearing loss and protection,
as well as lists of audiologists, earplug manufacturers, and hearing
health organizations.
Chordbook.com
offers guitar players yet another excellent chord reference site.
Chordbook's unique interface allows users to virtually strum each
of the more than 1,000 preset chords and inversions. Adventurous
players can even create and play back their own chords on a virtual
fretboard or use the tuner function to tune their guitars to standard
tuning or a number of common alternate tunings.
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Meet
A.G.
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Click
here to meet the Acoustic Guitar team at a wide variety upcoming
music events and trade shows. Listed below are some things happening
in the next few weeks.
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Excerpted from Acoustic
Guitar magazine, December
2002, No. 120.
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Got some news? Send it to Happenings, Acoustic
Guitar, PO Box 767, San Anselmo, CA 94979-0767; email happenings.ag@stringletter.com;
or fax (415) 485-0831.
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