|
|
News
RETURN
TO TOP
|
Bryan Sutton
was named Guitarist of the Year at the International Bluegrass
Music Awards ceremony held October 2 in Louisville, Kentucky
(www.ibma.org).
Other winners included the Del McCoury Band (Entertainer
of the Year), Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder (Instrumental
Group), Kenny and Amanda Smith (Emerging Artists), and J.D.
Crowe (Hall of Honor inductee). Alison Krauss and Union Station
Live and Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Vol. III received
nods for Album of the Year and Recorded Event of the Year, respectively.
Picking their way to
the top of the heap at the 2003 Walnut Valley Festival in
Winfield, Kansas, Jeff Troxel of Cody, Wyoming, and Bob Evans of
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, garnered top flatpicking and fingerpicking
honors, respectively.
|
|
New
Releases
RETURN
TO TOP
|
Visionary California
guitar maker Steve Klein is celebrated in Paul Schmidt's new book,
Art That Sings: The Life and Times of Luthier Steve Klein
(Doctorow Communications, [973] 779-1600, jdoctorock@aol.com).
Illustrated with photos from Klein's life as well as his famous
guitars (Big Thunder, Moon Guitar, Electric Harp Guitar) and clients
(Stephen Stills, Joni Mitchell, Michael Hedges, David Lindley),
the book traces Klein's career from the influence of Dr. Michael
Kasha through the hiring of primary builder Steve Kauffman and the
advent of the KisoKlein line of guitars. Ê
Earthjustice's Campaign
for the Universal Right to Clean Air and Water has gotten a
boost of star power from Norah Jones, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt,
and Willie Nelson, who have contributed songs to the compilation
CD Where We Live: Stand for What You Stand On (Higher Octave,
www.higheroctave.com).
|
|
In
Memory
RETURN
TO TOP
|
Famed for his work
in Johnny Burnette's seminal Rock 'n' Roll Trio, influential rockabilly
guitarist Paul Burlison died at home in Horn Lake, Tennessee,
on September 27, after a long struggle with cancer. He was 74. His
pioneering fuzz guitar sound (the result of a loose tube in his
amp) and riffs on such classics as "Tear It Up," "Honey Hush," and
"Train Kept A-Rollin'" were later echoed in the blues-rock of the
Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, and Aerosmith as well as the revivalist
rockabilly of the Stray Cats and others. Emerging from retirement,
Burlison recorded a 1997 solo album backed by members of Los Lobos
and the Band.
Rockabilly pioneer Ronnie
Dawson died at his Dallas, Texas, home on September 30 at age
64. Although he had cast himself as an R&B singer ("Snake Monroe"),
a western swing performer (with the Light Crust Doughboys), and
a folk artist (with the Levee Singers), Dawson was best known for
his hell-bent guitar-driven rave-ups on such songs as "Action Packed"
and "Rockin' Bone." He enjoyed a comeback with new recordings in
the 1990s before being struck with throat cancer.
Honky-tonk legend Floyd
Tillman succumbed to leukemia on August 22 at age 88. Best known
for composing "It Makes No Difference Now" (a hit for Bing Crosby
in 1939) and scoring his own chart toppers with "They Took the Stars
out of Heaven" and "Slipping Around" in the '40s, Tillman was also
heralded as one of country music's first great electric guitarists.
He recently recorded The Influence, his first album in two
decades, featuring duets with Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, George
Jones, and Dolly Parton.
|
|
Contests
RETURN
TO TOP
|
The winner of the LadySixString
Lyric Writing Contest will receive a Daisy Rock Stardust Venus
guitar, a Marshall amp, and other goodies. Other winners will receive
a subscription to Women Who Rock magazine, copies of The
Indie Bible, and more. Women of all ages can submit their song
lyrics or poetry in all musical styles. Entries must be postmarked
by January 31. For more details go to www.ladysixstring.com/lyricwritingcontest/index.htm.
|
|
Cyber
Notes
RETURN
TO TOP
|
Guitarist Jorma Kaukonen
has launched Break Down Way (www.breakdownway.com),
an interactive online guitar school. The pay-as-you go website's
features include user-controlled video angles and email contact
with the instructors
There may be no free
lunch but there's free sheet music at www.tuscanyguitar.com/tuscany/lagnappe.htm,
where you can download PDF files of classical works by Puccini,
Castellacci, Vïsotsky, and others, plus carols for the holiday
season.
|
| |
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.
|
| |
Excerpted from Acoustic
Guitar magazine, January
2004, No. 133.
|
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.
|
