Free Republic

Peter Frampton and his favorite guitar are together again following a 31-year estrangement, the New York Times reports. The singer, who played the Gibson Electric Guitar on his 1976 album Frampton Comes Alive!, assumed the instrument had been wrecked in 1980 when a cargo plane crashed in Caracas, Venezuela, en route to Frampton's concert in Panama. As it happened, the guitar was recovered -- and sold to a musician on the Caribbean island of Curacao. “For 30 years, it didn’t exist – it went up in a puff of smoke as far as I was concerned,” Frampton told The Times...

Funny video of a dog rockin' out!

On Aug. 24, federal agents descended on three factories and the Nashville corporate headquarters of the Gibson Guitar Corp. Accompanied by armored SWAT teams with automatic weapons, agents from the Fish and Wildlife Service swarmed the factories, threatening bewildered luthiers, or guitar craftsman, and other frightened employees. A smaller horde invaded the office of CEO Henry Juszkiewicz, pawing through it all day while an armed man stood in the door to block his way. "I was pretty upset," Mr. Juszkiewicz says now, sitting outside that same office. "But you can only do so much when there's a gun in your...

As the Occupy Wall Street protests grow “increasingly debauched,� Tea Partiers in Tennessee remind us what a polite, impassioned and principled protest looks like:CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO Hundreds of Gibson Guitar supporters rallied for the legendary guitar factory at a dual demonstration-concert in Nashville, Tenn. Saturday, following a federal raid in August over the company’s importation practices.The “We Stand With Gibson” rally drew about 500 attendees, including members of the Tea Party, according to the Tennessean. Some carried signs that read “Who’s next“ and ”When they come for you, who will be left to speak?”Gibson supporters have railed...

Federal authorities are pressuring Nashville-based Gibson Guitar to hand over an additional 25 bundles of Indian wood that the company allegedly planned to use in its famous guitars. The complaint was filed today in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee and mirrors a 2010 action that sought official forfeiture of wood obtained in a 2009 raid of Gibson facilities. The latter of those cases has been stayed, pending the outcome of the most recent suit. As has been the case in previous allegations, at issue is the classification of certain wood imported to the United States from...

Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar Corp., has responded to the August 24 raid of Gibson facilities in Nashville and Memphis by the Federal Government. In a press release, Juszkiewicz said: "Gibson is innocent and will fight to protect its rights. Gibson has complied with foreign laws and believes it is innocent of ANY wrong doing. We will fight aggressively to prove our innocence."

Henry Juszkiewicz, the CEO of Gibson Guitars, Inc. was on The Dana Loesch Show on Friday. Gibson is under attack by the the Obama Justice Department for accusations that the company broke American Indian laws. Juszkiewiz said the government suggested that the company's use of unfinished wood from India is illegal, not because of U.S. law, but because of the Justice Department's interpretation of a law in India. The Holder Justice Department raided at least two Gibson manufacturing plants this week forcing hundreds of workers off their jobs. Juszkiewiz says the company lost a million dollars this week. Finally, Henry...

On Thursday, the iconic Gibson Guitar Corporation issued a press release stating that government officials raided their Tennessee manufacturing facility over warrants concerning the legality of the importation of wood purchased from India that they use in their world famous guitars. The wood–which is certified and regulated by the Forest Stewardship Council–is not illegal, but rather subject to a domestic law in India frowns upon the processing of this wood by non-Indians. (Gibson uses American labor for the processing.)

Federal agents swooped in on Gibson Guitar Wednesday, raiding factories and offices in Memphis and Nashville, seizing several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars. The Feds are keeping mum, but in a statement yesterday Gibson's chairman and CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, defended his company's manufacturing policies, accusing the Justice Department of bullying the company. "The wood the government seized Wednesday is from a Forest Stewardship Council certified supplier," he said, suggesting the Feds are using the aggressive enforcement of overly broad laws to make the company cry uncle. It isn't the first time that agents of the Fish and Wildlife...

Back in the 60s St. Augustine was a gathering spot for some of the best folk and bluegrass artists. I got to know some of them.Paul Champion was a quiet and shy man, he could sit in a corner unnoticed for hours, until he started with a banjo or guitar.One night he was onstage picking, stomped a little too hard and went through the stage up to his knees. and he never missed a lick.Lots of MP3 files you can download.

Buddy of mine recently turned me onto a Mexican duo that is just awesome. I've always been a fan of guitar, with a soft spot for Flamenco or Spanish guitar, or whatever you would call it. I'm not sure how to categorize these two musicians, but I love their stuff. Rodrigo y Gabriela, aka Rod and Gabi, they claim not to play Flamenco, sometimes picking with just fingers and sometimes using a guitar pick. A couple of their CDs come with bonus DVDs where they demonstrate their style and attempt to explain it. Fascinating to watch.

I was surfing around on YouTube and stumbled across this amazing female guitar player, then was blown away to find out she wrote a protest song against Obama just before the election. The video is a couple of years old, but I couldn't find it posted here, so I thought I'd give Freepers the chance to see this girl in action.

Bilal Philips was once a guitar god. Now he is trying to convince Muslims that God doesn’t want them listening to guitars. A Saudi-trained Canadian, Mr. Philips is among a small group of lecturers who preach against most forms of music — a controversial prohibition that surfaced in Manitoba recently, where a dozen Muslim families want to pull their children from music class. “A heart filled with music won't have room for God’s words,” he writes in his book Contemporary Issues, which also defends child marriages, wife beating, polygamy and killing apostates while calling homosexuality “evil and dangerous.” “Wind and...

A US busker called Bongo Jesus has been arrested after hitting a man who criticised his playing over the head with his guitar. The busker, whose real name is Brandin Hochstrasser, 31, was playing in the street in Madison, Wisconsin, when his critic approached him. Police spokesman Joel DeSpain said the 54-year-old homeless man had been unable to keep his thoughts about the guitar playing to himself. "The dispute started over some questionable guitar playing," Mr DeSpain told the Cap Times. "He went over to Bongo Jesus and provided some sort of critique which did not sit well. "When police...

The top 10 1. Van Halen, Van Halen (1978) 2. The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced (1967) 3. Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV (1971) 4. Derek and the Dominos, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970) 5. Guns N’ Roses, Appetite for Destruction (1987) 6. Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin II (1969) 7. The Allman Brothers Band, At Fillmore East (1971) 8. Cream, Disraeli Gears (1967) 9. The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Electric Ladyland (1968) 10. AC/DC, Back in Black (1980)

No new stuff, can't get the critters to work my schedule. I just put some oldies together.This night shift work is rough!

It’s the video millions of people around the world have eagerly anticipated. And it delivers the goods! It’s the third – and final – song of the United Breaks Guitars trilogy by Canadian Singer/Songwriter Dave Carroll. It was launched with a gala Interactive Webcast the introduced the video before Carroll took questions from the local audience as well as those watching from around the world via the Internet. The video features some of the best bluegrass musicians around hand-picked by Carroll himself. Grand Rants is proud to have been chosen by Dave for an exclusive interview which you can read...

Dave Carroll wants to take you to launch. That’s launch, not lunch. And Grand Rants has your invitation right here, right now. Dave is a man true to his word and with that will be releasing the third and final installment of the United Breaks Guitars videos tonight (Tuesday Mar 2, 2010) via a special webcast release party. This is by no means the last you will hear from Dave; as we like to say, United has broken his career. Since the release of the original United Breaks Guitars song on July 7, 2009, Dave has traveled extensively throughout North...

What would popular music sound like today had it not been for Les Paul?

Two men, Les Paul and Bob Moog, stand above all others as creators of the musical environment in which our brains are all now marinated. Moog, who died in 2005, stepped into the nascent field of digital music and devised an interface that took pure sound synthesis across the bridge from engineers to practicing musicians. Paul, who died of pneumonia yesterday at the age of 94, is less recognized as a digital innovator. But maybe he should be. Underlying many of his incredible inventions was an abstract notion that demanded, almost as an afterthought, radical changes to the hardware of...

They came from Ohio, from Colorado, from Alabama, from Illinois, from Kalamazoo, and they came hauling black guitar cases bearing the iconic Heritage Guitar logo. On Friday, nearly 60 proud Heritage Guitar owners from across the country crammed into the company's small Parsons Street factory for the second annual Parson Street Pilgrimage. Later they planned to head to a farm in Plainwell for a Heritage-only jam-session. Started through an Internet forum for Heritage owners, 23 people came to the first Pilgrimage last year, said Jim Wallace, a forum member who helped start the yearly visit to the Kalamazoo guitar factory....

Workers at C.F Martin & Co. are putting finishing touches on the solid-wood 1 Series model, so named for its simplicity. It lacks inlay, as did the company's stripped-down 1930s model, and is expected to sell for less than $1,000, breaking a key price point and far less than its $100,000 limited-edition guitars made of Brazilian rosewood. More popular Martins generally sell for $2,000 to $3,000. Initial reaction is promising. The company, which had sales of $93 million last year, introduced the 1 Series in April and promptly sold out its first year's output of 8,000 guitars. "We needed something...

I'd like to hear from all the FReeper guitarists out there!

Rambling through youtube ... guess what I stumbled upon?

YouTube....Funky Girl

can only post a link to story:

Not everyone's drinking the Kool-Aid these days. Larry Carlton, a guitar player's guitar player, happened to be doing a series of shows in Chelsea this weekend, at the Blue Note.He played masterfully for an hour and a half, with a pick-up bassist (can't recall his name) and drummer (Billy Kilson, "one of the world's best," according to Mr. Carlton) . It was a rather smoothy-jazzy affair, without the ass-kicking solo work I'd hoped to hear, but after all it was a Sunday night, 8pm show (for those unfamiliar with Larry Carlton, he's the ace that played the great solo on...

ELKHORN, Wis. - When Tallan "T-Man" Latz was 5, he saw Joe Satriani playing guitar on TV. "I turned around to my dad and said, 'That's exactly what I want to do.'" Three years and countless hours of practicing later, 8-year-old Tallan is a blues guitar prodigy. He's played in bars and clubs, including the House of Blues in Chicago, and even jammed with Les Paul and Jackson Browne. He has a summer of festivals scheduled and has drawn interest from venues worldwide.

The 25 Most Rockin' Guitar Riffs Posted Thu May 29 11:17am PDT by Rob O'Connor in List Of The Day I'm told that the good folks over at Rolling Stone.com have launched a list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs as a feature at their site to coincide with their Guitar Gods Issue that--like most great things in this world--is FOR SALE.Click here to check it out.As I write this, I haven't seen it, but I'm sure it's going to include a few listings that make me think "Oops, I left that one out." Because that's what this list business...

Per popular demand, after the very successful "Who Is Your Favorite Drummer?" thread, here we have a new posting to determine who is your favorite guitarist of all time.

Bon Jovi star Richie Sambora has offered English soccer ace David Beckham free guitar lessons. The guitarist is a big fan of the LA Galaxy star and has urged him to give call him if he ever feels like learning the instrument. He says: "Beckham is a good guy. He's done so much for soccer in the US. He's such a big name and brought soccer to a different level and its now played in schools. It's just a pity that he doesn't get to play more as he's been injured. "David should come and see me. I'd gladly give...

And The Winners Are....

Heck, no reason. Enjoy! Flamenco Guitar by Jason REAL Flamenco (not Hollywood) dancing

Blind guitar wizard Jeff Healey of Toronto died Sunday of cancer. He was 41. Norman Jeffrey Healey was one of Canada's premier blues and jazz musicians who is perhaps best known for his 1988 album See The Light, which included the hit single Angel Eyes. He was also nominated for a Grammy for the song Hideaway and in 1990, was awarded a Juno in the Entertainer of the Year category. Other Healey hits have included How Long Can a Man Be Strong and a cover of The Beatles' While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Healey lost his vision as a baby...

NEXT WEEK'S reunion of Led Zeppelin is among the most anticipated in rock history. And with good reason. In the 1970s, the British band was mesmerizing.But beyond unforgettable songs and legendary live shows, Led Zeppelin broadcast a powerful message to fans who tuned in to the right frequency. Bring the soul of the West and Islam together, Led Zeppelin told us, and you can produce a musical force powerful enough to break through the barricade dividing the two civilizations. In its way, this message is far more subversive than the Satanic themes the band was accused of "backmasking" into "Stairway...

Musicians of the world are getting a new kind of artistic freedom with technology that eliminates the challenging chore of tuning. Robotics technology developed by German company Tronical Gmbh in partnership with Gibson Guitar Corp. enables Gibson's newest Les Paul model to tune itself in about two seconds. For users who purchase the add-on technology, the guitar recognizes pitch. Then, its processor directs motors on its six tuning pegs to tighten or loosen the strings accordingly. Tronical has offered its "Powertune System" online and through retailers in Germany since March, according to the company's Web site. The Gibson Les Paul...

An Oakdale music store owner was arrested Monday for selling fake versions of the legendary Gibson guitar at his Montauk Highway shop, the Suffolk police said. Investigators seized 15 fake Gibsons from the store, the police said. Bernard Musumeci, 44, of 2 Domino Way, Centereach, surrendered to the police Monday night, and was charged with trademark counterfeiting. After he was released, Musumeci turned over another 18 guitars from his home, and Gibson Guitar Corp. experts will determine whether they're authentic. The arrest came after a two-month investigation by Fifth Squad detectives, working in conjunction with the Nashville-based Gibson company. After...

Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter smiles as he holds a Spanish classical guitar in a factory in Esquivias, central Madrid, August 13, 2007. The guitar, donated by Guitarras Manuel Rodriguez e Hiijos, will be auctioned by the Carter Foundation next February to raise funds for humanitarian aid. REUTERS/Sergio Perez (SPAIN)

Bob Weir, Founding Member of the Grateful Dead Both my natural and adopted fathers were military men. My adopted dad attended Annapolis for seven years and came out with the military equivalent of a doctorate in Engineering. When they gave him his first commission and put him out to sea he was seasick from the time he left port to the time he got back. It was so bad they had to put him in the hospital. Then he tried it again right at the beginning of World War II. He wanted nothing more than to serve his country but...

My wife made a mistake. For my birthday in February, she bought me a calendar from the Fender Custom Shop. I hung it on the wall directly behind my desk, right in my range of vision, and I have been gazing longingly ever since at beautiful guitars. My longing stayed within reason until I turned the page to April, and saw the Engraved Thinline Telecaster in flame maple. The clumsy copy below the calendar proper says "both nice to look at and a dream to play." "A dream to play" has been ringing in my head ever since, the way...

Click here for streaming video of 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival!

Alas, Justin Timberlake didn't expose anyone's nipple this year. But, Super Bowl XL did offer a fries-with-that K-Fed, a surprising Letterman-Oprah cuddle, and - our personal favorite - an unsubtle allusion to what Prince usually hides behind his guitar (for the full effect, check out this YouTube clip.) And without any further foreplay, here are Usmagazine.com's Super Bowl celebrity highlights: It's one thing to pay celebrities to pimp your products, it's another to get celebrities to whore themselves out shamelessly for you! That's what GM did in this brilliant ad showing a demure and gorgeous Mary J. Bligeand others singing...

I am somewhat new to the Guitar. However, I have learned a lot about chord structure scales etc. I know a load of chords etc and can pick up some things from the radio. I play the acoustic. My question is how to put it all together if any of you guitar gods know. I have been playing for 4 months. Thanks

As a beginning guitar player, I'm trying to learn basic chords by learning some familiar songs. There are two songs I'd like to learn. One is the theme song from the old Robert Mitchum movie, "Thunder Road." I can find the lyrics but not the chords. The other song is Rod Stewart's "Lost In You." Again, I can find the lyrics, but not the chords. Thanx in advance.

DE QUEEN, Ark. - The guitar-shaped bulge in Morgan Conatser's clothing tipped off a music store owner that there might be a crime in progress. Clifton Lovell, owner of Guitars and Cadillacs on U.S. Highway 71 in De Queen, was talking with a customer last week when he saw Conatser, 29, walking out of the store. "I saw him walking out to his pickup truck and the bulges in his leather jacket. I said, 'Hey what have you got there,'" Clifton Lovell said. He said Conatser, 29, replied, "Nothing." Lovell pointed toward the unnatural shapes in Conatser's jacket and pants...

LONDON (AFP) - As the guitar power in the legendary British rock band Queen, Brian May conquered most of the planet -- and now he has his sights set on mastering the universe. The star musician, who wrote hits like "We Will Rock You", "The Show Must Go On" and "Flash", has switched his plectrum for a pen and co-authored a book with two leading British astronomers, telling the story of the big bang and how the universe has evolved since. Brian May addresses the media during a photocall to launch a book entitled "Bang! The Complete History of the...

October 12, 2006 In pursuit of a stamp of approval for C.F. Martin By Kurt Blumenau Of The Morning Call If Elvis Presley, Woody Guthrie and Hank Williams can appear on U.S. postage stamps, then why not the man who founded the company that made their guitars? That's the sentiment at C.F. Martin & Co., the venerable Upper Nazareth Township guitar maker. The company began appealing to Martin owners and fans about a month ago, urging them to take part in a letter-writing drive aimed at getting company founder C.F. Martin Sr. onto a postage stamp.

Click the link to hear this modern guitar version of Canon in D

Music publishers are taking action against guitar fan websites which they say infringe songwriters' copyrights. Publishers have started to use copyright lawsuits to shut down sites which share notations to help musicians to play songs at home. Called guitar tablature, or tab, the notations indicate where players should put their fingers. Books filled with tab are available in shops, but a number of websites make tab notations available for free. Now trade bodies are taking action against those sites. The New York Times reports that the Music Publishers' Association (MPA) and the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) have shut down...

TOKYO -- The hand-aged Gibson Les Paul Special is a replica of the 1960 original, but an American master craftsman made it exactly the way the guitar would look today, complete with aging cracked paint and tiny dents from scuffs and scratches. What's unique, the instrument isn't sold anywhere else but in guitar-loving Japan, where the entire limited edition of the electric guitars is sold out, underlining the nation's never-ending affair with American guitars.