guitar | Music Junkie Press

Chat with Tommy Thayer at NAMM with his new signature guitar and Triamp

January 28, 2015

NAMM 2015 was unbelievable this year. So many great musicians and even more great music products. One of our highlights was a quick chat with the bad ass guitarist, Tommy Thayer of KISS. Tommy was at NAMM with his new Limited Edition White Lightning Signature Les Paul by Epiphone and highlighting the Hughes and Kettner Tritone amp. You can check out more about his Guitar by visiting http://www.epiphone.com/News/Features/2015/New-for-Spring-2015.aspx and Hughes and Kettner for the Triamp Mark 3 here: http://hughes-and-kettner.com/. We had the chance to briefly chat with Tommy at the Hughes and Kettner booth and you can watch it here: In addition to Tommy meeting fans and signing autographs, he made a special guest appearance at the NAMM JAM 2015 performing two songs with headliners, Steel Panther. It was an amazing treat and everyone was on their feet as they played KISS’s I Like It Loud and Steel Panther’s Gangbang at the Old Folks Home. It was awesome to see Tommy shred and rock the crowd with his intense energy. Check out some videos from Tommy’s performance [Read More]

Check out Marigold, the new project from Cat and Tyson of State Line Empire

January 6, 2015

One of our favorite guitarists, Cat and vocalist Tyson from State Line Empire has been working on a solo project, Marigold for some time now. He has just released his first song, Death of Me, from Marigold and it KICKS ASS! Incredible riff driven guitars, intense energy that completely invigorates you from start to finish, infectiously catchy and completely delivers a nice heavy dose of hard rock! Check it out here: Cat comments about his solo project, I mentioned a few months ago, that I have been working on a project that combines what I do musically and what I do in film. I have been trying to figure out how to roll this out, without giving away the whole idea. After all, what fun would that be!! It has been quite a journey, one filled with glorious victories and treacherous pits filled with blood sucking monsters!!!! With all that being said, I’m happy to announce that on January 6th, we will start to roll out some of the art and music behind [Read More]

Check out the new video for Cannibals from Richie Kotzen

December 10, 2014

One of our favorite guitarist and vocalists, Richie Kotzen has released a new video. It is for his song, Cannibals and the video features live footage of him performing in Europe, South America and United States. The song is stellar as it highlights the passionate vocals of Richie and showcases his phenomenal blues funky vibe he is so well known for. I love this track and I know you will too. Check it out here: I am hoping Richie has some more shows in the works as well as returning to perform at NAMM. He is always a highlight of my NAMM experience. We had the incredible opportunity of seeing him headline at the Jason Becker’s Not Dead Yet 3 Benefit Show. In case you missed our coverage you can check it all out here: Richie Kotzen at Jason Becker’s Not Dead Yet 3 Benefit . Here are some photos from our Rockin Ryan of his set: I will leave you with some videos of his performance that night. Make sure to visit his social media [Read More]

Still a chance to get your bid in for Dj Ashba’s Smashed Les Paul Gibson!

December 9, 2014

So many guitarists dream of the day they own their first Les Paul Gibson. I still believe that Facebook should have it as a Life Event along with getting engaged, married or having a kid. What if you could not only own a Les Paul Gibson but how about if it was Dj Ashba’s? Or even better, what if it was the same Les Paul Gibson that Dj Ashba smashed this Gibson on Nov. 2012 at the Guns N’ Roses Appetite For Democracy Residency in Las Vegas, Nevada? Well, you can but you only have about a day to get your winning bid in. Check out the auction that Dj Ashba has for his one and only Smashed Les Paul Gibson which of course does come with a certificate of authenticity and personally autographed. Head on over to his site at http://www.ashbaclothing.com/index.php?route=product%2Fproduct&product_id=943&auction_id=14 and check out the auction. Make sure to visit Dj Ashba‘s social media sites so you can stay up to date on his latest news. We are looking forward to catch Dj as he [Read More]

Michael Lee Firkins announces new tour dates

September 23, 2014

One of our highlights from the Jason Becker Not Dead Yet 3 was the great performance by Michael Lee Firkins. It was amazing as always to watch and Michael is captivating on guitar. He brought the perfect fusion of blues and rock to life at the venue and everyone was enjoying it. Michael has announced a string of tour dates for October and November. Check out the dates below and see if he will be coming to a venue near you: To get you ready, check out the photos by our Rockin Ryan of Michael’s performance at the Jason Becker Not Dead Yet 3. When Michael plays, you are drawn to him as he stuns the crowd with his slide playing, singing and fueling the crowd with funky rockin blues. The notes and tones he brings out truly highlight the extreme talent as a guitar player. I would highly recommend you picking up his latest album, Yep which was released last October. You can pick it up on iTunes here. Make sure to visit his social [Read More]

Richie Kotzen awakens your every sense with his performance at Jason Becker Not Dead Yet 3 Festival.

September 4, 2014

Last Saturday, we had an amazing time covering the Jason Becker Not Dead Yet 3 Festival at the Great American Music Hall. It was a night full of spectacular music and Richie Kotzen headlined the event after some stellar sets by Michael Lee Firkins Spiralarms and Ben Woods. The event which is put together by Dave Lopez and is a benefit with proceeds going towards medical supplies for Jason as well as his future care. It was a magical night where many great musicians came to honor the amazing fighting spirit of Jason as he battles ALS. Jason was in attendance with his family and friends as we all enjoyed a fantastic night of amazing music. Richie completely rocked the place and his energy on stage is unstoppable. His passion and emotion came through strongly with each note and word. Richie has one of the most powerful voices out and when he sings, his voice just travels through your body, awakening every sense, inviting you to move and then touches your heart. It was quite an emotional [Read More]

Michael Lee Firkins brings the rockin blues to life at the Jason Becker Not Dead Yet 3 Festival

September 4, 2014

Another great highlight from the Jason Becker Not Dead Yet 3 Festival was the great set by Michael Lee Firkins featuring Courtney DeAugustine on drums and Dave Rapa on bass. It was amazing as always to watch them perform and Michael is captivating to watch on guitar. He brought the perfect fusion of blues and rock to life at the venue and everyone was enjoying it. I was so glad to see Courtney on drums, we had the chance to catch her perform earlier this year at the Bonzo Bash and she is spectacular with her energetic precision drumming. Dave on bass makes it look so easy as he is knocking out bass lines and always with an infectious smile on his face. In addition, we were treated to legendary Steve Hunter joining in on a couple songs! What a stellar night for music! When Michael plays, you are drawn to him as he stuns the crowd with his slide playing, singing and fueling the crowd with funky rockin blues. The notes and tones he brings [Read More]