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TOP FEATURES AND INTERVIEWS
 Aloha from Hawaii: Jack Johnson Talks about His New Album
Over the last decade, Jack Johnson has done an extremely fine job of balancing a couple of passions in his life: riding waves and making music. The Hawaiian native grew up as a devoted surfer, receiving early instruction on the art of catching waves from his father Jeff, a pioneering big-wave surfer and local legend. When Jack was still a teenager, injuries cut short what looked like a promising pro surfing, but just a few years later, with the success of his 2001 debut album, Brushfire Fairytales, his music career was launched in a big way. This year, Johnson effectively pulled together his love of water and music with To the Sea, his fifth studio album and a showcase for some of his most thoughtful and heartfelt songwriting to date. Read More …
 The Gibson Video Interview: Ryan Bingham
After winning an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, what do you do as a follow-up? Singer-songwriter Ryan Bingham just keeps doing what he’s been doing, staying on the road and releasing new music. After gaining attention and awards for “The Weary Kind” (the theme song for the Crazy Heart movie) earlier this year, Bingham has been touring and promoting his new album, Junky Star. Read More …
 Top 10 Stories of the Week in
Music News
It was another wild and wooly week in the world of music. U2 said they’ll have an album ready for 2011, Ozzy and Slash announced plans to tour together and Glastonbury 2012 was canceled on account of the London Olympics. A rescued Chilean miner/Elvis fan was given a free trip to Graceland, a fish was named for Led Zeppelin and Zakk Wylde admitted his love for Lady Gaga. And, in a shocking surprise, estranged bandmates Duff McKagan and Axl Rose reunited at a London Guns N’ Roses concert. Read More …
 The 10 Reasons Why the ’70s Were Rock’s Greatest Decade
Every generation has a soft spot for the decade in which it came of age. For rock and roll fans, however, it’s hard to argue that any decade surpassed the ’70s, on a number of fronts. Post-Beatles and pre-MTV, the ’70s occupied a sweet spot where rock and roll was played out on wide-open terrain, and on a field where “genre” had yet to become a catch-word. Read More …
 How to Get Classic Les Paul Tones from Any Backline
Bluesman J.W. Jones travels a lot, and like many road warrior guitarists, the Ottawa-based string slinger often has to depend on foreign backlines provided by clubs and concert promoters. His one constant these days, however, is his 2007-built Gibson Les Paul Gold Top with a chambered body and a sweet ’60s profile neck that he brings to all his gigs. Read More …
 Gibson Video Interview: Jason “Slim” Gambill
Country music’s ace guitarist, Jason “Slim” Gambill can be heard adding the twang to Lady Antebellum as they take over the country charts. Between shows, “Slim” stopped by Gibson’s New York Showroom to talk about Lady Antebellum, country music, fingerpicking techniques and his all-time favorite Gibsons. Read More …
 Back from the Dead: Gibson Revives Keith Urban Flood Guitar
During the first week of May 2010, Nashville endured its most profound natural disaster to date. Following several days of unwavering driving rain, much of the city lay underwater; houses, cars and lives were lost. Musical landmarks like The Grand Ole Opry, the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Schermerhorn Symphony Center all sustained significant damage as the waters rose. Read More …
 Rock and Roll Music: Chuck Berry’s 10 Greatest Riffs
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was made for artists like Chuck Berry — pioneers who helped cast the style in their own image during its earliest years. With his gift for writing real-world anthems for teenagers and inventing his own guitar vocabulary by hot-rodding the blues of T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters, Berry duck-walked his way into history. Read More …
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