From ethereal desert ballads to scuzzy '90s power-pop: here are this week's essential guitar tracks

Immerse yourself in these hot new tunes from beabadoobee, Dream Widow, Soccer Mommy, David Knudson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bury Tomorrow and more

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Neil Young Is “Rubbish, But Brilliant”

The Fixx’s Jamie West-Oram on his unlikely guitar hero, and Albert, B.B. and Freddie King’s “bird song” solos.

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Ex-MEGADETH Bassist DAVID ELLEFSON Likes Gun Shooting But Isn't 'Big' On Hunting

In a recent Cameo video message requested by Jonathan Montenegro of Sobre La Dosis, former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson was asked to name his hobbies and interests outside of music. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “It’s funny. I live here in Arizona, which, as you can see, is very sunny and nice out. So I play golf, on and off. And I do some shooting once in a while; I go to the gun club here. I’m not big on hunting myself, but I do like shooting, which is kind of cool. And, of course, Netflix binge watching, which I started during the pandemic.”

Last November, Ellefson, who was fired from MEGADETH nearly a year ago following a sex video scandal, returned to Cameo, the online platform that allows fans to buy personalized video messages from celebrities. The 57-year-old bassist is charging purchasers $30 per video and he is offering a “24-hour delivery.”

Ellefson was born and raised in in the small Minnesota town of Jackson, located near the Iowa border, just under three hours southwest of St. Paul. After leaving Jackson in the early ’80s to move to Los Angeles, he met former METALLICA guitarist Dave Mustaine, and the pair co-founded multi-platinum, Grammy-winning hard rock act MEGADETH, going on to become one of the “Big Four” of thrash metal. Ellefson’s smalltown Jackson roots have been immortalized in MEGADETH lore as the subject of classic songs including the smash hit “Foreclosure Of A Dream” and the underground classic “Mary Jane”.

Ellefson, who has lived in Scottsdale, Arizona since 1994, was dismissed from MEGADETH last May, just days after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter.

David, a Christian who launched the Mega Life Ministries worship group in 2007, studied for a year at Concordia Lutheran Seminary in St. Louis a decade ago.

Last October, Ellefson told SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” that there is a perception that people of faith must set a higher standard of how they live with and treat others. “It’s almost like you’re this entity that’s floating up toward the heavens: ‘Oh, he’s such a wonderful man. He’s a man of faith. He’s got his family. And then this happens.’ It’s, like, ‘What the hell is this?'” he said.

“I mean, look, admittedly I’ve sort of trained the public to think that I’m one of the more well-behaved rock stars out there, and for the most part I have been,” he continued. “But at the same time, and this isn’t to claim anything other than just, oops, shit happens. That is what it is.”

Ellefson was in MEGADETH from the band’s inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest exit.

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Western Electric gearing up for domestic production of guitar amp tubes to fulfil demand

“People are ready for higher quality, American-made tubes. We’re ready to meet that demand”

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Five For Friday: March 25, 2022

This week’s new releases bring us all things cold and dark with Abbath, Night Demon, Falls of Rauros and more!
The post Five For Friday: March 25, 2022 appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

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Watch: ALICE IN CHAINS' JERRY CANTRELL Kicks Off 'Brighten' Solo Tour In St. Paul

ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell kicked off his “Brighten” solo tour last night (Thursday, March 24) at the Palace Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Jerry’s band for the tour consists of Tyler Bates (guitar), Greg Puciato (backing vocals), Gil Sharone (drums), George Adrian (bass), Michael Rozon (pedal steel) and Jason Achilles (keyboards). The set includes songs from Cantrell’s latest solo album, “Brighten”, along with favorite hits from Jerry’s catalog.

The setlist for the St. Paul concert was as follows:

01. Atone
02. Psychotic Break
03. Them Bones
04. Siren Song
05. Cut You In
06. My Song
07. Had To Know
08. No Excuses
09. Black Gives Way To Blue
10. Sea Of Sorrow
11. Prism Of Doubt
12. Black Hearts And Evil Done
13. Angel Eyes
14. Got Me Wrong
15. Would?

Encore

16. Brighten
17. Man In The Box
18. Rooster
19. Goodbye (Elton John)

To make this tour even more attractive for fans, Jerry recently announced special VIP event packages at each show that offer fans tiered selections of exclusive experiences. These experiences include a meet-and-greet and photo opp with Jerry, personal autographed items of your choice, premium merch items, and at the top tier, a signed official “Atone” Gibson JC Signature Acoustic guitar. The guitar includes a letter of authenticity. Packages start at $100 all the way to $5,500, which includes the Gibson guitar.

“Brighten” came out last October. The LP has received praise from critics, including Kerrang!, which called it a “vivid, contemporary self-portrait of one of the most distinctive voices in hard rock. A long-overdue show of individual brilliance.” Classic Rock proclaimed it “his best yet. The work of a songwriter who is happy within his life, it spans a broad arc of styles.” The Sun commented: “A rich, organic album… ‘Brighten’ is brilliant.”

“Brighten” is Jerry’s first project without ALICE IN CHAINS in 19 years. Co-produced with film composer Tyler Bates and Paul Fig (longtime engineer), the LP got its beginnings just before the pandemic hit. They welcomed a dynamic cast of supporting players, including Duff McKagan (GUNS N’ ROSES) on select bass tracks, Puciato contributing to backing vocals and drummers Sharone and Abe Laboriel, Jr. (Paul McCartney). Joe Barresi (TOOL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE) handled the mixing of “Brighten”.

Jerry’s new effort marks his first full-length release since “Degradation Trip”, the epic solo album he made in 2002 with future METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo and FAITH NO MORE drummer Mike Bordin.

Jerry’s career outside of ALICE IN CHAINS has consisted of two previous solo albums and contributions to major film soundtracks. Cantrell’s first solo album, “Boggy Depot”, was released in 1998, followed by his second album, the aforementioned “Degradation Trip”. In addition to his solo artist work, Jerry has released music on soundtracks for several films, including “Spider-Man”, “The Cable Guy”, “John Wick 2”, “Last Action Hero” and “The Punisher”.

ALICE IN CHAINS regrouped in 2006 with William DuVall joining the band, and released its third LP with DuVall in the lineup, “Rainier Fog”, in August 2018.

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EUGENE ABDUKHANOV Of Ukrainian Metal Band JINJER: 'For One Month I Haven't Been Able To Hug My Most Beloved Ones'

Bassist Eugene Abdukhanov of Ukrainian modern metallers JINJER has once again condemned Russia’s invasion of his country, calling it “the most brutal, barbaric and horrible war in Europe” since the Second World War.

Since Russian president Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in the early hours of February 24, more than 10 million people have been displaced, several Ukrainian towns and cities have been besieged and bombarded beyond recognition, and hundreds of civilians have been killed.

Earlier today (Friday, March 25), Abdukhanov shared a few Instagram pictures of him and his family, and he included the following message: “This the last photo we took together before the Russian invasion started. The most brutal, barbaric and horrible war in Europe since WWII, initiated by Putin, has been on for one month now. For one month I haven’t been able to hug my most beloved ones, my wife Anna, my sons Danny and Roman, and honestly don’t know when I will see them again.

“For one month we – people in Ukraine have been surrounded by fear, dread and suffering on one side and heroism and incredible unity on the other. Being able to help people in need and being in touch with my family via video calls are the only source of relief now.

“I appreciate all of you for the support you are giving us and Ukraine. Sincerely, I still cannot believe how many donation t-shirts you ordered and how much money we managed to collect. We will be posting on stories about how exactly these funds are directed at people here in Ukraine. As far as I know the generator and fuel which we sent to Chernihiv the day before yesterday has already arrived and it is hard to overestimate how much people need it in the city which has no electricity for weeks now.”

Earlier this month, JINJER released new merchandise designs to help raise funds to support their country. The effort has resulted in more than $140,000 being raised so far, with proceeds set to be distributed directly to charity organizations of JINJER’s choosing.

You can get both t-shirts here.

Due to the ongoing war in the Ukraine, JINJER has been forced to cancel all previously announced North American tour dates, including its own headline dates, side shows with IN THIS MOMENT and participation in the “Knotfest Roadshow” tour supporting SLIPKNOT.

Three weeks ago, Abdukhanov told BBC News that he had abandoned his day job to concentrate on the immediate humanitarian crisis. He added that he was working on establishing a charity “to help the military, to help the civilians” and will soon join his friends in running a shelter providing “food supplies, water [and] protection” for people displaced by the conflict.

As for how the JINJER fans have reacted to the Ukraine invasion, Eugene said: “I received some texts from our Russian fans, apologizing and saying they’re definitely against this. I didn’t receive any angry texts from the Russian side, trying to justify this. Even though some people have this militaristic position, they’re ashamed enough not to mention this to me.”

Abdukhanov’s bandmate, JINJER frontwoman Tatiana Shmayluk, is currently staying in Southern California with her boyfriend, Alex Lopez of deathcore troupe SUICIDE SILENCE.

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A post shared by Eugene Abdukhanov (@jinjerbass)

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Fender vs Squier: what’s the difference?

We explore the history, spec and tone differences between Fender and its sub-brand Squier, two of the biggest names in guitar

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Skid Row debut first track with new vocalist Erik Grönwall, The Gang’s All Here

The former H.E.A.T. man only joined the hard-rock legends earlier this month but they’ve already put out his first recording

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AEROSMITH Drummer JOEY KRAMER To Sit Out 2022 Concert Dates; Temporary Replacement Announced

AEROSMITH drummer Joey Kramer has “regrettably made the decision to sit out the band’s concerts in 2022 so he can focus his full attention on his family during these uncertain times,” according to a statement from the legendary rockers. While Kramer “takes a temporary leave of absence” from AEROSMITH, he will once again be replaced by his drum tech, John Douglas. “[Kramer] and the band look forward to his future performances with AEROSMITH,” the statement adds.

Two years ago, Kramer rejoined his AEROSMITH bandmates on stage during the group’s residency in Las Vegas. A month earlier, he sued the rest of AEROSMITH in a bid to perform with them at two Grammy-related events. But a Massachusetts judge eventually ruled against him and the group played without Kramer.

After Kramer injured his shoulder in 2019, Douglas filled in for a few gigs during AEROSMITH’s residency. Kramer did, however, perform with the rest of AEROSMITH in July of that year at the Twin Cities Summer Jam in Shakopee.

In his January 2020 16-page complaint filed in Massachusetts state court, Kramer said the disability he suffered three years ago was minor, and insisted he was ready to return to the group’s “lucrative” Las Vegas residency at the MGM Resorts a few months later, as well as its slate of “50th anniversary activities.”

Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton and Brad Whitford later responded to Kramer’s suit in a statement to People, saying Joey “has not been emotionally and physically able to perform with the band, by his own admission, for the last 6 months. We have missed him and have encouraged him to rejoin us to play many times but apparently he has not felt ready to do so. Joey has now waited until the last moment to accept our invitation, when we unfortunately have no time for necessary rehearsals during Grammys week. We would be doing a disservice to him, to ourselves and to our fans to have him play without adequate time to prepare and rehearse.”

In a statement at the time, Kramer said he was “extremely disappointed” with the judge’s ruling.

“I knew filing a lawsuit was a bit of an uphill battle,” the drummer said. “I can hold my head high knowing that I did the right thing — to fight for my right to celebrate the band’s success that I have dedicated the better part of my life to helping build.”

As previously reported, AEROSMITH will bring its residency back to Las Vegas this summer. “Aerosmith: Deuces Are Wild” heads to Dolby Live at Park MGM for 24 dates beginning Friday, June 17. According to a press release, the show will be the first live concert experience presented in Dolby Atmos at Dolby Live. Dolby Live is one of the world’s most technologically advanced performance venues for enjoying live music in Dolby Atmos.

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