More Drums with Kenny... And One Week to Go!
Fri, 04/04/2014 - 11:51pm
Topics: guitar, paul gilbert
I did another session with legendary drummer, Kenny Aronoff today. He did an amazing job playing on my new album. (Mike Portnoy also played on a couple of songs.) I fly to South America on Thursday, so I've just got a few more days to finish up all the recording. Then I'll have the mixing engineer start working while I'm on my clinic tour. Most of the album is, of course, filled with electric guitar, but here is a photo of me while singing and playing the acoustic intro to one of the songs. I used a short scale acoustic with light strings and a plain G-string, so I can still bend strings like I would on an electric.
I've made strong requests to the South American promoter to book me in hotels with good internet connections, so I hope to still keep up with everyone's Video Exchanges while I'm on tour. But please be patient if things slow down a little bit. And if you live in Chile, Brazil, or a country nearby, I hope to see you there!
Thank you,
Paul
Chuck Loeb Interview on Examiner.com
Mon, 04/07/2014 - 2:26pm
Chuck Loeb recently did an interview about his new jazz guitar lessons with journalist Brittany Frederick which appears on Examiner.com.
"I think the most important thing that's going on for me right now is this teaching thing. I'm just so excited to be involved with ArtistWorks, and [to] have my own format for giving something back educationally in what I love more than anything else which is jazz guitar and jazz music. It's been a long time coming, and now I finally have a format for it...I think I'll be able to connect with people around the world."
- Chuck Loeb
ArtistWorks' new Online Jazz Guitar School with Chuck Loeb launches in April and Chuck is clearly excited about taking his unique method for simplifying jazz improv to the masses. Click on the picture to read the full interview and find out more about the new online Jazz Guitar School with Chuck Loeb at www.chuckloebguitar.com!
Jazz Guitar: Notes & Tones
Tue, 04/08/2014 - 2:43pm
In preparing for the launch of our new online Jazz Guitar School with Chuck Loeb, we recently released a sample lesson where Chuck breaks down The 6 Positions (a fundamental scale concept in his jazz guitar lessons). While The 6 Positions will help you to learn the geography of the fretboard, "approach notes" are a way to introduce notes outside of the key so you can incorporate some chromaticism into your jazz lines.
"All we're doing is surrounding each note of the triad."
Chuck demonstrates how it's done by starting with a simple chord progression going from A to D.
Safely Arrived in Chile
Fri, 04/11/2014 - 8:39pm
Topics: guitar, paul gilbert
The beach is beautiful in Chile. Tomorrow is my first clinic. I plan to stomp my foot, bend my strings, play loud, play quiet, play chords, play solos, leave spaces, play what is in my head, unleash some fury from my fingers, and play D and G chords that are very in-tune. And E and A chords too, if things go really well. Rock and Roll!
Paul
Fireman in Valparaiso
Sat, 04/12/2014 - 11:30pm
Topics: guitar, paul gilbert
I took this photo in the backstage mirror before my performance at the Guitarfest in Valparaiso, Chile. My Fireman guitar sounded and played great for the show, but unfortunately could not assist with the massive wildfire burning in the mountains nearby. It was a more dramatic and dangerous day than I expected. But the bassist and drummer were excellent, and I had a great time playing. I also wore a new set of headphones that doesn't have any speakers in them. They just block out sound to protect my ears. I couldn't hear the drums as clearly as usual, but mostly, I could still stay in time.. And my ears feel good after the show. And they (the headphones) kind of match my guitar.
Thank you,
Paul
First Clinic in Brazil... GOOD
Mon, 04/14/2014 - 9:08pm
Topics: guitar, paul gilbert
They brought two Marshall amps for me, oranges backstage (for my juice), some great local guitarists to jam with, and a great audience to play for. Obrigado, Fortaleza!
Jazz Guitar Lessons with Chuck Loeb Now Available!
Thu, 04/17/2014 - 8:50am
The Online Jazz Guitar School with Chuck Loeb is NOW OPEN! We asked Chuck how he's feeling about his new adventure teaching jazz guitar with ArtistWorks and he had a lot to say:
"I am super excited about the launch of my Jazz Guitar School with ArtistWorks. It is the perfect time and the perfect format for me to finally be able to share my love and experiences playing jazz guitar. I am looking forward to the surprises I will get from the students. As I've said [in other interviews], the ArtistWorks format with the online curriculum and Video Exchanges is just the format I was looking for - and it obviously works, based on all the wonderful teachers that have been doing it before me: John Patitucci, Martin Taylor, Nathan East, Howard Levy [to name a few]! It is just the right situation and model for me.
STONE PUSHING UPHILL MAN
Sat, 04/26/2014 - 9:57pm
Topics: guitar, paul gilbert
My new solo album is a few days away from being mixed, and I have decided on the title which is...
STONE PUSHING UPHILL MAN
I wrote a description of the album for my Japanese record company, and they put it up on their site: http://www.whd.co.jp/specials/detail/41
I've been listening to the new songs everyday as the mixing engineer finishes them, and I am convinced that this album contains the most guitar-face moments of any album that I have done. Many of the tunes are covers where I'm playing the vocal lines on guitar. You may have heard a taste of this from the Video Messages that I make here at the school, but this is the deepest that I've even gone into this melodic and expressive style. And of course I couldn't resist playing lots of standing-on-top-of-a-volcano-with-notes-exploding-in-the-air soloing as well.
There are also three new original songs, including the title track, "Stone Pushing Uphill Man." This is the only song where I am singing with my voice (instead of the guitar), and I put a long face-melting guitar solo in there too.
The album will be released in Japan this summer, and I'll keep you posted as I get release information in other countries.
Get ready for "Stone Pushing Uphill Man"!
Thank you,
Paul
The Great Guitars Live at Yoshi's Videos
Tue, 04/29/2014 - 5:43am
The Great Guitars - Martin Taylor, Frank Vignola, Vinny Raniolo, and Peppino D'Agostino, were filmed by Barry Cleveland of Guitar Player magazine at Yoshi's Jazz Club in Oakland, California on the first night of their recent US Tour.
You can also check out Martin, Frank, Vinny, and Peppino in action at Yoshi's by going to the Guitar Player link...
