Aerosmith will play their new single on the season finale of American Idol, Joe Perry told Rolling Stone. On the May 23 edition of the series, the legendary rockers will perform “Legendary Child,” which is both the lead single from their forthcoming album and their contribution to the G.I. Joe: Retaliation soundtrack.

Steven Tyler and pals shot a video for the single last week. The movie hits theaters on June 29.

As for Aerosmith’s still-untitled album, Perry said: “It’s really close. We’ve started to mix. We’ve mixed a couple of the songs already, but I guess this week we’re really kind of rolling into mix mode. We have a couple of tracks left to finish up, just to put some overdubs on, but we’re kind of going from the final, final recording tracks to mixing this week.”

The album is due for a fall release, following Aerosmith’s summer tour with Cheap Trick, which begins June 16 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

(From Gibson.com News
Original Story: http://www2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/News/en-us/aerosmith-to-perform-on-american-idol-0510-2012.aspx?RSSName=News-Lifestyle )

Vernon Reid on His New Jazz-Rock Supergroup, Living Colour LP

Spectrum Road to feature Reid, Jack Bruce, John Medeski and Cindy Blackman Santana

Vernon Reid of Living Colour performs at The Million Man Mosh Benefit Concert in New York.

Al Pereira/WireImage

With Living Colour currently off the road, guitarist Vernon Reid has assembled a jazz-rock/fusion supergroup called Spectrum Road; the group will release a self-titled LP on June 5th through Palmetto Records. In addition to Reid, the band includes former Cream bassist-singer Jack Bruce, Medeski Martin and Wood keyboardist John Medeski and ex-Lenny Kravitz drummer (and Carlos Santana’s wife) Cindy Blackman Santana.

“The germ of the idea started a really long time ago,” Reid tells Rolling Stone. “It started when I was touring with Jack Bruce in Europe – this is in the shadow of 9/11. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, we were having a really good time . . . And I remember asking Jack about his life, about what Cream was like to Hendrix and about [jazz drummer] Tony Williams.

“The combination of rock and jazz…it was really Tony Williams who started this almost psychedelic kind of thing, with even more of a rock edge than what Miles Davis was doing at the time,” Reid continues. “Jack joined him with the record Turn It Over, and they had a really hard time. The critics were not always kind to Tony. They would slag him as a vocalist. Looking back, the guy was a prophet. You hear the roots of a lot of alternative rock in what he was doing. The style of the singing – you hear the roots of Thom Yorke in some of his stuff. That just started the idea. I thought of Cindy Blackman, because I’ve done stuff with her, and I thought of John Medeski, because John is the man. And eight years later, we wound up doing it.”

Spectrum Road’s music reflects a vintage kind of fusion, but it also contains a few unexpected elements. “[It's] definitely a jazz-rock thing but it has a rock edge, because one of the architects of modern rock is in the band and he’s singing these tunes,” Reid says. “It’s kind of an odd combination of jazz-rock as we know it. John Medeski is such an odd keyboardist and so quirky, and one of the beautiful things is his use of the Mellotron on the record, because the Mellotron is not associated with jazz-rock and fusion to a large degree. It’s more associated with King Crimson, Yes and the Moody Blues. It gives the thing a different feel and sonic signature.”

Reid also lists a few of the album’s standout tracks. “‘An t-Eilean Muileach’ [which Bruce sings in Scottish Gaelic] would be one,” he says. “Certainly ‘There Comes a Time,’ which is probably the best-known song off the record Ego [Williams' 1971 release]. I would say the song ‘Where,’ which features Cindy Blackman singing, and ‘Blues for Tillmon’ is a group-written composition and it’s just this lovely straight-ahead blues.”

The guitarist also gives an update regarding Living Colour. “Living Colour just got together a few weeks ago – preparing to do a bunch of writing in preparation to make a record for 2013,” he says. “We want to be out and touring in 2013.” That said, Reid plans on making Spectrum Road an ongoing project. “Everyone is insanely busy, but it feels so good when we’re together and connecting that I really look forward to making the next record.”

Spectrum Road are set to play Bonnaroo on June 9^th, with additional appearances at the Playboy Jazz Festival and North Sea Jazz Festival to follow.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/vernon-reid-on-his-new-jazz-rock-supergroup-living-colour-lp-20120508#ixzz1uMqvILxq

Top rock photographer Jim McCrary, best known for his iconic Tapestry album cover for Carole King, died on April 29. He was 72.

Billboard reports that while he was a staff photographer for A&M Records, McCrary took photographs of numerous rock and pop legends such as Cat Stevens, Joe Cocker, Phil Ochs and B.B. King. He also took the famous Nudie suit shots of country rock cult band The Flying Burrito Brothers.

Recently, McCrary ran a photographic store in Los Angeles – Pix Camera.

Check out McCrary’s work here.

(From Gibson.com News
Original Story:http://www2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/News/en-us/rock-photographer-jim-mccrary-dies-0507-2012.aspx?RSSName=News-Lifestyle )

Charles “Skip” Pitts, a member of Isaac Hayes‘ group and Stax studio musician, died yesterday from lung cancer in Memphis. He was 65.

According to BBC, Pitts was best known for his unique “wah-wah” guitar pedal sound which left an indelible mark on the Isaac Hayes theme to the 1971 motion picture Shaft.

After growing up in Washington, D.C., Pitts started his musical career as a teenager with a credible mentor in neighbor Bo Diddley. From there Pitts found himself performing on Gene Chandler’s “Rainbow ’65″ before stints with soul legends Wilson Pickett, the Isley Brothers (“It’s Your Thing”) and Sam and Dave. Pitts would also befriend one Marvin Gaye, who was dating his sister at the time.

In 1970 Pitts relocated to Memphis to become a part of Hayes’ group and appeared in the 1974 blaxploitation film Truck Turner. But it was his work on the Shaft theme which was his signature.

“The ‘Shaft’ part was created because Isaac needed something driving for the beginning of the movie, when (actor) Richard Roundtree is coming out of the subway and walking through Times Square,” Pitts told Guitar Player in an interview regarding the song. “I was checking my pedals. I tested my overdrive, my reverb, the Maestro box, and then I started in with the wah. Isaac stopped everything and said, ‘Skip, what is that you are playing?’ I said, ‘I am just tuning up.’ He said, ‘Keep playing that G octave.’”

“His guitar style was very unique,” musician Scott Bomar, a bandmate of Pitts in the Bo-Keys, told Memphis paper the Commercial Appeal yesterday. “He took a little bit of the Bo Diddley rhythm, the Northern soul of Curtis Mayfield and the Memphis sound of Steve Cropper and Reggie Young and somehow came up with his own thing, a style that no one had.”

After his nearly four-decade run in Hayes’ group concluded with the singer’s death in 2008, Pitts continued performing, applying his craft to soundtracks such to films likeBlack Snake Moan while also doing studio session work with Cyndi Lauper and Al Green. He would also become a part of the Memphis music scene, teaching at-risk youth at the Stax Music Academy.
Pitts is survived by his wife Beverly. Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced but they will take place in Washington, D.C.

Joe Bonamassa has released the first single and the official music video from his brand-new solo album Driving Towards the Daylight.

The official music video for the title track “Driving Towards the Daylight” can be viewed here.

Get the free download of the single “Driving Towards the Daylight” here.

Bonamassa’s label J&R Adventures is airing 10 episodes of the new reality mini-series that features 3-4 minute webisodes with interviews and footage of Joe and his band. The series can be viewed on Joe’s YouTube Channel.

(From Gibson.com News
Original Story: http://www2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/News/en-us/joe-bonamassa-free-download-0501-2012.aspx?RSSName=News-Lifestyle)

Roger Waters breaks Rolling Stones South American record

added: 29 Apr 2012 // by: VVN Music 

Over 750,000 people saw Roger Waters perform The Wall on his recent South American tour, breaking all-time attendance records.

Waters played 15 shows in Chile, Brazil and Argentina, making the tour the largest ever stadium tour in South America for an international artist.

Roger Waters played nine sold-out shows at River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires, breaking the previous 5-night record set by The Rolling Stones.

Waters’ The Wall has now played 150 shows in 27 countries and has grossed over $218 million.

The next leg of The Wall is another 41 shows for North America kicking off next weekend at Foro Sol stadium in Mexico.

The new dates:

04/27 – Mexico City, MX – Foro Sol
04/28 – Mexico City, MX – Foro Sol
05/01 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
05/03 – Austin, TX – Frank Erwin Center
05/05 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
05/07 – Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
05/11 – San Francisco, CA – AT&T Park
05/13 – San Diego, CA – Valley View Casino Center
05/15 – Phoenix, AZ – US Airways Center
05/19 – Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles Coliseum
05/22 – Portland, OR – Rose Garden
05/24 – Seattle, WA – Key Arena
05/26 – Vancouver, BC – BC Place
05/28 – Edmonton, AB – Rexall Place
05/31 – Winnipeg, MB – MTS Centre
06/01 – Winnipeg, MB – MTS Centre
06/03 – St Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
06/05 – Detroit, MI – Joe Louis Arena
06/06 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena
06/08 – Chicago, IL – Wrigley Field
06/10 – Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center
06/11 – Indianapolis, IN – Conseco Fieldhouse
06/13 – Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
06/15 – Ft Lauderdale, FL – BankAtlantic Center
06/16 – Orlando, FL – Amway Center
06/19 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
06/21 – Buffalo, NY – First Niagara Center
06/23 – Toronto, ON – Rogers Centre
06/25 – Ottawa, ON – Scotiabank Place
06/26 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
06/28 – Albany, NY – Times Union Center
06/29 – Hartford, CT – XL Center
07/01 – Boston, MA – Fenway Park
07/03 – Pittsburgh, PA – Consol Energy Center
07/06 – New York, NY – Yankee Stadium
07/07 – New York, NY – Yankee Stadium
07/09 – Raleigh, NC – RBC Center
07/10 – Charlotte, NC – Time Warner Cable Arena
07/12 – Washington DC – Verizon Center
07/14 – Philadelphia, PA – Citizens Bank Park

To win ROCKNESS FESTIVAL tickets click here now!

After the sad passing of U.K. amplifier legend Jim Marshall, there will be a tribute show at London’s Wembley Arena on September 22. The 50 Years of Loud concert will boast a host of heavy stars. Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain will compere the event and will be joined by some stellar guitarists and Marshall enthusiasts. The lineup includes:

Joe Satriani
Zakk Wylde
Paul Gilbert
Whitesnake’s Doug Aldrich and Brian Tichy
The Cult’s Billy Duffy
Slipknot/Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor
Glenn Hughes

Other names will be announced soon.

Talking about the event, McBrain commented: “This is truly a celebration of a British Icon – Marshall. There is no better way to commemorate Jim’s amazing life than putting on the loudest event ever. Expect pure rock ’n’ roll madness amplified to the max by Marshall.”

Joe Satriani added: “He created the tone we all cherish in rock: big, bold, and beautiful and in your face. With every power chord, soaring melody and searing lead we will continue to salute his legacy.”

Zakk Wylde, whose Les Paul Custom Vertigo was released this week, said: “God bless father Marshall… The saying goes, ‘leave this world a better place than before you got here.’ He did.”

Take earplugs. It might get loud…

For many players and collectors the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville, Tennessee, is a six-string Mecca, a nearly holy place where great instruments with the aura of history are created and re-created. And the Custom Shop’s most valued guitars are its Signature models and Collector’s Choice issues.

In recent years, the Signature line has yielded exact recreations of Jeff Beck’s 1954 Oxblood Les Paul, Jimmy Page’s Number Two,Slash’s Les Paul, Peter Frampton’s Les Paul Custom and many more highly coveted instruments.

More recently, the Collector’s Choice Series – which recreates guitars from both star players and collectors – has built its first issues. Collector’s Choice #1 is the 1959 Les Paul Standard that was owned by Peter Green and Gary Moore, nicknamed “the Holy Grail.” Likewise, Collector’s Choice #2 is also a ’59 Standard, dubbed “Goldie” by the collector who owns it. The brand-new Collector’s Choice #3 is a ’60 burst with a Bigbsy and ’59 neck profile, owned by Joe Bonamassa. These hand-built beauties are among the finest guitars made today.

The creation of both Signature model and Collector’s Choice guitars is under the direction of the Custom Shop’s Historic Program Manager, Edwin Wilson. “I started playing when I was 12,” Wilson said, “and started working on guitars when I was 13. I enjoyed building and working on the guitars more than playing, and today it’s become an obsession.”

Part of that obsession has been cultivating relationships with collectors and artists for 25 years. “I have a network that I can draw on to find these guitars,” Wilson explained. “A Signature model guitar is pretty self-explanatory. It’s an instrument owned and played by an artist. The Collector’s Choice series is literally that – their choice. They present us with a guitar that is interesting and important to them, and typically these are instruments from the ’50s and ’60s, so they’re naturally of major importance. And this is where the process begins.

“Once we have decided what guitar we are going to focus on, then arrangements are made to get the instrument into our possession so we can start the development process. We try to accommodate the owners and the guitars in any way we can. If it means flying to another location or country even, in order to get our information together, that is what we do. Sometimes we are fortunate enough to have the guitar brought into our building, this way we can use our equipment in house instead of traveling to the guitar with our equipment, but the rule is ‘Whatever it takes to make it right.’

“At this point I have a ‘partner in crime’ that I work with,” said Wilson. “He is truly a Master Luthier in every aspect, his name is Matthew Klein and with 40 years of guitar building experience, there is not too much that presents a problem for him. Matthew and I have known each other for over 31 years and worked together for 26 of those years and that is what makes this part of the process work so smoothly. Typically Matthew or I will get a scan of the instrument and then Matthew will take the raw data, clean it up and use this to generate machine code for manufacturing of the guitars, generate fixtures for production of the instruments. Once this part is done then we will discuss any nuances with the scan to figure out what are important features to reproduce, then Matthew will start the prototype neck and body.”

The first step in the process is getting the guitars to the second-floor engineering department of the Custom Shop’s building off Nashville’s Elm Hill Pike. “Sometimes the guitar is shipped here,” Wilson said. “Sometimes collectors bring the guitars here. We’ve literally bought first class tickets to fly guitars here.”

After their arrival the guitars are documented with photos, notes and measurements. “We’re looking for authenticity,” Wilson said. “There’s different nuances to every guitar Gibson’s ever made. We’re looking for what it is exactly that makes each one unique. Those qualities are the real selling point. There has to be uniqueness on some level. Collector’s Choice #2 had amazingly wide flame on it because of how the top was cut, and that made that guitar unique.

“In the case of the Peter Green/Gary Moore guitar, Collector’s Choice #1, we went to the collector’s location in Florida and copied it there. It’s got a particularly unique top – the same kind of figure that’s on Billy Gibbons’ guitar – and the pickups are out of phase. That gives it a unique look and sound.”

Wilson and his staff already know the materials and electronics in every guitar the company has made over its history, so during intake they document aging and checking patterns, color fading, any customizations and unique wear patterns that need to be reproduced. “We make templates of wear patterns so we can accurately recreate the look of the guitars,” he explained.

The date an instrument was built also has to be verified. Most often, serial numbers tell the story, but in some cases, features and materials specific to certain periods – such as tapered necks, speed dial knobs, pickups and tuners – are used.

Next comes scanning. Guitars are placed on a table in the engineering department, held in place by felt-covered blocks and custom-cut chucks.

A scanner with a pointy-tipped, nylon data-measuring stylus that’s made in-house is passed over every bit of the guitar’s surface to create a computer map of its contours.

In the case of Billy Gibbons’ 1959 “Pearly Gates” Les Paul Standard, this process revealed a sharper-than-usual reverse curve to the instrument’s top than is customary for the model year, which precluded using standard reissue bodies for the signature edition. Instead, each “Miss Pearly” has its own body custom cut.

Using all that data, the next step is creating test pieces of the guitar in Wilson’s shop area. Usually that involves making an exact copy of the neck and other parts that may be unique to that instrument. “Starting with the Billy Gibbons guitar, we began a new procedure,” Wilson explained. “We now create an entire unfinished prototype of the guitar and send it to the artist or collector we got the original from, so they can play it and let us know if it looks and feels correct.”

Pains are taken on every model to ensure authenticity. “When we shape the neck, we shape the neck the exact same way they did in the 1950s or ’60s,” Wilson continued.

On the day we visited the Custom Shop, Wilson had Kirk Hammett’s 1979 Gibson Flying V on his workbench in the aging room – also known as “Edwin’s Room” – alongside a prototype that recreated the original’s wear marks and checks, and even boasted three strips of gaffer’s tape on its back, just like Hammett’s.

The Metallica guitarist’s axe arrived with a distinctive bridge made by out-of-business company Stars Guitar. Rather than compromise, Wilson and his team are outsourcing the bridge to a machine shop for exact reproduction.

“It’s a stand-out feature on this guitar,” he said. “When we recreate something, we try to the best of our ability to recreate every detail. Even checking lines and cracking lines in the finish – it’s all reproduced as closely as possible. We work on things that the consumer is interested in looking at. The checking pattern has to look the same as on the original. We make patterns of the wear on the edges. The general public would never see these details on the original guitar, but they’re looking for us to see everything for them.”

After prototype Signature and Collector’s Choice models are approved, the building process for each run of specific guitars moves out into the Custom Shop’s manufacturing area, which is kept at 45-percent humidity to create an ideal environment for maintaining the cured woods. Bodies of prototype guitars and their subsequent production models are carefully chosen from the stock of mahogany, which Wilson purchases.

“Typically vintage guitars are lighter, so we start with a block of wood with an average weight of about 9.2 pounds,” Wilson said. Carving and sanding deletes nearly three pounds from that raw block’s weight.

Then the guitar building begins. All of the woods used in making the bodies of guitars at the Gibson Custom Shop – mahogany, spruce, maple, and holly from Canada, the Pacific Northwest and the Northeast – is kept stacked on shelves and pallets just inside the shop, right behind the wall that separates ready-to-ship guitars and the factory floor. Programmable machines in the rough mill carve the necks and the bodies, including the routing necessary for electronics.

All jobs in the Custom Shop are highly specialized and require the expertise of staffers such as Richard Ickes. The dean of the wood shop with 36 years of service, Ickes came to Nashville with the company when it moved from Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1985. “They had these same machines way back in the 1930s, and I learned on them,” said Ickes. “They were originally steam powered, but were converted to electricity before I came on in 1973. It takes a while to get the hang of them, but it comes. You learn how to change the fixtures that get fitted in place on the table of the machine. And you make all the adjustments by hand to get the correct radiuses and curves and thicknesses of the tops, and then guide the carving.”

Next to the wood shop are various stations of the neck making process. After the necks are rough cut they are smoothed and sanded.

Two small holes are drilled into their faces to anchor the fretboards, and a channel running the length of the neck is made for the truss rod. At the same time, the maple tops for Les Pauls like the classics in the Collector’s Choice series are glued in place and bound while they set. Binding gets especially complex for semi-hollow and hollowbody models like ES-335s and L-5s, since they also have interior supports that need to set in place.

Fretboard woods arrive at Gibson as blanks. They are trimmed to fit specific models and fitted with fret wire, and then seated and glued to the necks. The glued neck and fretboards are put into a press to be glued. The truss rods are placed in the neck channels, which are covered with a thin strip of maple.

Every bit of this process is done by hand. And every guitar player knows how important a guitar’s neck is to its overall playability, so there’s no room for carelessness or corner cutting. The necks and fretboards are cleared of excess glue, rough fret edges, sawdust, and any other imperfections at various points in the manufacturing process before – and after – the necks are seated and set into the bodies.

Guitars and necks that require binding, which lends many classic models including Les Pauls extra beauty and style, make a stop for one more procedure before that binding is applied. The “rabbet” channels that accommodate the binding are cut along the edges of the body and neck where the decorative strips will be applied. Some guitars require binding on the inner edges of their f-holes, as well.

Sanding is the next important step, with the edges of necks and the contours of bodies hand-smoothed on a giant sanding belt. There are no computers involved. The Custom Shop’s professional sanders must make constant judgment calls about the look and feel of the guitars taking shape during this process. Next to the sanding station another computer-controlled saw cuts out pickguards.

At this point, the guitar’s body and neck are ready to unite. Neck fitting is extremely hands on.

Sandpaper and wood chisels are the fitter’s tools, but before that begins the fitting department crew examines the quality of what’s been done so far – every aspect of neck, fretboard, binding and body work. Ultimately, however, this is where neck tenons – typically extra long in keeping with vintage designs of classic Gibsons – are fitted into body cavities and, once perfectly snugged, glued in place.

“Neck Fit” is also where the transponders that are standard equipment for every Custom Shop guitar are inserted into a tiny hole drilled in the neck tenons, which makes removal virtually impossible after the necks and bodies are glued together. Each transponder is about half the size of a typical oblong headache pill and has a distinct number. They allow guitars to be tracked during the manufacturing process with greater precision. More important to musicians and collectors, the transponders can be used to foil counterfeiters and thieves. If somebody’s trying to sell a guitar, it can be scanned to see if it belongs to another owner, is a genuine Gibson, or is a vintage guitar or a reproduction.

From there the guitars move along to fret inspection and filing, where the fretboard gets yet another thorough exam, cleaning, and tweaking. Next to the fret filing department stands the Custom Shop’s twin Plek machines. A hallmark of every guitar produced here is that it is adjusted and set – leveled and dressed – for maximum playability by the machines, which have a greater degree of accuracy than any human. They are remarkably self-contained: glass boxes with armatures and other mechanisms to run the cutting tools and measuring devices over the guitars. Every guitar that leaves the Custom Shop goes through this process.

The next major stop for the Collector’s Choice and Signature guitars is the paint room, where the bodies are sprayed – binding already in place – and air-dried on conveyors. Every guitar gets multiple coats of paint. Some, like ’bursts or other specialized shades, more than others. Typically in sunbursts there are four different colors: two in the necks and two in the body. Of course, each guitar is airbrushed by hand.

After the paint is applied and dries, it needs to be removed from the binding so those stylish bands once again become visible. This is done by Custom Shop employees wielding sharp edged blades that they draw over the binding to remove the excess lacquer and reveal the perfectly defined, straight-edged binding strips. The process is done seamlessly by eye, without any edging or alignment tools.

As the building process heads to conclusion, guitars get several thin coats of nitro-cellulose lacquer, readying them for a shine that’d put any sports car to shame. They move on to the buffing area. There, these optimum lacquer coatings are buffed to a rich finish by utilizing buffing wheels containing a red wax, then yellow wax and then finally a high gloss polish.

When Collector’s Choice and Signature models are aged, Wilson’s hand-picked staff uses wet sanding, staining, hand-rubbing and various scarring tools to get the details models such as the aged Randy Rhoads Les Paul Custom– missing toggle switch cover, yellowed original white finish, nicks below the bridge – correct.

The final assembly area is where all the electronics – wiring, volume and tone controls, the pickup selector switch, and Gibson’s own in-house wound and wax-potted pickups – are installed. And then, each guitar gets a final inspection, gets played, and has its transponder number entered in a logbook, before it is put in a case for shipping.

All that’s left for the guitar is to make some lucky player’s dreams come true.

Few have a musical resume as impressive as that of Buddy Guy, one of the last great living Chicago blues guitarists. He’s influenced the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. He’s played on recordings by Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Little Walter. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. And on May 8th, the 75-year-old’s autobiography, When I Left Home: My Story, will be published by Da Capo Press. Co-written with David Ritz, the book is a must-read account of Guy’s life and career.

Guy recently talked to Rolling Stone about penning his life story, the important advice he received from Muddy Waters and the current state of blues music.

What made you decide to write a book now? 
It always crosses your mind. Fifty-five years ago this September 25th, I arrived here in Chicago [from Louisiana] and the greatest blues players in the world were all alive and well and playing here. You go to sleep, wake up and 55 years have passed. After me and B.B. King, all the rest of them are gone. Every time I get interviewed, I say, “They’re no longer here. I’m looking up at that band in heaven. That’s the best blues band.” It seems like yesterday that I was called a little young punk, when Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Little Walter were all living. I went to sleep, woke up and now I’m the senior citizen! So the information and the street sense I learned from them, I guess I’m the only one left that can tell you about it. That’s what made [co-writer David Ritz] come in and say, “OK, let me get it while you’re still in your right mind and can remember a lot of that stuff.”

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/buddy-guy-sets-the-record-straight-with-new-book-20120424#ixzz1t8usUqk8

Gibson Custom has released the striking new Zakk Wylde Les Paul Custom Vertigo.

The swirling look was inspired by the graphics used on the poster for Alfred Hitchcock’s classic movie, Vertigo. It was a guitar design that Zakk first imagined back in the ’80s.

“I was just this kid from New Jersey,” Wylde told Music Radar recently. “The Vertigo was something I had in my head. I had this amazing Les Paul, but I felt like I needed to do something to establish some sort of identity. Yeah, I had the long hair and all that, but what about the guitar? You had Eddie with the stripes all over his guitars, and Randy had the polka dots, so I thought, All right, what am I about? I have to do something.”

An artist attempted to bring Wylde’s vision to fruition but the results more resembled a bullseye. Twenty years later, Zakk’s vision has been realized by Gibson. “I don’t know why it took so long,” said Wylde. “All I know is that the Vertigo is an awesome fiddle, man. The thing looks killer and plays great.”