My mom rocked the accordion. But she kept it strictly old school. She mostly played it in church -- lots of hymns and spiritual music. I would have loved to hear her bust out some speed-Polka like America's Polka King Frank Yankovic. But, that was not her style. I digress.

Anyway, I have to hand it to the folks at Roland. They have the balls to keep releasing new versions of the revolutionary V-Accordion, originally introduced back in 2004.

The new FR-1 V-Accordion embodies the digital advantages of the original model, but in a new ultra-light format. And this is not yer mom's accordion. You can instantly switch between classic accordions, alternate tunings and orchestral instruments. It's also got built-in reverb, chorus, and rotary effects. Play it through headphones, or blast it through your favorite amp.

Polka music always makes me want to drink beer.

"If you build it, they will come..."

If you find yourself in Southampton, England you gotta visit The Guitar Store on Commercial Road. It's just opposite the Southampton Central Railway station. Just had to share this pic...painted like a giant
Fender Super Champ XD Vintage Modified Guitar Combo Amplifier (15 Watts, 1x10 In.) Sweet.

Louie Bellson R.I.P.

Unfortunately, the world lost a great drummer recently with the unexpected passing of Louie Bellson on Feb 14, 2009.

He will have an L.A. area funeral, followed by funeral and burial in Moline, Illinois, his boyhood home. Also, a memorial service in San Jose later.

Who exactly is Louie Bellson, you ask? Referred to by Duke Ellington as “not only the world’s greatest drummer...(but also) the world’s greatest musician!”, Louie Bellson has expressed himself on drums since age three. At 15, he pioneered the double bass drum set-up. At 17, beat the crap out of 40,000 other drummers to win the Gene Krupa drumming contest.

He has performed on more than 200 albums with such greats as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, Woody Herman, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, Louie Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, James Brown, Sammy Davis Jr., Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Joe Williams, Wayne Newton and Bellson’s late wife Pearl Bailey.

This was one of the giants of the drumming world.

Send Condolence cards to:
The Family of Louie Bellson
c/o Remo, Inc.
28101 Industry Drive
Valencia, CA 91355
Contributions in memory of Louie Bellson can be made to: Emmanuel Baptist Church and mailed to Mrs. Bellson at the address above.

Highwood Acrylic Shell Drum Kit

Last time I saw acrylic shell drums in their full glory, the Bay City Rollers were still on Saturday morning TV and John Bonham was king. Sadly, at that time, I was just a wee lad and I was WAY more into the Bay City Rollers than Led Zeppelin. I was young, I didn't know any better...please forgive me.

One footnote...I do believe Pat Wilson from Weezer has rocked a set of old school acrylics in the not so distant past. But I could be mistaken.

Anyway, these are the new style acrylics. Unlike the vintage Vistalites, the shells are cast in one piece from liquid acrylic (apparently it's "medical grade" acrylic, too). In other words, they're not fashioned from several sheets of acrylic rolled and pressed together with a seam that ruins the continuity of the shell. One chunk of acrylic, with a bearing edge machined to a precision edge.

The result is a warmer sound, with deep timbre. I am intrigued. You should be too. They're hand made by a small independent company in the UK called Highwood Drums & Percussion. Worth a look see...not sure how you can get your hands on a set, though...persistence, I guess.

Inspiration to get off your ass and practice!

Gibson Dark Fire...what's the verdict?

Lots of hype on this one. And apparently, lots of production delays.

By now, you've probably heard the news about the Gibson Dark Fire. Robot self-tuning technology, Chameleon Tone system that allows you to recreate just about any guitar sound your heart desires, and all this controlled by a Master Control Knob that allows you to change tunings, pickups and tones on the fly, and in ways you never expected.

But, wherefore art thou, Dark Fire? Production delays have pushed back shipment dates and the world waits for a sign. Just give us some kind of sign, Gibson.

If you'd like to pre-order a Gibson Dark Fire, I believe the place to do it is GuitarCenter.com You might also ask them when we can expect to see these beautiful babies out in the real world. Please, let me know what you find out!

Deals of the Week

Need to let you know about a money-saving deal. Only good for the next couple days....

Musician's Friend is celebrating President's Day with savings of up to 93% on select items all the way through February 17th.

Save Up to 93% at MusiciansFriend.com


Check it.

SONOR presents the Danny Carey Signature Snare Drum

Ok, I'm on a roll (pun intended). I guess it's "snare drum week" here at the home office. Ha!

Yes, another snare drum is being unleashed on the world. Combine the frightening chops of a drummer like Danny Carey, and a drum company like Sonor (insert random joke about scary Germans), and you get this...

The Danny Carey Signature Snare Drum. According to the folks at Sonor, it features a 1 mm Bronze Shell, Artist Series Snare Drum Style lugs, and 2.3 mm Power Hoops. It's an 8" deep drum, and the shell is covered by several unique talisman symbols -- similar to those favored by a certain band that Mr. Carey has been know to make time with. Danny’s signature is engraved around the air hole.

I had the rare treat of seeing Danny Carey play with a band called Volto! at a small club in Los Angeles a couple years back. Catch them at the Knitting Factory March 6th if you're in SoCal. Not to be missed, the guy is a monster.

The Danny Carey Signature Snare Drum is available at most music retail stores starting February/March 2009. Also, I need to post this sweet pic of what it's like to sit behind Danny's kit...surreal.

Ludwig 100th Anniversary Snare Drums

Ludwig is celebrating 100 years of crafting some mighty fine drums. To celebrate, Ludwig produced 100 engraved 24K gold-plated brass shell Triumphal snares. Fashioned after the original Triumphal snare drum, which was only produced between 1926 and 1928, the limited edition 2009 versions are each individually numbered between 1909 and 2009.

Get the full history of the drum here.

Unless you can get to one of the stores on the Ludwig Platinum Dealers list, Ebay may be your best bet for finding one of these babies. Rumor has it, they're listing for about $7,000 each.

Ludwig has several 100th anniversary snare drums available, including the 100th Anniversary Black Beauty and Black Magic models. I am drooling now.

EVH Eddie Van Halen Wolfgang Electric Guitar

EVH Eddie Van Halen Wolfgang Electric Guitar with Case

Designed by Eddie Van Halen who says, "Every aspect and component of this guitar has been examined and upgraded to the highest standards possible: stainless steel frets, double-potted custom wound pickups, five-piece binding on the matching body and headstock, custom-made signature tuning machines and Floyd Rose bridge, new low-friction pots, and the list keeps going . . . we left no stone unturned."

The B.C. Rich Double Neck Bich

Some of the world's most renown guitars have made a living with a double neck as part of their arsenal. The B.C. Rich Bich Double Neck's roots run deep, Lita Ford, Carlos Alomar (David Bowie) and Randy Jackson (Zebra) were often seen and heard shredding a DNB. One neck features a traditional six string configuration while the second neck is strung with twelve along with the innovative B.C. Rich Bich rear mounted octave string tuners. Screaming Rockfield Mafia pickups and a host of classic B.C. Rich active electronics round out a versatile and authoritative tonal package.

Deals of the Week

Save Up to $75 at Music123.com (coupon: GIMME, exp: 2/28)


Save Up to $60 Instantly at MusiciansFriend.com (Code: WANT, Exp: 2/28)


CLEARANCE!!!!

Kid plays 2 guitars at once....and it works for me.

Neat.

Travis Barker - Snare Drum Solo

Travis Barker reminds us all...learn your rudiments, kids! You'll need them...

David Gilmour Signature Stratocaster Guitar

Pink Floyd's David Gilmour heavily modified and experimented with his guitar over the years. His guitar sound became a cornerstone of Pink Floyd’s surreal psychedelic sound. Listen to classic tracks from Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), and The Wall (1979), and remind yourself of the enormous impact of this legendary artist.

The David Gilmour Signature Stratocaster features a black lacquer over three-color Sunburst alder body with a black pick guard, one-piece maple neck, custom pickups, and David’s now-famous electronics and shortened vintage tremolo arm.

Two models are available:


Fender Custom Shop David Gilmour Signature Stratocaster Electric Guitar Nos Black



Fender Custom Shop David Gilmour Signature Stratocaster Electric Guitar Relic Black Over 3-Tone Suburst