Shaï Sebbag is a musician I had the pleasure to interview several times in French, for the release of En Equilibre his third album it was more than time to record and English interview so his non-French speaking fans can get to know him better and also for new people to discover his universe.
With this latest release I think Shaï reached a new peak as he is delivering some awesome compositions played with an impeccable technique without useless technical demonstration.
Extracts of "En Equilibre" played before the interview
Into The Wild
Bach To The Future
Valse des Carpates
Orgasme
Some
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Here's my video review of the Line6 JTV-59.
In this 5th video of the Spartan Project the luthier, Mikaël Springer, starts the work on the neck of the guitar. Many people consider that you are truly an electric guitar luthier when you build the necks of your instruments yourself.
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In this 4th video of the Spartan Project the luthier, Mikaël Springer, continues the work on the Spanish Cedar body.
Published videos of the Spartan Project
Stay tuned for the next update on the Spartan Project!
Pierre.
PS: for more info on this project you can read the full article here about its launch.
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I was not able to catch Alex Skolnick during the 2015 winter NAMM show so we scheduled a Skype call to do the interview. His career has not been the usual one for a Heavy Metal guitar player, he is not afraid to venture into Jazz and World music. Planetary Coalition, his latest album, is a fascinating collection of music with very different musicians.
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Right before the Freak Kitchen concert in Paris, Mattias Eklundh was at Metal Guitar for a showcase/masterclass. The full recording is available below in 3 videos.
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In this 3rd video of the Spartan Project the luthier, Mikaël Springer, continues the work on the Spanish Cedar body.
Published videos of the Spartan Project
Stay tuned for the next update on the Spartan Project!
Pierre.
PS: for more info on this project you can read the full article here about its launch.
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It's always a pleasure to meet and interview Mattias Eklundh as he is such a nice guy and awesome musician. I dig the last album "Cooking with Pagan" he has just released with Freak Kitchen, it's shock full of cool songs with incredible guitar works.
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As it is the 3rd time I get to do an interview with Mattias, we got a little crazy during the interview.
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It's always a pleasure to meet and interview Mattias Eklundh as he is such a nice guy and awesome musician. I dig the last album "Cooking with Pagan" he has just released with Freak Kitchen, it's shock full of cool songs with incredible guitar works.
As it is the 3rd time I get to do an interview with Mattias, we got a little crazy during the interview.
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Leonardo Guitar Research Project – Interview at the 2014 Holy Grail Guitar Show
Tuesday, 10 March 2015
This interview with Brian will explain you everything you need to know about the Leonardo Guitar Research Project.
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In this 2nd series of videos of the Spartan Project done with Mikaël Springer, the luthier continues with the work on the body.
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Back in 2012 I had the opportunity to meet Doug Scarratt while he was in Paris to promote a Saxon best-of album.
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More than ever there is a humongous choice of picks available nowadays. I recently received a set of Dragon's Heart Guitar Picks. I admit I was intrigued by the original shape of the model which present three different edges: a sharp one, a normal one and a round one.
What I like the most
- 3 distinct sounds in one pick
- Quality of the material
- Very durable
What I like the least
- Added complexity
- Not for everyone
Conclusion
When I use a pick I tend to use thicker and thicker one. I don't know if it's because as I aged I get better at guitar playing and need more control or just a matter of my taste evolving. Anyway, I enjoyed the thickness of the Dragon's Heart picks. As for the sound, having such a variety of type of attacks on the strings is a pretty cool feature. If you are ready to deal with the fact that you need to pay attention to how you hold your pick to choose the right edge you want to use, the Dragon's Heart offer an excellent option to get different sounds right from your finger tips. Pierre.
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Dragon’s Heart Guitar Picks (@DragonHrtPicks): a triple edge pick
Wednesday, 25 February 2015
This video is part of a series of videos documenting the Spartan Project done in collaboration with luthier Mikaël Springer.
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Here's the interview I did with Kiko Loureiro during the 2014 Hellfest before he went onstage with Angra, the brazilian metal band.
Kiko Loureiro interview during the 2014 Hellfest
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Enjoy,
Pierre.
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This is my personal selection of the best guitar albums for 2014. Four very different musical worlds but with the same intensity in the six string domain. When I write "guitar albums" I certainly do not mean "music for guitar players"! This is four musical pieces that will appeal to any music fans, and that's the most important thing.
Rock - "Uniparental Advisory" What About Your Mom
It's coming back from the Issoudun Guitar Festival in 2013 (yes, I have written 2013) that I discovered the first album from Brice Delage power trio. I was in the car with Ruddy Meicher and Brice made us listen to the latest mix of the album. It was great stuff despite the listening conditions not optimal (his car radio, highway, etc.). So I was looking forward to the official release of this CD. It did not disappoint me: it's awesome! This is rock'n'roll at its best with Brice in great shape supported by a brilliant Xavier Zolli on bass and Franck Amand on drums.If you only buy one disc for 2014, buy this one! If you understand French, listen Brice Delage and Xavier Zolli in interview to find out more. Watch the super cool cover they did of Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger from Daft Punk:
Metal - "Enigma Black Opera" by Stéphan Forté
Stéphan Forté continues his journey with a very specific approach that gives an excellent result. Personally it always takes me time to adjust to enter the world of Stéphan because his music is very intense (that's a compliment!). But once this little effort, one is rewarded because we can then appreciate in full his compositions. This is Shred yes, but Shred with a real musical discourse.Listen to audio interview Stephan talk about his album. Watch this Backstage Pass video with an interview where Stéphan explains guitar in hand how he composed Enigma and how he works every day. Here's an extract:
Jazz - "One" Jonathan Kreisberg
On the advice of Bruno Pelletier-Bacquaert (Jazz French professional guitarist based in San Francisco) I discovered Jonathan Kreisberg who is one of the hottest jazz player of the moment. His album One is wonderful. It includes such gems like a very moving version of Alleluia. Jonathan and his guitar just happens to transcribe all the emotion of this powerful song.During one of his visits to Paris with Dr. Lonnie Smith, I had the opportunity to meet with Jonathan to interview a guitar in his hand in the basement of a hotel. A very good memories of 2014 with a very talented musician who does not hesitate to play with the Jazz guitar codes playing with effects, overdrive, etc. Here's an extract of the video interview I did with him. Get the Backstage Pass to view it in full:
World - "In Balance" Shaï Sebbag
With this 3rd album, Shaï Sebbag gives us very polished compositions that explore musical colors that are captivating, from unbridled jazz to a captivating Orientalism. We even forget very quickly that there is only one guitar on this album except for a beautiful song with Tania. You think the acoustic guitar has remained stuck in the golden age of Marcel Dadi ? Jump on this album for an update. Shaï offers with a few other virtuosos of the six strings a bright future for fingerpicking.Here's a medley of Shaï live: [cta]
The best guitar albums of 2014
Thursday, 22 January 2015
Well, here we are, the American adventure of The Guitar Channel starts in a few hours! The NAMM show means a lot for musicians in general and especially for guitarists as it is a major event that has strong impact, especially on our respective gear fantasies! Indeed it is often during this event dedicated to the music industry in Los Angeles, California in January that are launched instruments, amps, effects, accessories, etc.
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Doug Kauer interview from Kauer Guitars at the 2014 Holy Grail Guitar Show
Monday, 05 January 2015
Here's a Doug Kauer interview. Meeting with Doug in Berlin during the Holy Grail Guitar Show was one of the highlight for me as I am a big fan of the look of his guitars.
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I had the pleasure to do an audio interview with Jon Herington in 2011 for the release of his awesome solo album Shine, (Shine, Shine).
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Frank Deimel is based in Berlin and is also part of the European Guitar Builders association team who organized the Holy Grail Guitar Show so it was not a surprise to see him during the week-end.
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The plane ticket to for Los Angeles is booked. I just need to find me accommodation at a reasonable price for 5 nights from 21 to 26 January. If you have family or friends in L.A., please let me know!!
I'm super excited to finally go to the NAMM show.
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Hall of Thanks of guitar builders who support The Guitar Channel
Wednesday, 03 December 2014
Here's a special post to mention all the guitar builders who support what I do on The Guitar Channel by subscribing to an annual Backstage Pass. You have no idea what it means to me when a guitar builder shows his appreciation for my work.
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Jens Ritter is one of the guitar designer you know even though you don't know his name for sure. That's usually how popular his designs are. I was very happy to meet him and do an interview during the show (see an extract below).
Photo album
One of the innovation brought by Jens for the Holy Grail Guitar Show was this incredible guitar based on his famous Princess Isabella model covered by real Converse fabric logo.
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Discover the interesting aluminium guitars from Relish Guitars
Wednesday, 03 December 2014
Relish Guitars are made out of aluminium. I had already heard about their product and thought it was interesting to learn some more about their technology.
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Below are a small selections of the 200+ photos I took during the Holy Grail Guitar Show.
Below are a small selections of the 200+ photos I took during the Holy Grail Guitar Show.
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2014 Holy Grail Guitar Show, the Best Luthier Show in the World
Sunday, 23 November 2014
Let me say it upfront the 2014 Holy Grail Guitar Show was a great success. It is without doubt the best luthiers salon I've ever been to.
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Following the advice from Bruno Pelletier-Bacquaert I added a couple of jazzmen to my radar in order to have more Jazz guitar players featured on the show. Gilad Hekselman was in Paris in July for one night at the Duc des Lombards, I took this opportunity to interview him before the concert.
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All the video interviews done during the first day of the Holy Grail Guitar show are now available exclusively for the Backstage Pass owners.
List of the interviewees
Kaz Goto from Jersey Girl Homemade Guitars - Japan
Michido Matsuda - Japan
Juha Ruokangas - Finland
Sylvan de Relish Guitars - Switzerland
Jens Ritter - Germany
Harry Häussel - Germany
Christophe Leduc - France
Philippe Clain - France
Sophie Dockx from Dorian Guitars
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The ukulele is an instrument we see more and more these days. And that's a very good thing. This summer during a guitar festival called Graines de Guitare I had the pleasure to meet Taimane Gardner, one of the big star of this instrument.
She gave a great performance during the festival.
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