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Zane Carney masterclass in Paris May 25th 2015

Zane Carney is back in Paris to host a second masterclass during his 2015 european tour. Last year edition was a huge success so we decided to do it again this year.
Zane Carney Masterclass Monday May 25th from 7pm to 10pm
At Guitars Addicts (98 Rue du Chemin Vert, 75011 Paris) - 30€
By the way you can watch the full 2 hour recording in HD of last year masterclass with the Backstage Pass.

Zane is a guitarist who has been with John Mayer for a while and also pursuing his own solo career.

2015 Musikmesse interviews

Here's a teaser of the interviews recorded during the 2015 Musikmesse with this list of people:

Heike Matthiesen
Frank Gambale
Jeff Berlin
Greg Howe
Gabor Goldschmidt from Fibenare Guitars
Tom Quayle

2015 Musikmesse preview video

Until the next interview, keep on playing the guitar!

Pierre.

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Click here for more info on the Backstage Pass
 

Zane Carney interview about the 2015 NAMM show and more

On March 2nd 2015, we did a 35min Skype video call with Zane Carney to get all the latest news. The audio interview is available for free on the podcast feed.

2016 Winter NAMM - The Guitar Channel
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Summary of my the 2015 Winter NAMM

Here is the summary of the first Winter NAMM show covered for The Guitar Channel. I went several times the Musikmesse, so going to the NAMM was a logical step in the development of The Guitar Channel. I have not been disappointed with this trip to Anaheim: plenty of cool meetings, 20 interviews (see below), photos by the hundred (to be found on the private community), and a good dose of decibels every day!
Full list of interviews
Here's the list of the 20 interviews done during this 2015 Winter NAMM.

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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. waym-1a 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. hd-cov-borderListen 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. KreisbergOne 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. album_en_equilibre Here's a medley of Shaï live: [cta]

The best guitar albums of 2014
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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. that will make us dream throughout the year.

Logistics and planing

For me beeing present at the NAMM is the opportunity to meet musicians, luthiers and manufacturers impossible to interview otherwise because they do not come to France. As for the Musikmesse where I go every year, I tried to optimize my time on setting up of a maximum of appointments while keeping some availability for what is difficult to predict: an impromptu interview with star, a cool demo to shoot, the discussions with the countless pros of the music business that will be on site, etc. The airfare and hotel are booked long time. Wanting absolutely to limit the budget, I opted to avoid to rent a car, so I took a relatively hotel near the Convention Center allowing me to go on foot. MapNAMM

The interviews planned

I will not list here the appointments already set because I know how that can change at the last moment. Suffice it to say that there will be big names of the six (and four!) strings, great guitar manufacturers and effects and instrument makers. I also intend to shoot some video chronicle with my "special envoys" on the spot: they are musicians I've interviewed in the past and who are on site. This is an opportunity to have multiple views of the same event. As this is my first NAMM, I'm also going there in observation mode. Indeed although my past experience during several Musikmesse allow me to anticipate in part how it will happen, everyone agrees that the Winter NAMM (as opposed to Summer NAMM being held in Nashville summer) is a whole other planet. We'll see.

How to have the latest news from The Guitar Channel

Depending on the data connection I will have on my iPhone, I'll do a live coverage on Twitter on @theguitarchnnl and on my Instagram account theguitarchnnl. InstagramTheguitarchnnl Every day I will also upload my harvest of images on a photo albums reserved for the Backstage Pass owners on the Google+ private community. I will be your eyes on site! Here's an example with pictures taken in Berlin during the Holy Grail Guitar Show: ExemplesPhotosHGGS

Get the Backstage Pass

A 6-day stay in Los Angeles is a budget of about US$ 2,300. This is a big financial gamble that I took so if you are on the verge of taking a Backstage Pass or supporting the show on the Patreon page, now would be a great time! :-) Don't forget that The Guitar Channel is completely independent, 100% passion and 0% ads with the only revenues coming from the Backstage Pass owners and backers on Patreon. Until I see you among the backstagers, I go back to the final preparations for this week which promises to be exciting. Pierre. PS: if you are onsite ping me on Twitter @theguitarchnnl or on the Facebook page!

Support the show on the Patreon page for the price of a coffee per month.

BannierePatreonTGC2 The Backstage Pass will give you access to great exclusive video content, deals and the private community.

NAMM show: D-day minus 1
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2015 WInter NAMM show, here I come!

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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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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2014 Holy Grail Guitar Show photo album - Day 1
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2014 Holy Grail Guitar Show photos – Day 1

Below are a small selections of the 200+ photos I took during the Holy Grail Guitar Show.

2014 Holy Grail Guitar Show photo album - Day 1
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Photo album – 2014 Holy Grail Guitar Show

Below are a small selections of the 200+ photos I took during the Holy Grail Guitar Show.

The 2014 Holy Grail Guitar show: the best luthier show in the world

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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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

Get the Backstage Pass to watch all those videos

All the videos from Day 1 of the Holy Grail Guitar show
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The 2014/2015 projects of The Guitar Channel

The next 12 months will be very busy on The Guitar Channel, as were the last 12. More than ever I am determined to produce the best possible content to amplify our shared passion for the guitar.

This means in particular to be present in as many major guitar events as possible.

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Watch all the gear reviews

Here's a YouTube Playlist with all the gear reviews produced for the show.

Enjoy,

Pierre.
Get the Backstage Pass to support the show and to access great exclusive video content, deals and the private community.
You can also support the show on the Patreon page for as low as 1$ per podcast.
The Guitar Channel is your independent guitar media, 100% passion, 0% ads.Passion amplifier since 2009.

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You can now show your support for The Guitar Channel for less than the price of a coffee per month.

How? Via my Patreon page.
What is Patreon
The principle is simple: after you have registered on the website, you choose your pledge level, starting at $ 1 per issue published. As I publish 2 audio shows per month in English, this represents a contribution of $2 per month.

Note that all audio shows of The Guitar Channel continue to be published for free via podcast as is the case since 2009 (over 240 shows online). With Patreon, if you

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400th Backstage Pass activated: thanks!

400, the figure seems huge and yet here we are: I activated yesterday the 400th Backstage Pass since the launch of the formula last year.
Thank you very much to everyone for supporting the project.
The road is still long to achieve economic viability since I work 100% on The Guitar Channel and only a quarter of the activated passes are active and paying users.

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Top videos of the show

Here's a YouTube Playlist with all the most popular videos of the show with gems such as :
+ A private session with Popa Chubby
+ An interview with Steve Lukather
+ A Tommy Emmanuel soundcheck
+ A full Zane Carney Skype interview

And many more !

Enjoy,

Pierre.

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The 200th Backstage Pass has been activated! It took about 9 months to reach the first milestone of 100 activated passes and less than 4 months for the next 100. There is therefore a clear acceleration that can only delight me. There are more renewals of the Pass, it is clearly an indicator that The Guitar Channel is going in the right direction. This proves it is possible to build an independent guitar media, 100% Passion, 0% Ads. Thank you all for your support and here's to the next 100! Thank you for sharing this great news with your friends to grow our community of enthusiasts. Pierre - Passion Amplifier since 2009.

200th Backstage Pass activated: thanks!
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Become an active player of The Guitar Channel

Become an active player of The Guitar Channel
An active player of The Guitar Channel not only helps finance it but he/she is way more than that: as in a music band, he/she is taking part in the discussion to make the band even better.

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Here's a 1min video trailer to explain what is The Guitar Channel and how it can amplify your passion.

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You want to get the original backing track from Racing the World from Steve Vai for free, listen to his 2009 interview and benefit from the advantages described below? Get The Guitar Channel Backstage Pass!

Racing the World BT (1min extract) - Steve Vai

You want to get this backing track?
Get the Backstage Pass to download it and watch all the videos

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Pro Backstage Pass from The Guitar Channel

Here's a 3 minute Backstage Pass video with all you want to know about it and why you should get one to amplify your passion for the guitar.

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Top 10 interviews as of July 2013

Ranking by download since 2009 (interviews accessible via the Backstage pass)

Popa Chubby interview
Bjorn Berge interview
Paul Gilbert interview
Paul Reed Smith interview
Eric Bibb interview
Nuno Bettencourt interview
Marty Friedman interview
Steve Vai interview
Paul Gilbert interview (2009)
Donal Gallagher interview (Rory's brother)

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In June, The Guitar Channel pumps up the volume!
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