Although I mostly listen to hard-hitting metal bands, every once and a while I like to kick back and listen to some mellow tunes. When Crosby Still’s and Nash won’t cut it I like to slap in something from these artists. If you play guitar, or even if you don’t, I’m sure you’ll be able to appreciate the acoustic talent these players have.

One of my favorite acoustic albums is Friday Night in San Francisco, which is a live jam session with John McLaughlin, Paco De Lucia, and Al DiMeola. It really has some great guitar playing.

Check out these guitarists for some great acoustic music:

Jesse Cook
Strunz and Farah
Eric Clapton - Unplugged
James Taylor
Al DiMeola
John McLaughlin
Paco De Lucia

As I said in my post about Michael Amott’s guitar setup, I went and saw Arch Enemy and Chimaira last night at MacEwan hall. I wasn’t really sure what to expect but I must say it was one of the better shows I have seen.

I went with a buddy of mine and we arrived after the first band. We got there just in time to watch them setup for God Forbid. They were pretty good for the most part. They had a really rad singer, but their sound setup wasn’t the greatest. You couldn’t hear the guitars over the bass and most of the backup vocals were pretty off key.
Continue reading Arch Enemy Freakin Rocked MacEwan Hall

For a while now Last.fm has offered a “plug-in” for your website that will allow all of your visitors to view your profile directly from your homepage. Pandora has also released a similar function that will show your top stations and your favorites from your homepage.

Here are some examples of the Last.fm plug-ins.

My recently played songs:

My all time favorite artists:

My favorite tracks from this week:

Now I would love to show you the Pandora site plug-in. However, it seems as though only US residents are currently allowed to sign up for an account. Without an account I can not use the site plug-in. They are currently working on licensing the music for international use though, so maybe one day soon.

I think this is going to be my last post in this series for now, but I have been saving the best for last. In my first post on AllMusic I was talking about different (non-internet) sources for finding new music and probably the most valuable for me is my friends. I found out about most of my favorite bands through friends.
Continue reading Last.fm - Where to Find New Music Part 3

I came across this set of guitar posts titled Because I’m All About the Guitar over at Half a Pica Distance one day when I was browsing Technorati. The blog’s author, Cullen, has written 21 great posts (so far) about guitars, guitar gods, his musical favorites, and much more. He really brings a personal element to the posts and I enjoyed reading through them.

To check out his series of posts starting with Zakk Wylde Then and Now, head over to Half a Pica Distance.

I was reading the Guitar Squad blog and came across a post on a new blues prodigy, Jimmy Bowskill. I can remember not a few years ago Kenny Wayne Shepherd was the blues kid everyone was talking about. It seems as thought Jimmy Bowskill at the ripe age of 16 might be the next KWS, and possibly the next SRV. For a 16 year old he has a very good handle on the guitar and a great sense of rhythm, which is important when playing the blues.

The self taught blues guitarist was nominated for the Juno Blues Album of the Year in 2005 and Favorite Blues Artist in both 2004 and 2005. If you visit his site at www.jimmybowskil.com there a few audio tracks you can listen to as well as 3 video clips. Jimmy Bowskill will be a guy to watch over the next few years.

Throughout my guitar playing years my musical tastes have changed greatly. I started out very closed minded when it came to music and I really think I have grown because guitar has allowed me to appreciate many different kinds of music. The following songs changed my musical path and introduced me to a whole new world of music.

Nirvana - Come as you are
Nirvana’s come as you was monumental because it was the first song I taught myself to play on guitar. It was a really easy song to pick up and really got me hooked on playing.
Continue reading Seven Songs that Changed my Life

Realizing that AllMusic.com isn’t the only music database online I figured I would turn my Where to Find New Music post into a miniseries of posts about other sites that have similar functionality.

In this installment I’m going to show you a ridiculous web application called Pandora that was created by the Music Genome Project. What is Pandora then? Well think of it as your own personal radio station that only plays music that you like! Wouldn’t that be nice? Well Pandora is the closest anything has come to just that. The advantage to Pandora over a site like AllMusic.com is you get to go by the sound of the music, not just the name of a band or song.
Continue reading Pandora - Where to Find New Music Part 2

Nothing beats the feeling you get when you find a new band that you love. You know, when you get really excited about a new guitar player or group that you just want to listen to them all of the time. Usually you find new bands through reading magazines, talking with friends, or just by chance. Some of my favorite music was found just by chance, including Led Zeppelin and Zakk Wylde. Other bands like Dark Tranquillity, Himsa, and Children of Bodom were referred to me through friends. It’s all music that I couldn’t imagine living without.

But what happens when you are in a slum, all of the music you have is old and the thrill is gone. You are looking for something new, but similar to what you are interested in now, but don’t know how to find it. I hope I can shed some light on some great resources for finding new bands.

Allmusic.com is one of my favorite music databases. It has been around for quite some time and has some really great features for finding new music.
Continue reading Allmusic.com - Where to Find New Music

The Roadhouse is the finest blues you’ve never heard. The site hosts a weekly one hour blues podcast featuring unknown or unsigned artists. Podcasts also include a featured artist each week, sometimes with an interview. The site has been going strong for over a year now and they are currently up to cast #55. I’m not sure if all 55 are still online, but any you can get are worth a listen. Its some great music and a great listen for any blues fan. I’m not a real podcast kind of guy, but this one is great. I hope they keep up the great work.

Check it out at http://www.roadhousepodcast.com/

The lineup for this year’s Ozzfest has been announced and Ozzy will only be playing 10 of the 20 shows. Ozzy and System of a Down will be headlining the main stage. Black Label Society, Atreyu, and Unearth, three bands I would love to see, will be playing the second stage.

Read all of Ozzfest of 06 at antimusic