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Favored Nations
Favored Nations Entertainment is a record label founded in 1999 by guitarist Steve Vai and Ray Scherr, former owner of Guitar Center. The first album released by the label was ''Coming to Your Senses'' by guitarist Frank Gambale in 2000. Soon after, a variety of artists were signed, such as Johnny A., Larry Carlton, Peppino D'Agostino, Marty Friedman, Johnny Hiland, Allan Holdsworth, Eric Johnson, Stanley Jordan, Steve Lukather, Novecento, John Petrucci, Eric Sardinas, Neal Schon, Andy Timmons, Dave Weiner, The Yardbirds, and Dweezil Zappa. Favored Nations was followed by the creation of separate branches, Favored Nations Acoustic in 2002 and Favored Nations Cool in 2004. Pro-Found is a sister label that promotes Favored Nations artists through the Favored Nations and ProFound websites. Notable artists Favored Nations *Eric Johnson *Eric Sardinas *Andy Timmons *Steve Vai *Johnny A. *The Yardbirds *Tony Macalpine *Mattias Eklundh Favored Nations Acoustic *Philip Aaberg *Peppino ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve Vai
Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for Frank Zappa, and played in Zappa's band from 1980 to 1983. He embarked on a solo career in 1983 and has released eight solo albums to date. He has recorded and toured with Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth, and Whitesnake, as well as recording with artists such as Public Image Ltd, Mary J. Blige, Spinal Tap, Alice Cooper, Motörhead, and Polyphia. Additionally, Vai has toured with live-only acts G3, Zappa Plays Zappa, and the Experience Hendrix tour, as well as headlining international tours. Vai has been described as a "highly individualistic player" and part of a generation of "heavy rock and metal virtuosi who came to the fore in the 1980s". He released his first solo album ''Flex-Able'' in 1984, while his most successful release, ''Passi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Petrucci
John Peter Petrucci (born July 12, 1967) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. He produced or co-produced (often with former member Mike Portnoy before he departed the band in 2010) all of Dream Theater's albums from '' Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory'' (1999) to ''A View from the Top of the World'' (2021), and has been the sole producer of the band's albums released since ''A Dramatic Turn of Events'' (2011). Petrucci has also released two solo albums: ''Suspended Animation'' (2005) and ''Terminal Velocity'' (2020). Early life and influences John Peter Petrucci was born on July 12, 1967, in Kings Park, New York, to an Italian American family. He picked up the guitar at around the age of eight because his older sister was allowed to go to bed later in order to practice the organ. However, he decided to quit the guitar when his attempts to stay up late were unsuccessful. He picked up the guitar again at the ag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adrian Legg
Adrian Legg (born 16 May 1948) is an English guitar player who has been called "impossible to categorize". He plays custom guitars that are a hybrid of electric and acoustic, and his fingerstyle picking technique has been acknowledged by the readers of ''Guitar Player'' who voted Legg the "best acoustic fingerstyle" player four years in a row (1993–1996). From his early start as a bench technician customising electric guitars, Legg moved into guitar instruction, publishing books and videos on guitar technique. In 1996 and 1997, Legg shared the stage with acclaimed guitar experts Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and Steve Vai as part of the G3 tour. Vai called Legg "Uncle Adrian" and Satriani said of Legg's musicianship, "He's simply the best acoustic guitar player I've ever heard. I don't know anyone else who can create such a cascade of beautiful notes... Adrian plays like he's got hammers for fingers." Early career Legg was born in Hackney, London, England. He studied the oboe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Huttlinger
Peter John Huttlinger (June 22, 1961 – January 15, 2016) was an American guitarist. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Huttlinger was a Nashville studio artist. In 2000, he won the National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas. He performed around the world with such artists as John Denver, LeAnn Rimes and many others. As a solo artist, he performed across the U.S. and Europe. Biography Born in Washington, D.C., Huttlinger descended from two lines of prominent journalists. His grandfather on his mother’s side, Fred Walker, was an editor of the San Francisco Call-Bulletin, reporting directly to its owner and publisher, William Randolph Hearst. Huttlinger’s father, Joseph, was a White House correspondent and a publisher of his own newsletter on the oil industry. "My dad took my mom to the White House on their first date," Huttlinger says, "and while they were walking around, President Truman came out and said, ‘Hi, Joe.’ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Emmanuel
William Thomas Emmanuel (born 31 May 1955) is an Australian guitarist. Regarded as one of the greatest acoustic guitarists of all time, he is known for his complex fingerstyle technique, energetic performances and use of percussive effects on the instrument. Originally a session player in many bands, Emmanuel carved out his own style as a solo artist, releasing many award-winning albums and singles. In June 2010 Emmanuel was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), and in 2011 he was inducted into the Australian Roll of Renown. Life and career One of six children, Emmanuel was born in Muswellbrook, New South Wales, Australia, in 1955. He received his first guitar in 1959 at age four and was taught by his mother to accompany her playing lap steel guitar. In 1961, at the age of six, he heard Chet Atkins playing on the radio. He vividly remembers that moment and said it greatly inspired him as a musician. By the age of six, he was a working professional musician. Recogn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pierre Bensusan
Pierre Bensusan (born 30 October 1957) is a French-Algerian acoustic guitarist. As Sephardic Jews, his family came from Spain, Spanish Morocco, and French Algeria. His music has been characterized as Celtic music, Celtic, folk music, folk, world music, New-age music, New-age, and chamber jazz. He has published three books of music and tablature. He plays in DADGAD tuning. Biography Bensusan was born in 1957 in Oran, French Algeria. Born in the middle of the Algerian War of Independence, he moved to Paris with his family as a child. He studied piano and classical music at the age of seven. Four years later, he began to teach himself guitar after his father had bought him a steel string acoustic guitar and a classmate taught him "a few chords". At seventeen, he signed a contract for his debut album, ''Près de Paris'', which won the Grand Prix du Disque at the Montreux Festival. His influences include Big Bill Broonzy, Larry Carlton, Martin Carthy, Ry Cooder, Joan Baez, Reverend ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip Aaberg
Philip Aaberg (born April 8, 1949) is an American pianist and composer. He gained international recognition through a series of successful piano recordings released on Windham Hill Records. Although classically trained, Aaberg incorporates classical, jazz, bluegrass, rock, and new music elements into his compositions and musical structures.. Although best known for his solo piano work, he is most at home in the chamber jazz genre. His compositions are noted for their "rigorous keyboard technique, diverse influences, and colorful compositional style." Early life Aaberg was born in Havre, Montana, in 1949 and raised in Chester, Montana. By the age of 14, he was performing with local bands at dances.Ackerman, Will. ''Upright'' by Philip Aaberg. Liner Notes. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Harvard University, he moved to Oakland, California and played in blues clubs for several years.Kohanov He also toured and recorded as a member of Elvin Bishop's Group ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mattias Eklundh
Mattias Bernt Johannes Eklundh (born 6 October 1969), also known as IA, is a Swedish guitarist and vocalist. He is known for his work with Freak Kitchen, Jonas Hellborg and Art Metal, and he has also produced several noted solo Freak Guitar albums released by Steve Vai and Favored Nations, and holds his annual Freak Guitar Camp in the woods of Sweden every summer for dedicated guitar players from all over the world.Tolis Zavaliaris, 'The Freak Show,' ''Guitar Techniques'' (June 2007), p82 He was also prominently featured playing his trademark-style solos on the first four Soilwork albums. Biography Eklundh began drumming at the age of six; when he was thirteen, he began playing guitar. He has named Frank Zappa and Ace Frehley of Kiss as his two major musical influences, but his record collection also included gypsy jazz, Miles Davis, and Slayer among many others. In the mid-80's, Eklundh joined the band Frozen Eyes, a few years later he quit because their manager was holding th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Macalpine
Tony MacAlpine (born August 29, 1960) is an American musician and composer. In a career spanning four decades, he has released twelve studio albums. MacAlpine is best known as an instrumental rock and heavy metal solo guitarist, although he has worked with many different bands and musicians in guest appearances and collaborations. Biography Having started playing piano at the age of fiveProkofiev, Dane (2012-10-06)An Interview with Tony MacAlpine (6th October, 2012)" YouTube. Retrieved 2012-10-19."Tony MacAlpine Interview" The Prog Report. 2014-04-09. Retrieved 2014-04-10. and guitar at twelve, MacAlpine studied classical piano and violin for a number of years at the Springfield Conservatory of Music in |
Dweezil Zappa
Dweezil Zappa (born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa; September 5, 1969) is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor. He is the son of musical composer and performer Frank Zappa. Exposed to the music industry from an early age, Dweezil developed a strong affinity for playing the guitar and producing music. Able to learn directly from guitarists such as Steve Vai and Eddie Van Halen, Dweezil released his first single (produced by Eddie Van Halen) at the age of 12. In addition to writing and recording his own music, Dweezil has carried on the legacy of his father's music by touring with the group Zappa Plays Zappa. The band features renditions of Zappa's original material and the lineup has often included Zappa alumni such as Napoleon Murphy Brock, Steve Vai, Terry Bozzio and others. Early life Dweezil Zappa was born on September 5, 1969, in Los Angeles, California to Frank Zappa and Gail Zappa.Snippet view page 245 He is the second of four siblings: his older sister, Moon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Yardbirds
The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwell-Smith. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, all of whom ranked in the top five of ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of 100 greatest guitarists. The band had a string of hits throughout the mid-1960s, including " For Your Love", "Heart Full of Soul", "Shapes of Things" and "Over Under Sideways Down". Originally a blues-based band noted for their signature "rave-up" instrumental breaks, the Yardbirds broadened their range into pop, pioneering psychedelic rock and early hard rock; and contributed to many electric guitar innovations of the mid-1960s. Some rock critics and historians also cite their influence on the later punk rock, progressive rock and heavy m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Weiner
David Jason Weiner (born September 24, 1976) is an American musician, best known for being one of Steve Vai's touring guitarists. He also posts instructional videos, called the "Riff of the Week", every Wednesday on YouTube, iTunes and his own website. He also gives online lessons. Joining Steve Vai Weiner first joined Vai's band when Weiner went to Los Angeles to go to GIT. During his time there he got a job as an intern for an office, and his boss at this office managed Steve Vai. He would deliver paper to Vai's house, and Weiner got to know him personally and subsequently gave him a demo. About two weeks later his boss got a phone call from Vai and was asked to come over to Vai's studio, learn fourteen songs, and go on tour with him. Weiner continues to tour on Vai's personal tours as well as with G3. Solo Weiner has also released three solo albums. The first, entitled ''Shove the Sun Aside'' was released originally in June 2004 on the Meyer Jane Music label and re-rele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
