BIOGRAPHY

Eric Patrick Clapp, 30 March 1945, Ripley, Surrey, England. The world's premier living rock guitarist will be forever grateful to his grandparents, for they gave him his first guitar. The young Eric was raised by his grandparents Rose and Jack Clapp when his natural mother could not face bringing up an illegitimate child at the age of 16. He received a £14 acoustic guitar for his fourteenth birthday, then proceeded to copy the great blues guitarists note for note. His first band was the Roosters, a local R&B group that included Tom McGuinness, a future member of Manfred Mann, and latterly part of the Blues Band. Clapton stayed for eight months until he and McGuinness left to join Casey Jones And The Engineers. This brief sojourn ended in 1963 when Clapton was sought out by the Yardbirds, an aspiring R&B band, who needed a replacement for their guitarist Tony Topham. The reputation swiftly established by the Yardbirds was largely centred on Clapton, who had already been nicknamed "Slowhand" by the partisan crowd at Richmond's Crawdaddy club. Clapton stayed for 18 months until musical differences interfered. The Yardbirds were taking a more pop-orientated direction and he just wanted to play the blues. He departed shortly after the recording of "For Your Love".
The perfect vehicle for his musical frustrations was John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, one of Britain's top blues bands. It was with Mayall that Clapton would earn his second nickname: "God"! Rarely had there been a similar meteoric rise to such an exalted position. Clapton only made one album with Mayall but the record is now a classic; on its famous cover Clapton is sitting reading a copy of The Beano comic. Between Mayall and his next band, Clapton made numerous session appearances and recorded an interesting session with a conglomeration called the Powerhouse. They recorded three tracks - "Crossroads", "I Want To Know" and "Steppin' Out" - the line-up comprising Paul Jones, Steve Winwood, Jack Bruce, Pete York and Clapton.

Clapton was elevated to superstar status with the formation of Cream in 1966, and together with ex-Graham Bond Organisation members Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, he created one of the most influential rock bands of our time. Additionally, due to his close friendship with George Harrison, he was asked to play the beautiful lead solo on Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" on The Beatles ("The White Album"). Cream lasted just over two years, and shortly after their demise he was back with Baker, this time in Blind Faith. The line-up was completed by Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. This "supergroup" was unable to stay together for more than one self-titled album, although their financially lucrative American tour made the impending break-up easier to bear. During the tour Clapton befriended Delaney And Bonnie, decided that he wanted to be their guitarist, and then joined them before the sweat had dried following his last Blind Faith gig in January 1970. He played on one album, Delaney And Bonnie On Tour, and three months later he had again absconded and finished up recording the disappointing Eric Clapton. Most of the previous band sessioned on that recording and three members (Jim Gordon, Bobby Whitlock and Carl Radle) ended up flying over to the UK to join Clapton again.

The 80s were kinder to Clapton, with every album selling in vast quantities and being critically well received. Another Ticket and Money And Cigarettes, which featured Ry Cooder, were particularly successful at the beginning of the decade. Behind The Sun benefited from the firm production hand of Clapton's close friend Phil Collins. Collins played drums on his next album, August, which showed no sign of tiredness or lack of ideas. This particularly strong album contained the excellent hit "Behind The Mask", and an exciting duet with Tina Turner on "Tearing Us Apart". Throughout the record Clapton's voice was in particularly fine form. Journeyman in 1989 went one better; not only were his voice and songs creditable but "Slowhand" had rediscovered the guitar. The album contains some of his finest playing and, not surprisingly, it was a major success.

Clapton has enjoyed a high profile in recent years with his touring, television documentaries, numerous biographies, and the now annual season of concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall. His 24 nights there in 1991 represented a record - such is his popularity that he could fill the Albert Hall every night for a year. As a final bonus for his many fans he played three kinds of concerts, dividing the season with a series of blues nights, orchestral nights and regular nights. In the 90s Clapton's career went from strength to strength, although the tragic death of his son Connor in 1991 halted his career for some months. In December of the same year he toured Japan with George Harrison, giving Harrison the moral support that he had received more than a decade earlier. Unplugged in 1992 became one of his most successful albums (US sales alone were 10 million copies by 1996). On this he demonstrated his blues roots, playing acoustically in relaxed circumstances with his band (including Andy Fairweather-Low), and oozing supreme confidence. The poignant "Tears In Heaven", about the death of his son, was a major hit worldwide. From The Cradle was a worthy release, bringing him full circle in producing an electric blues album. Those guitar buffs who mourned his departure from Mayall and despaired when Cream called it a day could rejoice once again: "God" had returned. The follow-up, Pilgrim, was a long time coming, giving rise to doubts about what he would do next and in which direction, blues or AOR. He fooled everyone by releasing a great soul-influenced album, sounding more like Curtis Mayfield than anybody else. Clapton has already earned the title as the greatest white blues guitarist of our time, but at the present time he seems to be working on his voice and his songwriting.

In 1998, he parted company with his long-time manager Roger Forrester and aimed to spend more time working with Crossroads, the drug rehabilitation centre he founded in Antigua. The auction sale of over 100 of his personal guitars raised money for this establishment. He changes his styles of rock music as often as he changes his hairstyle and spectacles. Ultimately he returns time and time again to his first love affair, the blues. His wonderful collaboration with B.B. King, Riding With The King, was an artistic and commercial success. Reptile built upon the soulful direction taken on Pilgrim. While guitar aficionados might be disappointed, those monitoring his "new improved voice" will be impressed, notably with the slick cover version of James Taylor's "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight".

BIOGRAPHY

Jeffery Phillip Wiedlandt (Born January 14, 1967 in Bayonne, New Jersey), better known as Zakk Wylde, is lead guitarist in Black Label Society, a frequent mainstay of the Ozzfest tour. Known for his unique guitar skills and style, Wylde has been voted "Most Valuable Player" for three consecutive years in the Guitar World magazine polls. In 2005, he was also voted "Best Metal Guitarist", "Number 1 Shredder" and received the Metal Hammer (UK magazine) "Riff Lord" and "Golden God" awards.

Wylde and his wife, Barbaranne, have 3 children and live outside of Los Angeles. He was a close friend of the deceased Dimebag Darrell since 1993, exchanging guitars in admiration for one another as fellow guitarists. Wylde had given Dimebag one of his custom Gibson guitars with the trademark "bulls-eye" design on it shortly before the guitarist's untimely death. Wylde dedicated the song "In This River" to Dimebag, citing that although the song wasn't originally written for him, the lyrics were fitting to the situation. He dedicates each live performance of the song to Dimebag.

Wylde has done numerous "guest" appearances on many albums, such as the début album for Damageplan as guest vocalist and guest lead guitar on tracks "Soul Bleed" and "Reborn", as well as Derek Sherinian's solo albums "Inertia", "Black Utopia", "Mythology" and "Blood of the Snake" alongside Yngwie Malmsteen, among others.

Wylde's film credits include Rock Star (As "Ghode", guitarist of the ficticious band Steel Dragon) and the concert DVD Boozed, Broozed, and Broken-Boned (Certified Platinum), recorded at Harpo's in Detroit, MI. It was the first time in the concert hall's history that all of the alcohol had been consumed on one night (Wylde's favorite beer is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale). He has also done a comedy skit show alongside Jim Breuer, titled "Crapshoot", which is now available on DVD.

Zakk Wylde also appeared on the tv show Angel in the season 4 episode "Magic Bullet" where he plays acoustic on the song "Mandy" while Angel and Conner sing along.

Wylde has also appeared as a guest star on the TV show Aqua Teen Hunger Force. He is a New York Yankees and New York Giants fan. He also performed the National Anthem on the electric guitar during a Los Angeles Kings game in October 2005.

- In the December of 2005, a promotional offer was posted on ZakkWylde.com, stating that anyone who bought a $100 merchandise gift certificate and a miniature model of a chopper would receive a $800 Epiphone guitar. The offer was posted by guitar company 357 Customs, thru webmaster Chad Dyer.

- On June 2, 2006, Bob Ringe, Zakk Wylde's manager, stated on the website that "357 Customs ran a promotion directed toward Zakk's fans, and [...] 357 has not delivered merchandise ordered during the promotion. Zakk has not authorized or otherwise been involved with this promotion, and has not received any compensation from it." Ringe went on further to state that he has instructed his lawyers to "contact 357....monitor this situation and follow up with 357." - - One week later, on June 9, 2006, Zakk Wylde corroborated Ringe's statement and the involvement of his lawyers in "address[ing] the situation." On June 14th, 2006, Zakk Wylde's attorneys filed suit against 357 Customs Inc. in the Superior Court of the State of California. The suit alleges trademark infringement, false designation of origin, unfair competition, false advertising, breach of contract, as well as several other counts. The text of the lawsuit indicates that it was brought about to prevent any preying upon of Zakk's loyal fans in the future and to recoup unpaid royalties as 357 Customs failed to deliver on its agreements with Zakk Wylde. There is nothing in the suit thus far to indicate any kind of specific damages to be recovered on behalf of fans who have not received their merchandise other than as-yet unspecified damages pertaining to this suit. Text of Lawsuit - - On July 5, 2006, webmaster Chad Dyer was asked to resign from the website. He admitted being hired (but not paid) by 357 Customs to maintain ZakkWylde.com and claimed that he wasn't aware of the conflict of interest.

NEWS: Steve Vai prepares new Ibanez Jem for 2009

NEWS: First new Ibanez 2009 guitars

Thomann has opened up preordering for new 2009 Ibanez guitars, and while not all the photos are on the site yet, you can tell a lot from the specs. They're talking about these over at the official Ibanez forum and at Jemsite, which is where I first heard about the Thomann links, so I figure it's ok to re-post the info here now that it's out there in the public domain.

For instance, there's the PGM401-TFB (pictured). Paul Gilbert Signature, ash body, 5-pcs maple/walnut PGM Prestige neck, rosewood fretboard, 24 medium frets, dot inlays, painted "f-holes", cosmo black hardware, fixed bridge, DiMarzio Air Classic humbuckers, 648 mm scale lenght, color: Trifade Burst, incl. case and leather strap. CLICK HERE to preorder. And by the way, check out his new CD, United States, with Freddie Nelson. It's awesome.
Or how about the return of Andy Timmons to Ibanez's endorser list? AT100CL-SB, Andy Timmons signature, alder body, 1-pcs maple neck, (AT "Prestige"), maple fretboard, 22 jumbo frets, Wilkonson by Gotoh VSVG bridge, DiMarzio Cruiser neck, DiMarzio Cruiser middle postion and DiMarzio AT1 Custom bridge pickup, cosmo black hardware, 648 mm scale lenght, color: sunburst, incl. Prestige case and leather strap. CLICK HERE to preorder.

BIOGRAPHY

It all started in 1968 when Chris Curtis, an ex-Searcher, formed a group with Dave Curtiss (no relation, note different spelling) on bass, Bobby Woodman-Clarke on drums and brought in ex-Artwoods organist Jon Lord (born 9 June 1941, Leicester, England) and ex-Johnny Kidd and The Pirates bassist, Nick Simper (born 3 November 1946, Southall, Middlesex). Nick had survived the car crash that had killed Johnny Kidd in 1966. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore (born 14 April 1945, Weston-super-Mare, England) joined in rehearsals for this new act initially dubbed Roundabout. Curtis dropped out within days, and when Dave and Bobby also proved incompatible, two members of Maze, Rod Evans (born 19 January 1945, Edinburgh, Scotland; vocals) and Ian Paice (born 29 June 1948, Nottinghamshire; drums), replaced them.

Having adopted the Deep Purple name (apparently inspired by Ritchie's grandmother's favorite song) following a brief Scandinavian tour in April 1968 (where they played as Roundabout, "in case they flopped"), the quintet began recording their debut album, which they patterned on USA group Vanilla Fudge. "Shades of Deep Purple" thus included dramatic rearrangements of well-known songs, including a faithful cover of Hendrix's version of "Hey Joe" and the Joe South-penned, Billy Joe Royal hit "Hush", the latter hitting US #4 in 1968 but not troubling the UK chart-compilers one bit.
Lengthy tours ensued as the group, all but ignored at home, steadfastly courted the burgeoning American concert circuit. "The Book Of Taliesyn" and "Deep Purple" albums also featured several excellent reworkings, notably "Kentucky Woman" (Neil Diamond) and "River Deep Mountain High" (Ike And Tina Turner). The lengthy intro section to "River Deep" was a dramatic work-out of the theme from the then recently released Stanley Kubrick sci-fi classic film "2001: A Space Odyssey". This piece was based on Richard Strauss' "Thus Spake Zarathustra" and Jon Lord's classical leanings would soon culminate in a self-composed full-length work performed at the Royal Albert Hall in September 1969.

The band also drew acclaim for their original material and the dramatic interplay between Lord and Blackmore. In concert these guitar/organ duels could go on for over 20 minutes!

In July 1969 both Evans and Simper were axed from the line-up, which was then buoyed by the arrival of Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945, Hounslow, Middlesex, England; vocals) and Roger Glover (born 30 November 1945, Brecon, Wales; bass) from the pop group Episode Six. Acknowledged by aficionados as the "classic" Deep Purple line-up (forever onwards known as Mark II), the reshaped quintet made its album debut on the grandiose "Concerto For Group And Orchestra", scored by Lord and recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Arnold (later sir Malcolm).

Its hard rock successor, "In Rock", established the group as a leading heavy metal attraction and introduced such enduring favorites as "Speed King" and "Child In Time." Gillan's powerful silver-throated vocals brought a third dimension to their sound and this new-found popularity in the UK was enhanced when the single, "Black Night" reached number 2. "Strange Kind Of Woman" followed it into the Top 10 (reaching #8 in Feb 1971), while "Fireball" and "Machine Head" both topped the album charts. The latter included the riff-laden "Smoke On The Water", based on a real incident involving Frank Zappa and The Mothers and an infamous Montreaux concert.

Although the platinum-selling "Made In Japan" captured their live prowess in full flight, relations within the band grew increasingly strained, and "Who Do We Think We Are!" would be the end of this highly successful line-up. The departures of Gillan and Glover robbed Deep Purple of an expressive frontman and imaginative arranger, although David Coverdale (born 22 September 1949, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Lancashire, England; vocals) and Glenn Hughes (born 21 August 1952, Penkridge, Staffordshire; ex-Trapeze, bass & vocals) brought a new impetus to the act. "Burn" and "Stormbringer" both reached the Top 10, but Blackmore grew increasingly dissatisfied with the group's direction and in May 1975 left to form Rainbow. US guitarist Tommy Bolin (born 18 April 1951, Sioux City, Idaho), formerly of the James Gang and who had impressed Coverdale with his playing on Billy Cobham's "Spectrum", joined Deep Purple for "Come Taste The Band", but his jazz/soul style was incompatible with the group's heavy metal sound, and a now-tiring act folded in 1976 following a farewell UK tour.

Bolin died of a heroin overdose within months of Purple's demise. Judicious archives and 'best of' releases kept the group in the public eye, as did the high profile enjoyed by its several ex-members. Successful off-shoot bands include Whitesnake, Rainbow and Gillan. Pressure for a reunion bore fruit in 1984 when Gillan, Lord, Blackmore, Glover and Paice (the original Mark II) completed "Perfect Strangers". A whole new generation of fans discovered Deep Purple through this release and subsequent US, Japanese and European tour. A second album, "The House Of Blue Light", followed, but recurring animosity between Gillan and Blackmore resulted in the singer's departure following the disappointing live album "Nobody's Perfect" which included a 1988 rehearsal re-working of their first hit "Hush".

Joe Lynn Turner, one of Blackmore's many Rainbow vocalists, joined and gave the band more of an AOR (Adult-Orientated Rock) direction. After a disappointing Slaves & Masters album released in 1990 (though Fire In The Basement is classic 70s Purple), better sense prevailed. Gillan was re-admitted for his third stint, uncomfortably sharing stage and studio with Blackmore. The line-up remained stable while the band recorded "The Battle Rages On" album released in 1993, but Blackmore jumped ship once more during the tour that followed. The tour was completed courtesy of US guitar whizzkid Joe Satriani. Contractual obligations however, meant his tenure could only be short-term and Purple hurriedly enlisted Steve Morse (ex-Kansas, Dixie Dregs, The Steve Morse Band, et al) (born 28 July 1954, Hamilton, Ohio) as his replacement to record Purpendicular released early in 1996.

Setting off on tour again, they took a fresh look at their 70s repertoire; tour highlights were captured on the "Live at the Olympia" CD (1997) with forgotten favorites jostling for position against new material from the "Purpendicular" set. Suddenly they felt they could have fun again, and the concerts were enlivened by dropping old faves like "Lazy" and "Space Truckin'" in favour of new material and songs from the back catalogue that had seldom if ever been played (such as "Bloodsucker", "No One Came" and "Rat Bat Blue").

1998's "Abandon" album had all the classic rock attitude, nasty guitars, pounding drums and driving bass to scratch that R.O.C.K. itch. The album included a brilliant reworking of "In Rock"'s "Bloodsucker" (retitled "Bludsucker") and the Floydish-style "Watching The Sky" amongst other driving rock tracks.

In 1999 Deep Purple had a very successful tour of Australia and Europe.

Jon Lord retired in 2002 and was replaced by journeyman keyboardist Don Airey. This new line-up, which left Ian Paice as the only original member, released the stunning "Bananas" album in August 2003. Both a return-to-form and a look to the future, the "Bananas" album was well-accepted by the rock community at large.
The Legend marches on...

MINI BIOGRAPHYI

Saul Hudson, mainly known as Slash, was born on July 23, 1965, and was raised in Stoke-on-Trent. Both his parents worked in the entertainment business, his mother being a clothing designer (she did some of David Bowie's costumes) and his father being an art director for a record company. When Slash was 11 he moved with his mother to Los Angeles, leaving his father behind in England, although he eventually joined them in L.A. years later. Slash became sort of an outsider at school since he didn't really fit in with other kids. In the mid 70s his parents separated and Slash moved in with his grandmother. During this time Slash got interested in BMX riding, and went on to win several awards and money in competitions. When he was 15 he got his first guitar, and his schoolwork started to go downhill as he skipped class to sit playing guitar all day. Slash eventually got so tired of school that he dropped out in 11th grade. As he lived in Los Angeles, a city flourishing with new, young rock bands, he quickly got in touch with people to jam with. After meeting Steven Adler the two of them formed a band called Road Crew. Then he met Izzy Stradlin who played in a band with Axl Rose, and after hearing Axl sing live, he was set on getting him in his band. Soon a bass player answered one of Slash's ads in the paper, and Slash (guitar), Steven (drums), Izzy (guitar), Axl (vocals) and Duff McKagan (bass) formed Guns N' Roses in 1986. Soon enough, GNR were known across the globe as the new rock n' roll sensation. Album sales went sky high and the band was having a blast on their world tours, and during this time Slash worked with artists like Michael Jackson on the Dangerous album and Lenny Kravitz, just to name two. But after the Use Your Illusion tour, GNR decided to take a break. Slash however, needed to play music and so he formed his own band Slash's Snakepit. With the success of this bands album It's Five O'Clock Somewhere (1995), Slash told the public that Slash's Snakepit would be back again. During this time Slash and Axl were having some heated arguments about Guns N' Roses and what would happen next. Guns N' Roses as we knew them then, was terminated by the result as Slash decided to leave the band, handing all rights of the band name over to Axl. After this Slash did a few gigs here and there, formed a band called Blues Ball who played blues covers, and even brought back Slash's Snakepit as he said he would, although they didn't last very long this time either. In 2000, Slash met Perla Ferrar and on October 15, 2001, married her. It's not surprising that he wore black leather pants, a white shirt and his faithful black leather jacket to the wedding! His new status as a married man didn't slow him down, though. In 2003, Velvet Revolver was formed by the former members of Guns N' Roses; Slash, Duff and Matt (who replaced Steven in 1990), Scott Weiland (vocals) from Stone Temple Pilots and Dave Kushner (guitar) from Wasted Youth. Velvet Revolver's debut album Contraband (2004) was long-awaited and sold incredibly well. They are now going to show up on the second Live Aid concert along with many other huge artists, which will be held in London. Velvet Revolver's plans to become a rock band of great magnitude are definitely in the works, and Slash himself has earned his title as one of the greatest rock n' roll guitar players in history.