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Gibson Learn & Master Guitar Application

Play guitar? Got and iPhone?

Gibson Guitars is known worldwide for producing classic models in every major style of fretted instrument, including acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins, and banjos.

Now you can have Gibson on your iPhone with the Gibson Learn & Master Guitar App. Gibson has partnered with Legacy Learning Systems, producers of the Learn & Master Guitar course, the most comprehensive guitar instructional series on the market, to provide you with a must-have application for any guitar player. This application provides you with essential tools to help you become a better guitar player as well as free full length lessons from the award winning Learn & Master Guitar course that will take you from beginner or intermediate to advanced.

Watch as instructor Steve Krenz gets you started on your way to mastering the guitar. You will also be directed to printable resources to accompany these lessons on www.learnandmaster.com.
Quick access to Gibson.com’s mobile site where you can keep up with the latest in music industry news, artists and events.

Not ready to take it that far? Nevermind it has loads of useful features.

• A professional quality Chromatic Tuner that will allow you to tune any instrument using the iPhone microphone (or iPod Touch with microphone attachment)
• Alternate Tuning settings so you can quickly and easily tune your guitar to various alternate tunings, including Open G, Low C, Drop D, Eb and others
• A Standard Mode Tuner that allows you to tune each string to a sample tone
• An accurate Metronome with multiple time signatures, visual and audio options, and a set-your-own tempo tap pad
• A Chord Library with a sample of the essential chords for every player beginner to advanced
• Free Videos Lessons – Watch full length lessons from the Award Winning Learn & Master Guitar course.

Promotions Apple, Gibson

Some good news for all you Bluestone Junction fans in Victoria, is that will be playing support for Uncle Earl at the East Brunswick Hotel, next Thursday, 11th March.

Pete Fidler tells us that the show kicks off at 8.30pm and that Donal Baylor is coming down from the ACT to join them. They will be playing a tune or two from Donal’s new CD.

It will be a great night of home-grown bluegrass and all-girl old timey music.
Tickets are available from Brunswick Music Festival office on ph: 03 93881460.

Bluegrass News, Promotions Bluestone Junction, Donal Baylor, Uncle Earl

The Latest Edition of Capital News Hits The Newsagents

Highlights from another news and feature packed issue of Australia’s country music monthly – Capital News.

Produced by Rural Press in Australia’s Country Music Capital, Tamworth, Country Music Capital News is Australia’s longest running monthly Country Music magazine featuring news from all over Australia and from around the world.

Capital News carries the latest news, views, CD reviews, gig guides, charts and interviews and is considered to be the voice of Australian Country Music.

Promotions Capital News, Tamworth

From Virginia, USA, The Whitetop Mountaineers are returning to Australia this week for their third Australian tour. They are playing numerous festivals throughout their tour, including Port Fairy, Blue Mountains, Brunswick, Yackandandah, Apollo Bay and the National Folk Festival.

For Sydney residents there is only one opportunity to see this world class act – at The Harp Hotel in Tempe, on Tuesday the 16th March.

The Whitetop Mountaineers bring with them a new album, released in the USA only weeks ago, called Go Away With Me. Described as the real McCoy when it comes to ol’ timey music, The Whitetop Mountaineers are an act not to be missed by fans of old time, bluegrass and mountain music & dance.

Where to see them:

• 5 – 8 Mar – Port Fairy Folk Festival
• 12 – 14 Mar – Blue Mountains Folk, Roots and Blues Festival
• 16 Mar – The Harp Hotel, 900 Princes Hwy, Tempe, NSW, Ph. 02 9559 6300
• 18 Mar – Brunswick Music Festival
• 19 – 21 Mar – Yackandandah Folk Festival
• 24 Mar – Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn Springs, Vic
• 25 Mar – Bendigo Folk Club
• 26 – 28 Mar - Apollo Bay Music Festival
• 31 Mar – The Yinnar Hotel, Main Street Yinnar ,Vic
• 1 – 4 Apr National Folk Festival, Canberra Rock’n'Blues festival

Artists, Promotions Whitetop Mountaineers

Last month we posted a story on Uncle Earl’s planned tour through New South Wales, ACT and Victoria. The girls from Uncle Earl have reminded us that they are currently on tour Downunder, and have provided a map with stick pins locating their various performance locations.  They are playing a variety of locations during this festival season including the ever popular Port Fairy Festival, Blue Mountains Festival and the legendary Basement

Here’s an itinerary of their journey:

• 3rd Mar – The Basement, Sydney, NSW, 9:00pm
• 4th Mar – Lizotte’s, Kincumber, NSW, 8:00pm
• 6th – 8th Mar – Port Fairy Folk Festival, Port Fairy, VIC
• 11 Mar – Brunswick Music Festival, The East Brunswick Club, Brunswick, VIC
• 12 – 14th Mar – Blue Mountains Music Festival of Folk, Roots and Blues, Katoomba, NSW
• 18th Mar – Blue Mountains Festival Volunteer Party, Katoomba, NSW
• 19th Mar – The Harp Hotel, Tempe, NSW, 8:00pm
• 20th Mar –  Tilley Devine’s Cafe, Canberra, ACT, 9:00pm

From Australia they head over to Europe:

• 30th Apr – Wodan Halle, Freiburg, Germany
• 1st May – Jegelscheune Wendelstein, Germany, 8:00pm
• 7th May – Club Bastion Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany, 9:00pm
• 8th May – Schweizerischen Agrarmuseum Burgrain Alberswil, Switzerland, 8:00pm
• 10th May – Neue Welt Ingolstadt, Germany, 8:30pm
• 14th May – Bürgerhaus Bühl, Germany, 8:00pm
• 15th -16th May – Karl May Fest Radebeul, Germany
• 20th May – Ratssaal Stuhr, Germany, 8:00pm
• 21st May – Aual der Emsschule Leer, Germany, 8:00pm
• 22nd May – Jazztime Open Air Festival Hildesheim, Germany, 4:00pm
• 23rd May – Hamawe Roots Festival Virton, Belgium, 8:30pm

Artists, Promotions Uncle Earl

Southwest Virginia’s “Crooked Road” region has been named one of the 2010 America’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

For ten years the National Trust has used the Dozen Distinctive Destinations program to highlight how historic preservation helps communities create a sustainable future and a strong economy through heritage tourism.

The Crooked Road is a 253-mile route through Virginia’s Appalachian region, winding through 10 counties, three cities, and 19 towns. It offers heritage travelers an opportunity to experience authentic mountain music in the region where it was born.

International News, Promotions General News

Released 9th Mar 2010.

Here’s some news from Rounder Records on an old-time, mountain-style bluegrass music album to be released next month.

Rounder advises that this album contains many of the biggest names in bluegrass music, including Ralph Stanley, Ricky Skaggs and Dailey & Vincent, playing a range of songs, including Cotton-Eyed Joe, Little Maggie, and Rollin’ in My Sweet Baby’s Arms.

Here is top quality music at a bargain price of US$5.99 - Rounder Records

CD Release, Promotions Rounder Records

Next Tuesday, on PBS FM 106.7 – Southern Style, Jan Dale will be featuring The New Lost City Ramblers through a their 3 disc boxed set recently issued by Smithsonian Folkways to celebrate the Ramblers 50th anniversary.

The New Lost City Ramblers was, in its day, a contemporary old-time string band from New York City. They took their inspiration from the old time or Appalachian, music  that was the focus of the band’s research.  The band came to prominence during the Folk era that started in the late 1950’s, and  recorded nine albums in its first four years together. Some say that the New Lost City Ramblers brought old-time string band music to the folk revival before it could rightfully be called a revival.

You can also catch the program by streaming broadcast on www.psfm.org.au.

Promotions, Radio Stations New Lost City Ramblers, Southern Style

Bèla Fleck’s Africa Project – The Arts Centre, Melbourne

The wonderful Bèla Fleck’s African Project featuring Oumou Sangarè, in the country for Bluesfest over Easter 2010, will play a theatre sideshow at Hamer Hall on Thursday 8th April.

New York City native Béla Fleck is regularly considered the premier banjo player in the world. He made a name for himself on countless solo and ensemble projects as a virtuoso instrumentalist unbounded by genre. The man has won eleven Grammy awards and has received 25 nominations in more diverse categories than any other musician in history. His latest album, Throw Down Your Heart is a companion to the award-winning documentary of the same name, which premiered in 2009. Motivated by a deep love of African music, the film follows Béla on a boundary-breaking musical adventure to explore the little-known African roots of the banjo and record an album.

Bèla Fleck plays:

• the Arts Centre, Melbourne on 8th April 2010
• the Sydney Opera House on 6th April 2010

Events, Promotions Bela Fleck

Mandolin Cafe reports that Mike Marshall will be accepting a limited number of students next month, by offering lessons both in his Oakland, California studio and for those who wish to study with him via the Internet utilising Skype technology.

Read the full article on Mandolin Cafe.

Contact Mike Marshall via his web site

Article, Promotions Mandolin, Mandolin Cafe

We received an email from Dave Eyles in Mackay North Queensland recently. Dave has been presenting a bluegrass music program on regional radio for some time. The station he broadcasts on is My105.9FM.

We asked Dave to give us some background, particularly how he became involved in bluegrass music, and a little information about his radio program.

First let me introduce myself. My name is Dave Eyles. I have been a resident of Mackay for some fifteen years.

Growing up I had pretty normal musical tastes, until one day I walked into my local music shop and on sifting through their instructional DVD’s, I found Steve Kaufman’s Flatpicking Banjo Tunes. Now I don’t know what made me buy it, but the moment I played it, I knew this was what I had been looking for. This music was special to me and it was real music, played by real musicians. Since that time, I have been listening to everything that I could get my hands on. I have also been trying to learn as many tunes as I can – so many tunes so little time.

This experience got me thinking. I had been doing a sports show on a local indigenous community radio station, up to that point. I thought it was my duty to try and promote bluegrass music and to get people to really listen to what most people thought was just hillbilly music. Thus, Dave’s Bluegrass Breakfast was born.

MY-105 is a country station broadcasting out of Mackay in Queensland. The station reaches out to Sarina in the south and to Proserpine in the north,. The station’s reach will soon be extended to take in Airlie Beach and Bowen, thanks to a generous grant for a new transmitter from the Queensland State Government.

My program airs on Sunday mornings at 8:00am and runs for an hour. I generally record the show on Saturday mornings. The program typically features a variety of artists from Norman Blake, Doc Watson, Bill Monroe, Ricky Skaggs, along with more contemporary artists such as Lonesome River Band, Chris Jones, Daily & Vincent, Chris Thile and Rhonda Vincent.

I really enjoy Australian Bluegrass groups such as the Davidson Brothers, who have a big future. I also like to listen to progressive bluegrass and Newgrass. I like steel-string sessions which include anything with a bluegrass feel.

I’d like to play more Australian music and would like to invite any band or artist that wants to get their music on the airwaves in our area to get in touch with me either through My105FM or send me an email at Dave@hotmail.com

Promotions Bluegrass Radio

Just letting you know about a new tender opportunity on Australia’s Song Central.  Male country artist with new album due out in 2010 is looking for new songs.  If  you think this may interest you (or someone you know) and you want to know more – just contact sue@songcentral.com.au or elspeth@songcentral.com.au.

Promotions Song Central

Song Central Opportunity

Song Central advises that they have a producer is looking for new songs to suit a female artist for an album due out next year.  Ideal songs will cross the R&B, Rock & Pop genres etc.  Full details are available for songwriter members in their home pages – but if you aren’t a current member and are interested in this opportunity – contact Song Central to find out more.

Hurry, as the deadline for this opportunity is fast approaching.

Promotions Song Central

A gathering of pickers on the Sunshine Coast for the 2nd annual banjo conference will provide an opportunity for residents of the community to see some of the hottest picking around. The line up is top class and features The Hungry Hill Band from Canada, Martin Louis from New South Wales Gary Van and Stu Porter as well as Peter and Mark Nahuysen from Queensland.

We had initially listed the Davidson Brothers as playing in this concert. This was our error and offer our apologies for any confusion – Editor.

Where: Maleny Community Centre
When: on 3rd Dec 2009,  from 7:30pm
Cost: Full -$12.00 Concession – $8.00

Events, Promotions Hungry Hill, Martin Louis

21st Nov will see the final Orphanage Session for 2009.

So to celebrate a year full of quality live country/roots music, the Dear Orphans will be featuring Golden Guitar nominee Ronni Rae Rivers as their guest.

The evening will kick off as usual with the Dear Orphans weaving Americana goodness as they play tracks from their recently released, self-titled debut album. Dear Orphans consists of singer/songwriters Lyn Taylor and Nick Payne playing bluegrass-inspired, acoustic guitar-driven songs accompanied by pedal steel virtuoso Mike Kirkley. Also joining them on stage will be Elsen Price on double bass and Adrian Kyneur on drums and percussion.

Following on from Dear Orphans, Ronni Rae Rivers hits the stage to celebrate her Golden Guitar nomination for the Maton New Talent of the Year Award for her song Running On Fumes. All the folks from Dear Orphans will be joining her on stage to provide musical backing for Ronni in the spirit of collaboration that the Orphanage Sessions has become famous for.

Events, Promotions The Orphanage