Simon McBride has released a video and free download of an unplugged version ‘Rich Man Falling’ which is the title track of Simon’s 2008 debut album. It’s a great version of the song and the unplugged version takes you right back the blues of the deep south with echoes of old chain gang songs.

Told from the perspective of a fallen financial hot-shot who has found wisdom only through ruin, Rich Man Falling is an anthem for the 21st century, taking the pulse of modern life, it is apt that the video plays out with a quote from fellow Irishman, the statesman and philosopher Edmund Burke (b. 1729): “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it”.

Simon has recently released his new album ‘Nine Lives’, an album of mostly live recordings of tracks from his studio albums which is getting some great reviews and you can catch Simon playing at MusicMesse on 22nd March.

Check out www.simonmcbride.net for the free MP3 download and more about Simon’s work.

Reb Beach from Whitesnake & Winger has had two of his Suhr guitars stolen from his garage in Pittsburgh. One is his Suhr “modern” with the sunburst quilted top (Serial #8370), and the other is his Suhr strat with the green/purple color paint and mirror pick guard (Serial #2653). Both can be seen in the photos above.

As I’m sure you can appreciate Reb is deeply upset over the loss of these very special Suhr models so if anyone knows anything about the whereabouts of either of these guitars, please contact Reb on his message board atwww.rebbeach.com, or on his facebook page ,http://www.facebook.com/RebBeach.

For those of you that don’t know it’s Marshall Amplification’s 50th anniversary this year and to celebrate Marshall are taking over Wembley Arena with for night of full rock mayhem on Saturday 22 September.

The artist line-up so far is incredible and features members of Iron Maiden, Slipknot, Whitesnake, Chickenfoot, The Cult, Black Label Society and many more.

Nicko McBrain will be on hand to compere the event along with Planet Rock, will be joined by the world’s most legendary guitarists, acclaimed musicians and Marshall enthusiasts including multiple Grammy nominee and Chickenfoot super-group founder Joe Satriani, Ozzy Osbourne collaborator and founder of Black Label Society Zakk Wylde, Mr Big’s Paul Gilbert, Whitesnake’s Doug Aldrich and Brian Tichy, Swedish virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen, The Cult’s Billy Duffy and Slipknot/ Stone Sour front man Corey Taylor.

“Beyond doubt, Jim Marshall and the team have shaped the sound of rock music for eternity! Words cannot describe how pioneering Marshall is ! I feel more than privileged to be involved in this event. We’re bringing together beyond-legendary artists for a moment in history. Expect pure rock n roll madness amplified to the max by Marshall! ”

Nicko McBrain

Planet Rock has a 24 hour presale on tickets which start on Thursday 8th March at 9am.

For more details visit check out the Marshall website.

UK Eric Johnson fans are in for a real treat this summer as the man himself will be coming to the United Kingdom in July for the first time! The 5-date mini tour will showcase material from his current album “Up Close”, as well as from his rich back catalogue.

Johnson is best known for his diverse array of music genres evidenced by many different styles incorporated in his studio and live performances, including rock, blues, jazz, fusion, folk, New Age and country music.

Guitar Player magazine called Johnson “one of the most respected guitarists on the planet”. His critical,ly acclaimed, platinum-selling 1990 recording Ah Via Musicom produced the single Cliffs of Dover, for which he won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Cliffs of Dover also appeared in Guitar Hero 3 – Legends of Rock.

In 1996 he joined forces with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai for the original and legendary G3 tour that garnered a worldwide audience with the platinum selling CD and DVD release. Johnson is best known for playing stock Fender Stratocasters and Gibson ES-335 electric guitars through a triple amp setup that consists of vintage Fender and Marshall amplifiers.

He plays vintage Stratocasters but also his ‘Fender Signature Stratocaster’ model, which is one of the best selling instruments in the Fender catalogue. He also designed a Signature acoustic guitar that was released by Martin guitars.

Eric Johnson’s stature as one of the premier guitar players in contemporary music is his artistic trump card, backed by a Grammy Award and five nominations, platinum album, Top 10 hits like Cliffs of Dover, praise from critics and the esteem of his peers. The full range of his talents marks him as a gifted songwriter, dynamic live performer, singer, pianist, and song interpreter.

His myriad and distinctive musical gifts are vividly evident on Johnson’s current studio album, Up Close, released on his own Vortexan Music label. The 15-track disc finds the noted master craftsman cutting loose, roaming through variations on the rock, blues, pop, country and jazz genres,  pushing the dynamic range of his artistry, and mixing it up with such friends and peers as guitarists Jimmie Vaughan and Sonny Landreth, plus guest vocalists Steve Miller, Johnny Lang and Malford Milligan.

“I decided to let go a bit and allow things to happen and just go with the flow… That’s a direction that works better for any artist, and especially for me. I like my work to have a high proficiency, but I also want to go for the energy and magic of the performances.”

Eric Johnson on the new album

Check out Eric Johnson’s official website for more details.

A FILMED CONCERT PERFORMANCE BY WORLD RENOWNED GUITARIST JOE SATRIANI IN CINEMAS MARCH 6TH FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY

Joe Satriani, one of the most respected and innovative guitarists in the world today, will release his live-concert film, Satchurated: Live in Montreal in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on March 6th, for one night only. The film will also be shown in both 2D & 3D HD.

Check out the trailer for Satchurated: Live In Montreal

Satchurated was filmed live during Satriani’s “The Wormhole Tour”, supporting his studio album Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards at the Metropolis in Montreal, Canada. The concert was filmed by GRAMMY and EMMY award-winning concert filmmakers Pierre and Francois Lamoureux.

This video gives you an exclusive look at the song “War” from the upcoming “SATCHURATED” release.

The film is directed by award-winning filmmakers François and Pierre Lamoureux and produced by Cinemusica and Fogolabs, The filmmakers have directed and/or produced concert films and music documentaries for RUSH, The Who, Harry Connick, Jr., Slipknot, Rihanna, The Pretenders, Zappa Plays Zappa, Branford Marsalis, Cowboy Junkies, Collective Soul, Ben Harper, Willie Nelson, Deep Purple, The Stray Cats and others.

With a total of ten cameras working to capture the sold-out concert, Satriani’s musical best was recorded in both 2D and 3D HD formats. The high-definition filming makes Satriani’s play as much a pleasure to watch as it is to hear. Every chord change is captured and presented as if one were experiencing a living room concert of your very own! Fans of “Satch” will be eagerly awaiting the film’s worldwide release in March 2012 with theatrical presentations in both 2D and 3D formats.

For more information visit http://www.satchurated.com and http://www.satriani.com

Critically acclaimed American blues rock guitarist, Walter Trout, today announced the release of his new studio album Blues For The Modern Daze.  The album is released by Provogue Records in the UK on Monday 23^rd April, followed by US release on 24^th April.

Check out this interview with Walter Trout below

Blues for the Modern Daze, showcases the contemporary guitar legend’s return to his hardcore blues roots.  The album is Trout’s sixth recording for Provogue, and his first fully-fledged blues album in 23 years as a bandleader.  Trout’s practical schooling in blues started when he arrived in Los Angeles in 1973 and secured gigs behind Hooker, Big Mama Thornton, Finis Tasby, Pee Wee Crayton, Lowell Fulsom, Percy Mayfield and Joe Tex. By 1981 he joined the remaining original members of Canned Heat.

The turning point for Trout was his tenure with British blues giant John Mayall. Trout became part of the Bluesbreakers’ lineage of great guitarists along with Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor. By 1989, Trout formed his own band, released his debut album Life In the Jungle, and rapidly became a star in Europe. His first US release, 1998′s critically heralded Walter Trout, made him a permanent fixture in the American blues rock scene.

My main inspiration for this album says Trout, was the country bluesman Blind Willie Johnson, an early blues innovator who recorded such timeless gospel informed blues numbers as Soul of a Man and Nobody’s Fault But Mine. His music is beautiful, primal, direct and deeply spiritual. The album explores a side of my music that’s rooted in my first musical love, and it reveals something about me, too. It sums up the thoughts and attitudes of somebody who is getting a little older and is feeling like he’s a part of another era, with different values and a different perspective on life that’s prevalent today.

Due to popular demand, Australian power rock trio “TRACER” kick off their first nationwide headline UK tour at London’s Islington O2 Academy on Tuesday 24th April.

Planet Rock (www.planetrock.com) will start a 48-hour ticket pre-sale for Planet Rock listeners from Wednesday 1st February at 9am. www.ents24.com will start their 24-hour pre-sale on Thursday 2nd February. Tickets will then go on sale to the general public from 10am on Friday 3rd February via the 24 hour box office: 0844 478 0898 and www.thegigcartel.com.

Tracer was recently voted third place in Planet Rock’s “Best New Band” listeners’ poll. Over the past four months Planet Rock has played the singles Too Muchand Devil Ride, two songs taken from Tracer’s debut critically acclaimed album Spaces In Between.

Tracer has captured the excitement and adrenalin rush of rock ’n’ roll. Tracer’s sound embodies the same raw dynamics and edge to that of Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Queens of the Stone Age and Black Sabbath.

Richie Kotzen is coming back to Europe for a 4 week live tour with his band to support his new album, ’24 Hours’! The tour starts February 29th 2012 in Luxemburg and ends March 24th in Turkey including March 5th at Islington Academy in London & March 6th at the Robin 2 in Wolverhampton.

He’s also putting together a VIP Experience for fans which includes the following;

• Attend sound check with Richie! (sound check time will be e mailed to you separately)
• A meet and greet with Richie! Come meet Richie, have your photo taken with him and get ONE personal item signed.
• An autographed, limited edition RICHIE KOTZEN ’24 HOURS’ COMMEMORATIVE POSTER! (In addition to your personal item, Richie will also personalize the poster for you at the meet and greet if you’d like)
• A RICHIE KOTZEN VIP COMMEMORATIVE LAMINATE!
• A RICHIE KOTZEN ’24 Hours’ T-SHIRT.
• A copy of Richie’s new CD ’24 HOURS’

In the meantime, to get you in the mood check out the video to ’24 Hours’.

I’ve been looking forward to seeing Joanne Shaw Taylor since I interviewed her back in September . Both her debut album ‘White Sugar’, and 2010’s follow-up ‘Diamonds in the Dirt’ are full of classic soul drenched blues and her playing has a maturity rarely seen in guitarists of her age. However live Joanne is on a different level altogether and the quality of her guitar playing is at times breathtaking.

Interestingly Joanne was without her blonde telecaster for this gig instead favouring a candy apple red Fender Stratocaster through a Blackstar Artisan 30. Joanne’s guitar sound however had a pretty raunchy, stripped down feel which suited the energy of many of the tracks. ‘Can’t keep living like this’, ‘Dead and Gone’ and ‘Diamonds in the Dirt’ from the new album sounded great live and featured stunning guitar solos.

Having seen  Kenny Wayne Shepherd a couple of weeks earlier, the bar had been set extremely high however Joanne and her band really delivered. Joanne had mentioned that she had found some great musicians in Detroit and her drummer and bass player provided a super tight rhythm section which really let Joanne off the chain during the set.

Of particular note was her drummer who put in one of the finest drumming performances I’ve seen in a while and managed to pull off a drum solo that not proved both technically outstanding and a crowd pleaser. The only disappointment was a rather bizaare moment of silence after one of the tracks which proved a little awkward and the fact that the gig was poorly attended. In my opinion paying £15 to see an artist of this calibre is a bargain and I certainly hope the turnout will be better on the rest of the UK tour dates. You’ll rarely see a blues guitarist this talented for so little money so do yourself a favour and make sure you check out Joanne live if you get the chance!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

If you like what you see then head on over to www.theanswer.ie to find out more about the band.