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Randy Rhoads Birthday Celebration Events Scheduled for Dec. 4

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Jeff Owens
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The “Rhoadsfest” Randy Rhoads birthday celebration concert will take place Saturday, Dec. 4, at Paladino’s Club in Tarzana, Calif. Event organizers bill Rhoadsfest as “the official Randy Rhoads tribute show permitted by the Rhoads family.”

Rhoads was born Dec. 6, 1956, in Santa Monica, Calif. At 25, the famed guitarist perished in a March 19, 1982, plane crash in Leesburg, Fla. Rhoads would’ve turned 54 on Dec. 6, 2010.

The event was conceived as a Rhoads-inspired theme concert, with live bands, special guests—including members of the Rhoads family, guitar raffles, giveaways and other special features. Los Angeles-based Randy Rhoads/Ozzy Osbourne tribute band Rhoads to Ozz hosts the event, presented twice annually. Guest performers scheduled for the Dec. 4 event include guitarist Michael Angelo Batio and Rhoads’ elder brother, Kelle Rhoads.

Also that weekend, Rhoad’s elder sister, Kathryn Rhoads D’Argenzio, invites music and wine fans to the D’Argenzio Winery in Burbank, Calif., which she co-owns. At a special gathering there in the winery’s tasting room, fans and friends can celebrate the great guitarist’s birthday and honor his life and legacy with members of the Rhoads family. Complimentary food, beverages and samples of the winery’s recently released limited edition Randy Rhoads 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon will be served. The event takes place at the D’Argenzio Enoteca Tasting Room, 1204 W. Burbank Blvd., Burbank, Calif., from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 4, and from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 5. For further details, contact the winery’s Burbank tasting room at 818.846.8466.

Jackson Shreds 2011 Guitar World Gear Guide

Posted on November 1, 2010 by Jeff Owens
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Concorde on the cover ...

’Tis the season for the annual Guitar World magazine gear guide, and this year’s model, or models, we should say—as in plural—won’t disappoint Jackson fans.

You don’t even have to open the 2011 Guitar World Holiday Review Guide to start getting a Jackson eyeful. That’s because, right there on the cover, there’s Holly’s World star Holly Madison clad in little but a white bathing suit and a Jackson Custom Shop Randy Rhoads Concorde guitar. It’s a meticulous replica of the very first guitar to bear the Jackson name; the one famously sketched by Rhoads himself in late 1980 as he envisioned a new guitar model; the one he decided to name after the supersonic aircraft that speedily brought him home for the holidays that year after his first European tour with Ozzy Osbourne. Gorgeous.

And that’s just the cover. Inside, see the shout-out to the Jackson Demmelition King V™ and Mark Morton Dominion D2™, both on page 30, and model Angel Porinno posing with a limited edition 30th Anniversary RR5FR Rhoads on page 41. Also gorgeous.

Happy holidays, shredders. The 2011 Guitar World Holiday Review Guide is on newsstands now. So get going, already …

... and 30th Anniversary RR5FR Rhoads on page 41.

Ellefson Shreds Bass Player Holiday ’10 Cover

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Jeff Owens
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We couldn’t be more delighted to see fleet-fingered Megadeth bassist and good friend David Ellefson gazing front and center from the cover of the Holiday 2010 issue of Bass Player magazine. Especially since he’s slinging one of his Jackson Custom Shop Concert™ five-string bass models.

Look for the cover feature on Ellefson, which begins on page 34 and continues through page 46 with a detailed discussion of his playing, his gear and his early 2010 return to the seminal thrash band he co-founded in 1983.

The reinvigorated Megadeth has had an amazingly successful and busy year, with its Rust in Peace 20th anniversary tour, historic summer Sonisphere shows in Europe as part of the Big Four (with Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax), and the fall Jägermeister tour with Slayer and Anthrax.

And all in all it’s been a banner year in particular for Ellefson, who told Jackson that, “Being invited to appear on the cover of Bass Player magazine for their holiday issue was the icing on an already very tasty cake in 2010.”

The Holiday 2010 Bass Player is on newsstands now, and online right here.

Anthrax: Live at the Sonisphere Picture Disc Out Nov. 26

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Jeff Owens
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Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian onstage (above it, actually) at a Sonisphere show.

Thrash institution Anthrax is set to release 10” picture disc Live at the Sonisphere on Nov. 26. The double-song disc features “Medusa” and “Only” from the The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria DVD and Blu-ray.

The disc will be available through Metal Club, a group of U.S. and Canadian record stores that connect metal fans with independent local record retailers. Fans can visit their local Metal Club store for special metal promotional pieces, exciting in-store events and exclusive Metal Club releases.

“Indie stores are our only hope,” Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante said. “People should cherish these wonderful treasures. Go, get lost in an indie record store—you may discover a band or record that could blow your mind.”

Visit www.mymetalclub.com for retail locations, news and information on other Metal Club releases.

In other Anthrax news, the band performed new song “Fight ’Em ’Til You Can’t,” with singer Joey Belladonna for the first time during an Oct. 8 concert at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., as part of the Jägermeister Music Tour with Slayer and Megadeth. Further, since returning from the European tour, Anthrax has started writing and rehearsing for a new album expected in early 2011.

Machine Head’s “Halo” in Total Guitar Top Ten

Posted on October 12, 2010 by Jeff Owens
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Machine Head's Phil Demmel onstage.

As voted by the readers of the U.K.’s Total Guitar magazine, Machine Head’s “Halo” boasts one of the top ten greatest guitar riffs of the 21st century.

Granted, the 21st century still has 90 years left to go, but let’s not split hairs; it’s an impressive accolade. The November 2010 “Monster Riffs” issue of the magazine contains what readers determined to be the 50 most memorable guitar phrases of the past decade, and “Halo”—from Machine Head’s 2007 metal masterpiece The Blackening—rang in at number eight.

The poll generated interesting results, showing greater reader preference for relatively recent material and little influence by pre-2000 classic rock. Machine Head, the sole thrash outfit on the list, shares the top 50’s top ten with U.K. alt-prog heroes Muse, who took the top spot and number five (“Plug In Baby” and “Knights of Cydonia” respectively), Velvet Revolver at number two (“Slither”), Avenged Sevenfold at numbers three and ten (“Afterlife” and “Beast and the Harlot”), Dream Theater at number four (“The Dark Eternal Night”), Queens of the Stone Age at number six (“No One Knows”), the White Stripes at number seven (“Seven Nation Army”) and the Killers at number nine (Mr. Brightside”).

“Halo” was the third single from The Blackening (after “Aesthetics of Hate” and “Now I Lay Thee Down”) and was the only song on the album credited to all four band members, including lead guitarist and Jackson signature artist Phil Demmel.

BFMV Bassist Temporarily Sidelined; Tour to Continue

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Jeff Owens
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Bullet For My Valentine, with James at far right.

In an official announcement on its website on Friday, Oct. 8, Bullet For My Valentine announced that bassist Jason James will briefly leave the band’s current North American tour to tend to a family matter starting on Oct. 8.

“He will be rejoining the band on October 18th in Calgary, AB,” the announcement said.

During James’ 10-day absence, the tour will continue with no dates cancelled. BFMV guitar tech Calvin Roffey will assume bass duties until James returns.

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